ne way to get at the meat of the book is to survey the positions of the main players. We hesitate to do this because so much of the argument is in the telling. The following summary should not be taken as a replacement for reading the book itself. Job is a remarkable treatise and contains some of the best poetry in the Hebrew Bible. It should be savored.
Eliphaz
He observes that no one is ever completely sinless. In no uncertain terms he upholds the theology of retribution.
7 Think about it. What innocent ever perished?
Where were the upright destroyed?
8 I have seen that those who plow evil
and sow trouble reap the same.
9 By God's blast they perish
and by the heat of his anger they disappear. (4:7-9)
Eliphaz then goes on to say that everyone can expect at least a little suffering in life. Job is relatively innocent, so he will not suffer permanently. He should be patient; his suffering will soon be over.
Bildad
He applies the theology of retribution relentlessly. He claims that Job's children must have been notable sinners to be treated so brutally by God. No doubt they died justifiably.
3 Can God get justice wrong?
Can Shadday distort rightness?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he delivered them over to the consequences of their violation. (8:3-4)
Since Job is still alive, claims Bildad, he must not be too bad a sinner.
Zophar
He claims that Job must be suffering for his own sin. Even though Job will not admit it publicly, he must be a sinner.
4 You say, 'My principles are pure,
and I am innocent before you.'
5 But if God would speak
and talk to you himself,
6 and tell you the secrets of wisdom--
there are many nuances to wisdom--
know that God is exacting less than you deserve. (11:4-6)
Job should honestly face his sin and ask God for mercy.
Elihu
Elihu speaks (32-37) after Job's other three friends have had their say. He says that suffering is the way God communicates with human beings. It is the way God reveals that we are sinners and that he considers sin a serious offense.
10 He opens their understanding by discipline,
and orders them to turn away from wickedness.
11 If they listen and obey,
they will end up with good days and pleasant years. (36:10-11)
All four speakers maintain the theology of retribution in some way. Their approach is very much "top down." In other words, they hold a basic belief in retribution, and they try to square Job's experience with the theological principles they hold, rather than developing a theology out of human experience.
Job
Job has no coherent response to his calamity. He argues with his friends and attacks their counter arguments. But ultimately he remains confounded. He just does not know how to handle his predicament.
Yet there are certain claims he maintains throughout, certain points he will not relinquish. He never gives in and admits personal guilt in the measure that would call forth such suffering. He often urges God to reveal himself and state why he is afflicting him so. He challenges God in what amounts to a lawsuit, much in the manner of the covenant lawsuit popular with the prophets, even though he recognizes that if God actually appears he would be powerless to respond. This sentiment is amazingly prescient of what would soon happen.
Yahweh
Yahweh does not respond to the intellectual arguments of Job and his friends, all of which had to do in some way with the theology of retribution. He quite ignores that business, neither affirming retribution nor denying it. By God's bracketing the big question of retribution, the book is saying retribution is not the real issue. God does not conduct affairs on a strictly cause-and-effect basis.
Yet God does address Job's urgent plea that he at least show himself. He appeared in a storm theophany (38-41), but instead of answering Job's questions, he put Job on trial.
2 Who is this confusing the issue
with nonsensical words?!
3 Brace yourself like a man.
I will quiz you. You teach me!
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you really have such deep understanding! (38:2-4)
Yahweh continues in this same vein, badgering the witness, and impressing upon Job that he really knows nothing about how God created the world and runs it. Job finally admits that he spoke presumptuously in demanding that God justify his actions.
1 YHWH said to Job:
2 "Will one in need of discipline complain about Shadday?
Let the one accusing God answer!"
3 Then Job answered YHWH:
"I am worth nothing. How can I respond to you?
I am putting my hand over my mouth.
I spoke once, but have no answer for you,
Twice I spoke, but I will say no more." (40:1-3)
By now Job seems properly contrite, having been put in his place. The reader might expect Yahweh at this point to coddle Job or at least lay off him. Just the opposite happens. God launches into a second discourse designed further to impress Job with his omnipotence. He describes in great detail his creation and the harnessing of Behemoth and Leviathan. These creatures have been likened to the hippopotamus and crocodile, respectively, but the overblown language of their description suggests that God is really referring to the mythic monsters of chaos that he tamed and holds at bay (see Day 1985).
Through the whole encounter God is absolutely overpowering. One might wonder why God felt he needed to react in such an intimidating way. Yet God does give Job satisfaction of sorts, first, in the very fact of his appearing, and second, by putting the issue of suffering in perspective. The important outcome is that God ultimately affirmed Job, in fact had never abandoned him, even though it had seemed so to Job at the time.
Job wanted to know why. But God would not tell him why. This effectively marginalizes the theology of retribution. Perhaps the real issue is trust--can one, will one simply trust God and "leave the driving to him"? Job is the model of the one who suffers, with all the self-doubt, indignation, impatience, and spiritual agony typical of those in great crisis. But he is also the model of one who trusts God, even though he fails to comprehend why he is suffering.
