Malevolent Or Mysterious? God’s Character In The Prologue Of Job -- By: Martin A. Shields

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 61:2 (NA 2010)
Article: Malevolent Or Mysterious? God’s Character In The Prologue Of Job
Author: Martin A. Shields


Malevolent Or Mysterious?
God’s Character In The Prologue Of Job

Martin A. Shields

Summary

Readers of the Book of Job often believe that the prologue reveals the entire reason for Job’s loss and suffering and so the full background for all that transpires throughout the remainder of the work. Many readers find that this raises significant problems about God’s character as depicted in the book. There are, however, subtle indications both in the structure of the prologue and the content of the entire book which suggest that the exchanges between Yahweh and the Satan do not offer to the reader the complete rationale for Job’s suffering. Furthermore, it appears that the author of Job has deliberately created a riddle which, left unsolved, traps the reader into believing—as Job’s friends believe—that a full reason for Job’s suffering is at hand. Solving the riddle, however, entwines the reader in Job’s ignorance and thus the book’s insistence that there is some wisdom only Yahweh holds.

1. Introduction

For the man Job, all is well until the day arrives when God boasts of how upright and god-fearing he is to the Satan. This exchange precipitates a time of testing for Job, the purpose of which appears to be little more than to prove God’s claims about Job to the Satan. These events have proven to be deeply disturbing to many readers who perceive in them an implication of injustice in God’s actions. Such readers are not difficult to find, but the testimony of two or three witnesses shall suffice to illustrate the point. James Crenshaw writes:

… this story describes God as one who stops at almost nothing, even murder, to prove a point. Furthermore, God admits that the adversary

moved the deity to afflict Job without justification. Surprisingly, the deity makes no concession about the deaths of Job’s children and servants, who are eradicated and then replaced without a word of apology. Such disregard for human worth stands alongside an amazing acknowledgment of exceptional goodness in one person… The disturbing feature of this depiction of God is that a heavenly courtier wields sufficient power to manipulate God and thus to inflict grievous suffering on earth—with God’s explicit consent.1

Roland Murphy has similarly noted:

The scene in the heavenly court may be imaginative, but it raises a nagging question: what kind of a God is this who is willing to prove a point of honor by sorely afflicting a faithful servant? The scene presupposes an understanding of God that the modern reader may be loath to share. Ancient Israel obviously did not have su...

You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe
visitor : : uid: ()