Friday: Further Thought – Doth Job Fear God for Naught?
Students of the book of Job who delve into the Hebrew come across an interesting phenomenon. Job’s wife’s words to him are translated, ” ‘Curse God and die’ ” (Job 2:9, NKJV). Job 1:5 is translated: ” ‘it may be that my sons have sinned andcursed God in their hearts’ “(NKJV).
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
And Job 1:11 is translated: ” ‘But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’ ” (NKJV). In each case, however, the word translated “curse” comes from a word that means “bless.” The word, from the root brk, is used all through the Bible for “bless.” It’s the same root used in Genesis 1:22, when God “blessed” the creatures He had made. The same root is used in Psalm 66:8, “Oh, bless our God, you peoples!” (NKJV).
Why, then, is the same verb, which means “bless,” translated as “curse” in these few texts? First of all, if the idea of “blessed” were meant in those texts in Job, the texts would be nonsensical. In Job 1:5, why would Job want to offer sacrifices to God in case his sons had “blessed” God in their hearts? The context demands a different meaning. The same with Job 1:11 and Job 2:5. Why would Satan think that if calamity befell Job, he would bless God? The context demands that the meaning be “curse” instead. Also, why would Job rebuke his wife for telling him to bless God (Job 2:9-10)? Given the context, the text makes sense only if the idea of “curse” is meant.
Why, then, did not the author use one of the common words for “curse”? Scholars believe that it’s a euphemism, because the idea of writing down the concept of cursing God was offensive to the author’s religious sensibilities (we can see the same thing in 1 Kings 21:10, 1 Kings 21:13, where the word translated “blaspheme” is from brk, “bless”). So, Moses used the word “bless” instead of the actual word for “curse,” even though it’s obvious that the idea of curse was intended.
Discussion Questions:
- In times of crisis, why is it so natural for people to question the reality of God or to question what God is like? Amid the harsh reality of what it means to live in a fallen world, a world in which the great controversy is real, why must we keep the reality of the Cross always before us?
- Though we know the background to what was going on in the story of Job, as far as we can tell, Job didn’t know it. All he knew were the calamities that befell him. He didn’t know the bigger picture. What should this tell us about how, amid trials, we need to remember that there’s a bigger picture that we often don’t see or understand, and how can we learn to draw comfort from this realization?
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Interesting - in one of the first, if not the first, books of the Bible, the LORD shows us that we are not able to completely understand His reasons - for creating people and animals or for allowing evil in this world.
I always remind myself - God is Love, He gives us free-will to love Him back, He is planning to soon put an end to all evil.
The bigger picture has many views, depending on which one you choose to look at will affect your choices and outcomes. The reality is, I can not depend on another human mind to be the ultimate goal for the future and the here and now. Opinion is persuasive. Our view must be focused on our God to get the bigger picture.
This sorta cuts to YHWHs confrontation of Job at the end of the book, but as to the bigger picture, how many saw that the Hubble has been taking pictures for several years and now they believe there are 1 TRILLION previously unknown galaxies?!?! Lead to the question: "How big is YHWH ...?
We ought to take an example from job whenever we go through trials a22nd tenotations... God is God and he knows it and knows our pains and why He allows us pass through them.
Soon He is coming and all our pains will be over
Job would had have family worship on a daily basis, yet his family didn't seem to be Christ-like except the protagonist himself.He displayed true attribute of how Christians must act even while facing with adversity.
Sadly,his dearest family members especially his wife could not see the goodness, in other words the bigger picture of God's love.An extract from a famous hymn, "let those refuse to sing who never knew our God" is an warning to us Christians who talk and act Christians but yet carry heart of stone.
Lord help us to be like you just as job exemplified your light in dire situation of total human darkness.
God will help us, when our turn to drink the cup shall come. I marvel at all those who like Paul, drank the cup with honor, even John Huss.
In response to the 2 discussion questions:
1. Unbelief is the default position of any soul not grounded in the truth contained in God's word which reveals His true character of benevolence, love, mercy, grace, etc. Also, for the many that will listen, Satan exerts a great influence which will turn any away from faith if they do not actively resist his false accusations from which we never find a reprieve from the one who accuses "day and night".
In God's word alone will we find the knowledge that keeps us from being deceived. It must be foremost in our thoughts and guide us in every response to the influence that will surely come in a fallen world.
2. It is not my belief that Job was totally ignorant of the great controversy, including the understanding of an adversary. The word of the patriarchs was faithfully passed down to each faithful generation, and since Job is pronounced “righteous” by God Himself, it has become my conviction that Job only seemed to refer to God as his tormentor due to Job's understanding that only by allowing the adversary the power to destroy, could anything happen to all who trusted in and obeyed God. Had Job truly though God was his determined enemy, he could not have shown the faith he did in what God really is. Job expected to be resurrected and united with his Redeemer at last, as Enoch had preached to others before the flood. This truth was passed down to each generation. God will always bring truth to any who seek it with all their heart, as Job did.
Can we really believe that the story of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve wasn't passed down along with the knowledge of the sacrifices and the law of God? Wouldn't that be naive on our part to think so? God controls what Satan can and cannot do, and rightly would be seen as the gatekeeper of the adversary's actions. With the story of Job included from the beginning of God's written word, the vital understanding is imparted to all who will study and learn from it.
The second question in number one here about the reality of the Cross is an essential question! Why must we keep the Reality of the Cross always before us?I say that the Cross is our hope and blessed assurance! To be more precise, what happened at the Cross is our hope and assurance that in Jesus we have a victor! In JESUS we have our Saviour who came to redeem us! The Devil was defeated, crushed and bruised at that Cross! And even the Father of Lies knows the reality of the Cross just as well as we do! If we keep that reality before us friends, we know that Jesus will come through for us in this fallen world! and even when it may seem as though all is against us, we know that this hope is still there! Because the Cross is real! The Cross is stillour escape! That blood is still powerful! I'm thankful for Jesus' death and even more so His resurrection!
I agree that what Jesus accomplished on the cross for sinners gives each sinner hope, but in the environment we find ourselves on this harsh, fallen world, I think the cross must speak regarding God's TRUE desire for each sinner. He does not bring the evil as some vindictive measure for petty wrongs, but does allow the adversary to reveal himself sometimes against God's people. The cross reminds us of God's real purposes so we can distinguish them from Satan's purposes.
Robert Whiteman, the last sentence is the most meaningful to me.