Posted: 5/25/06
Explore the Bible Series for June 4
Exploring the problem of evil in the world
• Job 1:1-2:13
By James Adair
Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio
Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there so much suffering in the world? If God is good and also all-powerful, how can God allow evil to exist?
These questions deal with the issue of theodicy, or the justice of God, and they are issues people have wondered about since the time when the idea of monotheism arose. Polytheistic religions have no such questions, first because their deities aren’t necessarily seen as good, and second because no one god or goddess is all-powerful.
Monotheistic religions that rely heavily on ritual as a means of appeasing God can get around the problem by proclaiming the person who suffers has broken some taboo or hasn’t performed the required ritual in the right way. Another way that people within a monotheistic system can avoid the issue is by assuming the person who suffers (or some family member, as in John 9:2) has sinned and is therefore deserving of punishment.
One of the main themes of Job and Ecclesiastes—books that present alternatives to the traditional wisdom perspective found in Proverbs—is that we don’t live in a moral cause-and-effect universe. Over the next three months, we will explore these two books in some depth, to see how they answer questions that arise in a world in which God often doesn’t act as we might expect and in which God sometimes acts contrary to our idea of fairness.
Job 1:1-22
One common explanation for why people suffer is that they deserve it, that God is paying them back for a life of sin or for specific evil deeds. Groups and individuals often are blamed for their own misfortunes, as when some people blamed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the sins of Americans in general, or when others blamed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the sins, of New Orleans citizens.
Such attempts to rationalize human suffering fail when applied to the book of Job (as they do when applied to real life situations as well). The author of the book states unequivocally in the first verse that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” He did not suffer because of his sins.
That is not to say Job was perfect, though some translations, notably the King James Version, use the word in 1:1. However, according to any system of justice based on merit, Job did not deserve to suffer the loss of his family, property and health as he did.
So we return to the initial question: why do bad things happen to good people? The first chapter of Job suggests three answers to that question. First, good people sometimes suffer because of sin. That doesn’t necessarily mean they suffer because of their own sin. Job suffered because of other people’s sin. The Sabeans stole Job’s oxen and donkeys, and the Chaldeans stole Job’s camels, and both groups killed some of Job’s servants. Job suffered because of the sins of the Sabeans and the Chaldeans.
Second, good people sometimes suffer because of natural disasters. The fire of God (lightning?) burned up Job’s sheep and some more servants, and a great wind caused the house where Job’s children were eating to collapse, killing them all. Lightning strikes, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards, heat waves, floods, tsunamis—these all are natural disasters that affect good and bad alike.
It’s important to note that these two causes of suffering are not mutually exclusive; suffering caused by natural disasters also can be caused in part by sin. When Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1998, thousands of people were living in squalid conditions on the sides of hills in the capital of Tegucigalpa. Huge mudslides buried these people alive.
That people should live in such conditions when the world has the riches to provide decent housing for everyone is an indication of structural sin, which combined with a natural disaster to magnify the suffering of the poor. Ask yourself a question: will more people die when a hurricane hits Florida or when one hits Bangladesh? Why? Poverty is a structural sin that makes natural disasters worse than they otherwise would be. It is no accident the poor in New Orleans suffered disproportionately from Hurricane Katrina last year.
Third, good people sometimes suffer for unknown, and ultimately unknowable, reasons. The scene in heaven where Satan accuses Job and God lets Satan do his worst to Job is obviously a literary device (How would the author find out about Satan’s challenge to God?), but it raises an important question: is God a capricious God who plays games with the lives of people? If so, then what do we mean when we say God is good?
Believers must be content at times to accept suffering without knowing a reason, if there even is one. Suffering and death are natural parts of life, as are joy and contentment. We frequently ask why God lets us suffer, but do we ever ask why God lets us rejoice? What have I done that God should bless me with the family, health and possessions I have? How can a good God overlook my sins and failures?
The mysteries of life are great, but I have confidence the God I serve is aware of everything that happens to me and cares about me deeply. In the end, that’s more important to me than knowing why things happen.
Job 2:1-8
The first two chapters of Job are one of only three Old Testament passages that refer to Satan; the others are 1 Chronicles 21:1 and Zechariah 3:1-5. In fact, in the references in Job and Zechariah, “Satan” should not be understood as a proper name, since the Hebrew literally reads “the Adversary” (the meaning of the Hebrew word satan).
Unlike in the New Testament, where Satan appears frequently as evil personified, the Adversary in the Hebrew Bible functions as an accuser, similar to a prosecuting attorney who brings charges against one presumed to be righteous. Satan is not castigated in Job for causing Job so much suffering, for the ultimate responsibility for Job’s dilemma lies not with Satan but with God, who permits Satan to act. The changing idea of Satan within the Old Testament and between the Testaments is a good illustration of the development of doctrine over the centuries during which the Bible was being written.
Job 2:9-13
After she sees the calamity that has befallen her husband, Job’s wife urges him just to “Bless God and die,” according to the Hebrew text. But of course she didn’t really say, “Bless God and die.” She said, “Curse God and die,” as the ancient versions and most modern translations indicate.
Why does the Hebrew text say what it says? At some point in the transmission of the text, scribes decided juxtaposing the words “curse” and “God” was a bad idea, because a person innocently reading the text could actually pronounce a curse on God, albeit unintentionally.
Changing the text to prevent an inadvertent curse may strike modern readers as strange, but it raises two important points. First, it reminds us the words we say are important, for they reflect our view of God. I’m not talking here primarily about profanity, as in a list of words we shouldn’t ever say. I’m talking mainly about the content of our speech, which is more important than the specific words we use.
Second, changing the text to avoid an accidental curse reminds us that while we should avoid cursing God with our speech, it is even more important to avoid cursing God with our actions. The name of God can be dragged through the mud without ever uttering a single cuss word, so it is dangerous to put so much emphasis on avoiding profane speech that we forget to stress the importance of avoiding profane deeds.
Discussion questions
• How do you respond to someone who says something like this: “Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on New Orleans because of the city’s sins. Does God punish the good along with the wicked” (Genesis 18:22-33)?
• What do you make of the wager Satan makes with God? How does the portrayal of God in Job 1-2 compare with the way you picture God in your mind?
• How does the portrayal of the Adversary in Job 1-2 compare with the picture of Satan we find in the New Testament?
• What are some ways in which people can curse God through their actions?
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.