Job Unravelled

The oldest part of the Scriptures we call the Bible is the book of Job. We know it's old because the language it was written in is called "Paleo Hebrew". It's a version of Hebrew that's older than the ancient Hebrew that most of the Old Testament was written in. This and some expressions in Syriac and Arabic point to a time around 1900-1700 bc. Now this in itself is hugely interesting, because it points to a time before the events detailing the rise of Israel as a special people with a special relationship with God. It predates the covenant with Abraham and the law of Moses. But it points to a time when there was an understanding that God was in charge and God valued goodness. The book deals with the age old question of suffering. It's a dramatised debate about it. In that regard it's just like some of the early philosophical discourses we find where the issues are discussed as dialogue. In this way the writer could put unacceptable views into the fictional mouth of one of the players, in order to deal with them.
Now the interesting thing about the book of Job is this: the main question is about the suffering of a good man. Why would a good man suffer? This chimes in with an understanding of suffering which surfaces in the New Testament too. The disciples ask Jesus about a man who has had a disease from birth and say, "Who sinned? Was it this man or his parents that he was born like this?" In other words there has to be a reason why people suffer, and that reason is rooted in their behaviour, because God is in charge, and he wouldn't allow the good to suffer. This is why it was assumed that wealthy and powerful people must have had God's approval, because otherwise they would not be wealthy or powerful. This must have caused a good deal of head scratching at the time.
So, the book of Job sets out to challenge this received wisdom. But note that the book presupposes one God, who is in charge. And this at a time when such a supposition would have been radical to say the least. It also supposes the existence of heavenly beings who can talk to and challenge God. (Don't assume that the Satan of Job is has the full blown negativity that we find in later Scriptures.)
The book questions the whole idea that suffering is because someone deserves it. It questions the idea that bad behaviour has caused the misery. It argues that in this world the very good suffer too. The book does not seek to give an answer to the question why people suffer, but it does want us to see clearly that suffering is part of the human scene, and goodness will not help us avoid it, any more than wickedness will bring it on. This understanding sometimes surfaces plaintively in the Psalms when the Psalmist cries, "O God, why do the wicked prosper?"
So let's look at the other question that arises with regard to suffering, Why does a good God allow pain and misery to be in the world at all. The answer has to be about the way things just are, and the way love acts. Love doesn't jump in to save us from everything bad. It walks besides us, takes on our suffering too, it opens pathways for healing, redemption, forgiveness, heroism, courage and much more besides. A world without pain might in the end be a world without any real emotion at all, the pinnacle of which is love.