Reading Job 28:12-19, 23-28
‘But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Mortals do not know the way to it,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me”,
and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
The chrysolite of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
‘God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he gave to the wind its weight,
and apportioned out the waters by measure;
when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt;
then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
And he said to humankind,
“Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.”’
Reflection
Over the past two weeks, we have dipped our toe into the book of Job. It is a messy and frustrating book, full of pain-filled laments and unresolved questions, beautiful poetry and arguments that endlessly circle and then peter out.
The lens of trauma theory can provide a route into interpreting the book. The recognition that trauma disrupts the sense of time and language can provide us with ways of sitting with the fragmented, metaphor-laden complaints of Job. Trauma raises difficult questions about our place in the world and how God relates to us, and Job makes space for these questions without rushing to answers. Job voices the pain, despair, and longing for justice that trauma-experienced individuals often feel.
Megan Warner suggests four ways in which the Bible can be a resource for responding to trauma. Three of these have been touched upon, in various ways, throughout this series.
- The Bible understands suffering and meets traumatised people where they are.
- The Bible tells us we are not alone.
- The Bible offers us words when we have none and gives us an authorised way of addressing God in anger.
Warner’s fourth suggestion is that the Bible models resilience. The biblical texts were repeatedly edited, with scribes amending and updating texts as they copied them out, and stories were adapted and reimagined as the ancient people responded to war and invasion and exile. There is resilience in this retelling. Resilience is not about remaining rigid and unmoving in the face of disruption, but about constantly responding to the world as it changes and finding new ways to be.
Like the rest of the Bible, Job likely had a complex path to become the book that we now read. Its journey then continued throughout the centuries as it was received in different contexts. The themes of the book of Job are timeless, and yet it has been constantly reimagined through literature and art and drama. Job’s story has provided words of both comfort and challenge, disruption and endurance, questioning and reassurance.
That journey continues today. Job’s story is not an easy or comfortable one, but it is honest and true to the experience of pain and suffering. There may well have been trauma behind the text, which the writer or writers expressed through Job’s trauma. In a world today that is also full of trauma, Job can be read as a comfort, a challenge, or at the very least as a companion.
Prayer
Living Word,
we give thanks for Scripture.
for words that share the wisdom of the ancients
and yet which speak to us today;
the comfort of familiar words
which speak anew in each new context.
Open our ears to hear these words,
our eyes to see the world we are in,
our hearts to discern how to interpret the Bible
with love and life-giving grace,
and our hands so they are outstretched
and ready to do your work. Amen.