Today's Reading: Job, Chapter Forty-two
It is fitting to finish this study on Job on Easter as we see that resurrection comes in today's conclusion.
Job is finally vindicated just as he has been asking for throughout the book. It is interesting that we see Job is responsible for praying for his three friends. Their fate is in his hands. I can see them saying to him, "Remember how we came and sat with you in silence for seven days?"
Of course, Job forgives them because Job is a righteous man.
Or it could be that it would be nice to have his friends around so he could rub their noses in his victory for the rest of their lives! This is written tongue-in-cheek (and doesn't fit with his righteousness) but is funny to think about nonetheless.
Job's fortunes in livestock are restored to twice what he had before. We assume his boils and sores also heal nicely.
One difficulty for modern readers is the ten replacement children that Job sires. Job's wife may not have felt that this was such a great blessing at her age (and already birthing ten previously)!
This reminds us that this story is told from a patriarchal lens. The restoration has more to do with the honor of the head of the household. The family name and prosperity are secured with these new offspring. In this culture, the individual is minimized to the point where an ancient reader would be fine with the idea that ten new children are acceptable replacements for the former children. They are regrettable losses and it is sad to be sure, but what matters is the security of the overall family line.
Another odd thing about this ending is that this is actually the argument that Job's three friends were making all along: the righteous receive earthly blessings while the wicked are punished in the here and now. If you are blessed materially, you must have God's favor for good behavior. If you are suffering, you must have done something offensive to God.
The argument that Job (and the theme running throughout the book) is that faith is not always transactional. Sometimes the wicked get away with their bad deeds (at least at a surface glance) and sometimes people are good but are not necessarily rewarded for it.
We see this new way of thinking through the Easter story.
Judas dies but is not killed by God. Rather, Judas takes his own life.
Peter gets off the hook for his denials.
Thomas isn't told to go to the back of the class for his doubting - he receives the same assurance as the other disciples.
The eleven disciples who deserted Jesus are promoted to apostles who will lead the church.
We see grace offered in spite of their failings. But this doesn't mean that being a disciple is a get-out-of-suffering-free card. What we find is that our faith helps get us through the difficulties of life.
A resurrection faith is optimistic - we believe that life is ultimately stronger than death and that God will eventually win out. This seems to be the point of Job. This would be especially true if we see Job as a metaphor for Judah. The exile is not permanent, and God's people will have a future.
For a people that are more community-oriented rather than individual-oriented, this is enough.
Prayer for the day:
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Prayer from the Gloria Patri: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th centuries
Photo by Jason Thompson on Unsplash
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