URC Daily Devotion 26th February

I am painfully aware of how easy it is to dig one’s heels in, to keep repeating exactly the same line of argument; and even to distort the evidence presented by someone else so that it will fit one’s own prejudices. Eliphaz doesn’t hold back and says many things to preserve his own authority and to diminish Job.

In verse 8 he asks rhetorically whether Job has had the privilege of listening to God in the divine council. Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible this privilege is understood to be the context through which prophets receive their messages from God; but this is not the meaning here. Eliphaz is implying that Job seems to regard himself as akin to wisdom personified (Prov.8:30) alongside God at creation. As readers, we recognise the irony of the question. The prologue to the book is set in the divine council; and if Job had been able to listen in, all of his questions would have been answered before he even thought of asking them.

As the book unfolds, though, we progress with Job on his journey of discovery about God, about himself, about the universe, about cherished religious traditions, and even about the sincerity of friendship. Hopefully we are making similar discoveries for ourselves.

I’m sure that God could reveal everything about everything to us without our needing to ask questions; but then we would never know what it means to learn, or have the joy of that ‘eureka’ moment when we solve a tricky problem. The idea of growing in faith would also be meaningless. So I will thank God for everything that bewilders me and keep pursuing answers to all my questions.