How to Read Job

John H. Walton, Tremper Longman, III, Tremper Longman

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780830899074
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Preaching's Survey of Bibles and Bible ReferenceWe often turn to the book of Job when we encounter suffering. We look for an explanation for the questions "Why me?" or "Why her?" But what if it turns out that although Job does suffer, the book is not really about his suffering?If ever a book needed a "How to Read" instruction manual, it is the book of Job. And when two respected Old Testament scholars team up—both of whom have written commentaries on Job—we have a matchless guide to reading and appreciating the book. From their analysis of its place in the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East to their discussions of its literary features and relationship to history, Walton and Longman give us the best of their expertise. They explore the theology of Job, placing it within Israelite religion and Old Testament theology. And they coach us in how to read Job as Christians. When it turns out the book is not what we thought it was, our reading is richly layered and more satisfying.Whether you are preparing for preaching, teaching, leading a Bible study, studying for a class or for personal enrichment, How to Read Job is your starting point.

PART

1

READING JOB
AS LITERATURE

ONE

What Is the Book of Job About?

It is not uncommon for people to turn to the book of Job when they encounter suffering, but all too often they find the book unsatisfying. They think that the book will explain why they or their loved ones are suffering or why there is so much suffering in the world. They have the impression that the book is about Job and that he is going to provide a model for how they should respond in times of suffering. They expect to learn why God acts the way that he does—why he allows or even causes righteous people to suffer. It is no wonder, then, that they find the book inadequate; their expectations are misguided. We need to begin, then, with some adjustments to our expectations. First of all, Job has trials, but he is not on trial. We will propose that God’s policies are on trial. Second, the book of Job is not primarily about Job; it is primarily about God. Third, if this is so, the book is more about the reasons for righteousness than about the reasons for suffering. Finally, the topic of wisdom plays a central role in the book. Indeed, Job’s suffering leads to a heated debate as to who has the wisdom that will help the characters diagnose and prescribe a remedy for Job’s problems. Here we will see that, though all the human characters claim that they are wise, it is only God who is wise. Let’s look at these in more detail.

Job Has Trials, But He Is Not on Trial

Job is declared innocent and righteous from the beginning of the book and throughout it, so there is no doubt that he is righteous. The question is whether he will retain his integrity. His integrity is defined by whether he will keep his focus on his righteousness or pursue a strategy to recover the benefits of a righteous life. If his focus is his benefits, it will show that the challenge posed against him is a correct assessment: he does not serve God for nothing (Job 1:9).

While Job clearly has trials, he and his friends more importantly believe that he is on trial. Job considers himself to be the defendant in a criminal case. In his mind, he has been treated as a wicked person and is now trying to defend himself. His defense follows the strategy of trying to reposition himself as a plaintiff in a civil case. Because he perceives this to be the scenario, he demands a hearing so that he can lodge a complaint against the one who has falsely accused him. In reality, however, his role is to serve as the star witness for the defense, because it is God’s policies that are on trial.

This view of the book is substantiated when we see the issue that is raised for discussion in Job 1:9. The challenge does not suggest that Job is not truly righteous—in fact, his righteousness is accepted as a premise. The challenge concerns Job’s motivations for being righteous: “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Such a challenge ultimately questions God’s policy of blessing righteous people. The contention is that if God makes it a policy to bring prosperity as a reward for righteousness, true righteousness will be subverted because people will act righteously in order to gain benefits. God, therefore, by his very policy, is creating mercenaries of a sort—people who will do anything to get ahead.

The fundamental issue at question in the book of Job is whether it is good policy for God to bless the righteous by bringing them prosperity (wealth and health). The challenger (identified as satan; see chap. 6 for explanation) argues that it is not good policy and suggests that the mettle of Job’s righteousness, if tested by the removal of all his benefits, will prove lacking. That would demonstrate that his righteousness was founded only in his own search for gain and was never true righteousness at all. However, this scrutiny of Job’s motives is only a means to an end. The main question concerns how God runs the world.

About God, Not About Job

Certainly Job gets more “airtime” than God in the book. In the end, however, it is not important whether we understand Job better. His character does not provide a guide for how we ought to think or act. Much of what Job thinks and says is at least partially wrong. How Job responds is ultimately important so that we can consider how God runs the world and whether there can be such a thing as disinterested righteousness (serving God for nothing).

The focus on God becomes even clearer when we see the second piece of the challenge. The first challenge suggests that God’s policy of blessing righteous people is flawed because it seems to buy people’s loyalty and righteousness. The second piece of the challenge falls into place when Job begins to suffer. As he makes his speeches and launches his demands to God for a hearing, we learn that Job also has a problem with God’s policies: he considers it bad policy that God allows righteous people to suffer. In short, he thinks that God is unjust.

These two challenges set up the focus of the book as it pertains to God’s policies in the world: it is not good policy for righteous people to prosper (for that undermines the development of true righteousness by providing an ulterior motive). In tension with that, it is not good policy for righteous people to suffer (they are the good people, the ones who are on God’s side). So what is God to do?

Not only do these two challenges shape the book, but they also inevitably lead to deeper questions: Is it really God’s policy to bless the righteous and bring suffering only to the wicked? If so, why does experience so often suggest that this is not true? How does God run the world? Can we affirm that his policies are the best policies? Recognizing that these are the questions being addressed, we can now see how it is that this book is primarily about God. Job is the test case for considering how God runs the world and how we should think about God when life goes haywire.

About the Reasons for Righteousness, Not the Reasons for Suffering

Once we have adjusted our focus onto God rather than Job and understood the basic nature of the accusations that are being made concerning God’s policies, we can begin to see that righteousness is more under consideration than is suffering. The question asked is, “Why is Job righteous?” not, “Why is Job suffering?” No paradigmatic explanation is offered for why suffering takes place, but there is a lot of interest in what constitutes righteousness. We don’t have to understand Job’s suffering; we do have to understand his righteousness. His suffering does not give us direction about our suffering, but his reasons for righteousness should make us think about our reasons for righteousness. Will Job’s righteousness be sustained even when God’s policies are incomprehensible and nothing seems to make sense? Will ours? As the book unfolds, we will see that this is the critical issue to be resolved.

Job’s pain and anguish lead to a debate as to why he suffers. The human participants all have their opinions about the reason for his suffering and also about how he can get relief. In this debate, they all (Job, the three friends and Elihu) present themselves as wisdom teachers. They claim wisdom and undermine the wisdom of the others.

As we get into the plot of Job, we will see who wins and who loses this debate. Also, how does God enter into the discussion? Indeed, we will see that again this book is not about Job or any of the human participants, whose wisdom is shown to be woefully inadequate, but about God himself, who alone is wise.

Studying the Book of Job

As we proceed, how do we go beyond a surface reading of the book? First, we must remember that the book of Job was written not to us in the twenty-first century A.D. but centuries ago to an ancient Israelite audience. That does not mean that the book does not speak to us today; certainly it does. The church recognizes the book of Job as canonical—that is, as a standard of our faith and practice—but we must understand the book on its own terms in order to comprehend its significance for the modern believer. How do we do that?

We must first recognize that the book of Job was written in Hebrew—not modern Hebrew, but ancient Hebrew. Thus, we begin with a translation of Job in our vernacular, which for most of the present readers is English. Translation itself involves interpretation, but for our purposes we are going to depend upon a translation, and of course we will be presenting quotations of the book of Job in English.

But much study remains to be done even using the English text of Job. Since the book is a product of the ancient Near East, we are helped by placing the book in the context of the ancient Near East. We are also helped by studying the book as a piece of literature—by determining its literary type or genre, inspecting its structure and exploring the style of writing.

The book of Job is also a work of theology; that is, it speaks about God and humanity’s relationship with God. Our study of Job will emphasize a theological analysis of the book. It is important to read the book on its own, but ultimately we want to put it in the broader context of the Bible as a whole, and for the Christian that will include the New Testament. Thus, we will explore how the book of Job addresses us as Christian readers. This concern will lead us to inquire not only how the book might anticipate Jesus Christ (Lk 24:25-27, 44-49) but also what relevance the book might have for how we think and act today.

In summary, the book of Job can be studied at a variety of significant levels, and we will be interacting with these throughout this book:

• What does the book say (translating the book)?
• How did the author package that message literarily?
• What philosophical/theological points is the book making in its original context?
• How does that message fit together with Christian theology?
• What practical significance does that message have for us today as Christians?

For Further Reflection

1. What did you think the book of Job was about before you read this chapter?
2. What should we expect to learn from the book of Job?
3. What is on trial in the book of Job?
4. What does it mean when the challenger asks God, “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
5. What is the problem with trying to live in order to benefit from a relationship with God?
6. What is the role of wisdom in the book?

TWO

What Is the Rhetorical Strategy of the Book of Job?

Rhetorical strategy refers to the ways in which a book’s purpose unfolds section by section. A book has a purpose, a direction, an objective and a focus. Its parts are shaped and arranged in order to achieve that purpose effectively. As readers, we want to track with the book and understand the parts, how they fit together and what each one contributes. This is true of any literature, but it is especially true of the Bible. W...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: Reading Job as Literature
• Part Two: Getting to Know the Characters of the Book of Job
• Part Three: The Theological Message of the Book of Job
• Part Four: Reading Job as a Christian
• Appendix: Commentaries on the Book of Job
• Notes
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Praise for How to Read Job
• About the Authors
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright