There is a phrase I
have both heard and used countless times in my life. Generally, it goes like
this: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But as I have pondered the text
for today over the past week I realized that though pictures are very powerful,
they do not come close to containing the power involved with speaking words.
Have you ever thought about the power of words? Our entire world is the result of God speaking
it into life. Mankind exists because God spoke it, not because he took a
snapshot of the idea in his brain. Words are powerful, even the words of a mere
child have influence behind them. The power of words is seen constantly
throughout the day. It may be a mundane coffee order at the café, an article
slandering a politician, or an infomercial on television.
At the café, a word’s
capacity is evident in allowing the customer to convey what he wants to drink,
then in the communication between employees to make sure that the needs of the
customer are met in a timely manner and correctly. In the article, the potency
is manifested in placing a concept in the reader’s head about the subject being
something other than their original idea. And though most people do not buy
items from infomercials, I vividly remember being a child and desperately
wishing I were 18 years or older so I could call that 1-800 number to buy moon
sand. You see, words are powerful. They create, motivate, and breathe life to
our world.
The reading for today
is based in Job’s first words. So what authority is behind Job’s monologue on
the atrocity of his life? In this chapter of the poem, chapter three if you are
not turned there already, Job conveys his agony, his pain, and his lack of
understanding through his words as he curses the day of his birth; as he
questions God’s motive for creating him.
From the get-go Job is
singing a song of pity. He doesn’t understand why, being a good person, bad
things, rather atrocious things, are happening to him. I mean, whatever happened
to retribution theology? According to this though good people prosper and bad
people suffer, it’s a ratio in direct proportion to man’s actions, leaving no
room for God to bless or curse. He
knew that he was a good man, so why had God decided to take everything from him
in such a rapid succession? Should he not just “Curse God and die?” Even from
his vantage point of being cursed, Job knew better than to go that far, though
he does do some cursing.
Take a look at 3:1 with
me. “After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.”(NIV)
Before our character even has the chance to speak, the narrator of the poem
foreshadows the mood for the reader. According to Marvin N. Pope’s edition of
Job in the Anchor Bible Commentary series, the “after this” is a reference not
to all of the previous events in the book, but specifically to the seven days
of silence.
I don’t know about you, but if I had not said a single word in seven days after
all these bad things happening to me, I would have probably been more forceful
than Job. I really like complaining, even when nothing is wrong, so to have
gone through all the trauma of Job that leaves room for a lot of complaining.
Our character’s first
words are found in 3:3 “May the day of my birth parish.” Wow, Job curses the
day of his birth and wants it to die. He has the audacity to speak death over
that which God spoke life. Words are powerful; do you see the power in this
statement? He’s not simply asking “God, why was I born.” Not even close, he is
saying, God you made a mistake somewhere, I guess it was the day I was born, so
I want that day to be erased, if I was never born, I don’t have to go through
all this pain and misery you are putting me through.
Personally, I enjoy the
way that Robert Alter put this in his work “The Wisdom Books.” You see, he
translates the curse like this: “Annul the day that I was born and the night
that said ‘A man is conceived.” Words have power. Alter, in his notes on the
chapter, goes on to discuss his justification for translating annul and it is
essentially that the power behind the English word “curse” has lost its
emphasis whereas annul still conveys the intended meaning expressed in the
original writings.
Much like when a man
repents for sin, and he begs God to remove that blot, to take away the stain
and ugliness, to erase the wrong, to annul the sin, Job is asking (or maybe
even commanding) that his birth be reverted. However it is important to note
that he is not asking for the event to actually be removed, he is not Richie
Rich, wishing he had never been born. He is lamenting, mourning his pain and
expressing his feelings in a powerful way to all listening, especially his
creator.
As read earlier, Job
finishes the statement of verse three by not only cursing the day of his birth,
but also the night of his conception. In
Clarke’s Commentary on Job and Song of
Solomon, Adam Clarke points out that this paralleling statement is for the
poetic nature of the work seeing as “it is perfectly unlikely that the night of
conception should be either distinctly known or published.”But
the animation of words is still noticed, power normally has some scent of
beauty to mankind; here is it shown through the style of poetry being used to
tell the story.
Instead of stopping
with this already imposing statement, Job continues with verses 4-6: “That day
– may it turn into darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light
shine upon it. May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud
settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it. That night – may it not be included
among the days of the year nor it be entered in any of the months.”
In his commentary on
the book of Job, Habel makes the connection of light and darkness going back to
the creation of light in Genesis 1:3. He also reminds readers that darkness is
symbolic of death and chaos. Therefore,
Job does not stop with simply cursing the day of his birth and evening of his
conception, but suggests that it be enveloped in blackness.
The metaphor of
darkness and blackness is a vast pool of options. Sometimes it is metaphorical
of sin, wrongdoing, painful/bad emotion, nighttime, or danger. The overall
metaphor for darkness, however, is being apart from God. God is often described
as light so anything that is not light is not of him. Which means Job is asking
for his birth to be removed from God. He is still not cursing God, but it would
not be a far leap from the command he articulates in his monologue.
But even with the words
Job speaks in his first speech, God is more powerful, and his word is most
powerful. God does not separate himself from the day of Job’s birth or the
moment of his conception. Instead God continues to consider Job to be good and
righteous. However, that does not stop God from becoming irritated with Job
during his self-pity. YHWH does not enter into the dialogue for a long time,
but once He starts speaking, he speaks from chapter 38-41 with no pause.
During His monologue
challenging Job to answer the mysteries of the Universe, he still does not
revoke the title given to Job in the beginning of the narrative and in the end
bestows to this man more than he originally had. There is something to be said
for being steadfast to God; something that Job learned through perseverance
even after complaining and cursing events ordained by God to happen. Just as
Job persevered through his suffering to be a witness of God’s goodness, we are
called to the same.
1 Peter 4:13 says “But
rejoice inasmuch as you participated in the sufferings of Christ, so that you
may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed to you.” These words are just important
as the curse which Job proclaims in Job 3:3. These words reveal that those who
maintain the perseverance of Job, and endure the suffering as blameless and
upright, then the glory of God is revealed. Considering the traditional
Christian answer to the “meaning of life” question is to glorify God, this is a
huge deal! If we endure through testing, tempting, pain and suffering and do so
in order to glorify the Father, we are rewarded with seeing the fruit of our
labors and actually seeing God’s glory.
Job, even though he
cursed the day of his birth was very well rewarded by God in the end of his
trial. He received more than he had taken away and through gaining a new family
and herds, the glory and goodness of God was revealed to him. In the same way, once
we are guided through the fire, glory will be made manifest through some form.
If the story of job
were not an epic poem, formulated and crafted by a cautious designer, but were
instead a series of pictures, the story would lose its power. Potentially, it
would still stir emotion, but there would be no way to parallel it to New
Testament teachings, or applications to our own lives. The monologue from God,
the scene in Heaven would not be known to the world. The story would not be
complete to man’s eyes. Thankfully, God decided to share words, powerful words,
with his creation allowing the work of this poem to be applicable to
generations to come. Because Job has been preserved for years, it has been used
as a great resource for being faithful to God during both the good and the bad.
Job, before, during, and after his first words in the story truly was a upright
and blameless man. He made his mistakes like all humans do, but in the eyes of
the Lord he was worthy to see Glory. I challenge you today, whatever your trial
is, be blameless and upright, do not curse God, instead be worthy of seeing his
Glory.
Works Cited
Alter, Robert. A Translation with Commenty: The
Wisdom Books Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. New York, NY : W.W. Norton
and Company, Inc. , 2010.
Arnold, Bill T, and Bryan E Beyer. Encountering the
Old Testament . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing, 2008.
Clarke, Adam. The Old Testament Vol III: Job-
Solomon's Song. New York, NY: Abingdon Press, n.d.
Habel, Norman C. The Book of Job. New York, NY:
Cambridge Press, 1975.
Pope, Marvin N. Anchor Bible Comentary: Job.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1965.
