Conversations are central in the Book of Job. Dialogues shape the text. Of course, it is about the suffering of Job, which is what the book is known for, but dealing with suffering is the real issue.
This book is about the suffering of Job, and the human questions about the cause of suffering. It is also dialogues about understanding God’s ways, and how suffering is perceived or experienced. When all the dialogues of Job and his friends fall silent, the turning point comes. And finally, God Himself speaks to Job. The book ends with a changed perception of God’s activity in our lives, and for Job, a new beginning blessed by God.
The Book of Job takes us on a journey, a journey through time, the time of Job’s suffering and the time of long conversations and asking “Why?”. It is also the time without answer from God, of divine silence. It is the time of human seeking, rebellion against suffering and rebellion against God, the time of human errors and confusions. Until the central issues are resolved, we are with Job.
The book of questions
A well-known English Bible scholar, E.W. Bullinger, once diligently counted all the questions in the Bible. He then found that in the 1189 chapters of the Bible there are a whole 3298 questions. Of these, 2274 are in the Old Testament, and 1024 are in the New Testament. Compared to the amount of text, there are relatively more questions in the New Testament. Of all the books, however, the Book of Job has the most questions. In the Book of Job, there are a whole 329 questions, or about 10% of all the questions in the Bible. Questions from Job, from God, from Satan, from Job’s friends.
Why genuinely would there be so many questions in this book?
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Source: E. W. Bullinger, “Figures of Speech,” 1898, page 994.
No quick answer
Job is not the book of quick answers. Reading this book in a small group, for example, can be a challenge. It takes time to get answers. The challenge is to endure this tension. Do we also recognize ourselves and our questions in the dialogues? Do we question and doubt like Job and his friends? And when history turns, do we understand why that is? Do we learn anything from it for our lives? Can the story of Job give us a new perspective on the way God works in our lives and in this world?
The book of Job is not a happy book. The book also points to the work of God, first in the background, but then as the sustaining force behind all things. When the reality of God arrives in the reality of our experience, it has a transforming power. This can set us free from ourselves and strengthen our trust in Him.
