Masterpiece of Malevolence Part I (Job 1:1-22)

I really seem to be stuck in the book of Job, for some reason. Things in my life – especially in my own internal world – seem to be taking me back to this story for analysis.

It is unwieldy – some of the thoughts and observations that cross my mind.

I feel like expressing back what I am taking in…and I am not certain how to do this! At least for now, since I gave a general and lengthy overview in this piece It Isn’t Finished, I’m thinking to zoom in section by section here and there and make some comments.

Here goes…

__________

First, I thought about giving the sections titles. And since this seems to be a masterpiece of sorts of biblical writings about evil and how evil operates in and around us…I named this section accordingly.

The title went from:

Prelude to a Masterpiece of Malevolence

to possibly changing the “to” to “of”

…indicating the prologue-ish dialogue in-and-of-itself

already constituted malevolence with intent to harm

…to…simply

titled Masterpiece of Malevolence.

My second line of thought is that we might think of all of these exchanges as forms of violence(s) – in the sense that Job’s experience took the form of a variety of verbal assaults.

Bear with me on this…as this book goes on…

Third, it is probably good to simply form some questions for thought – questions that form in my own mind as I contemplate this story and listen to it on Audiobook from time to time, repeatedly.

Questions:

1. What are the primary weapons used in this story?

2. What place does accusation hold within this story?

3. Who are the handlers of these weapons?

4. Does Satan ever directly assault Job in word or deed? If not, how or through whom do the assaults come to him?

5. When do you observe throughout this book words being used as either weapons of offense or weapons of defense? Is this a war of words, in some respects?

6. How (or what) do you think are the targeted piercings Job received in addition to his obvious tangible losses? His reputation? His dreams? His self-esteem? His self-worth?

7. Are there signs that the verbal violences produced, or were crafted to produce, some sense of shame in Job? (self-image)

But I think for myself and most of us, the most obvious starting point (or questions) that likely affect our takeaways from this most intriguing biblical writing begins in the first three verses of the prologue!

Job immediately is identified as a man who is:

• blameless
• upright
• fears God (entirely)
• shuns evil (entirely)
• prosperous in every aspect of his life, family and other realms

So one issue, as I see it, is that from the get-go most of us reading Job are coming from very messy personal places. Perhaps we would self-identify (or others would say of us) the following:

In general, with human ups and downs, struggles and battles of many sorts, we have (imperfectly) made it our aim to…

• do what is right
• fear God
• shun evil
• diligently pursue prosperity (not wealth but true riches, which might include wealth to bless others and care for ourselves, family and others)
• behave in honorable ways
• acknowledge our sins and weaknesses and work through them
• acknowledge our humanity before ourselves, God and others

In 2 Corinthians 1:4 it says that one thing we learn through suffering is empathy (the ability to comfort) for others. So, like the parable about the seed falling on good soil, there may be a kind of empathy soil we have learned through our sufferings. I am thinking that for some, the comfort given is truly the comfort they received somehow, in their own sufferings but mysteriously, this comfort is not received as any real comfort to another person suffering. Which possibly could make the sufferer empathize with their Job’s comforter, ironically, if even possible!

And this phenomenon seems to raise all sorts of questions in my mind! Anyone who has found themselves in this type of interaction surely might (in contemporary language) speak of gaslighting, crazy-making behaviors and more!

Sometimes I have felt like I’ve been entangled in situations and patient but emotionally-provocative dialogues that leave me feeling as though I’ve witnessed some invisible personal crime (some uniquely crafted verbal assault that pierces me to the core, just as Job was pierced by the words of his friends who did not seem too skilled at insight nor empathy) and no matter how many words or details I might expend trying to voice it or explain it, these words seem to fall on deaf ears.

I feel like the silent screamer in the painting by Edvard Munch!

So, I wonder if this is how Job felt.

“He comforts us every time we have trouble

so that when others have trouble,

we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.”

~2 Corinthians 1:4 (ERV)

The empathetic person does not judge the suffering by what they would do, think or feel if they were in the others’ shoes, nor their own experiences, in the judgemental sense but rather, in the empathetic sense. Rather, they have (hopefully) learned to recognize the patterns of pain in others and to also recognize that another’s responses to suffering differ as much as the particular suffering and lifepath that led it to even be named deep suffering.

What one person considers suffering, to another, may be viewed as some problem for which there is a quick solution. And this solution is typically highly unhelpful and only heaps further burdens (and reactions) upon and from the person suffering.

I think there is surely a place for friends offering helpful suggestions (and even moreso for the friends who follow the principle found in James 2:16 “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”).

Many years ago a friend told me to be careful about anyone who offers advice but is unwilling to walk with you the entire way through the consequences of following such advice. How wise!

When one has suffered a loss of any sort – there are stages of grief. These stages are non-sequential, non- logical, and may have no clear timeline of getting over it.

As I listen to this book of Job over and over, as most of us, we are fascinated in particular by the three friends typically called, together, Job’s comforters.

While this book may leave us with more questions than answers, clearly, in my view, it is a book of the spiritual, psychological and relational dynamics of piercing words…

__________

PROLOGUE

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

⁴ His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

⁶ One day the angels^[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” (6 words)

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” (12 words)

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (28 words)

⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (10 words) Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” (56 words)

¹² The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (21 words)

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Word Counts
God: 55 words
Satan: 75 words
Noting that God begins, and ends, this dialogue.

Job 1:1-12

¹³ One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.^[c]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Word Counts
Messengers in total: 160 words

Job’s statement of worship: 30 words

Job 1:13-22