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Identifying Stanzas in Lamentations

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For a number of years, I have been following Joe Carter’s excellent Bible reading plan: Read an entire book of the Bible 20 times. Pick another; read it 20 times. Repeat. I just finished working through Lamentations, which was surprisingly refreshing. As my wife just had a baby, I don’t have time to compose a full interpretive walkthrough just yet. But I’d like to comment briefly on the book’s literary units.

Photo by Sofia Alejandra from Pexels

Lamentations seems quite straightforward, with five main poems, matching the five chapters in our English Bibles. This seems all the more straightforward when you learn (perhaps from a commentary or study note) that the first four chapters are all acrostic poems in Hebrew, where each verse (or, in the case of chapter 3, every three verses) starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

In fact, my initial take on the book labeled the five chapters with the following headings:

  1. Grief
  2. Loss
  3. Wrestling
  4. Shellshock
  5. Appeal

But David Dorsey, in his masterpiece The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, makes a compelling case for recognizing an additional structure superimposed over the acrostic structure. Upon reading the entire book in one sitting, day after day, I observed that the poems ebb and flow with periodic shifts in the pronouns. For example, chapter 1 begins in third person (“the city … she … her … Judah … Zion … Jerusalem” — Lam 1:1-11) but shifts to first person exactly halfway through, as the people express their groaning (“I … my … me … my” — Lam 1:12-22).

I hadn’t yet sat down to map out the shifts and consider how they might affect the structure and flow of thought. But I was not surprised when I read Dorsey’s analysis pulling it all together. By collecting the pronoun-shifts into the main stanzas, Dorsey (p.251) identifies 13 sections (perhaps we’d consider them lengthy stanzas?) in the book, which match up in mirror-image pairs:

  • she—Zion—is desolate and devastated (Lam 1:1-11)
    • I—Zion—was betrayed and defeated (Lam 1:12-22)
      • he—Yahweh—has caused this in his anger (Lam 2:1-8)
        • they—princes, maidens, nurslings, children, mothers—suffer (Lam 2:9-12)
          • you—Zion—should cry out to God (Lam 2:13-22)
            • he—Yahweh—has afflicted (Lam 3:1-20)
              • CLIMAX: Yahweh’s great love! (Lam 3:21-32)
            • he—Yahweh—afflicts humans (Lam 3:33-39)
          • you—Yahweh—to you I cry out (Lam 3:40-66)
        • they—princes, maidens, nurslings, children, mothers—suffer (Lam 4:1-10)
      • he—Yahweh—has caused this in his anger (Lam 4:11-16)
    • we—the people of Zion—were betrayed and defeated (Lam 4:17-22)
  • we—the people of Zion—are desolate and devastated (Lam 5:1-22)

The heartbreaking poetry of Lamentations is quite moving, and it gives us a vocabulary for our own losses and laments. And the book’s structure greatly helps us to recognize the book’s overall message, which is one of profound hope in the midst of the deepest suffering. Even when the king who was supposed to save is himself wrecked (Lam 4:20), the law and the prophets have failed to provide the life and direction you need (Lam 2:9), and the place where God and man are supposed to be able to dwell together in peace is no more (Lam 5:18)—there is a big “but” writ large across time and space:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of Yahweh never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lam 3:21-22)

The structure gives us every reason to look to the book’s center for the key message, which just might become a hinge for our perspectives on dark situations. As Ryan put it, when he explained why the context of Lamentations 3 matters:

We should remember the steadfast love of the Lord every day, but we need reminders most when we feel it least. When we’re tempted to lose heart, when our souls are cast down, we need to remember what God is really like.

Join the author of Lamentations. Recall the mercies of God throughout history and in your own life. Remember that he is your portion. Wait for him; he will have compassion according to his abundant, steadfast love.

The Argument of Hebrews 3:1-6

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I appreciate Mike Leake’s reflection on Hebrews 3:1-6, where he walks through the passage’s argument in plain language. Take a gander.

When I read Hebrews 3:1-6 I tend to get that glazed over look on my face. It’s not that I don’t understand the words or even the structure of the sentences. The overall point is pretty simple; namely, Jesus is greater than Moses. But when I’ve read it I’ve always felt like I was missing something.

Why is the author of Hebrews telling us this? How does this serve his argument? I know that Jesus is better than Moses, but what is all this talk about building a house?

Check it out!

Guidance for Your Turn Exercises

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The most frequent feedback I have received on my book Knowable Word is the request for an “answer key” to the Your Turn exercises found throughout the book. To date, I have staunchly refused providing one to any inquirer on the ground that the act of providing my own answer key would undermine the entire purpose of helping you gain the confidence you need to study the Bible for yourself and to believe you are approved to do so.

Image by Shammeer Pk from Pixabay

However, I have become persuaded that the climb – from spectator of my ongoing demonstration of the OIA method with Genesis 1 to practitioner of the self-guided study questions for Genesis 2 – is a bit too steep for some who may have never before tried this at home. So I have decided to now let people know how I would answer the questions I pose in those Your Turn exercises.

But I will do so only if you promise not to view those answers as the only “right” answers. And if you don’t look at those answers until you’ve first tried to answer the questions for yourself. I offer them not as an authoritative or impeccable way to study Genesis 2:4-25, but simply as a potential measuring rod by which you can evaluate whether you’re on the right track in practicing the skills laid out in the book.

Therefore, if you would like to read my answers to the Your Turn exercises, you really ought to first try them yourself. Then if you want to see if you’re on the right track, you can visit this page to find the Guidance for Your Turn Exercises. In the future, you can access it from the Resources page. It wasn’t ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator or anything like that, but perhaps it will provide some suitable help and courage.

May every word of God prove true, as he proves to be a shield to those who take refuge in him (Prov 30:5).

Software Update

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Just a quick update to let you know that we’ve switched over to a new subscription delivery software called follow.it. If you are an email subscriber, please don’t be surprised when your emails look a little different.

And if you are an RSS subscriber, follow.it will offer you many more options for how to get new posts delivered to you. You can check out the options to define filters or select different delivery options here.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or experience any bugs. And thanks for reading and studying the Bible with us!

3 John: Speaking the Truth in Love to Challenging Leadership Situations

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The Bible’s shortest book is easy to neglect but rewards a close look. This brief communication from “the elder” to “the beloved Gaius” (3 John 1) models for us both the heart and the practice of sincere ministry in a fallen world. Verse 1 introduces the twin themes of love and truth, which permeate the letter.

Regarding love: John loves Gaius (3 John 1), and Gaius loves the stranger-brothers (3 John 5-6), fellow Christians who are outsiders to his church community. Regarding truth: Gaius walks in it (3 John 3-4), we may become fellow workers for it (3 John 8), and one’s goodness may be commended by it (3 John 12).

Putting the two themes together, we see that Christian brothers have testified to both Gaius’s truth (3 John 3) and his love (3 John 6). It would appear that his love for the stranger-brothers was expressed—or could be further expressed—by planting himself firmly in the truth (i.e. walking in it), stroking in the same direction as the truth (i.e. becoming a fellow worker for it), and heeding its commendations (i.e. receiving its testimony). By contrast, therefore, he could fail to love others by departing from the truth, working against it, or being condemned by it.

This is all quite abstract, though, is it not? A survey of the themes will take us only so far. We’ll profit even further by following the letter’s train of thought from beginning to end.

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Literary Markers

Once “the elder” identifies his recipient as “the beloved” Gaius, he then directly addresses this “beloved” three more times: 3 John 2, 5, 11. Those three addresses (“Beloved”) mark three sections for the letter’s body. We could potentially also peel off 3 John 13-15 as the letter’s closing. So we can observe the following structure:

  • Greeting – 1
  • Body – 2-12
    • Beloved, part 1 – 2-4
    • Beloved, part 2 – 5-10
    • Beloved, part 3 – 11-12
  • Closing – 13-15

I’ve already shown how verse 1 introduces the letter’s themes, so let’s now walk through the letter’s body and closing.

Gaius’s Health – 2-4

The elder has heard reports that things are well with Gaius’s soul, as demonstrated by the fact that he continues walking in the truth (3 John 2b-3). And just as things are already going well with Gaius’s soul, the elder now prays as well that all may go well with him, and especially that he may be in good health (3 John 2). We could paraphrase these verses as follows:

As I have heard from those who have seen you in action, your soul is clearly doing well. I’ll ask God to make it continue to be so, and for that health to overflow to your body and life circumstances.

Now why is the elder singling out Gaius to receive this letter in the first place? The elder has heard reports referring specifically to Gaius’s attachment to the truth, so Gaius must be some sort of leader or public figure in the church. He is not unknown or unseen. Perhaps he’s a fellow elder in this congregation, responsible to help shepherd the flock. And the elder is praying diligently for the health of not only Gaius’s body but also his situation (“that all may go well with you”).

Gaius’s Church – 5-10

The elder now turns to describe what is going down in Gaius’s church. He begins by celebrating what is good (3 John 5-8) before frankly evaluating what is not good (3 John 9-10).

The good: Gaius is acting faithfully and with love, by sending out these itinerant, stranger-brothers in a manner worthy of God (3 John 5-6). He has entertained angels, and he’s treated them as he would treat the Lord himself, were he physically present. And Gaius hasn’t slowed down the mission in any way: He will “send them on their journey.” He’s making their mission more effective and less burdensome. Because they bear the name of Christ and have left so much behind (3 John 7), we ought to support people like this. This makes us fellow workers for the truth. There is much good to celebrate in this church and in Gaius’s leadership.

The bad: The elder has previously written to the entire church (though many commentators will disagree with me, I don’t see any compelling reason why he couldn’t be referring to 2 John here), but a man named Diotrephes won’t acknowledge his authority to proclaim truth or command obedience (3 John 9). Diotrephes not only talks wicked nonsense against the elder, but he also refuses to welcome the stranger-brothers and puts those who welcome them out of the church (3 John 10). So Diotrephes must be a leader within the church, exercising church discipline against those who accept the elder’s authority and obey his commands regarding what sort of missionaries they ought to support.

So although there is much to celebrate in the perspective and behavior of one of the church’s leaders (Gaius), there is just as much to condemn in the perspective and behavior of another one of the church’s leaders (Diotrephes). There is something deeply flawed here within the structure of the church that would permit Diotrephes to act unilaterally against the apostle’s instructions. This leaves the itinerant missionaries’ health in danger, at least in part because the entire church’s health is in question.

And this leads the elder to propose a way forward.

Gaius’s Assistant – 11-12

With the third and final address to Gaius as “beloved,” the elder commands him to imitate good and make sure not to imitate evil (3 John 11). What is this all about? How does the context shape the way we should understand this instruction?

Remember that Diotrephes is talking “wicked nonsense” (3 John 10). The elder now cautions Gaius not to be snookered by him. Don’t imitate him or his behavior. The elder goes as far as to suggest that Diotrephes has not even seen God (3 John 11). But Gaius—you who do good (3 John 3)—you are from God. You don’t need to get caught up in Diotrephes’s charismatic personality, his demands for loyalty, or his veneer of spirituality. And by all means, do not support his domineering approach to leadership.

The elder doesn’t leave Gaius with only the problem on his hands. Before he goes, he proposes a way forward to help Gaius make it right. This ugliness must be rectified before too long.

In 3 John 12, the elder commends another man, named Demetrius, who has received a good testimony from everyone and from the truth itself. The elder throws in his own testimony and that of his associates as well!

There’s much that’s not said here, so we don’t know precisely who Demetrius is. But there’s got to be a reason why the elder brings him up. The most credible options I’ve come across are that Demetrius was either the messenger who delivered the elder’s letter to Gaius, or another member of Gaius’s church—perhaps someone who had been overlooked for leadership because Diotrephes had seized the reins. But either way, the letter’s train of thought suggests that the elder is commending Demetrius to help Gaius lead the church in the truth, and to deal with the problem of Diotrephes. The elder wants Gaius to know that Demetrius would make a good fellow worker in the truth. A partner in the fight. A support in the mission of loving the stranger-brothers in truth.

In other words, Gaius does not have to stand alone in resisting the abusive leadership of Diotrephes.

Closing – 13-15

Now this is more than a little ugly. The elder has called out this guy (Diotrephes) by name, but in a way that remains surprisingly respectful and circumspect. He now concludes on an ominous note, however. There’s a lot more to say about this, but I’m not going to commit it to writing (3 John 13). Let’s do this face to face (3 John 14). These words have a more sinister tone than those that close 2 John, despite their similarity. There is no suggestion here that face time will have the result that “our joy may be complete” (2 John 12). Instead the final greetings are accompanied by a wish for “peace” (3 John 15).

Conclusion

Body and soul are intertwined. Though Gaius’s own soul is doing well, that health must seep out into his own body, and into the body of Christ of which he is a part. And since our greatest, healthiest joy derives from seeing one another walk in the truth (3 John 4), we must celebrate the good, identify the bad, and rectify the ugly. The good news of 3 John is that we don’t have to face such things alone.

Interpretive Outline

  • Speaking the truth in love – 3 John 1
  • Three wishes for the beloved church leader:
    1. Prayer for the health of the whole person and community – 2-4
    2. Celebration/confrontation of the brutal facts – 5-10
    3. Assistance in the trenches – 11-12
  • More truth remains to be spoken in love – 13-15

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Jen Wilkin on Improving Bible Literacy

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I appreciate this interview with Jen Wilkin on how to improve Bible literacy in our churches and why it is so critical that we do so.

Wilkin describes how she gained a vision for learning from the Bible herself instead of getting drowned in waves of opinions from others. Then she challenges us all to consider how to better train our own children in our families and churches:

Wilkin flatly rejects the notion that deep knowledge of Scripture is best left to adults and “experts.” “A child who is capable of reading is capable of reading the Bible,” she insists. “Children need early exposure to the Scriptures because they need to see them as a familiar friend. Reading the Scriptures to them—and then, of course, having them read them themselves—are all formative practices. Sometimes we think children should only read (the Bible) if they can understand everything they’re reading,” she says, but “we underestimate their ability.”

This is why Wilkin advocates for young students doing adult-type Bible study. “If high schoolers are capable of doing calculus and physics, they absolutely are capable of grappling with a line-by-line study of the Bible.”

The full article gives many more details on Wilkin’s background and vision for training others to study the Bible. Check it out!

Discourse Analysis of the New Testament Writings: Profitably Intense

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Discourse Anaylsis of the New Testament Writings, edited by Todd A. Scacewater, is an ambitious text that seeks to explain the structure and chief arguments of every book of the New Testament. I am grateful to Fontes Press for a complimentary copy given in exchange for an honest review.

Each book of the New Testament gets a chapter, where the contributor seeks to map out that book’s structure and chief arguments. Before doing so, however, each contributor takes a few pages to describe their methodology for “discourse analysis” (which is essentially the process of mapping out a book’s structure and chief arguments). A variety of contributors employ a variety of analytical methods, though many of them overlap, sharing the same theoretical influences.

But will this book help the ordinary believer in their Bible study?

Assessment

For many years, I have enthusiastically commended David Dorsey’s Literary Structure of the Old Testament as providing much help with the literary structures of every book of the Old Testament. I have long hoped for a companion volume to recommend that does a similar thing for the New Testament. Does Scacewater’s edition fulfill that role?

Yes and no.

Yes, it does complement Dorsey’s work — in that I can and will regularly reference this book when I seek to get a broad overview of an NT book. There is much insight here worth gleaning, and this book is well crafted to encourage us readers to dive back into the Scripture ourselves and continue to observe, observe, observe.

But sadly, no, it doesn’t complement Dorsey’s work — in that this book is clearly written with a strongly academic audience in mind. Dorsey is academically robust, yet still comprehensible to average Bible students. But the contributors to Scacewater’s work use a very high degree of technical terminology, both theological and grammatical, without defining terms. Many of them quote the Greek NT text without translating it. And they presume a high degree of background knowledge in the field of discourse analysis.

Therefore, I am happy to recommend this book as worthy of your time if you’re wishing to work hard and be stretched far. For a sample, see this reflection on the state of structural studies stimulated for me by the chapter on John’s gospel. But for most folks seeking to study the Scriptures, I will not be recommending this book as a matter of routine.

Finally, I’ll mention that one of the book’s endorsers, Stephen E. Runge, wrote of the varied approaches to discourse analysis demonstrated from chapter to chapter: “Some succeed more than others.” I heartily agree. Some of the contributions are not as clear as they could be in presenting a clear argument or distinct structure for some of the NT books. I found some others not especially helpful. But I find the chapters on the following NT books particularly strong and insightful: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter. I would more quickly recommend Discourse Analysis to someone seeking help with one of those particular books. (And in the interest of full disclosure: I have not yet finished reading the book. I’ve made it through 1 Peter and believe that has given me enough exposure to write an accurate review. As I finish the remaining chapters, I may add to the list in this paragraph.)

You can find Discourse Analysis of the New Testament Writings on Amazon or directly through Fontes Press.

Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, this blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Binding and Loosing in Matthew 16:19

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The Logos blog has a helpful piece from Murray J. Harris on the meaning of the terms “bind” and “loose” in Matthew 16:19. When Jesus entrusts to Peter the “keys of the kingdom,” along with the authority to bind and loose, to what is he referring?

Whenever evangelists affirm that all those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ have their sins forgiven, they are declaring that such people are “loosed” and have entered the kingdom. In this declaration, they are dramatizing on earth the standing verdict that heaven (= God) has already made. Similarly, those who remain unrepentant unbelievers are “bound,” and the kingdom is shut against them. Heaven has already affirmed this truth, for “salvation is found in no one else” than Jesus the Cornerstone (Acts 4:11–12).

Harris makes his case from the context of Matthew and other ancient Jewish literature. He models good contextual work to help answer a thorny question, and he draws useful implications for what this does and doesn’t mean for churches and church leaders today.

Check it out!

Job: How to Fear the Lord When Everything Falls Apart

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The book of Job is difficult, like Shakespeare is difficult: It’s old, it’s a play, and it’s poetry. But drink deeply from its fountain, and the refreshment will astonish you.

Literary Markers

There is a clear shift from narrative (chapters 1-2) to poetry (chapters 3-41) and back again (chapter 42). Therefore the lengthy poetic speeches serve as the book’s body, with the narratives playing the role of prologue and epilogue.

The poetic units of thought are clearly marked by narrative statements regarding who is speaking. Make a simple list of the order of speeches, and a shape will emerge:

  • Narrative prologue: Job 1:1-2:13
  • Job – Job 3:1
  • Eliphaz – Job 4:1
  • Job – Job 6:1
  • Bildad – Job 8:1
  • Job – Job 9:1
  • Zophar – Job 11:1
  • Job – Job 12:1
  • Eliphaz – Job 15:1
  • Job – Job 16:1
  • Bildad – Job 18:1
  • Job – Job 19:1
  • Zophar – Job 20:1
  • Job – Job 21:1
  • Eliphaz – Job 22:1
  • Job – Job 23:1
  • Bildad – Job 25:1
  • Job – Job 26:1
  • Job – Job 27:1
  • Job – Job 29:1
  • Elihu – Job 32:6
  • Elihu – Job 34:1
  • Elihu – Job 35:1
  • Elihu – Job 36:1
  • Yahweh – Job 38:1
  • Yahweh – Job 40:1
  • Job – Job 40:3
  • Yahweh – Job 40:6
  • Job – Job 42:1
  • Narrative epilogue – Job 42:7-17

So a cursory glance at the list shows us that Job interacts with three friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Then Job monologues on his own. Then a fourth friend, Elihu, monologues. Then Yahweh interacts with Job.

Let’s walk through these sections.

The Setup

The thing that gets Job into this mess is that he fears God and turns away from evil (Job 1:1). For that reason, when Satan goes looking for trouble in all the wrong places, God draws a bull’s-eye on his main man (Job 1:7-8, 2:2-3). Make no mistake: God draws Satan’s attention to Job, because Job fears God. If that fact doesn’t terrify you, I don’t know what will.

Consider what’s at stake here. Both the narrator (once) and God (twice) unequivocally assert Job’s fear of God (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). And this fear is the very thing Satan calls into question: “Does Job fear God for no reason?” (Job 1:9). Satan places his bet: “Job doesn’t really fear God; he just loves the nice things God gives him. Take those things away, and his ‘fear of God’ will melt into face-to-face cursing of God” (paraphrase of Job 1:10-11, 2:4-5). God goes all in: “Game on” (Job 1:12, 2:6).

The narrator’s key question is this: Will Job still fear God when he loses everything he loves?

Job’s Fear

Job takes up his lament in chapter 3 with his own key question: Why is this happening to me? He knows nothing of God’s bet with Satan. He has no explanation for his loss, his bereavement, or his pain. He curses the day of his birth and the night of his conception (Job 3:1-7). He even asks others to join him in cursing that day and that night (Job 3:8).

But when he turns to consider God, he has no curse. He has only questions filled with dread (Job 3:20-26).

Dialogue with Three Friends

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar then speak in turn, for three cycles, and Job responds to every one of their speeches. Eliphaz and Bildad both speak three times, but Zophar does not speak in the third cycle and so gives only two speeches.

It is clear that the three friends believe Job to be suffering because he must have some secret sin of which he has not yet repented (Job 4:7, 8:3-7, 11:4-6, etc.). It is likewise clear that Job believes himself to be innocent of sin (Job 6:10, 9:21-22, 13:18, etc.).

But whether Job sinned or not is only on the surface of the debate. The subsurface debate—and the reason for so many speeches—is the question of how to respond to suffering. In particular: What does it mean to fear the Lord in your suffering? The three friends believe that if Job really feared God, he would confess his secret sins (Job 4:6-7, 15:4, etc.). And Job believes that if they really feared God, they wouldn’t say such stupid things (Job 6:14, 12:2-6, etc.). Job argues time and again that fearing God means holding fast to him even when it looks and feels as though he has turned against you (Job 13:15-16).

We should also see that Job’s thinking changes, while the friends’ thinking doesn’t. Compare the friends’ first speech (Job 4:17) with their last speech (Job 25:4), and you’ll hear the wheels spinning and the broken record player turning and turning and turning and turning. Yet Job begins in league with them (Job 4:2-5), moves to a dark place (Job 7:7-8), and ends in a very different, yet still dark, place, knowing full well that his God will still see him when he dies (Job 26:5-6).

How does Job get from point A (God won’t see me) to point B (God will see me)? In chapter 14, Job realizes that his suffering would have a purpose if he could be resurrected; but he quickly discards that hope. In chapter 16, he discovers that his suffering would have a purpose if he had a mediator; but he quickly discards that hope as well. Then in chapter 19, he puts the two hopes together—envisioning a resurrected mediator—and he absolutely freaks out. In the next few speeches he discards even that hope as being too good to be true, yet the possibility of it changes him forever.

Job’s Closing Arguments

Job completes his dialogue with these friends in chapter 27, where he draws three conclusions:

  1. I have not sinned – Job 27:2-6
  2. My friends have become my enemies – Job 27:7-12
  3. Wicked men (like my enemies) deserve God’s devastating judgment – Job 27:13-23

Chapter 28 stands apart, with a very different tone and style than any other speech in the book. This poem’s “voice” is more like that of the playwright than that of any characters in the play. This chapter celebrates the fact that humanity will never find God’s wisdom through their own devices. Only by fearing the Lord can any person be able to find wisdom.

Job’s last major speech is directed at God, not the three friends, and makes three arguments:

  1. My best days are lost and gone – Job 29
  2. My worst days have come upon me – Job 30
  3. I dare God to speak up and challenge my innocence – Job 31

One More Friend

A new character named Elihu shows up quite suddenly in Job 32:2, and interpreters have widely diverging opinions on whether we ought to affirm Elihu’s speeches (like God’s) or reject them (like the other three friends). The most viewed post in the history of this blog takes up this matter, so I direct your attention there for a deeper dive. But here is a summary of the evidence:

  • Elihu’s argument is different. Where they argued, “Before Job began suffering, he must have sinned,” Elihu argues, “Since Job began suffering, he has sinned.” He doesn’t focus on the cause of Job’s suffering, but the response to it.
  • Elihu brings not platitudes, but concrete evidence of sin on Job’s part (Job 33:8-11, 33:13, 34:5-6, 35:2-3, 36:23).
  • Elihu speaks more times (4) than any of the other friends. Job never issues a rebuttal, despite Elihu inviting him to do so (Job 33:32-33).
  • Elihu distances himself and his arguments from the other three (Job 32:3, 11-18). He clearly believes he is in a different category than they are.

Elihu’s four speeches ring with incredible truth desperately needed by any innocent sufferer:

  • God has not been silent; he speaks through your pain (Job 32-33).
  • God is not unjust; he will eventually strike the wicked (Job 34).
  • Righteous living is not pointless, though we are insignificant next to God (Job 35).
  • You’re in no place to criticize God; remember to fear him (Job 36-37).

The Whirlwind

Just as Elihu completes his arguments, Yahweh shows up in a whirlwind to affirm them.

In his first speech (and the tag to it in Job 40:1), Yahweh employs the natural creation to show how Job has acted as a faultfinder. In his second speech, Yahweh employs the supernatural creation to show how Job has misplaced his fear and ought to recenter it on his God.

Narrative Epilogue

In the closing narrative, Yahweh sets things straight between Job and the first three friends. Though he called Job to repent of his arrogance (Job 42:6), he simultaneously commends Job’s faith in holding fast to Yahweh and his righteousness in judgment (Job 42:7).

And then Yahweh does something no other god of any other nation would ever do: He puts himself in the place of a thief, and he returns twofold restitution to Job for all he lost. A God of such grace cannot ever be manipulated or controlled. May we all learn to fear the one who sent his own son to die like a criminal, then resurrected him as mediator of a new covenant, for the salvation of the world.

If this God would allow the innocent Job (and Jesus) to be treated as though he were guilty, perhaps he can also make it so the guilty (like us) could be treated as though we were innocent (2 Cor 5:21).

Conclusion

This book’s main idea is not so much about suffering in itself, but about how to respond to suffering in the fear of the Lord.

Interpretive Outline

  • Narrative Prologue: One who fears God chosen to suffer – Job 1-2
    • Act I: Cursing one’s life while still fearing God – Job 3
      • Act II: Why we must respond to suffering in fear of God – Job 4-26
        • Act III: Informed judgment of those who refuse to fear God — Job 27
          • Act IV: The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God – Job 28
        • Act V: Uninformed judgment of him who needs to deepen in the fear of God – Job 29-31
      • Act VI: How to respond to suffering in fear of God – Job 32-37
    • Act VII: Reaching new heights in the fear of God – Job 38:1-42:6
  • Narrative Epilogue: Our dangerous Deity puts the fear of God in people, in part by taking the blame for their suffering – Job 42:7-17

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