RBWords

     God finally responds to Job "out of the whirlwind."  The response is a magnificent description of the immensity and omnipotence of God.   But the ultimate result is that Job is left with no explanation for his suffering.  It remains a mystery to him.  In tomorrow's final passage, Job is restored to an even better position than he had before all his calamities.  Our modern psychological sensitivities might protest that the experience would have left Job with deep emotional scars and a lasting distrust of the Almighty.  The story doesn't see it that way.  The ending is a "happily ever after" affair.  This can be frustrating to us because the mystery of suffering is left unresolved.  The wager between God and Satan was about Job's faithfulness and God wins, but suffering remains a reality, whether deliberately or impersonally inflicted.

     One of the classic questions in all of human reflection on God and the mystery of human suffering is, "How can a good and loving God who is as omnipotent as described in Job 'let' such things happen?"  Then we run into a thousand more questions about who "deserves" to suffer and who doesn't, and what about our gift of free will and determinism, etc. etc.  Whatever may be the source of human calamities, the Book of Job urges us to remain faithful even if we can and do protest.  For Christians, our ultimate "vindication" is in Christ.  Secular philosophies such as Marxism or materialism that scorn this hope have little to offer in place of it.  Given a choice, I have to stand with Job.  AMEN