Jews claim that Moses wrote the book of Job as far back as 1800 to 2100BC, making it the oldest bible book. However, it differs substantially from any other narrative style in the bible and may have been written by Job or an unknown in the 6th century BC.
Certainly Eliphaz was an Edomite, which dates him well after Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Zophar was a Naamathite, named after the moon-god of Ur, which at least sets him after Abram, and Bildad, as a descendant of Abram and Shuhite, a descendant of Abraham and Keturah, whom he married after Sarah's death. That all dates the book around the time of Joseph or later.
By narrative style, I mean that the book is a philosophical debate involving a wife, 3 friends plus 1, Job, and God. It is triggered by a life-class crisis in Job's life. It is, to my mind, the most philosophically and intellectually intense book in the bible.
Well, because it
provides some elegant and progressive creation data, but more so because of the
chronological template I am using, we introduce it here.
The thing I feared most
Job was a wealthy, yet
righteous gentile from the Chaldees, where Abram grew up. Though a very principled
and educated man, His biggest fear was that his 10 children would come to harm.
Yet the thing he
feared most came upon him, despite having prepared his children to make peace
offerings to God.
Unseen by the cast in
this dramatic irony, the angels appear before God. Satan, being an angel in his
own right, also appears, fresh from his wandering to and fro through the earth,
just like Noah’s raven. It sounds contrived, but there is a deeper mystery at
work.
God lauded Job’s
righteousness, but Satan hit back on the basis of Job’s protected state and the
blessings of God bestowed on him. He challenged God to let him stand on his
own.
Satan also “sought” as
in “applied for leave” to sift Peter. He evidently badgers God’s court to test its
mettle, which is why the apostle John called him “the accuser of the brethren”.
Paul also wrote about resisting the fiery darts of the enemy.
It would take much
more to explain why, but suffice to say that although Satan rebelled, he broke
no law, for if heaven had laws, it also had sin.
As such, until he was
judged by a righteous court, as happened at the cross, he was as beyond
prosecution as Al Capone was, despite his offences.
Satan effectively
accused God’s court of subjectivity. That argument held up God’s judgment of
Satan until the cross could ensure an objective and righteous prosecution.
With His hands tied,
God said in 1:12: “all that he has is in your power, only do not touch him”.
It marked the start of
a litany of troubles that saw Job lose his ten children, his servants, his
wealth and his livestock. Yet Job stood up to the test, so Satan returned to
God’s court and extended his argument until God allowed Job also to be touched
by a great blight.
Job immediately humbled himself
His wife said, “Curse
God and die”. She saw no point in trying to defend the situation. Her concept
of God was exactly what Satan wanted her to see – that God is just a fearsome
overlord who acts out of unbridled whim. No point in resisting that, she
reasoned.
The word plays
throughout the book reflect on the differing perspectives that we all have
regarding God and the way the kind of crisis that Job faced, force to examine
such preconceptions.
Job’s response
redefined his righteousness. God didn’t simply like his face. He loved the man’s
heart. Job found what Cain could never get, that God is objectively righteous
and pure of heart.
That said, he could
not explain his misfortune, other than to blame himself. He dared nor rail
against God, and though ignorant of the background, refused to see evil in God.
He concludes that,
having brought nothing into the world he would carry nothing out. He is thus
reduced to his first state in an untimely tragedy.
From left and right of stage enter Job’s three
friends
In chapter 4, Eliphaz the
Temanite goes first and does what well-meaning believers love to do – he looked
for a cause and simplified it all to sin. He spoke of a dream in which God
breached the silence of the night to ask whether any man could consider himself
more righteous than God.
That brought a pious
perspective, but it was laced with judgementalism.
Then Eliphaz changed
tack, doing the other thing that believers love to do, which is to idealize
everything and believe that miracles just happen.
He urged Job to hold out for
just that. He too understood that God presides over a court, and advises Job to
petition that court.
He reserved a place of
goodness for us in the context of a verse repeated in the New Testament,
namely, “Blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise His discipline”.
Hebrews 12 carries a similar theme with respect to how a son responds to
correction.
Well, so it will
continue. This is all pretty philosophical and must have added to Job’s
burdens. Yet, between the lines are many great theological truths.
