Job and Friends, Round 3
Job 22-27
I can’t. I just can’t do it. I can’t go through another round of these weird exchanges between these people blow by blow. Round 3 is not unlike Rounds 1 and 2, and there are other things in Job that are worth a little time, so I’m just tackling all of Round 3 in one clump.
You’re welcome.
Eliphaz goes first again. Gloves off, he gives us an interesting assessment of Job’s character that is totally contrary to what Job and God (and Satan, for what that’s worth) profess. Eliphaz tells us about many of Job’s actions, and it’s not pretty. While his friends have given credit to Job for his words previously, it certainly seems that his actions and his words don’t line up.
Job 22:4-11: Do you think it’s because he cares about your purity that he’s disciplining you, putting you on the spot? Hardly! It’s because you’re a first-class moral failure, because there’s no end to your sins. When people came to you for help, you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness. You wouldn’t so much as give a drink to the thirsty, or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry. And here you sat, strong and honored by everyone, surrounded by immense wealth! You turned poor widows away from your door; heartless, you crushed orphans. Now you’re the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly the tables have turned! How do you like living in the dark, sightless, up to your neck in flood waters? (The Message)
What is that? Is it possible to be righteous and have treated people that way? Can you follow all the OT rules and still be cruel to people who have less? Is this firsthand knowledge? Is Eliphaz showing us who he sees Job to be?
Eliphaz also continues variations on the familiar themes for the rest of this monologue: confess to God, do what God tells you, and God will rebuild your life. Eliphaz still has it figured out.
And Job’s still not buying it. In Chapter 23, Job firmly stands his righteous ground, still wanting to plead his case before God, convinced that somehow God has gotten it all wrong.
23:6 Would he [God] contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. (NRSV)
(Spoiler alert: that’s not what actually happens.)
In Chapter 24, Job describes the lives and actions of wicked people … again. Parts of it sounds suspiciously like what Eliphaz described in Chapter 22, but Job obviously doesn’t include himself in that group of sinners. Job lives in one reality; his friends live in another. We don’t know which one is real.
Chapter 25 gives ol’ Bildad his final say, a feeble, 6-verse assertion that it’s actually impossible for a mortal to be righteous in God’s eyes. Job retorts with a reminder of God’s power and majesty, offering natural examples, one after the other, to support his claim.
After Chapter 26, I get the sense Job paused to take a breath, which might have been the only way another speaker was able to take the mic. Poor Zophar doesn’t even try, and I respect him for that. It’s obvious this isn’t working for anyone. Zophar essentially folds.
To no one’s surprise, when Zophar doesn’t step in, Job resumes his tirade, holding fast to his integrity for another 23 verses. Well, 23 verses and the next 4 chapters. We’ll get to those next.