Another Lesson from Job

By Wayne Harmon

At the end of Job’s ordeal, God gave Job and his wife a new life together. They had twice as many sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys. He gave them ten more children. In a very real sense Job and his wife were reborn.

God told the first three friends to apologize to Job, but let the fourth guy, Elihu, off. Elihu had sat and listened to Job and his friends argue back and forth about whether or not Job had sinned against God.

Job’s three “friends” were intent on showing Job how much more they “knew” than he did. Job, in his sickness and despair, argued with them for a time.  They thought they knew about God, but Job knew God.

Job 42:7: “After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” (NLT)

God goes on to tell the three friends that unless Job prays for them, God won’t forgive them for the lies they told about Him.

I think one of the lessons in Job is the difference between the Trees. I’m talking about the two Trees in the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Job and the first three friends are arguing events in terms of Good and Evil. Elihu, however, understands that God does not act in those terms. God IS Life. Every question God asks Job is related to Life, rather than to Good and Evil.

Two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; or more concisely of Life and Knowledge. Life and Knowledge are at odds with each other.

Those who prize knowledge desire ignorance in others. They want their “followers” to have just enough knowledge to understand that they have even more knowledge.

The scientist wants his students to know enough to see how smart he is, but not enough to challenge him.

The theologian wants pupils to appreciate how learned the professor is, but not educated enough to question him.

The preacher want his congregation to know enough to know that the passage he is reading is in the Bible, but he does not want them to know enough to point out that he is misusing the Scriptures.

In contrast, God is Life. God can be learned about, but can never be fully known and understood because He is infinite. Godly knowledge understands this and while it appreciates what has been learned, it has a healthy hunger to learn more.

Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” This filling will last for a time, as does food and water, but later there will be a natural and expected hunger for another filling. It is a desire to learn more OF God, not more ABOUT God.

When God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, they were spending time together and the natural result was that they learned a little more about God each day. They were filled for the day, and by the next day they were hungry and thirsty again for more of God. This was knowledge in its proper form. This is the only safe knowledge there is.

Paul warned against knowledge outside of God in I Corinthians 8:1-2 when he said that knowledge puffs us up and makes us think that we are more than we really are.

The wrong kind of knowledge blinds us to who we really are. It makes us defensive. Adam did this when God confronted him about his newly acquired “knowledge” that he was naked. He defended himself and blamed Eve. She likewise defended herself and blamed the serpent.

The whole lure of the Tree of Knowledge was that they could be “like God, knowing good and evil.” They could fast track their growth and not have to depend on those daily “feedings” to gain knowledge.

With the Knowledge of Good and Evil they could make their own decisions. It’s not that they didn’t want God; it’s just that they wouldn’t need Him all the time. He and they both could be free to do other things.

Wouldn’t God be surprised and pleased to see how much they had grown all on their own! This was a good thing, right?

This reminds me of an embarrassing event from my childhood. I had been watching my father drive his new car; a 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 sedan. I was convinced that it was easy to do, because it was so easy for Dad to do.

One day the car was parked in my grandparent’s driveway while my father was visiting them. The keys were in the ignition and I KNEW it would be an easy thing to back the car out of the driveway and park in front of the house.

Wouldn’t Dad be surprised, even pleased, to see that I could drive?

Wrong!

I got the car stuck on the bank of the driveway. It seems that going in reverse was very different than going forward. As I pulled forward to get off the bank I also discovered that turning the steering wheel doesn’t mean the car will go where you want it to go.

Fortunately for the car, and unfortunately for me, my little brother ratted me out before I did any damage. Lesson learned that day: knowing how something is done and knowing how to do it are two entirely different things!

Yes, one day I would be allowed to learn to drive, but I wasn’t ready yet. I think that one day God would have allowed them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, but they weren’t ready yet.

We aren’t told just exactly what God’s plans were for Adam and Eve. We can surmise that He desired a continuing and growing relationship with them. For now those plans have been put on hold. According to the last two chapters of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, things will one day resume as God intended.

I am awed that God’s desire to be loved freely and willingly is so great that He has allowed Himself to be put through so much suffering to have it.

He suffers in so many ways.

He suffers personally at being rejected and spurned by those created in His image.

He suffered the Cross in order to make a way of reconciliation with us.

He suffers when we suffer.

And there is, oh, so much suffering in this sin-sick world.

 

Copyright 2014: Wayne Harmon