The Comedy of Job
What is a comedy?
According to the Ancient Greeks, a comedy was a play with a happy ending. This contrasts to a tragedy, where the story ends in disaster.
Bizzarily, using this definition, the story of the suffering Job is actually a comedy.
Job starts off prosperous. Satan challenges God to withdraw His protection of Job and then Satan brings all he can do to force Job to curse God.
Job then goes through a horrendous time, but eventually God restores everything back to him and much more. This happy ending means this story is a comedy. Even a ‘divine’ comedy.
Who is Job?
Job, according to the Septuagint (the 3rd Century BC translation of the Old Testament), was from the border area between Edom and Arabia. He was likely an Edomite. A descendent of Abraham through Esau. This would make Job a gentile in the eyes of the Israelites. Little is known about the Edomite religion, but as Esau was Jacob’s brother, it would be a reasonable assumption that Job would believe in Yahweh.
Why does God allow Job’s suffering?
This is heavily contested. It is used by some to prove that God is vindictive, unloving and evil. Others, to say that Job brought it on himself.
My thought is that God wanted to reveal Himself to Job in a deeper way. Sometimes, when we need to move on with God, He will allow us to go through a time of testing; a fire in order to purify us.
Job learns several vital lesson through this experience.
We have to trust God in all circumstances.
God’s plans override our own plans.
And when God restores, it is more than we have had before.
Was Satan tricked?
Satan thought Job would curse God and die. Destruction of God’s creation is Satan’s ultimate goal. However, God knows the beginning from the end. He knew Job would not curse Him. And He knew that through this episode, Job would trust God more. Satan failed to understand this and was used by God to further His own plans. Satan was a pawn in God’s game and he didn’t even realise it.
The story of Job may not be side-splittingly hilarious, but it is still a comedy. Job’s happy ending meant that all was restored to him, beyond all he could have hoped and his relationship with God was stronger and deeper.
Remember, as Christians, similar to Job, our lives are comedies, not tragedies.