Theology & Ancient Jewish - Research Paper Example

Name Professor Subject Date Eliphaz first presented to Job ancient Jewish wisdom by telling Job that “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?  Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more. “(Job 4- 7-9, NIV). This response implies that Job may have caused something to earn God’s wrath since he has fallen into very adverse circumstances. Furthermore, the ancient wisdom presented by Job’s friends are often derived from the book of Proverbs such as “ The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked,  but he blesses the home of the righteous” ( Prov.3:33). In ancient wisdom, a righteous person is blessed by God in many ways as Proverbs 21:21 states “Whoever pursues righteousness and love  finds life, prosperity and honor”. The advice of Job’s friends were philosophical and dogmatic which seemed to absurd for Job to accept. A circumspect reader would immediately notice at the beginning of the book that Job doesn’t have anything to do at all with his misery. In fact, God himself told Satan that “there is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” ( Job 2:3). Job response to his friends reflects his maturity as a man of God. He knew his calling and he goes beyond ‘contract faith” which is the argument of his friends. Job acknowledges the fact that God can punish his own people and cause them suffering, especially the wicked; however, Job does not consider himself wicked but an innocent person. He responded to his friends saying that he could not argue with God his case even if he is innocent or blameless. He acknowledges the sovereignty of God and accepts everything as he said “He would crush me with a storm   and multiply my wounds for no reason” ( Prov.9:17). Although Job has questions about God’s fairness, Job kept his faith by saying that “Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him” ( 13:15). Towards the end, Job asked for God’s response which all the more infuriated his friends. Job was not arrogant, he was just showing his claim to innocence and asking the supreme judge why such a heavy verdict befell on him. B. God’s answer to Job When God answered Job, his awesome speech that covered Job 38-42 talked about God’s handiwork that no mortal could accomplish. Indeed, God deliberately avoided the issue about Job’s suffering and seem to have responded with indifference. God’s response is making a silent statement by omitting answers to Job’s query. Nevertheless, Job accepted God’s explanation which all the more showed his faith. If God unfolded to Job the wager which had cosmic consequences, Job could have reacted differently. In the first place, the devil challenged the contract faith that most believers possess – appreciative of God’s blessings but mistrustful when undergoing adverse circumstances. Adversity draws the line between faith and unbelief for many people, especially righteous people who have similar line of thought with Job’s friends. I think God is already setting Job as an example to believers, crossing the old ancient wisdom and preparing people in the New Testament about the whole deal on faith. God’s response to Job “ Brace yourself like a man, I will question you and you shall answer me” ( Prov.38:3) reflects God’s superiority over his creation. This response sets man in his right position as a mere mortal no matter what achievements he may have in this life. This response is very interesting since God is telling Job the difference between man and creator. Certainly, the lesson derived from Job’s story is a classic tale of faith despite the worst circumstances. Qoheleth in Hebrew means “preacher” and one of the greatest preacher in the Old Testament would be no other than King Solomon. King Solomon lived a very good life where all riches, majesty, honor, and even women flowed into his mortal life. Whatever Solomon attained during his earthly life is unsurpassable compared to the contemporaries of his time. Remarkably, because God gave Solomon wisdom, he disdained everything that he has seen under the sun. The introduction in Ecclesiastes alone “Meaningless! Meaningless says the Teacher,  “Utterly meaningless Everything is meaningless.”( Eccl.1:2) is an expression that reverberates profound wisdom which comes in the form of paradox. The subject – which is life, seems not to coincide with the object – Solomon if you would look at it from an earthly perspective. The word “meaningless” that was mentioned 35 times encapsulated the message of Qoheleth. For the author of Ecclesiastes,” wisdom could not achieve its goal”( ABD,II, 276) since King Solomon saw many things in his life that did not fall into pieces as what Proverbs have taught about being righteous. The ancient wisdom that gave the formula – good man plus good works equals blessings did not seem fit to what Solomon has witnessed. He has found out that life is not a puzzle that you can solve by fitting the pieces together since the parts were designed to fit in properly. Like Job, Qoheleth was perplexed by contradictions in life such as “….the righteous who get what the wicked deserved, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve..” ( Eccl.8:14). Solomon gained insight in such events and realized that only God can decide the fate of a person in the end. In the text, it was stated that Qoheleth saw God as a distant being and the world as a crooked place ( ABD , II, 276). Indeed, since oppression happened in many places were innocent people die from violence and hunger which affected Solomon. Out of his richness, he developed a moral conscience that cared for humanity and got concerned about the fate of man. In fact, he even issued a warning to people who also would want to be very righteous since it has hidden dangers. He said that man should not be “over righteous, neither be overwise – why destroy yourself?’ ( Eccl. 7:16 ). Although Solomon was blessed with wisdom, he himself knew that wisdom just made him sadder, adding grief to his earth. In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom is exalted and people are advised to look for wisdom. In Solomon’s case, he gained wisdom that in return grieved him instead of consoling him in the first place. Solomon’s attitude towards wisdom exhibits a high degree of humility since he disdained wisdom rather than taking pride in it. He could have boasted and used such wisdom to create an Imperial Army like the Persians or Romans to conquer lands and enrich themselves more. It would be hard to say that when one is as rich as Solomon, one would be satisfied. In fact, many rulers in this world become greedy after having a taste of the good things in life. So in this case, Solomon’s wisdom was not earthly wisdom but godly wisdom that sees thing from God’s eyes. In the text, the commentary stated that one of Qoheleth’s frustration is realizing that “ Death did not take virtue or vice into consideration” ( ABD, II,277). No amount of riches can make a man live forever which is why everybody should accept death as inevitable. Even Solomon knew that well but his skeptical attitude takes a deeper insight at death. Solomon believes that as long as there is life, there is hope. When a person dies, everything in his life has ended no matter how glorious his life maybe. For this reason, Solomon advised readers to enjoy life moderately since death will come and put everything away. Although the commentary made a more grim description of Solomon making him look like a pessimist, still, his teachings about enjoying life show something promising for man. First, all hope is not lost while one is alive so enjoy the fruit of your labors and days of your youth. Time would come where people’s bodies would prohibit them to pursue activities because of old age so better do what you can while you are young. Nevertheless, Solomon also emphasizes the need to “ Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man” ( Eccl.12:13). Looking at Solomon’s conclusion, it can be said that he values life although it is meaningless. In fact, it becomes meaningless because almost all people live in a routine where everything seems predictable so people stay in their comfort zone. If people want meaning in their lives, then they must serve God but not too much that they become self-righteous and punish themselves. As Ludwig Wittgentstein said “ To believe in a God means to see that life has meaning…That this meaning does not lie in it but outside it” (qtd. Yancey, 151) The wisdom tradition of the Bible still teaches us many important things in this day and age. Much of these wisdom traditions are sourced from the book of Proverbs which is a good guideline for Christian living. The sayings are practical such as teaching young men to avoid the snare of the temptress and other good advice such as obedience to one’s parents etc. Also, the wisdom tradition tells us that if we live in a righteous manner, we would be avoiding troubles in our life which really makes good sense. In fact, the wisdom tradition in the Bible is applicable since the teachings are ageless and Biblical truth is immutable. The problem only comes in when people think that being righteous is a panacea to everything, which is not. Following the ancient wisdom is one way of keeping God’s commandments and showing our commitment to our faith; however, there is no guarantee that life would always be a bed of roses. First of all, life is imperfect for this is a fallen world. Sickness,disease,wars, pestilence and many other bad things can strike just about anyone without knowing why- like in the case of Job. There’s no shield that can make believers immune to sickness nor pain since things happen as they are. In short, following the wisdom tradition of the Bible is good and ideal for it puts us in the right track. Nevertheless, people should understand that they should do the good work not as a way of expecting good things but because we simply believe in God. Hopefully, may believers have the same faith similar to Job who accepted his fate even though he did not understand why. Works Cited Anchor Bible Dictionary. ABD, II, 276. Anchor Bible Dictionary .ABD, II,277 Holy Bible. New International Version. Yancey, Philip. The Bible Jesus Read. 1999. Reprint. Mandaluyong: OMF Literature, 2005. Print. Read More