You’ve Been Reading Job WRONG This Whole Time!

Why do bad things happen to good people? That's the question that everyone thinks the book of Job is supposed to answer, but you.

Know what?

It doesn't. Not even close. In fact, Job, the man at the center of it all, never finds out why he suffers. And that is actually the whole point of the story. What are you talking about, Nate? Oh, I'm going to tell you.

Get out your Bibles and buckle up, because here we go. Welcome back to Wise Disciple. My name is Nate, and I'm helping you become the effective Christian that you are meant to be, which includes understanding some of the difficult books of the Bible.

Make sure to like, sub, and share this one around, but only if it blesses you, all right? Before we begin, let me say this at the outset, okay? This is how I understand the book of Job. After spending time with it, doing the research, this is where I land, all right?

And I'm going to make the case for you in this video about what I think. But you should hear me say this. I could be wrong, okay? I don't think I am. So anyway, pay close attention to my thought process and chew on it, but also do your own studies and discuss this with the brothers and sisters in church.

Amen?

The Chiastic Structure of Job and the Center in Job 28

All right, let's start here. Not at the beginning of the story, but in the middle, okay? Did you know that the book of Job is written in a chiastic structure? Now, I've talked about this before, but a chiasm is a literary way of writing where aspects of the message inverts upon itself in order for the reader to draw their attention to one point in the center.

And whatever that center point is, is the main idea or the message of the writing. So if you were to map this out, well, actually, let's take a look. So here is the chiastic structure of Job. Now, notice the chiasm kind of looks like a sideways mountain, where the peak of the mountain is right there at C, of the center of the chiasm.

And what's at the center? Job chapter 28, okay? It's a meditation on wisdom, look at this. Verse 28, and he said to man, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.

Now let's put a pin in that for a moment, and we're going to come back to this, okay? But now, let's go back to the beginning of Job and take a look around, okay? So for those of you that are unfamiliar, Job is a wealthy man, all right?

Look at this. Verse 1 of chapter 1, there was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. Wait a second, that's familiar, right?

Hmm, pay attention. Verse 2, they were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7 ,000 sheep, 3 ,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

So he's rich, guys. He's doing well for himself. But best of all, God appears to have a high view of Job, all right? Watch how the Lord speaks of Job. This is in verse 6. This is the setup, anyway. Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

Hold on a moment, hold on a moment. There's the B 'nai Elohim again. We talked about this recently with John chapter 10, right? These are the members of God's divine council, the beings who are slightly above humans, but definitely not God, right?

The Bible refers to some of these beings as angels in various places. This is why the adversary, or Satan, is among them, okay? You with me so far? Verse 7, the Lord said to Satan, from where have you come?

Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, now here it is, here's the Lord's opinion of Job, have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.

There's that phrase again.

Do you see it?

It's as if this is repeated because there's something about it that's important for the reader, right? Verse 9, then Satan answered the Lord and said, well, does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side?

You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land, but stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will curse you to your face. So in other words, Satan says, sure, Job fears you, God, but only because you favor him only because everything makes sense in Job's corner of the world.

Now notice that phrase hedge around him and his house and all that he has, right? For a Jew, they're going to hear this word hedge and they're immediately going to think of the creation account.

Okay.

And it starts with the chaos of Genesis chapter one, verse two. So in Genesis chapter one, God invades the primordial chaos and brings order to it.

Okay.

So in verse two, you see the operative phrases here without form and void, right? And then the face of the deep, there was darkness over the face of the deep, right? This is talking about chaos. This is about disorder.

And so in Genesis chapter one, God brings order to the disorder. He separates light from dark. He separates waters from waters, right? I'm going kind of quickly, but this is the creation account. He separates sea from land.

You remember this? So in other words, God creates boundaries like a hedge and those boundaries bring peace. They bring goodness. Which means that, you know, I mean, whenever the Bible talks about blessings, right?

What Christians sometimes refer to as a hedge of protection, you know, it's connected to this idea of order out of the chaos of structure and of the fruitfulness that follows. But wait a second. Satan says, take all that away, God.

Right now, Job is living in a mini Eden, you know, with God's protection and the world makes sense because it's properly ordered. Now take it all away. Because when you take it away, God, you will quickly discover that Job only fears you because the world makes sense.

But when chaos reigns, when the world doesn't make sense, Job will curse you to your face.

Okay?

So these are the conditions that set up Job's suffering. It's a question about whether or not Job will give the proper response in light of the chaos. And this proper response actually falls under the category of wisdom, you know?

I mean, this is why Job is actually considered a book of wisdom. You know, that's why it's next to the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the Bible. You know, there's some kind of wisdom that the book of Job has to teach us all.

And the question is, what is that? Now, the Lord removes the hedge, his hedge, and he allows Satan to torment Job.

Right?

Verse 12, the Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Okay?

Job becomes tormented. He loses everything. He suffers tremendously. And it leads to the center of the chiasm. That's where we started.

Right?

And this is where we discover what we need to derive a lesson. Job chapter 28, verse 20, from where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all, all the living, and concealed from the birds of the air.

Abaddon and death say we have heard a rumor of it with our ears. God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. Okay, let me stop there. Like, what are we supposed to conclude just by reading verses 20 to 23?

Let me pause right here, okay? As I said, the center of the chiasm is right here, and I'm reading it. So therefore, the main message, you know, the lesson, is somewhere here. And just by looking at verses 20 to 23, what are we, the reader, the audience, meant to conclude?

You tell me at this point. So if you're tracking with me, let me know in the comments, because I'd love to get your thoughts.

Right?

But here's my answer.

You ready?

What we're meant to conclude is wisdom does not come from the best that man has to offer. Wisdom only comes from the Lord. Human beings can't think hard enough. They can't push hard enough or invent the right kinds of things or do whatever it takes to gain wisdom.

As a matter of fact, wisdom is hidden from human beings. True wisdom, that is. This is what it says. And it's precisely here that we find the ticket to the whole ballgame, ladies and gentlemen. It's right here in this verse, smack dab in the center of the story.

Verse 28. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from evil is understanding.

Well, shoot.

Right?

We've heard that one before, have we not? That's where Job started off. That's Job chapter 1, verse 1. He feared the Lord and he turned away from evil.

Okay?

But guess what happens along the way?

Right?

In the midst of Job's suffering, he stopped fearing the Lord and started searching for why. Why, Lord, is this happening to me? What have I done, Lord?

Right?

Look at this. Job chapter 6, verse 24. Teach me and I will be silent. Make me understand how I have gone astray.

Right?

What is happening? Why is this happening, Lord? Look at this. Job 7, verse 20. If I said, what did I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you?

Now, like I said, you know, at the outset, a lot of folks think that the book of Job is meant to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people. Especially considering that Job appears to be, I mean, not only is he good, he's above reproach.

Right?

That's how the story starts off. What I'm trying to show you now is that the story of Job is not answering that question. It's not answering the why. It's teaching another lesson about suffering altogether.

And here it is.

You ready?

Human beings will rarely figure out why bad things happen. Unless God tells them.

Okay?

And certainly they won't figure it out in the moment. They just will not know. And that means that true wisdom is trusting God when you don't know why. Let me say it another way. Because you will not know why.

True wisdom is trusting in the one who does. Have you noticed, as you continue to read the story, you know, even at the end, even after Job's fortune and his family is restored to him, right? And, I mean, things essentially return to the beginning of the story.

As much as they possibly could, right? Did you notice Job still never learns why these things happened in the first place? His three friends show up somewhere there. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, right?

And they offer their particular speculations for all of this, but they're all wrongheaded.

You know?

Also, what I find interesting is Job's wife shows up one time in the story. And she has a line in the story. And it basically mirrors what Satan said at the very beginning.

Right?

Satan said, Job will curse you to your face. What does Job's wife say? Curse God and die. Isn't that interesting? But the whole point is, right? None of these pieces actually help Job or us, the audience, to know why this is happening.

Also, have you ever wondered why God, when he finally appears, not only does not tell Job why this is happening, but he also appears in the middle of a whirlwind?

You know?

A tornado, for those of you who live in the South, like me, right? What's that about? It's because, again, actually, so let me say it this way. Destiny and fate is none of your business. Somebody has to hear that.

The lesson of the story is that human beings will not know why bad things happen. Very often, they won't know why most things happen.

You know?

But certainly tragedy. You know, why these things, why suffering takes place. As a matter of fact, I suspect, I mean, if you really think about it, that a logical answer to these kinds of questions of suffering, that isn't even what people need in the midst of suffering, right?

For a lot of people, that's the last thing that they need.

You know?

But the reason why God appears in the whirlwind is because the whirlwind represents the chaos. It is a manifestation of the disorder that has come upon Job's life. And in the center of all that chaos, guess what?

There are still no answers given as to why any of this is happening. It all reinforces the lesson, friends. Are you with me? The center of the storm isn't an answer to Job's pain. It's actually a declaration that human wisdom is not enough.

When God speaks, he's not inviting Job to understand the chaos.

You know?

He's inviting Job to trust the one who orders the chaos. That's why, instead of telling Job what happened, God defends himself. God lists off his bona fides, so to speak, right? He talks about all the things that he has accomplished.

He talks about all the things that he can do. Now, that's a frustrating experience for someone who misses the whole point of the story. But actually, God's focus in his response shows us what the point of the story is.

It's because, again, let me just say this one more time so you can hear me. The lesson of the story is suffering will take place and you will not know why. That's what it means to be human. And so, therefore, the pursuit of the sufferer is not to seek why.

Because guess what happens? Now, think about this. Guess what happens when you try to seek the why behind the suffering and there is no answer? You impugn the character of God. Is this sinking in for you yet?

Now, what God is not saying, right, is that he's not in control. Or that things happen and God has no say in the matter. No, God is in control, even over the chaos that has wrecked Job's life. This is why he mentions the behemoth and the Leviathan.

Okay, these are just more references to the chaos, you know? Which, by the way, I mean, have you ever wondered why God ends his speech talking about two beasts? Like, what's this about? Look at this. Job 40, verse 15.

This is the Lord speaking. Behold, behemoth, which I made, as I made you. He eats grass like an ox. Look at this. Job 41 .1. Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?

Then he goes on and on about the things that he can do to Leviathan. Why does God mention these two beasts? And then his speech is over. It's because Leviathan, behemoth, the monsters of the deep, they represent cosmic disorder.

The chaos of life. But God says, you know, I rule over them. I'm in control of those things as well. And that's the only thing Job needs to know in this moment. That's the only thing anyone needs to know.

Truly. That is the wisdom of suffering. And it's the lesson of the book of Job. Now, maybe you're going through something right now that makes no sense, you know? And maybe like Job, you're in the midst of turmoil and chaos and, you know, you're tempted to ask, why, God?

But this is what I'm trying to show you. The book of Job teaches us something radical. It says you'll probably never know why. You'll never know the reason. But you can know the ruler. You can trust the God who sets the boundaries of the sea.

You can trust the God who speaks light into darkness. Who governs the chaos, even when he doesn't explain it. You know, that's why Job finally says in chapter 42, verse 3, I have uttered what I did not understand.

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. He learned the lesson of the book, ladies and gentlemen. Job did not get an explanation at the end of the day. What he got was revelation. And that's enough.

True wisdom says that's enough. Now, believe it or not, we've barely scratched the surface with the book of Job. Did you know also that it's possibly the oldest book ever written? Did you know also it's probably written to be performed on stage?

Which is interesting because it does seem to share similarities with Greek plays. Which, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that Job is a work of fiction. I don't think it is. I do believe Job was a real person and really went through this tragedy.

What I'm talking about is style of writing. But like I said, there is much more to discover in Job. So here's what my encouragement for you is. Keep studying. Go back to the story. Read it again. Dig deeper.

And then let me know what you find. I'd love to see what you're discovering. Yeah, shorten to the point for you, my friend. But hopefully it got you thinking. All right, now it's your turn. What do you think is the main message of the Book of Job?

Let me know in the comments below. Let me also say this. The story is all about suffering. So if you or someone you know is currently suffering, I'd love to pray for you. You're among friends here in this community.

We would love to pray for you. Please feel free to share your requests in the comments, and we'll pray for you. We'll pray over those requests.

Okay?

Amen?

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