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We have come to the final part of this study of the Book of Job. I have appended a study on the structure of the Book of Job, acknowledgements and the Bibliography for the research that I used for this study. For all of you who have come on this journey, I thank you and I hope you have found it useful.
How can the Book of Job be used pastorally? What message does it have for those who are suffering? The main question which is asked when someone is suffering is, "Why? "Why am I suffering? Why is this happening to me? What can we tell people to help them bear their suffering? How can we help them to get through it?
Do we, as Job's friends did, try to find reasons to blame the person for his suffering, searching for hidden guilt and thereby keep a safe distance from him emotionally, patting ourselves on the back because we aren't being "punished" like that? Do we say to this person that if he'll just be ready to admit to his sins and repent his life will be fixed and the suffering will stop? This is what many churches and church members tell people who are in crisis. If the person was living right, why, he just wouldn't be suffering. If he had enough faith he would be healed. How much extra damage is done to those who are suffering when we give them this kind of message? We are self-appointed accusers and judges when we act in this way. Is there a better role can we take in ministering to the suffering?
One thing the Book of Job teaches us is what not to do when we are dealing with someone who is suffering. It tells us not to act as Job's friends did. As Job struggled to find meaning in his pain, they tried to obscure the truth, adding burdens to his shoulders because of their fears. They circled like vultures, attacking the wounded, picking at his bones, trying to impose false guilt on him so they would feel more comfortable. They were so busy trying to convince him of his guilt they had no time to be with him in his pain. In this way, they shut out his cries of anguish so their self-righteous lives would not be threatened. Their chatter was the cotton they used to stop up their ears.
What might have helped someone in Job's predicament? He had lost everything. He was dirty, smelly from the boils, and diseased. He was an overall wreck of humanity. Most people wouldn't have wanted to go near him physically or emotionally. Yet, reaching out physically and emotionally to touch him, is exactly what he needed and others we meet today in similar circumstances need. Helping the suffering to stay connected to humanity is one of the most important things that the sufferer needs in times of trial. Being isolated, separated from others is one of the worst effects of suffering. Feeling you are all alone can be one of the main reasons for the loss of hope. Loneliness added to fear bringing with it a loss of hope can be a killer. A.I.D.S. patients I have talked to have told me that the worst parts of their disease is the condemnation they are put under by well meaning Christians and the fact of no one wanting to touch and hug them. The lack of physical touch to and from other human beings is an overwhelming burden to them. Add to that condemnation and hopelessness is the result. Alzheimer's patients complain that people don't visit them because they think they can catch the disease or that the victim of Alzheimer's won't be able to communicate with them or recognize them. Some of the patients I spoke to feel regular visits would keep them aware of their surroundings and in touch with the present for longer periods of time. Visits from others might help to slow the progress of the disease by keeping their minds stimulated and active. It is when they are left alone for long periods of time they feel they begin to lose more ground. Physical and emotional isolation are two of the most dangerous outcomes of suffering. When hope ends, so, often, does life. The human spirit can die of starvation without the contact with and care and nurturing from other human beings. False condemnation seals their death warrants.
At the beginning of the story, Job's friends sat down with him and silently shared in his suffering by mourning with him. In their silence, they were closer to him than they could be during all the discussions they carried on later. Words can be a wall separating people when used in the way Job's friends used them. Had they, instead, listened to Job, they would have been more comforting to him and might have learned to see God in a new way through him. They would have avoided falling into error in their speeches about God. Then, Job would not have had to be called on to intercede for them.
Helping someone to walk through his suffering takes quietness, both inner and outer, and patience. Letting him talk through his pain, self-doubt, and anger can help him to work through to his own quietness which must come for understanding. Having to take a defensive posture against others only slows down the process for him. That is what happens when others keep talking and trying to give someone in trouble advice. Once a quiet center is reached, a person can begin a discourse with God from which he will receive the answers he needs to get through to the other side of suffering.
When someone feels verbally attacked, the jangling of tongues obscures the answers which he is desperately seeking. In the final analysis, in the midst of suffering, only God can provide the right answers to the problem of suffering. This is one of the messages the Book of Job is trying to convey. Extreme suffering like Job was going through or like that found in A.I.D.S. and Alzheimer's cannot be eased with platitudes, goal setting sessions, or accusations. Another person cannot figure the mystery out for the sufferer. Helping the person afflicted to reach toward God and the answers and healing found in Him is the best gift we can give him. It is only by listening to him and being with him in his pain with quiet compassion that he will see the love of God and be able to look beyond himself to God. With the quiet support of loved ones and an inner discourse with God, strength and growth can happen and a new spirituality can be nurtured. A person can then go through and finally get beyond his suffering.
When one person suffers, so do those closest to them. In the case of Job, his wife was suffering on a deep level as well and seems to have driven her to desperation. When we minister to those who are suffering, we must also take into account their families and friends and make sure that they receive compassionate ministry as well. People that are driven to desperation, may do inadvisable things if they feel they are alone in their pain. Job’s wife fell in with the satan’s plans possibly out of the loneliness and pain she was feeling. Had she had someone to talk to and lean on in her struggle, she might have been more able to cope with the sorrow and fear she was facing from her losses and the illness of her husband.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK OF JOB
The intricate poetry found in the book of Job can be very confusing to the general reader. It can obscure some very important themes regarding the meaning of this story. Much of this story is taken up by Job and his friends(chapters 3-37) and if the emphasis of the interpretation is put on them, the importance of the chapters surrounding these verses may be lost (chapters 1,2, and 42). It is these outer chapters that form the framework that the story of Job is built upon. Some of the most important themes of Job are to be found in them. The outer framework is where the keys to unlocking the mystery of Job can be found.
Some people believe that Job was written by three different authors at three different times. They outline the book like this:
I. Chapters 1, 2, and 42 are the original book.
II. Chapters 3-31 and Chapters 38-41 are by a later author.
III. Chapters 32-37 are by an even later author.
The way I chose to seek a path through the labyrinth that is Job is by dividing the story into three main sections:
A) Chapters 1, 2, and 42 are the main framework of the Book.
B) Chapters 3-37 are the speeches of Job, Eliphaz, Zophar, Bildad, and Elihu.
C) Chapters 38-41 contain the speeches of the Lord.
There are several issues to be addressed in the following chapters of this paper and I will show how each is important in its own way and also how all the issues are interdependent upon each other for the total coherence of the story.
The power of the words in the context for which they were written is strengthened in the tension that is created in the relationship of interconnected ideas. In Job this is very true. If the words are taken out of context, completely different meanings can be found which may not be helpful in understanding the story of Job. For the purposes of this chapter I will centre on the outward framework of the story. There will be literary and textual connections between other passages of scripture in both the Old and New Testaments as well as passages within Job. This will show how the story of Job foretells theological ideas found in fruition in the New Testament, and how the picture of God relates to the ongoing story of him that is told throughout scripture.
The dialogue has different levels which can be very treacherous. It can lead down paths that seem to say one thing but can actually be pointing to something very different. If the emphasis of this study is put on the inner dialogue of Job and his friends the meaning will be completely different than if the emphasis is moved to the outside framework where the story lives.
The Bible is a picture of God and this image gets lost much of the time in arguments about whether the stories are historical, when certain things were written, is the Bible relevant to today's society, or can the laity really understand scripture if it is not interpreted for them by a priest or minister?
Understanding of the Bible can be found but it can be hidden for others by men with closed minds, limited vision, and personal agendas. Encountering God in scripture requires an openness to a relationship with God and a willingness to be taught and to have one's outlook about God expanded as one delves into the text. without this willingness and openness, a person loses much of value and much of God and it is like coming from a feast unfed. How can someone walk closely with God if he or she refuses to take time to get to know God and to learn his ways. How can one get to know God if he comes to scripture with preconceived ideas that he is not willing to have modified when he meets something that doesn't seem to fit in with what he has already decided to believe.
There is much happening in scripture that will be missed or misunderstood if only little bits and pieces of it are read. Therefore, I will look for meaning in the whole story of Job as well as analysing it specifically by chapter and verse. Seeking meaning that is useful for walking the walk of the faithful or for teaching others about God is important in scriptural interpretation and it is my aim to find that kind of meaning in Job.
Pastorally, Job has a lot to say. The book exposes a lot of notions that have been handed down from generation to generation for being the frauds they are. Even in the days of Job's writing, suffering was misunderstood and feared. People did not know where it came from or why it happened. Many people have mishandled the subject from a theological viewpoint and the story of Job points this out. The problem of suffering is a common human condition. How it is handled pastorally can either help a person through or increase his or her suffering. Whether it is met with love and compassion or condemnation and judgement is an important decision to be made by the helping professions. Clearly, this book can be read with the emphasis on either guilt or redemption.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the many people who helped me to write this thesis. Pete Miscall. Fr. John Ryboldt, Dr. Richard Hess, and Dr. Carrol who taught me so much about Job and Old Testament history. Fr. James Fischer who taught me to look at the rhetoric that was going on in the text. Fr. Bruce McNab and Fr. Phil Eberhardt who taught me to keep faith in God's revelation through the text. And for my many friends at Church and in Seminary who supported and encouraged me throughout my studies and who did not let me give up, especially Ethel Sayre, Fr. Harry Reuss, John Malseed, Fr. Jim Hunt whose humility and friendship has meant so much and The Reverand Carol Amadio who started me on my Christian Journey.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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