Quote:
Originally Posted by zeek
The Book of Job is the problem of evil in parable form. Struck by evil, Job appeals to the God of justice....
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This is certainly a reasonable reading and one that is generally accepted by those that teach the Bible. I think it is a simple thing to point to many parts of Job to construct this teaching.
There are some nagging issues with this teaching though.
1. According to this teaching the questions are left unresolved in the book of Job and are only later answered when we get to the NT, and the Gospels. But if you read the Book of Job it does not appear that Job's questions are left unresolved. On the contrary it seems Job clearly states that God answered Job and that Job received that answer, accepted it, repented, and then all of his suffering was resolved.
2. "The God who answers is not the God of Justice but the God of Power." What this person is saying is essentially the same thing that Awareness has presented and rejected and for good reason. The book of Proverbs makes it very clear that the foundation of God's throne is righteousness. God cannot lie. He cannot sin. He cannot do evil. Doing so would shake the foundation of His throne.
3. "Struck by evil." If Job is truly "struck by evil" then that evil came at the command of God. God knew of it and allowed it. No one can deny that Satan was under the authority of God when he attacked Job. The book of Job even describes the attack on Job coming from God's hand. Once again, I agree with Awareness on this point. He uses this point to conclude that the God of the OT is different from the God of the Gospels. That is where I disagree. I believe this is the same God. If I come to you and demand $300,000 you could argue that this is unrighteous. However, if the $300,000 is in exchange for a house or something of equal value, then it changes the story. This story begins with two key criteria, first there was none like Job in all the earth, and second Job sought God.
I believe that there are few people in history that can compare with Job. No doubt Jesus is one of them, but I can understand the issue with using him as an example. I would agree that you need a second example. So these other people, not as righteous, not as godly, come to the book of Job, see the suffering, and turn white. Their teaching reflects their squeamishness.
But the real question is this: "Do you have an arm like God, do you have a voice like God". If you believe this is a serious question, and that a man in the image and likeness of God would say yes, then this is what Job was seeking, this is why the cost was so high, and this is the answer God gives. I would use the example of Mahtma Ghandi. He told the British Empire that they would get up and leave, and they did. They packed their bags, boarded onto ships and sailed away just as he said. The Lord Jesus said "if you have faith like a grain of mustard you will say unto this mountain be taken up and cast into the sea and it will obey you". This to me is what it means to have a voice like God.