Job 2:13 THEN THEY SAT ON THE GROUND WITH HIM FOR SEVEN DAYS
When Job’s
friends arrived on the scene and saw Job’s suffering, they sat on the ground
and were silent for seven days and nights. The moment they opened their mouths
(starting in chapter 4), Job’s suffering got a lot worse. Job hadn’t yet asked
why he was suffering, but in case he did, his friends wanted him to know why.
The reason was, to their way of thinking, simple. Good things happen to good
people, and bad things happen to bad people.
The universe is morally ordered by
a God who punishes evil and rewards good. Bad things had happened to Job,
exceedingly bad things; Job must therefore have done some exceedingly bad
things. But Job’s friends were wrong. Job knew they were, and God eventually
said they were (see 42:7).
Job’s
friends’ errors can be put this way: They were superficially right but
fundamentally wrong. God does punish evil and reward good – the Bible says so.
But when it comes to the timing in this world, there are exceptions and
mysteries. Job’s friends were following the letter of the law: They looked at
Job’s symptoms, checked their listing in the index, read the appropriate pages,
and drew their conclusions. The problem is that God’s Word isn’t an owner’s
manual because God isn’t a mechanism. Job isn’t either. Both are persons. The
moment we forget that axiomatic truth, we make ourselves the god of God. We elevate
our theology, what we think about God, to the level of God.
How much
better it would have been if Job’s friends were slow to speak and quick to
listen (see James 1:19). How much better it would have been if, when they
spoke, it was to ask questions and listen to Job, and then pray with him.
Especially pray with him.
A ministry of silence and prayer would have been
healing to Job and honoring to God. The Spirit who moves us to pray is the Paraclete,
the Spirit of encouragement, who comes from the God of all comfort
(see John
14:16; Romans 8:15-16:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Consider how quiet his ministry is, and do
likewise.
In Christ,
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
No comments:
Post a Comment