truth over cliche

Are God’s consolations not enough for you? Job 15:11

This would have made a great punch line for a sermon. "Isn't God enough for you? Aren't his promises enough? If his grace has brought you to it, won't his grace bring you through it?" Applause

Except it wasn't God that asked. It was Eliphaz. The guy who, like Job's other friends, just wouldn't stop preaching. Eliphaz' speech consisted of various wise aphorisms and sayings. Each verse of his speech could stand on its own as a musing on sin and morality. Individually, some of them were noble, true, even poignant. But Eliphaz took these sayings, fletched arrows out of them, and fired them at Job. And all Job heard was, Our God is Great, Our God is Awesome, and You are Bad, Bad, Bad.

The question at issue can be a great reminder of God's many consolations I experience throughout the week. But when uttered in this context, it was an accusation.

Which reminds me of Job's speeches. Job's own words about God were ... less than flattering. He calls him a bear lying in wait, a hunter who laid mines all around Job. A seasoned master at arms, "he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior." Job minces no words: God has set a target on his back. And regarding his friends pious declarations, Job retorts,

Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?

    Will you speak deceitfully for him?

Will you show him partiality?

    Will you argue the case for God?

 

Yet in the end, Job's friends lose the speech-talent competition. In the end, God validates Job. So what do I learn here? One thing is what relationship with God looks like when the world beats you down. It's not clichés and platitudes. It's wrestling with God and demanding justice. Job's anger at God stemmed from a God-given sense of justice. Job's urge to his friends about showing partiality channel's God's own heart - for God "shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor". Job is anguished at God because he was made in his image, and therefore of course he should anguish at apparent inexplicable suffering. 

 

We don't need to argue God's case to our friends when they suffer, nor when we suffer. When we suffer, we should vent our God-given sense of justice, craving for shalom and love. When we feel forsaken, it's okay to admit it. God will understand. He did it as well.