Abstract: This essay looks into what the books
of Proverbs and Job to have to say about the problem of evil in the world. The
scope of “evil” in this essay encompasses of both moral and natural evils. Proverbs
begins by alerting the readers that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom. Through the use of personified wisdom and folly it calls us to choose
wisdom to reduce moral evil in human behaviour. Proverbs should not be
interpreted in a mechanical deed-consequence notion but more as life’s
navigation guide. In Job we see the consequences of what happens when people cast
flexible proverbial sayings into rigid laws like what Job’s friends had did.
The friends took pride in their wisdom but they were dead wrong in their
analysis because suffering also happens to godly righteous people. Satan
questioned whether Job only served God because of his blessings, and God gave
Satan permission to attack Job. Initially it seemed as if Job’s relationship
with God was shaken under the weight of his suffering, but in the conclusion we
see the display of the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom in action as
these sufferings instigate a profound formation of Job into the genuinely humble
wise man of great faith who serves God simply because God is worth of such
service. In the face of evil, it is not debate but the comfort of the close
human community that helps. Humans can never understand why God does what he
does; we can only trust in faith that somehow innocent suffering fits into a
larger plan of His.
The presence of evil and suffering
in this world is undeniable. Many atheists even used the existence of evil as
an argument against the existence of a supremely good, omnipotent, omniscient
being[1]. Some
have lost faith in the face of evil or suffering while others found their faith
strengthened. This essay explores into what the books of Proverbs and Job have
to say about the problem of evil in the world. Evil in the scope of this essay encompasses
of both moral and natural evil[2].
First, we examine the book of Proverbs.
As Holmgren[3]
beautifully describes, ‘proverbial expressions populate every language. They
are the wisdom of experiences gathered from the home, city streets… every area
of life. Collected over a long period of time, these insights into life are a
gift from people who have moved through this world before us. They help us live
a "successful" life in our mysterious universe. Profiting from the
observations of our forebears we are able to avoid danger and failure and find
a fulfilling life.’
Solomon, the wisest king of Israel,
is introduced as the author of Proverbs in 1:1, although this is disputed[4]. Murphy[5]
observes that the vocabulary in 1:1-6 is overwhelming: learning, understanding,
righteousness, discernment, knowledge, etc. These spell out the riches of
wisdom, which are not abstract, merely intellectual characteristics, but tied
to the practical aspects of human conduct. In 1:7, the fear of the Lord as the
beginning of knowledge serves as a motto after the introductory sentence, and this
statement is repeated again in 9:10. Most commentators[6]
believe that the introduction to the book (1:1-7) is an explanation of the
intended purpose of the whole book, which is to attain/know wisdom (1:2a), to
understand wisdom sayings (1:2b), to subscribe moral insight (1:3), and to move
toward maturity. In sum, the purpose of Proverbs is to challenge the reader to
attain God’s wisdom, which is to appropriate his design for life[7].
In specific terms, it endeavours to transform immature people into wise people[8]. In
Proverbs 1:20-32 the cosmic Lady Wisdom calls out in the public areas of
Israel’s life: the squares.
Hunter[9]
suggests that Proverbs 2 is a kind of summary of all the themes covered in
chapters 3-9. Lady Wisdom calls, announcing “security” (1:33) and “life”
(8:35). In fact, Wisdom is “a tree of life” (3:18). Wisdom’s counterpart, “adulteress/the
strange woman,” Folly, lead to “death” (5:5). From Proverbs 1-9, we can see
that if we are obedient in the way we build houses, pursue vocations, make
families and nations, we not only “walk in right paths,” as commanded by our
parents, but in doing so we are walking harmoniously along the grain of the created
order[10]. Proverb
8:2-3 goes out of its way to stress the call of wisdom is heard everywhere in
daily life[11]. Furthermore,
Wisdom has at least two faces in this book: she calls (chapters1-9), but humans
must respond (chapters10-31)[12]. The
theme of the conduct of the just (wise) and wicked (fool) and their
corresponding fate is dominant in chapters10-15[13]. The
character-consequence structure is persistent in this section[14]. The
teaching of the wise is “a fountain of life” (13:14), and “a fountain of life”
is “fear of the Lord” (14:27), which is also the beginning of wisdom. The
symbols of fountain and tree of life are frequent (3:18;10:11;11:30;13:12;13:14;16:22).
Proverbs concludes in chapter31
with the Valiant Wife. Bartholomew and O’Dowd[15]
observe that like the cosmic Lady Wisdom in Proverbs1-9, this woman joyfully
embraces the goodness of the created order, burying herself in every sphere of
life. They[16]
suggest that wisdom is not some intellectual climb to brilliance or moral
growth to perfection, but it is about navigating all of life joyfully and
faithfully in God’s good but fallen world and very practical. Overall, we see a
general pattern where wisdom/justice prospers, while folly/wickedness
self-destructs[17]. As
a response to the problem of evil, Proverbs seems to be calling us to fear of
God, as that is the beginning of wisdom, and to follow Wisdom, reject Folly. Reverence
for Yahweh produces wise behaviour, irreverence for Yahweh results in foolish
conduct[18].
However, the mechanical
deed-consequence notion is an oversimplification of the book of Proverbs. For
example, if one treats Proverbs22:6 as a promise, then it will indicate that
godly training assures a parent that the child will not depart from the path.
As a dark consequence of this, however, if a child goes bad, this proverb can
become a reason for guilt[19]. So
we can see proverbs are not infallible statements that are valid for every
person or situation. Rather they tell us what generally, usually, or often is
the case[20].
We will subsequently see in Job the dangers of casting flexible proverbial
sayings into rigid laws.
Next, we look at the book of Job. Right
in the beginning we see Job is blameless (1:1) and God stated that “there is no
one on earth like him; he is blameless” (1:8). Bartholomew and O’Dowd[21]
suggest that in Job the Satan is more of an ambiguous character; a wandering
sceptic, “roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it” (Job1:7). Satan
acted as a prosecuting attorney who was unwilling to agree with the Lord’s
verdict about Job, but was unable to point to a concrete sinful action, so he
astutely raised the question of motivation (1:9)[22], suggesting
that Job was righteous because he was blessed. Satan questioned whether Job was
serving God for his own profit, or for God’s sake[23]. Accepting
the challenge, God granted the accuser permission, first, to destroy Job’s
family and his wealthy property (1:13-22) and then, second, to strike Job’s
body with unbearable boils (2:6-7). Then, perhaps as an encouragement to commit
suicide, Job’s wife advised Job to “curse God and die” (2:9), but Job remained
faithful and still “did not sin in what he said” (2:10).[24]
As Job sat in the dung heap[25]
scratching himself with a broken piece of pottery (2:8), three of his friends,
Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar arrived. Job was silent for a week before speaking (2:13)
so it can be seen that Job was in severe distress and social withdrawal. As
soon as he spoke he cursed the day he was born (chapter 3). This triggered off
a debate over whether misfortune can come to the righteous from God[26],
which became increasingly heated as his friends insisted that God punishes no
righteous man, so man who is punished must have sinned, while Job argued for
his innocence. Another word, Job's friends have fallen into the trap of casting
flexible proverbial sayings into rigid laws,[27]
believing that proverbs and the theology that underlies them apply to every
situation and person in a mechanical action consequence structure. We all know
that they were dead wrong, as Job had been so careful about sinning that he
regularly made excessive sacrifices for his children just in case they may have
sinned in their hearts (1:5). The bulk of the poetic material in the book of
Job is taken up with three cycles of dialogues between Job and his three
interlocutors followed by a soliloquy from a new character: the younger man
Elihu who believes his precursors have left Job off too lightly[28].
Job’s relationship with God seemed shaken
under the weight of the suffering that was inflicted upon him[29]. In
chapter 9-10 Job launched a prolonged argument against God’s moral government
of the world. The lament-like complaint in 10:1-17 sees God as the potter who skilfully
fashions men and women in the womb not for the purpose of providentially caring
for them but in order to destroy them. God is like a lion, seeking out Job to
slay him (10:16). God fashions mortals only to ascertain their weakness and to
harass them until they die (10:8-17).[30] In
the transition from the first cycle to the second, Job’s relationship with the
friends deteriorated rapidly. Zohar’s rather patronising speech provoked Job to
sarcasm at the start of chapter 12: no doubt the friends were the ultimate embodiment
of wisdom, but he knows a thing or two as well. He was angry at being treated
with contempt by those who have so far avoided misfortune.[31] He
found the friends useless comforters who might as well be silent (13:5).
In Job’s final round of speech
before God’s appearance, he became once more critical of the friends,
suggesting they have false wisdom (26:1-4), and that the fear of the Lord is
wisdom (28:28). We see no development in the friends’ theology over the three
cycles of speeches. Their minds were set in familiar patterns and static styles
of argumentation[32]. Meanwhile,
Job thought God had made him His enemy (30:20-23) and protested for his
innocence (31:3-6). It was Elihu who rendered Job speechless. Weeks[33]
points out that Elihu adopted a rather different position from Job’s friends: He
was angered by the speeches of Job and his friends which he found misguiding. Rather
than worry over whether Job is guilty or innocent, all concerned should
understand the need for Job to learn from the experience, and Job’s attempts to
summon God was a complete waste of time. There are a number of features of
Elihu’s speech which foreshadow the arguments to be used by Yahweh, and his
manner of hurling unanswerable questions at Job (37:14-20) is exactly mirrored
in God’s speeches (chapter38)[34].
When God appeared, the audience of
the book might expect him to offer Job an explanation or apology. Job might
expect to hear the charges against him, the friends might anticipate that God
defend divine justice, and Elihu might even expect God to strike Job down with
his lightening[35].
God did none of these. Ironically, God’s answer was a series of more than
eighty rhetorical questions. The questions are of three types: 1) who
questions, which point back to God’s power (38:28), 2) what questions, which
emphasize Job’s utter inability (39:27), and 3) have you ever or can you
questions, which reinforce the limits of human power and knowledge (38:32)[36]. Job’s
impotence is underscored by the descriptions of Behemoth and Leviathan, symbols
of unruly power or chaos, whom only the Lord, not Job, can dominate[37].
However fearsome, these are only creatures in God’s eyes[38]. Job’s
experience of having seen God, about whom he had previously only heard, has led
him to a change of heart[39]. Job’s
response indicates his complete submission to the Lord, even in his suffering[40]. It
would not have occurred to the Satan that, by obtaining permission to attack
Job, he would instigate a profound formation of Job into the genuinely wise man
of great faith who serves God simply because God is worth of such service[41].
Job’s relationship with God was not only restored but strengthened, and God
gave him even greater blessings at the end of the book.
The final verdict of the book is the
friends have not spoken about God what is right, but that Job has (42:7-8).
This may puzzled some readers since the dialogue is dominated by Job
challenging, accusing and complaining to God, while the friends attempt to
defend God’s justice and explain Job’s suffering[42]. However,
we can see that the God depicted by Job’s friends seems to be a hollow and
shrunken version of the one who appears and speaks in chapters38-41. No human
dogma, even that God must act with justice, can bind or restrict the mysterious
God[43]. Job’s
friends thought they were wise but they were doing more harm to Job through
their human wisdom and self-confidence. In contrast, Job’s children, family and
friends came to him for feasting and consolation, bringing him gifts of money
and gold for all the “evil that Yahweh had brought upon Job” in chapter42. Good[44]
suggests that in this context there is a solution to the problem of evil and
Job’s relatives and friends succeeded in what the three friends failed in: The
comfort of the close human community, not debate and doctrinal instruction.
In conclusion, we see a theme
common to both Proverbs and Job: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs chapter1 begins with such statement, Job42 concludes with it when Job
indicated complete submission to God. In the face of evil, choose wisdom. The
fear of the Lord is not so much terror as it is awe and humility[45]. Proverbs
function as a guide to reduce moral evil. The book of Job demonstrates that no
one is exempt from suffering, even a saint like Job, who in the face of natural
evil displayed signs of social withdrawal and complained against God. It does
not explore why there is suffering but rather the question of how a person can
respond in the midst of suffering[46].
There is warning against the dangers of human wisdom and pride. It is not
debate but the comfort of the close human community that helps. Humans can
never understand why God does what he does; we can only trust in faith that
somehow innocent suffering fits into a larger plan of His.
Bibliography:
Bartholomew, Craig G. and O’Dowd, Ryan P. Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A
Theological Introduction, Downers Grove: IterVarsity Press, 2011.
Dew, James K. Jr. “The Logical
Problem of Evil.” In God and Evil: The
case for God in a world filled with pain, edited by Chad Meister and James
K. Dew Jr., Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2013, 26-37.
Dumbrell, William J. “The Purpose of the Book of Job”, In
The Way of Wisdom: Essays in honor of
Bruce K. Waltke, edited by J. I. Packer and Sven K. Soderlund, Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2000, 91-105.
Estes, Daniel J. Handbook
on the Wisdom Books and Psalms, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
Frydrych, Tomáš. Living
under the Sun: Examination of Proverbs and Qoheleth, Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Fyall, Robert S. Now
my eyes have seen you: Images of Creation and Evil in the book of Job,
Leicester: Apollos, 2002.
Goldsworthy, Graeme. “Proverbs”, In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T.D. Alexander and
B.S. Rosner, Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2000, 208-11.
Good, Edwin M. “The Problem of Evil in the Book of Job,” In The Voice in the Whirlwind, edited by
Leo G. Perdue and W. Clark Gilpin, Michigan: Abingdon Press, 1992, 50-69.
Holmgren, Fredrick Carlson. “Barking dogs never bite,
except now and then: Proverbs and Job”, Anglican
Theological Review, 61 (1979): 341-353.
Hunter, Alastair. Wisdom
Literature SCM Core Text, London: SCM, 2006.
Kelly, Joseph F. The
Problem of Evil in the Western Tradition, Collegeville: The Liturgical
Press, 2002.
Larrimore, Mark. The
Problem of Evil, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
Longman III, Tremper.“Fear of the Lord”, In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom,
Poetry & Writings, edited by Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns,
Downers Grove: IterVarsityPress, 2008, 201-205.
Longman III, Tremper. “Proverbs 1: Book of”, In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom,
Poetry & Writings, edited by Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns,
Downers Grove: IterVarsity Press, 2008, 539-552.
Mathews, Susan F. “All for Nought: My Servant Job”, In The Bible on Suffering: Social and Political
Implications, edited by Anthony J. Tambasco, Paulist Press: New York, 2001.
Murphy, Roland E. The
Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature, Michigan:
Eerdmans, 2002.
Waltke, Bruce K. “Introducing Proverbs”, Journal of the Christian Brethren Research
Fellowship, 128 (1992): 5-11.
Weeks, Stuart. An Introduction to the Study of Wisdom
Literature, London: T&T Clark, 2010.
Wilson, Lindsay.
“Job”, In Theological Interpretation of
the Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey, edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer,
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008, 148-156.
[1]James
K. Dew Jr., “The Logical Problem of Evil.” In God and Evil: The case for God in a world filled with pain, edited
by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr., (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2013),
26-27. Atheist William Rowe states, “The existence of evil in the world has
been felt for centries to be a problem for theism. It seems difficult to
believe that a world with such a vast amount of evil as our world contains
could be the creation of, and under the sovereign control of, a supremely good,
omnipotent, omniscient being.”
[2]Joseph
F Kelly, The Problem of Evil in the
Western Tradition, (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 3. Moral
evil is ‘the deliberate imposition of suffering by a human being upon another
sentient being.’ Natural evil is the harm done to us by natural forces, such as
storms or disease, just like the “evil” brought upon Job as described in Job
42:11 KJV.
[3]Fredrick
Carlson Holmgren, “Barking dogs never bite, except now and then: Proverbs and
Job”, Anglican Theological Review, 61
(1979): 341.
[4]Daniel
J Estes, Handbook on the Wisdom Books and
Psalms, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 213-214. Within the book are
several collections, some of them clearly ascribed to ‘authors’ other than
Solomon. It seems to be the nature of ancient proverbs that they lose their ‘author’
as they become popular and perhaps even improved in the process.
[5]Roland
E Murphy, The Tree of Life: An
Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature, (Michigan: Eerdmans, 2002), 16.
[6]Graeme
Goldsworthy, “Proverbs”, In New
Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T.D. Alexander and B.S. Rosner, (Leicester:
InterVarsity Press, 2000), 209.
[7]Bruce
K Waltke, “Introducing Proverbs”, Journal
of the Christian Brethren Research Fellowship, 128 (1992): 10.
[8]Tomáš
Frydrych, Living under the Sun:
Examination of Proverbs and Qoheleth, (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 25.
[9]Alastair
Hunter, Wisdom Literature SCM Core Text,
(London: SCM, 2006), 89.
[10]Craig
G. Bartholomew and Ryan P. O’Dowd, Old
Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction, (Downers Grove:
IterVarsity Press, 2011), 86.
[11]Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 267.
[12]Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 29.
[13]Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 21.
[14]Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 271.
[15]Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 124. All spheres: family, economics, religion, agriculture
(winemaking), marriage, mercy to the poor, artistic creations and more.
[16]Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 125.
[17]Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 15.
[18]Estes,
Handbook on the Wisdom, 223.
[19]Tremper
Longman III, “Proverbs 1: Book of”, In Dictionary
of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, edited by Tremper
Longman III and Peter Enns, (Downers Grove: IterVarsity Press, 2008), 545. Therefore,
it is wrong to consider the proverb as a promise. Instead, it is saying that if
one trains up a child in a godly way, it is more likely that the child will end
up godly than if there is no such training. It may be that the child comes
under the influence of a bad peer group and the child has gone the wrong way,
etc.
[20]Holmgren,
“Barking dogs never bite”, 342.
[21] Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 134.
[22] Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 36. This entails
the accusation that Job is worshiping God out of self-interest and God has
bribed him.
[23] Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 36. When Job’s
possessions, sons and daughters were destroyed and Job did not curse God, Satan
seemed to suggest Job was so selfish that he was only concerned about his own
safety. Therefore Satan asked for permission to harm Job, but Job still did not
curse God when he was struck with boils.
[24] Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 134.
[25] Hunter,
Wisdom Literature, 135.
[26] Mark
Larrimore, The Problem of Evil, (Oxford:
Blackwell Publishers, 2001), 135.
[27] Holmgren,
“Barking dogs never bite”, 347.
[28] Hunter,
Wisdom Literature, 131.
[29] Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 40.
[30] William
J Dumbrell, “The Purpose of the Book of Job”, In The Way of Wisdom: Essays in honor of Bruce K. Waltke, edited by J.
I. Packer and Sven K. Soderlund, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 101.
[30] Weeks,
Study of Wisdom Literature, 99.
[31] Stuart
Weeks, An Introduction to the Study of
Wisdom Literature, (London: T&T Clark, 2010), 57.
[32] Dumbrell,
“The Purpose of the Book of Job”, 101.
[33] Weeks,
Study of Wisdom Literature, 64. Elihu
was angry that Job wanted to justify himself more than God (32:2).
[34] Hunter,
Wisdom Literature, 141.
Interestingly, the younger man Elihu’s name can be interpreted to mean ‘He is
my God’, and it is quite clear that ‘He’ refers to Yahweh. Thus immediately we
find a significance in the name which is not present in the case of the other
three advisers.
[35] Weeks,
Study of Wisdom Literature, 65.
[36] Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 145-146.
[37] Murphy,
The Tree of Life, 43.
[38] Robert
S Fyall, Now my eyes have seen you:
Images of Creation and Evil in the book of Job, (Leicester: Apollos, 2002),
174.
[39] Weeks,
Study of Wisdom Literature, 66.
[40] Susan
F. Mathews, “All for Nought: My Servant Job”, In The Bible on Suffering: Social and Political Implications, edited
by Anthony J. Tambasco, (Paulist Press: New York, 2001), 67.
[41] Bartholomew
and O’Dowd, Old Testament Wisdom
Literature, 153.
[42] Lindsay
Wilson, “Job”, In Theological
Interpretation of the Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey, edited by Kevin
J. Vanhoozer, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), 151.
[43]
Wilson, “Job”, 154.
[44] Edwin
M Good, “The Problem of Evil in the Book of Job,” In The Voice in the Whirlwind, edited by Leo G. Perdue and W. Clark
Gilpin, (Michigan: Abingdon Press, 1992), 69.
[45] Tremper
Longman III, “Fear of the Lord”, In Dictionary
of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, edited by Tremper
Longman III and Peter Enns, (Downers Grove: IterVarsityPress, 2008), 201-205. The
Hebrew term for fear typically used in the expression “fear of God/Yahweh” is
yir’at, from verb yr’. The word has a semantic range that runs from respect to horror.
It is difficult to determine the exact English equivalent to this word in the
phrase. There is a debate as to whether it means “respect” or “fear.” It may be
that the word falls somewhere in between these two English words. “Respect” may
not do justice to the gravity of the word, though “fear” may connote an
unhealthy dread. An English word that may be a candidate for translation is
“awe,” understood as veneration of the sacred.
[46]
Wilson, “Job”, 150.
