The Rationale for Suffering (1)

Happy the man whom Yah chastises, and whom from His teaching He instructs, to make him quiet in evil days until a pit is dug for the wicked.  Psalm 94:12-13  Robert Alter

Chastises – Are you happy?  Maybe today, but what about the days when nothing goes right?  What about those days when you truly suffer, when a close loved one dies, when you’re abused, when some evil person gets away with harming you?  What then?  Well, David offers a solution.  You might not like his suggestion, but it’s worth considering.  Robert Alter writes the following:

“This is the turning point in the poem, the moment when a rationale is offered for the present suffering of the innocent.  The man who is engulfed in suffering—that is, who is ‘chastised’ by God—can take comfort in the lesson of God’s teaching, which is that punishment (the ‘pit’ that is dug) awaits the evildoer.  This certain knowledge has the power to give inner calm to the just man in the midst of his afflictions.”[1]

In other words, we can endure our suffering because we know that in the end God will punish the wicked.  Is that enough?  It hardly seems so, especially when we observe the wicked comfortably living out their lives without any sign of justice.  Corrupt men who go unpunished to the grave.  Evil men who continue to triumph throughout their lifetimes. Abusive perpetrators who get away with it.  Human history suggests just the opposite of David’s hope.  From Pol Pot to Stalin to Hitler, history confirms Heschel’s assessment: it’s a nightmare.  This fact was a constant irritant to pre-rabbinic theology.  Eventually it forced Judaism to adopt a Hellenistic solution, namely, an afterlife where God balances the scales.  But waiting for Judgment Day doesn’t seem to be sufficient when my life is rocked by evil ones who escape punishment. What kind of justice requires us to die before things are set straight?

David’s answer might be the only attitude we can take.  If there’s justice after death, no one has come back to confirm it.  So, we’re left with the hope that the scales will be righted.   If we’re Greeks, then this is nothing more than an emotional crutch that somewhat eases the present pain.  But David’s hope isn’t based on some Greek ethical theory.  It’s based on the promise of God.  Is that good enough?  Well, if you believe that God is Sovereign and that He is ultimately in control of history, then His promise is enough for you to realize that somehow, some way, some day everything will be put right.  If you don’t believe in this kind of god, then you’re just “a kite dancing in a hurricane,” as the line goes.  Good luck!

There’s one other thing.  David doesn’t offer only the hope of eventual balance.  He also suggests that because God is sovereign, whatever befalls us now has propaedeutic purpose.  It’s training time.  Those bad things are really instances of the verb yāsar, “to discipline, chasten, instruct.”  Oh, wait a minute.  We know this verb in another form, mûsār, and we’re right back to Mesillat Yesharim.  Better start again.  Are you happy?

Topical Index: suffering, training, justice, yāsar, chastise, hope, judgment, Psalm 94:12-13

[1] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible Volume 3 Writings, p. 225, fn. 12