STANDING ONE'S GROUND
AGAINST FALSE UNDERSTANDINGS OF GOD
Isaiah 64:1a; Job 42:1-6; Luke 1:26-35
Rev. Paul Wrightman December 17, 2023
TODAY OUR MAIN TEXT COMPRISES THE BEGINNING
OF THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
BUT BEFORE WE CAN BEGIN TO COMPREHEND
THIS MORNING'S SCRIPTURE READING,
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND A FEW THINGS.
WE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS,
THANKS TO THE PERVASIVE INFLUENCE
OF A VERY RIGID
FORM OF EVANGELICALISM,
TEND TO READ ALL SCRIPTURE LITERALLY.
THAT IS,
WHENEVER THE BIBLE TELLS A STORY
WE TEND TO TAKE THAT STORY AS HISTORY,
AND IF THAT STORY INVOLVES A NAMED PERSON,
WE ASSUME THAT THAT PERSON
MUST HAVE EXISTED,
AND THAT THAT PERSON
MUST HAVE ACTUALLY GONE THROUGH
THE EVENTS OF THE STORY
EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED.
THUS, WHEN WE READ THE BOOK OF JOB
WE GET ALL UPSET
AT THE MANY MISFORTUNES
THAT GOD ALLOWED TO HAPPEN TO JOB.
IRONICALLY, THE LITERARY CHARACTER "JOB"
WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE A "REAL" PERSON
TO BEGIN WITH,
BUT A FICTIONAL PERSONAGE
WITH WHOM ALL ARE ENCOURAGED TO IDENTIFY,
AND HOPEFULLY TO TAKE
THE SAME BOLD STANCE TOWARD GOD
THAT HE DID.
REMEMBER THAT
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK OF JOB
WE'RE PRESENTED WITH A GOD
WHO ENLISTS THE SERVICES OF SATAN
TO MAKE LIFE AS MISERABLE FOR JOB AS POSSIBLE.
IF WE INSIST ON TAKING THE BOOK LITERALLY,
AS HISTORY,
AS SOMETHING THAT GOD
ACTUALLY DID TO JOB,
WE SET OURSELVES UP FOR ALL SORTS OF
UNNECESSARY PROBLEMS,
SUCH AS "HOW CAN GOD POSSIBLY
BE IN LEAGUE WITH THE DEVIL?"
AND "HOW CAN GOD POSSIBLY BE SO VIOLENT
AND JUST DOWNRIGHT MEAN?"
THE JEWISH TRADITION,
WHICH I BELIEVE TENDS TO UNDERSTAND
THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
MUCH BETTER THAN CHRISTIANS TEND TO,
HAS DIVIDED WHAT WE CHRISTIANS CALL
"THE OLD TESTAMENT,"
INTO THREE DISTINCT SECTIONS:
TORAH, PROPHETS, AND WRITINGS.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, TORAH AND PROPHETS
CONTAIN A LOT OF HISTORY.
THE SECTION CALLED "WRITINGS,"
WHICH INCLUDES THE POETRY OF THE PSALMS
THE WISE SAYINGS CONTAINED
IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS,
AND THE BOOK OF JOB,
ARE CONSIDERED TO BE LITERATURE,
INSPIRED LITERATURE, TO BE SURE,
BUT FOLLOWING THE RULES OF LITERATURE
IN GENERAL, DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT
THINGS THAT REALLY HAPPENED
OR PEOPLE THAT REALLY LIVED.
ANOTHER NAME THAT JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
BIBLICAL SCHOLARS GIVE TO
THE SECTION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
KNOWN AS "THE WRITINGS"
IS "WISDOM LITERATURE."
AS THIS DESCRIPTIVE NAME IMPLIES,
"WISDOM LITERATURE," IS LITERATURE
WHICH SEEKS TO CONVEY WISDOM.
IT IS WHAT WE IN THE WESTERN TRADITION
WOULD CALL PHILOSOPHIC
OR POETIC KNOWLEDGE,
OR THE LIFE-TRANSFORMING MEANING
THAT SOMETIMES MEETS US
IN A GREAT WORK OF FICTION.
WE'VE ALL BEEN SO CAUGHT UP IN NOVELS,
NOVELS LIKE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV,
WAR AND PEACE, OR MORE RECENTLY,
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE,
THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY,
OR HENDERSON THE RAIN KING,
THAT WE FELT CAPTURED
THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST MEANING OF LIFE
IN A WAY THAT A WORK OF NON-FICTION
SIMPLY COULD NOT.
WHAT MANY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
BIBLICAL SCHOLARS -- ARE SUGGESTING
IS THAT WE LOOK AT THE BOOK OF JOB
NOT AS A BOOK OF HISTORY
DETAILING ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS
THAT GOD ALLOWED TO HAPPEN TO JOB
THROUGH SATAN,
BUT AS A BOOK OF THEOLOGICAL FICTION
DESCRIBING THE SEA-CHANGE --
THE SHIFTING OF THEOLOGICAL PARADIGMS --
THAT WAS TAKING PLACE
WHEN THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN.
REMEMBER THAT THE REIGNING PARADIGM
THAT THE BOOK OF JOB CHALLENGES
IS THE SUPPOSED "FACT"
THAT GOD DIRECTLY PUNISHES
HUMAN EVIL AND SIN
BY DIRECTLY PUNISHING THE PERPETRATOR,
AND/OR THE PERPETRATOR'S FAMILY.
ACCORDING TO THIS THEOLOGICAL PARADIGM --
ONE WHICH IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE TODAY --
JOB MUST HAVE DONE SOME HEAVY-DUTY SINNING
TO WARRANT SUCH HEAVY-DUTY PUNISHMENT
FROM GOD.
THIS IS THE POSITION TAKEN BY JOB'S FRIENDS,
WHO GO ON CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER
CHALLENGING JOB TO "FESS-UP,"
AND SET THINGS STRAIGHT WITH GOD.
FOR CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER
JOB REFUSES TO "FESS-UP."
HE MAINTAINS HIS ESSENTIAL INNOCENCE,
ADMITTING THAT HE'S NOT PERFECT,
BUT THAT THE WRONGS THAT HE'S DONE
CERTAINLY DO NOT WARRANT
GOD'S ALLOWING SATAN
TO KILL ALL HIS CHILDREN,
DESTROY ALL HIS POSSESSIONS,
AND DESPOIL HIS HEALTH.
JOB IS A BREATH-TAKINGLY IMPORTANT
WORK OF THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE
BECAUSE IT CAPTURES IN WORDS
FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE VOICE OF GOD'S LOYAL MINORITY,
WHO WROTE THAT GOD
IS NOT A GOD OF PUNISHMENT
BUT A GOD OF RESTORATION,
THAT GOD IS NOT A GOD OF DEATH,
BUT A GOD OF LIFE.
AND IF WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE BOOK OF JOB
IS JUST AS INSPIRED
AS THE HISTORICAL AND PROPHETIC BOOKS
WHICH WE FIND IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
WE HAVE TO TAKE SERIOUSLY
THE FACT THAT AT THE END OF THIS BOOK
GOD COMES RIGHT OUT AND SAYS
THAT THE THEOLOGY OF JOB'S FRIENDS IS WRONG,
AND THAT JOB HAS BEEN RIGHT
IN MAINTAINING HIS INNOCENCE
AND REFUSING TO "REPENT."
JOB IS THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLAPSE
OF THE "OLD" THEOLOGICAL PARADIGM
THAT GOD IS INTO CATCHING-US-OUT AT OUR SINS
AND ADMINISTERING
THE APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT.
THE SUFFERING SERVANT SONGS
OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH,
NOT TO MENTION THE LIFE, TEACHINGS,
DEATH, AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS THE MESSIAH,
TOTALLY FINISH-OFF THIS OLD PARADIGM,
ALTHOUGH, SADLY, THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS,
AT LEAST IN THE U. S. OF A.,
PREFER TO STICK WITH
THE PUNISHMENT THEOLOGY OF JOB'S FRIENDS.
SO, WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO
WITH OUR READING OF THE BOOK OF JOB?
FIRST OF ALL, IT SUGGESTS
THAT WE NOT READ JOB AS A BOOK OF HISTORY,
BUT AS A BOOK OF THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE,
LITERATURE WHICH DOES NOTHING LESS
THAN FREE US FROM THE PRIMITIVE NOTION
THAT GOD IS A GOD OF RETRIBUTION
AND VIOLENCE.
SECONDLY, IT TEACHES US NOT TO BE AFRAID
OF BEING BOLD WITH GOD,
JUST AS JOB WAS.
THIRDLY, JOB TEACHES US
TO BE SELECTIVE IN OUR REPENTANCE,
MEANING, THAT LIKE JOB,
WE REFUSE TO TAKE ON GUILT
WHICH DOES NOT REALLY BELONG TO US.
REPENTANCE HAS BEEN CLASSICALLY DEFINED
AS THE COMPLETE TURN-AROUND
IN MIND AND HEART THAT BRINGS US BACK TO GOD.
THIS DEFINITION STILL HOLDS;
REPENTANCE IS A REALITY
THAT MANY OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED,
AND THAT SOME OF US NEED TO EXPERIENCE.
REPENTANCE WILL NEVER BECOME AN OBSOLETE
THEOLOGICAL CONCEPT --
AT LEAST NOT UNTIL THE KINGDOM OF GOD
HAS BECOME FULLY PRESENT ON EARTH.
REPENTANCE OR "TURNING,"
AS THE JEWISH THINKER MARTIN BUBER PUTS IT,
IS THE MOVEMENT THAT BRINGS US BACK TO GOD.
BUT WHAT IF WE HAVE NEVER SERIOUSLY
STRAYED FROM GOD TO BEGIN WITH?
THIS IS THE SITUATION DESCRIBED
IN THE BOOK OF JOB.
THE ENTIRE BOOK OF JOB HAS MADE IT CLEAR
THAT JOB HAS NO NEED TO REPENT;
INDEED, IF JOB HAD REPENTED,
HE WOULD HAVE BEEN INSULTING GOD
BY GIVING IN TO THE BAD THEOLOGY
OF HIS FRIENDS.
WHAT TO DO, THEN, WITH THIS MORNING'S TEXT,
WHERE AT THE VERY END OF THE BOOK OF JOB,
IT'S SUMMATION, SO TO SPEAK,
WE ARE TOLD IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS
THAT JOB DID JUST THIS -- REPENTED.
WE ARE TOLD BY A MAJORITY
OF MOST TRANSLATIONS,
SUCH AS THE FIRST VERSION OF VERSE SIX
IN OUR BULLETIN THIS MORNING,
FROM THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION,
THAT JOB SAYS TO GOD:
"THEREFORE I DESPISE MYSELF,
AND REPENT IN DUST AND ASHES."
WHAT STRANGE WORDS TO PUT IN JOB'S MOUTH,
WHEN ALMOST THE ENTIRE BOOK UP TO THIS POINT
HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO THE TOPIC
OF REJECTING UNWARRANTED REPENTANCE.
IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF THE BIBLE'S
CONTRADICTING ITSELF?
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.
THIS IS WHY I HAVE PROVIDED
AN ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATION OF VERSE SIX
ACCEPTED BY A MINORITY,
BUT A STRONG MINORITY,
OF BIBLICAL SCHOLARS.
SINCE BIBLICAL HEBREW
WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
ONLY USING CONSONANTS,
ALLOWING THE READER
TO FILL-IN THE VOWELS,
AND, THUS, THE CORRECT MEANING,
IT IS POSSIBLE IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES
TO COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATION
WHICH COULD BE THE CORRECT TRANSLATION.
SOME BELIEVE THAT JOB CHAPTER 42, VERSE 6
IS ONE OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR SCRIPTURE READING
IN THE BULLETIN, YOU WILL SEE
THAT AFTER THE TRADITIONAL RENDERING
OF VERSE SIX, THERE IS
AN ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATION OF VERSE SIX
WHICH HAS JOB SAYING TO GOD:
"THEREFORE I WILL STAND MY GROUND
AND NOT REPENT IN DUST AND ASHES.”
IN OTHER WORDS, "I WILL NOT REPENT,
BECAUSE REPENTANCE FOR ME,
AT LEAST AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE,
WOULD BE TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE."
THIS RENDERING, AT LEAST FOR ME,
HAS THE VIRTUE OF ALLOWING JOB --
NOT TO MENTION GOD! --
TO REMAIN CONSISTENT,
AND OF NOT HAVING HIM CAVE IN
TO THE BAD THEOLOGY OF HIS FRIENDS
AT THE LAST MINUTE,
AND GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS OF REPENTANCE,
WHEN THEY DON’T APPLY TO HIM.
THE TRADITIONAL TRANSLATION OF THIS VERSE
ALONG THE LINES OF
"THEREFORE I DESPISE MYSELF
AND REPENT IN DUST AND ASHES,"
HAS JOB AFFIRMING -- AT THE VERY END --
THE BAD THEOLOGY OF HIS FRIENDS,
THE VERY THEOLOGY THAT GOD REPUDIATES
IN THE VERSES THAT FOLLOW.
MY HUNCH IS THAT THE TRADITIONAL,
CONVENTIONAL, AND OLD-PARADIGM
TRANSLATION OF THIS VERSE
HAS BEEN MAINTAINED
IN MOST JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRANSLATIONS
BECAUSE MANY OF THOSE WHO ARE JEWISH
AND MANY OF THOSE WHO ARE CHRISTIAN
ARE TOO AFRAID OF GOD
TO TAKE THE RISK OF RUNNING WITH
JOB'S NEW-PARADIGM
OF CONTINUING TO BE BOLD WITH GOD,
AND SAYING, SHOCKINGLY,
"THEREFORE I WILL STAND MY GROUND
AND NOT CLOTHE MYSELF
IN DUST AND ASHES."
AFTER ALL, THIS IS THE SAME JOB
WHO EARLIER HAD THE GUTS TO SAY TO GOD
"THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I HOPE IN HIM;"
(Job 13:15)
AND EVENTUALLY TO RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSING
FOR SAYING SOMETHING SO OUTRAGEOUS.
WHY DOES GOD BLESS
SUCH AN OUTRAGEOUS STATEMENT?
BECAUSE GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF THE PROCESS
OF INSPIRING AT LEAST A FEW
OF THE BIBLICAL AUTHORS,
AUTHORS LIKE THE AUTHOR OF JOB,
TO BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND GOD IN A NEW WAY,
AS A GOD WHO CAN BE APPROACHED,
AS A GOD WHO IS INTO INSPIRING HOPE IN PEOPLE,
AND NOT INTO SLAYING THEM.
SO, WHAT DOES THIS WAY OF LOOKING AT JOB
HAVE TO DO WITH OUR OWN SPIRITUALITY,
OUR OWN WAY OF BEING-WITH-GOD?
USING THE PRINCIPLE
THAT WHAT APPLIES TO A BIBLICAL CHARACTER
APPLIES TO US AS WELL,
GIVES US PERMISSION
TO BE BOLD WITH GOD
IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THAT JOB
IS BOLD WITH GOD.
WE CAN SAY, ALONG WITH JOB,
"THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I HOPE IN HIM."
WE CAN SAY TO GOD, ALONG WITH JACOB,
"I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNTIL YOU BLESS ME."
WE CAN SAY TO GOD,
ALONG WITH THE PROPHET HABAKKUK,
AND IN THE COMPANY
OF MANY PROPHETS AND PSALMISTS:
"THOUGH THE FIG TREE DOES NOT BUD
AND THERE ARE NO GRAPES ON THE VINES,
THOUGH THE OLIVE CROP FAILS
AND THE FIELDS PRODUCE NO FOOD,
THOUGH THERE ARE NO SHEEP IN THE PEN
AND NO CATTLE IN THE STALLS,
YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD,
I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOR."
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
THE BOOK OF JOB TEACHES US
NOT TO BE AFRAID TO BE BOLD WITH GOD;
IT TEACHES US NOT TO REPENT
WHEN THAT REPENTANCE WOULD BE FALSE;
IT TEACHES US TO STAND OUR GROUND
AGAINST FALSE UNDERSTANDINGS OF GOD.
AS WE HAVE BEEN SEEING
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS,
GOD IS ON A MISSION IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
TO RID GODSELF OF THE FALSE UNDERSTANDING,
THE BAD THEOLOGY,
THAT GOD IS A GOD OF VIOLENCE,
AND THAT GOD IS INTO PUNISHMENT.
WE HAVE SEEN HOW WE HUMANS --
OFTEN INCLUDING THE AUTHORS OF SCRIPTURE --
PROJECT OUR OWN VIOLENCE ONTO GOD
AND THEN GIVE GOD THE CREDIT
FOR OUR VIOLENCE!
INDEED, ACCORDING TO A GOOD NUMBER
OF SCRIPTURE SCHOLARS,
MUCH OLD-PARADIGM THEOLOGY
HAS BEEN LEFT IN SCRIPTURE
PRECISELY SO THAT LATER GENERATIONS
CAN CORRECT THIS BAD THEOLOGY
IN THE SAME WAY THAT JOB AND JESUS DID.
SADLY, THE MAJORITY OF THE JEWISH TRADITION
AND THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS
WOULD RATHER REMAIN
IN THE SO-CALLED "COMFORT"
OF OLD-PARADIGM THINKING
THAN TAKE THE RISK OF BEING BOLD,
TO TAKE THE RISK OF NOT REPENTING
WHEN REPENTANCE ISN'T CALLED FOR,
AND TO TAKE THE RISK
OF CHALLENGING FALSE UNDERSTANDINGS OF GOD.
REFUSING TO LET GO OF
THE FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
AS VIOLENT AND PUNISHING
SEPARATES ONE FROM THE LIVING GOD
OF UNLIMITED COMPASSION
AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
REFUSING TO ACCEPT
THE RADICALLY NEW THEOLOGY
WHICH GOD INSPIRED IN THE BOOK OF JOB,
CUTS US OFF FROM ONE OF THE CRUCIAL MEANINGS
OF CHRISTMAS – THE FACT THAT GOD
HAS COME AMONG US AS A HUMBLE SERVANT
EMBODYING GOD’S OWN COMPASSION AND LOVE.
REFUSING TO LET GO OF THE VIOLENT GOD
OF JOB’S FRIENDS MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON
IN TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING FROM LUKE,
WHERE IT IS ANNOUNCED THROUGH GABRIEL
THAT GOD IS COMING, COMING DEFINITIVELY,
IN PERSON, TO SHOW US HOW TO LIVE.
AMEN.