Book of Job

[Andreas Moran]

Dear All,

I wonder if some of you can help me to approach the Book of Job? It seems very important in the spiritual life but it troubles me. It seems to be about God allowing terrible suffering to be visited upon His most faithful servant in order to win a bet with the devil. At the end of it all, Job gets no explanation: only the thunderous response, 'what do you know about creating and running the universe?' Then there is the rather crude compensation of getting twice as much in material possessions as he had before.

In Christ,

Andreas.

[Elzabet]

Job is one of those books that I both love and hate.

1. Job shows that God knows us. By name and reputation. (Job 1:8)
2. Job shows that God does protect us even when He allows bad things to happen either as preparation or punishment. (Job 2:6)
3. Job shows that in spite of the fact that He does love us, God is not always going to keep stuff from happening to us (Job 1 & 2)
4. Job shows that we can demand an answer from the Lord but He is the master of this universe and is not obligated to answer to us. (Job 38-41)
5. Job shows that we have an Enemy who wants nothing better than to destroy our faith in God. (Job 1 & 2)
6. Job shows that even in debilitating circumstances it is better to have faith in God than not. (Job 1:22; 2:10)
7. Job shows that human reasoning about God's reasons for doing this that and the other thing will always fall short. (see all of Job's friends' speeches)

Those are the reasons I read and re-read Job and constantly fight with myself about the "fairness" of it. God's ways are not our ways. His ways of preparing us for whatever plan He has in store for us may not look like what we think they ought to look like but He always has reward in store for those who are faithful.

Forgive me, I think I shall try to remember all this myself...

[Trudy]

I wonder if some of you can help me to approach the Book of Job? It seems very important in the spiritual life but it troubles me.

Dear Andreas,

By God's grace, I was reading Fr. Sophrony's book We Shall See him As He Is and came upon a passage that addresses the Book of Job.

What struck me most forcefully was the last paragraph where Fr. Sophrony points out that it is God's sign of trust in 'her' (meaning the soul) by allowing the temptation. Why test Job? Because God knew Job loved Him and would keep the faith.

Thinking of my own life experiences, though I dread the thought of those tests, it has been during those times that by God's immeasurable grace the faith which I thought was so fragile was strengthened.

I print it the passage here with the hope and prayer that it offers the necessary perspective with which to approach the text, as well as the sufferings and temptations which assail us as we approach God.

In Christ, Athanasia
~~~~~~~~~~

Fr. Sophrony writes, "I have made bold to speak more than once of my own expereince: that prayer of total repentance before our Creator meets with every trial possible for beings created 'in the mage of God'. The image of man and his likeness to the Lord state clearly that each of us may become a 'lord' only by overcoming the world - not, of course, through our own strength but by faith in Christ [cf 1 John 5:4-5; John 16:33]. In the Book of Job [Septuagint version 1:7] we read: 'And the Lord said to the devil, Whence are thou come?" And the devil answered the Lord, and said, I am come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world'. There is nowhere on earth, nor in the whole universe, where it is possible to avoid encounter with the devil. And if the devil controls not only our world but all the rest of creation, as 'prince of this world', wherever we happen to be 'geographically' and spiritually, he will come and put us to the test. Discussing this, Blessed St. Silouan said, 'Mind wrestles with mind...our mind with the mind of the enemy'. Even to Christ in the wilderness the devil came to tempt Him [cf Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-14]. But before His prayer in Gethsemane the Lord said to His disciples: 'The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me' [John 14:30]. What exactly is my point? This - that at every stage of our ascent to God the enemy will pursue and tempt us. And when we ail in every part of our being, when we give ourselves over to proud thoughts, he endeavours to turn us away from God.

During the actual period of trial the soul cannot accept it as a manifestation of Divine mercy; as a sign of God's trust in her [emphasis mine]; as God's wish to communicate to man holiness and plentitude-of-being in Himself. The soul knows only one thing: God has abandoned her after having manifested His Light to her, and thereby has immeasurable increased her sufferings. And when, weak and exhausted, she does not find God inclineing His mercy toward her, thoughts and feelings come about which it is better to keep silent." Pages 81-82.

[Andreas Moran]

Dear Elzabet and Athansia,

Thank you for your posts. I'm sure they will help - I need time to reflect on these things.

In Christ,

Andreas.

[Owen Jones]

The Book of Job is a figure or type for the sufferings of the SAvior, who was condemned, tortured, humiliated and put to death due to no sin he had committed. Our lives are to become an Icon of His. The mystery of suffering is easily resolved if one only believes that one suffers due to some sin committed by oneself or one's parents or ancestors (Phariseeism). Or because we are the victims of some massive conspiracy against us. This however does not lead to any transformation. Christ came to transform our nature, restoring it to its original image (icon). That comes only through suffering. So, if we suffer, there is no longer a need for a tit for tat. No longer does someone else have to pay for our suffering. Rather, our suffering is the means toward salvation. This is why the Latin Church, and that particularly American brand of protestantism, is deficient because there is no adequate, proper theology of suffering. The Cross is simply a legal payment for our sins so that we are counted as righteous even though we are not. The eucharist is Latin Christianity (traditional) is a kind of historical re-enactment of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, not an icon of our transformation. If we wish to deny that salvation has anything to do with suffering, then we will try to live a comfortable life, free from hardship, and when we face hardship, we lack the spiritual knowledge and strength, not only just to endure, but to be changed into something new. We come unglued. Christ triumphs through suffering, not by gaining power over his adverseries in the conventional, worldly sense.