You have not spoken the
truth about me, as my servant Job has. Job
42:7
When the Book
of Common Prayer was revised in 1979, the liturgy for burial
removed Job 1:21: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of
the LORD be praised.” Like Job’s friends, the contemporary church has tried
either to squeeze a systematic theology out of Job’s suffering or to ignore his
intense expressions of grief and questions for God. God’s response to Job
reveals that neither of these moves us toward understanding biblical lament.
The Job we encounter in chapter 3 has already lost absolutely
everything except his wife, his life, and his God. His wealth, health, and
children have all been destroyed. In the face of overwhelming loss, Job cries
out an extended poem bemoaning the day of his birth. His worst fears have come
to pass: “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil” (v.
26).
Those of us who enjoy stable health, provision for basic needs,
and the presence of loved ones may not understand how Job can “long for death
that does not come” (v. 21). Reading a text like this should help give us an
insight into the depth of sorrow experienced by others, and the book of Job
challenges us to respond in compassion to those who are suffering.
Job also should shape our understanding of truth, lament, and
compassion. Job curses the day of his birth (v. 1); he questions God (7:17–21);
he rails at God (10:3–7); he makes demands of God (13:20–22). Job’s friends try
to correct him and defend God’s actions. And yet at the end of the story, when
God delivers His verdict on Job and his three friends, He declares that Job is
the one who has spoken the truth (42:7).
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