One word stands out about Job 28: Parallelism
The overall tone is that wisdom is elusive and it is expressed through parallelism or the form of Hebrew poetry or poetry in which the words of two or more lines of text are directly related in some way. Use of parallelism in this chapter means that the message of this text is in the “larger passage” or its “holistic/comprehensive” point (i.e.: impact) rather than individual words or single lines. The author of this passage is trying to hammer home a point with emphasis, possibly hoping for a visceral effect. The three major sections are outlined below (Smick 975).
1. First Stanza: Discovery of Treasure (v. 3-11)
a. Refrain /Response: That Wisdom is Elusive (v. 12-14)
2. Second Stanza: Wisdom as a Treasure (v. 15-19)
a. Refrain/Response: That Wisdom is Elusive (v. 20-22)
3. Third Stanza: God and Wisdom (v. 23-27)
The conclusion that is drawn about wisdom from this chapter is that wisdom can only be attained by obedience to God and submission to God. Submission how? We know that we are obedient when we obey his commands. How do we know what those commands are and how we are to obey them? We read and study the Bible and have an intimate relationship with God. We know in our human relationships what pleases others when we get to know them. When we have a relationship with them we get to know their likes and dislikes. If we truly love them we submit to those needs or requirements even though some of them cut against the grain of who we are. We sacrifice a piece of ourselves willingly to maintain that relationship. We compromise who we are to become part of something greater than ourselves. Because we are human that aspect carries over to the human-to-God relationship also. The truth is if we really truly loved God those aspects of ourselves that do not “jive” with what God wants wouldn’t even exist because we would be better in tune to God’s will for our lives and align ourselves to it in as perfect an obedience as possible. Wisdom is elusive because we get it from God. Because we often have a strained or estranged relationship with God, our relationship with wisdom runs parallel to that relationship (pun intended).
So what’s it all mean, this poem and the story of Job in general up to this point? Job’s friends can no more fathom what is going on with Job anymore than Job can figure it out. Why? Wisdom of the situation has evaded them. Why? Because all of them as men are focused on “man” not God. They probe what Job did wrong, how Job sinned. What Eliphaz thought. How Elihu felt about it, etc . They are too man-centered in this situation when none of them are certain of the definitive reasons behind Job’s suffering. In a situation that clearly has the signs and markings of things from beyond the world acting in it. They try to draw too much on man’s wisdom when they really should be looking towards the true source of wisdom which is God. Additionally, we also get the impression that the reason they do not have the wisdom to discern what is truly going on is because of a failure to fear God because “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.
In the end if we begin to try and figure out or break down exactly why this episode was allowed in Jobs life by God we end up doing the same things that Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar , Elihu and Satan do. They question God’s actions or allowance of suffering. Bad idea. Quite frankly, that’s some pretty lame company. We get the answer to why it was allowed in an indirect manner in the last four chapters of the Book of Job. Basically God tells them (and us) that He is God and he can do what He wants when He wants because He is God. He is sovereign over all His creation, omnipotent, perfectly just and...perfect. Who are we to question Him being “none of the above”.
Smick, Elmer, and Frank Gaebelein. "First Cycle of Speeches." The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Volume 4) 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1988. 973-977. Print.
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