The Book of Job is the Best Book in the Bible

For quite a long time, I hated the Book of Job. "Why would a so-called 'Benevolent' god torment his most devout follower (or anyone, for that matter) for no reason?" But then I was thinking about it over the past few weeks, and last night, I decided to read it in its entirety, and I discovered that it was the most beautiful story in the whole book.

There are two sides to it, the key is in the beginning. Satan walks up to God, and God said, "Hey, check out Job. Isn't he awesome? He always praises me, and I make him rich."
"Well, wait a minute here," replies Satan. "What if he praises you because you make him rich?"
"Oh shit..."
"Let me play with him a while and see if he sins against you."
"Alright, but don't harm him."

So Job is out in his field, and a few of his servants come up to him, and tell him one after the other that his livestock has all died of disease, that his crops failed, and that his house has collapsed and killed his whole family. Job still does not complain, saying "God giveth, and God can taketh away."

"Hey Satan, check out Job! He still worships me, even though you acted against him on my behalf."
"Sure, but if I attack his health, he will curse you to your face."
"Very well, only spare his life."

Satan got to work, and Job was covered in sores, and fell into deep depression. No one in society respected him anymore, and all he had left were his three friends, who remind me of Socrates' sycophants.

This is the meat of the story, as there is a long dialogue between the tormented Job and his friends, who believe that God is punishing him for some unknown transgression. The story says that they stayed with him for a week, but to me it seems longer than that.

Reading Job's monologues as his agony gets worse is an extremely powerful experience. In truth, he sounds like Imago and Ivan Karamazov, and he tries to level with God, and beseeches Him to answer.

"Therefore I will not restrain my
mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of
my spirit;
I will complain in the
bitterness of my soul...[J7:11]

"What are human beings, that
you make so much of
them,
that you set your mind on them
visit them every morning,
test them every moment?
Will you not look away from me
for a while
let me alone while I swallow my spittle?
If I sin, what do I do to you, watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target?
Why have I become a burden to you? [J7:17-20]

Here's where it starts getting really good:

"Indeed I know that this is
so;
but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with
him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand...[J9:2-3]

"God will not turn back his anger...
How then could I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
Though I am innocent, I cannot
answer him;
I must appeal mercy to my accuser.
If I summoned him and he
answered me,
I do not believe he would listen to my voice.
For he crushed me with a
tempest,
and multiplied my wounds
without cause...
If it is a contest of strength, he is
the strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who
can summon him? [J9:13-17, 19-20]"

Job then goes on to describe his existence for a while, and tell his friends that they are of no help to him, as they accuse him of some unknown transgression, and actually offer up the same garbage excuses that Christian fundamentalists like to say when something happens to somebody, "God punishes the wicked (you must have done something bad to deserve this)," "God works in mysterious ways," etc.

But then Job says something else. Job starts talking about how much evil goes unpunished, about how people wholly undeserving of success come into it and are never destroyed.

"Why do the wicked live on,
reach old age, and grow
mighty in power?
Their children are established in
their presence,
and their offspring before their
eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon
them... [J217-9]

Job ends his case by saying,

"Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! let the
Almighty answer me!)
Oh, that I had the indictment
written by my adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my
shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a
crown;
I would give him an account of
all my steps;
like a prince I would approach
him. [J31:35-37]"

God finally appears to Job as a whirlwind, but does not give him an honest reply by telling him his object. This is my only major complaint with the story, and probably will always be. God asks Job if he had ever done what God has done, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?" [J38-4], and if Job had ever killed a Behemoth, or tamed a Leviathan.

But that doesn't mean that God is necessarily angry with Job, because he actually chastises Job's friends; he says to Eliphaz, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done" [J42:7].

As much as God probably doesn't want to tell Job that his object was to test him, I think he does understand exactly where Job is coming from, as he finally restores Job's fortunes twofold.

I see two things in this story: Job's indignation (which I sympathize with), and God's resentment at the possibility that people can love him simply because they get something out of it (which I also sympathize with).

In fact, the latter case is what moved me to read Job in the first place, because a month ago, I had someone try to convert me simply because of all of the great things she said I would get out of it. I told this person, "I am not compelled to believe in something on the basis of reward or punishment."

I think its sad that people are greedy in their relationship with whatever god they happen to believe in. Wouldn't any kind of Divine Being see through that? What good would it be then, for them or It? It seems in my eyes to cheapen religious belief, if that is all it is for. After that dismal poll recently released by the Pew Research Center, its hard to imagine that for most people, God has any other purpose.

It's quite interesting, because I think The Bible is far more nuanced than most people would believe. Not all of it is so absolutist.

I just thought of something. Is Othello the Book of Job? HMMMMMMMMM.....

Othello: God
Iago: Satan
Desdemona: Job

Except that Othello ends up murdering Desdemona.