by Chris Alexion, Copyright July 14, 2006, all rights reserved. 269 views
Job combines a fascinating story with descriptive, poetic language. The Hebrew speakers launch lofty metaphors and spin impressive comparisons involving kings, angels, land beasts, sea creatures, and stars. The narrative turns the rags-to-riches story upside-down, telling us about a prosperous, honest man sunk in apparently meaningless misery. Our interest is piqued by Job's circumstances and his response to them.
But the book's humanness is its most gripping feature. Job is preeminently a man; he suffers; he doubts; he questions; he gets frustrated by those around him. Though few of us have suffered like Job, we've all felt like him at times. We identify easily with feelings of confusion and loneliness.
I'm also struck by the importance of friendship. Support (or lack of it) can make or break a man or leader. Job's friends began on the right foot by sitting silently because his "grief was very great." Sometimes grief simply requires that friends grieve as well. But when these men opened their mouths, trouble started. Job's counselors were only men; they didn't have access to all the facts, and they relied on generalizations of human experience to explain Job's unique circumstances.
Job, on the other hand, trusted God. His faith wavered, but he maintained "his integrity." He refused to curse God, even when urged to it by his wife. Job realized that though his suffering was enormous, there was more to the universe than him, and he was able to turn outward and hear the words of God (spoken later in the book). Job also knew that his duty to do rightly didn't change with his circumstances; he lost control of everything around him, but he was able govern his own response.
1 • LHR • July 17, 2006 • 8:09 PM
Great post! Job was an amazing man. Even after so many things had happened to him, he "sinned not, nor charged God foolishly" (Job 1:22).
Truly our friendships with others can have a great effect on our lives, for our encouragement or otherwise.
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