What does the bible have to say about the problem of evil in the world?

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.