CONFIDENCE IN THE FACE OF HARD QUESTIONS: Why Do We Suffer?

The word suffer is from ancient words meaning to carry under, or to bear under and it also refers to to bear children.  In our culture it is common to hear “If God loves us, He must not be all-powerful or else He would stop all suffering” and “If God is all-powerful and could stop suffering but doesn’t, He must not be loving.”

The Bible is honest about the issue of suffering and assures us of God’s sovereignty and presence in whatever we are facing, and points out that we may not know why we suffer, but God meets us in our suffering.

We look at parts of the story of Job from Job 30:26-31 and 42:1-6.  To recap a bit about Job’s story:  Job was a prosperous and good person. He was enjoying life.  God allowed Satan to make Job suffer to demonstrate Job’s integrity.  Satan promoted that HE could make Job curse ("a prayer that evil or harm  God”).  God, KNOWING Job’s heart basically said, “you can TRY, but I KNOW Job!” So Satan caused harm to Job’s “environment”, it property and the stuff AROUND him.  When that didn’t cause Job to call for harm to God Satan asked for and received permission to attack Job’s person… the stuff INSIDE him.

Three of Job’s friends came to console him, but they mainly debated with him as they investigate the potential causes for his suffering. They insisted Job’s sins were the reason for his suffering. Now, Job was not sinless, but he did not understand why he was suffering because he was a God fearing good human. A fourth friend arrived, and then God appeared to Job. By the end of his ordeals Job gained a new, fuller understanding of God, as can we if we study Job.

In Job 30 Job is deep into his personal afflictions.  Let’s look at what he says here:

Job 30:26-31

26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came.

27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me.

28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

30 My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever.

31 My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.

We ALL experience; we ALL have to bear up under some adverse situations or circumstances,  even those who seek after good– God.  But WHY?  Job illustrates for us some of the reasons.  Check this out:

The name JOB. There are occurrences of this same name in related languages, where the name means  No Father or Where Is My Father?  

A Hebrew audience would probably hear Enemy for the name Job (A story about a man named Enemy), and perhaps indeed a passive form of the verb, so that the name-bearer becomes the object of hostilities, specifically those imposed on Job. (Job falls into God’s enemy’s camp).

Others understand perhaps that God is never an enemy to a righteous man.  Righteous Job, as much as he loved God, was God’s enemy by nature for enemy means unfriend.  In Latin a special word is used to carry this concept and indicates a stranger.  Job, being human, was of the lineage that had rebelled against God and, as such, was a stranger to God; God’s enemy or opposition in a since.  

Job, whose name indicates that he, even unintentionally, as a human is in opposition to God and carries a name that is similar to that of Satan, opposer. For those who recall the lessons of the first American Civil War when might relate to something like “his name was Rebel”.  As humans we are all rebels when it comes to God.

Boy, does THAT make clear why Satan had jurisdiction over Job – as a VERY EARLY human living before the time of the savior, Satan, in a sense, was the “shepherd” of humanity, the rebellious creation.  But because Job worked hard at being a righteous human, Satan had to ask God for permission to try to to bring Job BACK into Satan’s rebellious fold.  God basically responds with “you can TRY.”

Thus the name Job illustrates that humanity has wandered away from their father and was, and is, in need of God’s agent to lead them back TO God.  The parallels between the names of Job and that of Satan (both meaning enemy or enmity) is at first troubling, but with immediate relief we note the parallel between the office of Job and that of Christ. Job finds himself in the thick of the debate between the schools of thought of his day as his “friends” come to debate the why’s and how comes of his suffering rather than just helping him deal with it. Jesus had the same problem. His brethren debated with him rather than listen to him.

God grants God’s creation the freedom to act according to its own integrity.  Like MOST humans, Job wondered why he was suffering. Job knew God was sovereign, but as he suffered more and more, he questioned God’s goodness. Job’s three friends defended the traditional view that sin leads to suffering as punishment (it is God trying to correct your mistakes – literally Karma). Job never claimed to be sinless, and he generally agreed with his friends about the link between sin and suffering. But Job saw himself as an “innocent” sufferer rather than a deserving sufferer. This text comes from a section where Job described the days before his suffering began. Job recalled all the good he had done in chapter 29, and in chapter 30, he described his current agony in graphic terms. 

Later, in chapter 42, The Lord finally granted Job’s request to speak with Him about his suffering. However, when the Lord appeared to Job in a whirlwind, he did not get the answer from the Lord that he had desired and expected. The Lord challenged Job, asking who he was that he should question, contend, and correct Almighty God.

“Just listen to his thunderous voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He lets it loose beneath the entire sky; his lightning to the ends of the earth.  Then there comes a roaring sound; God thunders with his majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when his rumbling voice is heard.  God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.”

Job, in experiencing God in the wildness of the whirlwind, finds a new model of divine agency.

The Lord then repeated His challenge to Job, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who argues with God give an answer.” Think of this as “you rebelled against ME and now you will lecture ME on what it is that I initiated?!” 

Job then repented of his words and acknowledged his unworthiness before God and repented in silence. God then “confronted Job about his not-so-veiled statements concerning divine justice and his innuendos that God was apathetic and uninvolved in the administration of his world. 

Let’s dig into this passage. Good is a part of God’s nature.  The word god is derived FROM the word for good. He does good in how He deals with people and His creation. Speaking in general terms, good comes from obeying God. Job had been faithful to the Lord in how he had lived his life, so he had hoped for and expected God to bless him, presumably in part because God had blessed him before.

The Bible never explains why evil exists or why God allows it; rather, it recognizes evil as part of living in a fallen world. God is good in the absolute sense of the word, so evil (harmfulness) does not come from Him.  Rather, because WE have free will choice we ALWAYS have the freedom to CHOOSE to follow God’s beneficial (good) ways of living, or of our own harmful (evil) ways of living.  

Job’s whole discourse shows us that he believed that he WAS following God and following God’s ways, AND had a reasonable expectation that God would “lead him not into temptation, but deliver him from evil” and he was confused when that did not happen.  Nothing has changed for humanity today.  Bad things STILL happen to good people because of what all of humanity’s choices have brought about. Humans who seek absolute power make their choices and set their policies and innocent people suffer.  Satan makes his choices and sets his policies and innocent people suffer.

BECAUSE we are created in the imitation of God WE have the ability to choose which way we follow.  The whole and absolute Good, God; or the  opposite of the whole and absolute Good, the “enemy of God”; that would be “something less than good” and “something less than unifying!”  The choice is OURS to make because God gave creation the ABILITY to make that choice.

It is the tensions between this choice that has allowed evil to exist.  God Himself never brings evil upon His people and His creation (God is not the source of evil). While Job didn’t accuse God of being evil, or even wish evil upon God, he recognized that for reasons he could not understand God had allowed him to suffer evil instead of good. Now Job only knew evil. Job also knew that the liked good better than evil.

Satan had first attacked Job from the outside in with natural disasters and human induced disasters.  Satan next attacked Job from the inside out as he became ill with suffering.  Some Bible scholars distinguish two major types of suffering: natural evil and moral evil. Natural evil includes tornadoes, floods, wildfires, and other suffering caused by forces of nature. Moral evil means evil directly caused by moral beings who do immoral things, hurting themselves and/or other people. 

So Job lived within humanity.  Humanity had rejected God.  Evil and harm had arisen because of humanity’s rejection of God.  Murder and death resulted from humanity’s avoidance of God and his ways (Cain/Abel, et al). Job had followed God’s ways metaphorically “to the letter” (much as the rich young ruler had claimed) and had “assumed and expected”. that God would keep him from harm. His theology was basically if I DO good then I will GET good in return.  Since God is good, if I DO good I will “get” God. This theology is still in our world today.  But God requires that to “get” good you have to BE good.  Even if you ARE good, the choices made by those who are NOT GOOD will still have an effect upon you somewhere along the way.  Job was surprised when it came to be that EVIL was ALL that he came to know in his life.  THE opposer of God got “up close and personal” with Job, but “where is my father” (Job) holds to his faith and KEEPS turning to his father to help him, even though it seems that help never comes.

In verse 26 Job likens his problems to darkness.  Remember we discussed how God IS love and IS energy, that light is energy, and that darkness is the absence of light.  Job notes that he once enjoyed living in the light, but now the “absence of God” has his whole universe looking dark.  BUT JOB NEVER SAID “THERE IS NO GOD.”  he always held to an attitude of “I can’t perceive God.”  Job basically says “give me a break” so I can just have a little relief before I die and go to where it is ALL dark and there is no light.  Job describes a “churning within” indicated that he is is such turmoil that his physical, mental and spiritual natures were, like boiling water, so turbulent that “he didn’t know which end was up”.  By verse 27 he notes that it is not possible for him to be quiet, or still, or silent.  His situation and conditions were unrelenting.

Let’s look at some of the descriptors he uses:

I go about blackened, but not by the sun (v. 28). The Hebrew term rendered blackened could mean to be ashy or dark colored, or to mourn. I think that the best interpretation for us would be something like “I am SO under a dark cloud that the sun won’t even shine on me.  I go where humans are assembled and cry for help, but even humanity shuns me because of my dark cloud. 

I stood in the assembly and cried out for help (v. 28). Job’s debates with his three friends had not helped him at all. They were more concerned to defend their view of God than console Job. Job wanted someone to listen to him (31:35). He frequently mentioned his desire to confront God with his questions.  Think of it this way, Job is under such a dark cloud that he just wants some comforting, but he finds none.  He only finds academic and philosophical debates RATHER THAN THE COMFORTING ACTIONS OF LOVE.  He is rapidly coming to the realization that in this world he is “without Love.”

A brother to jackals (v. 29). Job’s main point in this verse was his situation’s similarity to some wild animals that lived solitary lives, often in the desert. Many translations agree on jackals although the King James version has “dragons.”  The common denominator is that both are reclusive, lonely scavengers.

A companion of ostriches (v. 29). The type of birds mentioned is likely either ostriches or owls. Although his three friends spoke to Job at length, they were of no comfort to him. He was their companion, but they could only tell him the same thing over and over again.  They squawked and hooted, but did not communicate or connect with Job. Job felt abandoned in his suffering like the reclusive animals mentioned.

My skin blackens and flakes off (v. 30). Blackens translates a different Hebrew word than that used in verse 28. The literal translation is “My skin blackens away from me.” As same verse describes a fever burning him to his core, I think our modern concept might be one of “my body is burning up and my skin is burning off of me from the inside out.”

My bones burn with fever (v. 30). This is a literal translation of the Hebrew. In Hebrew, directional references are given in relation to “body parts”, e.g. “Before the face” indicates “in front”. “At hand” indicates “beside”, “head” indicates “up”;  “feet” indicate down, etc.  “Bones” could indicate “my insides” while “skin” could indicate “my outside”.

Job’s body burned with a severe fever. He probably felt like his body was decaying or wasting away in front of his eyes. Job’s skin was scabbing and covering with oozing sores (7:5). He apparently was unable to eat (16:8; 17:7). Finally he was in constant pain (30:17) and unable to rest (v. 27). We do know Job found no relief from these symptoms.

Lyre (v. 31). Job mentioned two musical instruments here, “my lyre” and “my flute.” David played the lyre for King Saul to relieve his suffering when Saul was overcome by an evil spirit. Job’s instruments could only produce sad songs now. If the phrase is metaphorical, then it could mean “my vocal cords are used for mourning and my throat for weeping.”

Next we see how Job responds to YHWH (Yeho-vah).

Job 42:1-3

1 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

3 You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?”

Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know.

The name Yahweh is given to Moses when he asks his name. Some scholars translate the response ehyeh as I AM, but remembering that Hebrew was written without consonants, YHWH has roots to the word “to blow” expressing both the action of blowing and/or the wind resulting from it.  YHWH’s name, therefore, designates this deity as the blower.   

Also remembering that this time period in which Moses was living was early in humanities time frame of metallurgy (transitioning from the Stone Age to the Copper and Bronze Age) we do well to remember that the blowing of air is the critical element in metallurgy. YHWH, the blower, is best understood as deriving from a metallurgical background.  YHWH is the ULTIMATE alchemist – one who makes metal from rocks (smelting).

The name Jesus is derived from the Hebrew Joshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “salvation is from Yahweh.” Just as Yahweh made His covenant with Abraham, so Yahweh makes a covenant with everyone who repents of their sins and puts their faith in Jesus, God’s Messiah who, as Job tried to illustrate, was so “in tune” with God that he followed God’s directions all the way to the cross into death and was resurrected to continue to follow God’s directions. 

The Hebrew term for know can refer to perceiving something, discernment, to learn something, and to know through experience. It can also mean “to confess.” Job’s words here are very close to God’s first challenge of Job at the beginning of their conversation: “Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words?” Here ignorance means “without knowledge.” Job now acknowledged that in questioning God he had spoken about things that were beyond his comprehension. 

Next we see Job’s mea culpa (his apology).

Job 42:4-6

4 You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.”

5 I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

6 Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.

Job was again referring to a previous challenge God directed at him. A more literal translation of this sentence is “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear.” The Hebrew term for heard means listen, with the implications that it leads to understanding and obedience. But now my eyes have seen you Job says. 

Throughout Job’s ordeal, both he and his friends had discussed and debated the nature of God and His divine justice. None of them had a completely correct understanding of who God is and how His world works. Now, face to face with God, Job understood that what he needed wasn’t an explanation about God and how things work; all he truly needed was God Himself.

Job's encounter with God was a transformative experience, as demonstrated by his words that follow. A more literal translation is “I reject/despise and repent.” And the Hebrew term has the meaning of “relent” or “repent”. Job’s repentance was “an outward demonstration of his inward contrition and the death of his own opinions .  His confrontation with the Lord did bring about a change of mind and an expansion and deepening of his knowledge of God.”

Dust was used to symbolize death, the grave, and Sheol. Ashes were also used as a metaphor for the results of God’s judgment. We might have said something like “I am just an earthen vessel and you, the potter, have broken me.  I’m sorry.”

Like Job we ALL need to come to the point where we quit debating ABOUT God and actually perceive his glory, his power, his majesty and his place in our creation.  THEN we can offer our apologies as “broken vessels” and, like the Japanese art form of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.  

We can be transformed from broken pottery to masterful art forms when we realize that God is the creator and WE are the created. Even when suffering of this world breaks us God can transform us into art.