In the first reading, we reach the end of the Book of Job. In a certain way, the story line has been a prosecution of the events that “robbed” Job of his family, possessions, and well-being. The event was well described and presented. Witnesses appeared: the four dialogue partners – or perhaps they were the prosecution team with Job acting as his own defense lawyer? In Job’s closing argument, continuing to profess his innocence of any wrongdoing, he laments that the key witness, the Lord, has not appeared.

And the Lord appears – not to answer any of Job’s direct questions, but nonetheless to reply to a bigger picture of the world as it is and the way it works. In short, the Lord takes Job on a tour of the universe from the expanse of the galaxies, to the depth of the oceans, to the smallest of details of mountain goats cascading across the hills and heights. The Lord’s concern is for the smallest and most fragile of creation to the behemoths of land and sea. It is a world far more complex, rich, and expansive that Job can imagine – and yet God knows and cares for it all, from large to small. Now it is time for Job to respond.

“Then Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6)

John Curtis nicely summarizes Job’s response: “Contritely confessing that he has spoken beyond his knowledge, Job submits himself to the God who has appeared to him. This short passage blends together many genres: a confession of God’s power and wisdom, an admission of limited knowledge, an invitation to dispute a case, an acknowledgment of Yahweh’s appearing, and a recantation.”  [“On Job’s Response to Yahweh,” JBL 98 (1979) 497–511]

Throughout his speeches Job had held firmly to his conviction that God is all-powerful. In his lamenting, however, he has questioned God’s consistent execution of justice in the face of numerous examples that seem to contradict the standard of justice. Nevertheless, Yahweh’s words have reaffirmed Job’s conviction of his wise and judicious governance of the world. With an enhanced awareness of Yahweh’s lordship, Job concedes that none of the Lord’s purposes or intentions can be thwarted. Job now believes that everything occurring on earth takes place within the framework of divine wisdom. No hostile force, be it earthly ór heavenly, prevents God from carrying out his purpose.

Having been confronted by the amazing way God has created the world, Job admits that matters are too wonderful for him to understand. He comes to realize that divine wisdom is beyond the ability of any human being to grasp. In faith, Job acknowledges that the Lord is true to justice in his governance of the cosmos. In complaining that God rules unjustly Job admits that he has spoken beyond his knowledge and insight. He acknowledges his hubris in thinking he might have better insight than God into matters on earth.

At this point it is good to remember that Job committed no sin that led to his affliction and that he has not sinned in his lamenting. That is why Job does not confess any sin here. But the Lord has made him aware of the danger of his self-confidence turning into pride. In defending himself, Job moved dangerously close to pride, to being certain that he is able to judge God. In the end. Job humbles himself before God, conceding that he has misstated his case by speaking about things beyond his ability to know. In taking this path Job confirms that humility is essential for a vital relationship with God. With this concession Job demonstrates that he serves God for Himself alone and not for any personal gain or benefit, not even his own justification. Yahweh’s confidence in his Job, expressed in the opening chapter of the book has been completely vindicated.

Job abases himself and recants, confessing himself to be no better than the dust and ashes on which he has been sitting. Job has come to a true assessment of himself before the holy God, as indicated by the similarity of his words to those of Abraham when he interceded for the sparing of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the righteous left in those cities: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am only dust and ashes!” (Gen. 18:27).

Job both renounces all false pride and concedes that God has been true to justice. In recanting Job surrenders to God the last vestige of his self-righteousness and withdraws his avowal of innocence. From now on he will locate his self-worth in his relationship with Yahweh, not in his own moral behavior or innocence. Thus Job commits his fate into God’s hands knowing that he can bear any fate, for he has seen Yahweh.

Image Credit: “Job and his friends” (1869) by Ilya Repin, Wikipedia, PD-US

John E. Hartley, The Book of Job  (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988). Part of series: The New International Commentary on the Old Testament.