“And then the Holy One responded
Out of the storm came Job’s answer:
Who are you to shadow wisdom,
utter words without knowledge?
Buckle up! Now I ask the questions,
and you, big man, will tell me the answers
Where were you when Earth’s foundation was laid?
Go on, tell me if you are such a wise man” (Job 38.1-4).
Uh oh.
This was not how Job thought it would go. I don’t think he really believed God would show up.
But what did he expect? What did we think was going to happen after all the tears and accusations and professions of innocence? Take away that frame around the front and back of this poem, and we don’t know exactly what has befallen this man or why. All we know is that he wanted to be heard, to plead his case, and, in the end, be found innocent, unjustly punished.
In the best stories, you’re never sure how things will turn out. And the twist in the narrative, the turn that tilts the formula upside-down is one you don’t see coming. That’s what great stories do; because, that’s the best reflection of life.
It’s also who God is.
The argument from both sides, Job’s and the Trio’s, has been about certainty. Job’s core argument has been his own certainty that his suffering is undeserved. He’s lived a life that didn’t call for this sort of sorrow. He is positive, if all the evidence were laid out, the Divine would be guilty of an injustice.
Certainty also pours forth from the Trio. In every speech is the fact—undeniable—that Job’s plight is because of his actions. He’s done something, erred somewhere. There’s no other reason for what is happening to him to be happening.
But brewing beneath all of this was the question of how would this resolve? Would Job or the Trio be proved right? Would God declare one or the other the victor in this debate? Would Job be destroyed or exalted?
And then the Holy One appears on scene, and does what none of them, and none of us expected. What we get is a Creation-spanning description of things from God’s point of view. We get the question, ringing throughout, if we were there for any of this. And all of us, Job as well, can only respond with a no.
It’s confusing because it defies our expectation. There was no warning, no foreshadowing that this would be how it all turns out. It’s just the awe-inspiring, overwhelming presence of the One. And, I think, that’s the point.
Everyone, throughout, has dared to claim that they know exactly how the universe works. There are rules, immutable and unchangeable, and we can discern them, grasp them, and pull them like great levers to bring order into the apparent chaos of our world.
But from the whirlwind, God upsets it all. How can you possibly know how everything works when most of Creation is beyond your sight? Have you heard the stars singing? Have you seen the wild goats giving birth in the high mountains? Can you fathom the depths of the seas?
Then how could you know how it all works? How can you think you’ve got everything in this whole entire universe figured out?
How can you imagine you can define Me?
Holy One, forgive me for all the times I think I’ve got everything figured out.