This Book: Jonah, Noah, and Job - Job 19 v 23-27

 To see the full message, scroll to the bottom and click through. 

There are 3 Old Testament writings that don't sit easily in any categories: Jonah, Noah, and Job. 

They're very, very different from each other, and from other writings in the Bible.  

They have all these curious, interesting little details that capture our imaginations: an angelic council gathering, with a heavenly accuser pointing the finger at a human being. A giant fish commuter bus where Jonah sits with his laptop, writing some amazingly beautiful poetry (not bad for a guy who's half-drowned and has seaweed in his ears). A giant plant that grows up overnight out of nowhere. A super worm that comes and eats it. A floating zoo. The very first rainbow ever.  

All these details grab us, and bring us back to the stories again and again. But those curious details can be a distraction from what the stories have to teach us. They can be a distraction from what the stories have in common.  

First, these are stories of people who came face to face with Yahweh God.  

Second, they each challenge us to ask questions about evil, and about righteousness.  

Third, having pushed us to ask those questions, they raise even more questions, and they give us no answers. Rather, they leave us standing face to face with Yahweh God, and looking at our own reflection.  

These 3 writings give us food for thought, and they give us food for wisdom.  

_________ 

The first word we need to define is ‘evil:’ in Hebrew ‘ra'a.’ Evil is defined as moral wrong or destructive hurtfulness. The way Bible writers use this word, it can mean an action, a word, an attitude, or a thought that does harm. It can also mean demonic activity: supernatural harm done by supernatural beings. It can mean simply the kind of damage done by a tornado when it rips through a town. Ra'a is a very broad, encompassing term in the Old Testament including all of the harm that happens to human beings on earth. 

The next word is ‘righteousness:’ in Hebrew ‘tzadik.’ That means being in a position where you are correctly aligned with what is right, true, and healthy. It can be used as a legal term in the Old Testament, indicating that a person is not guilty. They didn't do it. They are righteous. They are on the right side of the law.  

The stories of Jonah, Noah, and Job have a lot to say about evil and righteousness.  

_______ 

The book of Job is very different from the other two in that the story has very little actual... story. Not much happens in the book of Job. Most of what does happen centres on five guys, literally sitting in the dirt. The book is a record of their conversation—the wisdom, the philosophy that they shared with each other.  

In the story of Job, what happens is not the point. What is said is the point.  

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from ‘ra'a.’ Job 1 v1 

Job begins with living the dream. He turned his back on evil. His life was good. Business was good. His family was happy. Their relationships were healthy and loving.  

Life was good... until suddenly it wasn't. It really, really wasn't.  

Job (and his wife, who gets a bad rap), lost everything. Job has no idea why it has happened to him, but everything is gone. His kids, his health, his livestock, his money. Job and his wife lose everything, which does not make any sense because everybody knows (in that world) that if you were living a righteous life, God would bless you. If you were living a sinful life, God would punish you. And Job was a righteous (tzadik) man. 

People hear what has happened, and some friends come to see Job. It starts well. 

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering [grief] was too great for words. Job 2 v13 

His friends got it. They understood that Job was hurting. So. Bad. This was his silence and it was his to break. They had no right to speak into a situation that they themselves could not understand.  

Then Job begins to speak, lamenting everything that has happened to him and saying he doesn't understand why this is happening to him.  

I think for those seven days, his friends might have been sitting there, waiting. You know what that's like? Waiting for your chance to speak. ‘I know what I want to say, and as soon as I get a break in the conversation, I'm going to say it.’ As soon as they have a chance to speak, they just jump in there. I'm sure they were well-intentioned. I'm sure that they wanted to help, because Job was their friend. They thought that if they could just get Job to admit whatever it was that he had done, that he was being punished for, then maybe God would stop punishing him.  

In chapter four, these conversations begin in earnest, and one of Job's friends, Eliphaz, says in effect, ‘Look, buddy, you’ve helped other people going through tough times. You’ve strengthened other people. Now let us help you. We all know how the world works. We know that God punishes evil.’ 

Eliphaz asks this question: 

Can a mortal man be righteous (tzadik) before God? Can a great man be pure before the creator? Job 4 v17 

Eliphaz assumes the answer is, ‘no.’

Job knows that he has not done anything to deserve this kind of punishment. He's not pretending to be perfect, but he fights back against his friends. 

He challenges them, saying in effect, ‘Look, it's bad enough that I'm dealing with all of this. Now you're blaming me for my suffering?’ 

At first, Job is dealing with the ra'a—the evil—of the devastating, out of nowhere, grief and pain. Now he's got to deal with the ra'a of this slow, relentless drip of people saying, ‘God doesn't give us more than we can handle. God doesn't give us stuff we don't deserve, so just confess and everything will be fine.’ 

Job says, ‘I don't have anything to confess.’ 

As long as I live, while I have breath from God, my lips will speak no wrong, and my tongue will speak no lies. I will never concede that you are righteous (tzadik); I will defend my integrity until I die. I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live. Job 27 v3-6 

‘I know what the truth is. I don't care what you say to me. I know what is true.’ 

In chapter 31, Job presents a detailed defense, listing all of the things that he is not guilty of.  

• I have never cheated in business. 
• I have never stolen anything. 
• I have never mistreated my servants.  
• I have never withheld food from the poor.  
• I have never ignored the needs of the widow and the orphan.  
• I have never left the naked without warmth and clothing.  
• I have never engaged in physical violence.  
• I have never worshipped my wealth.  
• I have never worshipped the sun and the moon.  
• I have never rejoiced over the misfortune of, or wished for the death of, my enemy.  
• I have never left travellers to spend night out in the open.  
• I have never been lazy.  
• And any time I did something wrong, I admitted it. I have never tried to cover up for myself.  

Job doesn't stop at defending himself; he also plays offense. Pointing at his friends and saying, ‘You want to know where evil is? It's in you. It's in your falsehood. It's in your presumption. It's in your arrogance. You’re trying to drive a wedge between me and my God when my God is all I have left.’  

In the end, Job is proven right. God shows up and tells his friends, ‘You guys got it wrong. Here’s how to make this right.’ 

______ 

In the story of Job, we see evil and we see righteousness. Neither turns up where we expect.  

• We find evil in the men who are convinced of their own righteousness.  
• We find righteousness in the man who is being accused of evil.