Was Job Patient?
The dangers of reading 2 chapters of a 42-chapter book.
Introduction to Job
Most everyone knows about the Biblical character of Job. He was a really patient guy. We always talk about “the patience of Job.” Just so darn patient.
In Job chapter 1, Job is a fine upstanding man—wealthy, big family, and a cabin on the lake. God and an accuser (most Bibles dubiously translate the word “accuser” as “Satan”) conduct this great experiment to see if Job would curse God if he lost everything. Job loses everything by the end of chapter 2, and yet he didn’t curse God. So there you have it. Right? So darn patient.
Pastors often cajole their parishioners to be more patient, like Job. You got a problem? Be more patient, like Job. You looking for new employment? Be more patient, like Job. You waiting on medical tests? Be more patient, like Job. I think that advice is often abusive, but I digress.
One of the mistakes we make interpreting the Bible is that we turn all these stories into morality stories. We look at someone in the Bible, and pick out a character virtue someone had, and hold that person up as an exemplar. Be more like Job.
The problem with turning Bible stories into morality stories is that we miss all the richness and nuance of the stories. And we can tell people “Just be more like Job” rather than be more compassionate and walking with broken people.
The Book of Job is 41 chapters long, and most people have only read the first two chapters. Job is pretty patient in chapter 1 and 2. In the rest of the Book, not so much. In fact, by the end of the Book, he’s pretty unpatient.
The Book of Job has nothing to do with patience. And it has everything to do with a theological idea called The Deuteronomic Code.
What’s Going on in the Book of Job?
The parable of Job was written during the Babylonian Exile (587-538 BCE), or possibly after the Exile. During that time, the priests and religious leadership were pushing an idea called the Deuteronomic Code.
The Deuteronomic Code says that when you disobey God’s laws, you get punished. When you obey God’s laws, you are rewarded with large families, big farms, and peace and prosperity. It was a pretty simple equation, derived from Deuteronomy 26 and 27 (and elsewhere): Obey God, you become healthy, wealthy, and wise. Disobey God, and God swats you like a fly in your kitchen. The prevailing view was that God’s interaction with us was all about blessings (if you obeyed) and curses (if you disobeyed). God was treated as some heavenly Santa Clause that kept a list of those who were naughty and those who were nice. The priests and religious leadership said that this is how God interacts with his people.
The prophets raged against that idea. God operates in love and compassion, they said, not out of some equation of blessings and curses. In the New Testament, Jesus took the prophets’ side.
So, in Job 1, Job is an upstanding, righteous, and wealthy man. The Accuser tells God that “Job is only righteous because he has a lot of stuff. Take it away, and Job will curse God.” So, God says, “Take it away.” By the end of chapter 2, Job has lost everything, and he hasn’t cursed God yet.
As I mentioned, most people stop reading at this point, and don’t know what’s in the other 39 chapters.
In chapter 3-37, we see Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. These three “friends” (and I use that term loosely) try to convince Job that he has disobeyed God. If he would only confess his sin, God would forgive Job and give all his stuff back. Job says, “I didn’t sin, and God has no reason to do this to me.” And around and around they go, for the next 34 chapters. The poetry that follows is repetitive, but a beautiful representation of the Deuteronomic Code. His friends try to administer tough love (with healthy doses of arrogance, belligerence, and legalism). They say, “You must have sinned, that’s why God is punishing you.” And Job says, “I didn’t sin, and so therefore God has no right to treat me this way.
Job and his friends are big believers in the Deuteronomic Code. Job is being punished, so he must have sinned. Job claims he’s innocent, and so therefore God is punishing him unjustly.
In chapters 30 and 31, Job takes it a step further and gets up in God’s face. Job says that God is ruthless, and that God has no right to treat him like this. Job says he is going to take God to court, and Job will prove his own innocence, and God will be forced to admit God was wrong.
In chapters 38-41, God responds with an epic slapdown of Job’s arrogance.
God asks Job, “Where were you when I created the world? Can you, Job, put stars in the sky? Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you make the morning sun appear?”
After 3 chapters of God reminding Job that he is not God, Job apologizes.
So What’s the Point?
According to Job, the Deuteronomic Code is dead. That’s not how God works. God doesn’t call down curses on the unworthy or bless those who are pious Bible-readers. God isn’t in the business of punishing people or making people richer (contrary to today’s preachings of some evangelical pastors).
In fact, in Matthew 5, Jesus creates a new definition of blessings and curses. Instead of blessing as material gain, Jesus suggests: Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn… Blessed are the gentle… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure in heart… In other words, Jesus suggests that blessings are no longer about being healthy and wealthy. Now, “blessings” are about reflecting the qualities of Jesus.
Bad things happen. The book of Job is clear on this idea. When people are going through hard times, its common for us to say “God has a reason,” or “God is teaching you a lesson.” And I think that’s not always true. Sure, sometimes maybe God wants us to learn somethine. But often times, maybe not. Sometimes things just suck, and the only lesson is that sometimes things just suck. While it is natural for us to try to find meaning in our suffering, sometimes the best we can do is keep our head above water until we get through the suffering. And during those trying times, we can rely on the fact that God is always with us.
One of the things that I like about the book of Job is that the book doesn’t end with Job saying: “And Here are the Five Things I Learned about Suffering.” Job suffers, but he clings to the promises of God. And I think that is one of the points of the book: We get through suffering by clinging to the promises of God. God has given us many other resources, too—therapists, doctors, medication, the support of friends and family… but though we have all that, we can still find rest and comfort in the promises of God.
If you liked this article, you might enjoy Help! I Want to Read the Bible. It’s a short, introductory booklet on the Bible and what it contains. Chapters include summaries of the Old and New Testament, basic messages of Scripture, and how the Bible came down to us through history.
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More Bible and Church Resources
Read the Bible in a Year: 52 Introductions for a Chronological Journey through the Bible
Help! I Want to Read the Bible: A Beginner’s Quick Start Guide
Understanding Genesis: The Beginning of the Promise. A Bible Study
Youth Ministry: Ten Non-Group Models
Conversations at the Pearly Gates: Six Dramas for Lent
Holy Week at the Jerusalem Café: Six Dramas for Lent