My Confessions: My reflections on Job 4-5

 

I continue my reflections on Job.

Synopsis

After hearing the lament of Job in Job 3, Job's friend Eliphaz spoke.

Firstly, he accused Job of being a hypocrite (Job 4:4-5):

Your words have supported those who stumbled;
    you have strengthened faltering knees.
But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
 it strikes you, and you are dismayed.

Then, he told Job about the righteous judgement of God (Job 4:7-8):

Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
  Where were the upright ever destroyed?
As I have observed, those who plow evil
    and those who sow trouble reap it.

Next, Eliphaz spoke of the divine message he received. He exhorts that God is the most righteous and just (Job 4: 16 - 19):

It stopped,
   but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?
 If God places no trust in his servants,
    if he charges his angels with error,
 how much more those who live in houses of clay,
    whose foundations are in the dust,
    who are crushed more readily than a moth!

Eliphaz concludes his observations that woe is the natural state of man (Job 5:7):

Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

Eliphaz continues with his solution, encouraging Job to appeal to God (Job 5: 8- 11): 

But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
    miracles that cannot be counted.
 He provides rain for the earth;
    he sends water on the countryside.
The lowly he sets on high,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

Eliphaz also points out that God may us tough times as a form of discipline. (Job 5: 17-19):

 Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
    so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
    he injures, but his hands also heal.
From six calamities he will rescue you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.

Eliphaz concludes (Job 5:27):

“We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

My reflections

Eliphaz was probably well-meaning, as he attempted to give Job practical advice. He sees Job's suffering as a consequence of Job's sin, as (A) God is just (and therefore does not allowed unjustified suffering) and (B) God is a disciplinarian (as Job is still alive and has the opportunity to repent).

Note that Eliphaz's interpretation is wrong (as revealed in Job 42:7). While Eliphaz's idea of suffering as a form of disclipine was correct in some circumstances (eg: 2 Samuel 12: 13-14), he was wrong in assuming it was true for Job also.

But ascribing a supernatural reason to Job's physical suffering without reason, Eliphaz was being superstitious. However, I understand Eliphaz's position. It is much simpler and more practical to reduce the existence of suffering to a simple equation of sin and discipline, and therefore to repent, just in case.

But being practical does not mean being true. 

Alternative Culture: Japan Sinks review

 

It is well known that the Japanese home islands were formed by volcanic eruptions. But what happens if the islands start sinking? That is the scenario that Japan Sinks seeks to explore in the year 2020.

Synopsis

Japan Sinks follows the adventures of the Muto family as they attempt to survive the collapse of the Japanese home islands. Aided by strangers (including the enigmatic Kite) along the way, the Muto family overcome challenge after challenge to find refuge from the disaster. But will there be true safety from the disaster? How different will the Muto family be post-disaster?

Theological review
There are many themes explored in the ten-episode long series. For instance, there was a storyline involving a cult and the strength of their religion. There were also an arc showing the racism of some Japanese nationalists. Yet I just want to write about one of the themes.

When it all falls apart, what do you hold on to?
One of the things that kept the Muto family going was that they hold something to hold onto. Initially it was the unflinching optimism of Koichiro (the father) that drove the family, followed by sheer determination of Mori (the mother). Due to changing circumstances, the family and their associated group repeatedly have to change their motivations for going on.

Thus the members are consistently demoralised as their source of hope is unseated over and over again during the series.

What about us?
Japan Sinks is a thought-provoking film as it brings us to the age-old question: What is our source of hope? When things go wrong, who do we turn to?

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you. -- Psalms (139: 7-12)