Job 12: The Undisturbed
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The undisturbed esteem my downfall a disgrace . . . yet the tents of robbers are prosperous, and those who provoke God are secure. I imagine that each of us has wondered at one or another how it is that the sleek and flourishing experience success while the downtrodden suffer endlessly.
Job tells us that the beasts of the earth and sea and sky understand that God is in charge. They do not credit themselves with victory in life but rather understand that the world is ordered from a point outside their control. In his journey of sorrow and pain Job will learn that the trust he has placed in God is warranted; and he suggests that we take a lesson from these creatures: But now ask the beasts to teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you; or the reptiles on earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mankind. Job continues to delineate God’s power in clear terms. There is no power greater than God’s; there is no understanding more deep, no prudence more sensible. As followers of Christ we especially know that there is no love more forgiving and more enduring than God’s.
In his reply to Zophar, Job attempts to describe the enormity and omnipotence of God. And in speaking to his friend Job assure himself – and us – that even though he suffers innocently he is not forgotten by his all-knowing and all-powerful creator. Job knows that with patience and an open heart, he will gain the insight of a life lived well: So with old age comes wisdom, and with length of days understanding. These are gifts from God that we receive through suffering . . . and this is something that those who live undisturbed lives will never learn.
Job is not the only one in scripture to warn us about the opposing worlds of the troubled and the undisturbed. Paul writes to Timothy: Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
The prophet Jeremiah also understands the irony of justice in the world. He recounts the Lord’s words: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season . . . [The wicked] grow powerful and rich, fat and sleek. They go their wicked way; justice they do not defend by advancing the claim of the fatherless or judging the cause of the poor. (Jeremiah 17:5-6 and 5:27)
In the book of Wisdom it is the wicked who say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord. To us he is a censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us. (Wisdom 2:12-14)
Scripture is full of advice about how to behave and how to align our lives; but the story of Job is one we will want to hold close, especially when we undergo trials while the successful and cozened lead seemingly charmed lives. Job’s story – and in particular this response to Zophar – tell us that the dichotomy between the just and the unjust is real. It is a trial to be borne. It is a misery to be endured. Yet through this suffering we receive a gift that the undisturbed will never have. It is the gift of fully knowing and experiencing God’s great and abiding love.
A repost from March 12, 2012.
Image from: http://erumiou.wordpress.com/2007/06/22/wealth-vs-poverty-in-which-lies-true-happiness/
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