The Lead Ceiling

Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? Job 5:1  NASB

The holy ones – “Silent Night.”  A great Christmas carol . . . but what if it’s not just a song about tranquility in December?  What if “silent night” is the kind of response we get from our prayers?  Not such a celebration then, is it? Unfortunately, far too often it’s this version of “silent night” that we hear—or don’t hear.  So, Eliphaz is in good company when he asks Job the rhetorical question, “Who are you going to ask for an answer?  The silent holy ones?”

Eliphaz uses the plural of the Hebrew qādôš.  It’s associated with the priests, any emissary of the divine, and the sacred nature of the spiritual realm.  Eliphaz isn’t necessarily saying that YHVH doesn’t answer.  He’s suggesting that no holy one has an answer for Job.  Why?  Because no one truly believes that any innocent person would suffer.  Eliphaz’ theology claims that no innocent person ever truly suffers, and therefore, whomever suffers cannot be truly innocent.  Should Job wish to complain that he is innocent and yet he still suffers, he won’t find any holy priest who would agree.  The real answer to such an outrageous question is silence.

Let’s be sure we understand the logic of Eliphaz’ argument.  If righteousness is rewarded with blessing and protection, then those who experience blessing and protection must be righteous.  Conversely, if sinfulness is punished with suffering, then those who suffer must be (somehow) sinful.  Since Job suffers, he must therefore have committed some sin, and his refusal to acknowledge this fact is proof that he has sinned, so he deserves suffering.  In other words, Eliphaz’ logic is bi-directional.  Sin brings suffering, and suffering is the result of sin.  Centuries later Yeshua will point out the flaw in this logical equivalence.  All suffering is not the result of sin.  But for most of us, and for most of Mankind, Eliphaz’ argument rules our thinking.  Even the rabbis of a much later era follow this line of thought:

Our God and the God of our forefathers, may our prayer come before You.  Do not ignore our supplication for we are not so brazen and obstinate as to say before You, HASHEM, our God, and the God of our forefathers, that we are righteous and have not erred—rather, we and our forefathers have erred.  We have become guilty, we have betrayed, we have robbed, we have spoken slander.  We have caused perversion, we have caused wickedness, we have sinned willfully, we have been violent, we have falsely accused. . . .[1]

The rabbis aren’t as daring as Job.  They acknowledge that all of us, collectively and perhaps individually, have committed all kinds of sins; so none of us can be bold enough to claim we deserve better treatment.  All we can do is plead for God’s mercy despite our true condition.  Job would not be able to turn to the rabbis for an answer.  They tacitly agree with Eliphaz.  I’m afraid we would have to do the same.  But that doesn’t resolve the problem for the story of Job is not about us.  It’s about the perfect man, the hypothetical foil in a story about the logical connection between good and evil.  We may have to side with the rabbis when it comes to our own situation, but we still have an unanswered question: Why do the truly righteous suffer?  Neither Eliphaz nor the rabbis give us the answer.  It’s still “silent night” out there in the dark cosmos.  We’ll have to wait either for Job’s response or Yeshua’s correction.

Topical Index: silence, holy ones, qādôš, mercy, Job 5:1

[1] The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, (Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1985), p. 273.