Job Annual Bible Study
Into the Fire, Out of the Ashes

The book of Job, like other Wisdom literature, depends strongly on a theology of creation and has little to say about the salvation history that runs through much of the Old Testament.⁹ But it was not written in isolation from the theological beliefs that colored daily life in Israel. Job is not portrayed as a Jew, for his story is set long before the emergence of Israel. Yet, Job is described as one who worshiped Yahweh and observed sacred customs similar to those of the later Hebrews. His story is written from the perspective of a people who have been taught to believe that there is a simple rule for success in life: one may live in obedience to God and be blessed, or live in rebellion and be cursed. Such is the theology enunciated in Deuteronomy, with Deuteronomy 28 being a prime example of the belief that one gets what one deserves, that God will reward righteousness and punish evil. This straightforward belief is expounded in the didactic histories of the Deuteronomistic historians (responsible for Joshua through 2 Kings, with the exception of Ruth) and proclaimed by prophets from the anonymous "man of God" in 1 Samuel 2:27-36 to the fiery preacher known as Malachi, whose ministry closes the Old Testament. Hebrews who took the time to think about it, however, knew that life was not as easily parsed as the Deuteronomistic theology portrayed it. Sometimes the righteous suffered, and often the wicked prospered. Theologians could defend the traditional position only by insisting that blessing would eventually come to the righteous and cursing would inevitably crush the wicked--but at God's appointed time. Explaining theological inconsistencies by shifting fulfillment into the future did little to comfort those who sought God but suffered while the wicked around them enjoyed dishonest gain, sometimes at the expense of the innocent. The book of Job dares to ask hard questions that are as common as they are impenetrable: Why do the innocent suffer? Why do the promises fail? Why does God sometimes seem more capricious than compassionate? In the end, the book reaches no firm conclusion and offers no final answer beyond the suggestion that Job had been asking the wrong questions. God offers no guarantees, no explanations, and no excuses. What God does offer is the assurance of divine presence despite human darkness, a celestial self-revelation that leads Job to conclude, "Now my eye sees you" (42:5).