Since
then the book is not about fairness or suffering primarily, it is important to
grasp the scope of the book of Job. The unique format of the book and the
distinctiveness of Job as a character serves to separate the book of God from
the rest of the Old Testament. Job as a character and a book then become a
timeless lesson. Timeless here means that the message extrapolated from the
book of Job can stand the test of time since the characters and cultures have
been removed.
The remaining aspects of the book of
Job exist for all people in all ages in all cultures. Job is a man living a
life which becomes beset by drastic material hardship. Such a concept is
understood by all because all men know pain and loss. The speeches of God then
add a timeless answer because they reflect and point back to nature. No matter
the person, the scope of God’s speeches reflects realities at some level that
all men can understand and grasp. It is reflected in the book of Romans when
the writer points out that the universe displays the attributes of God.
Therefore, the speeches of God offer
by contrast the timeless understanding to the timeless problem of Job. It is
then imperative to measure the response of God to those timeless circumstances.
It is by so doing that you see one of the keys to understanding Job in light of
the rest of Scripture. God, as the controller and orchestrator of nature, displays
for the ever changing seasons of man, that His power and plan transcend the short
lives of men and demonstrates as such through the constancy of nature. Mankind then
should recognize and formulate their worship and sorrow through the active knowledge
of an unchanging yet careful caring God.
By so learning, the book of Job offers
for all men a perspective on the world and God of constant power and unchanging
action. This formulation can serve to separate God and show His transcendence. Yet
it is from this transcendence over nature that this sovereign God acted in the sending
of His son Jesus Christ to initiate suffering. Job serves as an example of God for
displaying the power of man’s love for God. And Jesus serves as an example of God
for displaying the power of God’s love for man.
