My Immortal Enemy

I was tranquil—he shook me to pieces, seized my nape and broke me apart, set me up as a target from Him.  Job 16:12  Robert Alter

Shook me to pieces – If you’re reading Job, remember this: don’t look for answers, listen to the feelings!  If you read with the expectation that you will tease out answers to the great moral questions, you’ll probably be frustrated and you’ll certainly come away disappointed.  Even if you opt for Eliphaz’ transcendence explanation, you’ll be left a little unsatisfied.  You see, Job is not really about answering the great “Why?” question.  It is first and foremost an opportunity to feel what it’s like to suffer.  There is no better medium for eliciting empathy than listening to Job speak about God as his enemy.

“I was tranquil.”  Šālâ.  At rest.  Prosperous.  An odd combination until you draw the connection between wealth and a quiet life.  Hamilton writes:

The meaning of šālâ, “be at rest,” is applicable only in Job 3:26, “I have ‘no rest’, no quiet, no repose.” In the remaining four passages the emphasis is on prosperity: of those who love Jerusalem, Ps 122:6; of the wicked, Job 12:6; Jer 12:1; Lam 1:5. . . (šālēw). Quiet, prosperous. The word may apply to the life of an individual (Job 16:12, prior to his physical calamity) or to a nation/country/ city (I Chr 4:40, Palestine; Zech 7:7, Jerusalem, in a good sense, but in a bad sense, i.e. “carefree,” Ezk 23:42). This root is also used to pinpoint the prosperity of the ungodly (Ps 73:12). . . (šalwâ). Quietness, prosperity. A blessed character trait in anybody’s life (Ps 122:7; Prov 17:1). Yet it can become an open door to disaster.^[1]

Now lean into Job’s statement.  “I was enjoying my prosperity.  My life was calm.  I loved the tranquility and in every way I honored God for my blessed existence.  Then everything collapsed.  I didn’t do anything wrong but God treated me as if I were His enemy.  He tore my life to pieces.  I lost everyone who mattered to me.  My fortune disappeared.  My body deteriorated.  Now I can barely survive.  Every day is pain—physical, mental, and emotional.”

Now can you relate?  Theological questions pale in contrast with just surviving each day.  There isn’t time to reflect on those cosmic issues.  Life has been reduced to moment-by-moment willingness to continue.  And there’s no chance of relief—unless God changes His intentions.

Does Job speak to you now?  Are you listening with your feelings?  Has God shaken you to pieces?  Do you think He’s your immortal enemy?  How does that make you feel?  Maybe you’ll need to go back and reread Job with a different point of view.  What if the purpose of Job is not to give you an answer but to let you feel what’s it’s like to struggle with God?

Topical Index: šālâ, tranquil, prosperous, enemy, empathy, Job 16:12

^[1] Hamilton, V. P. (1999). 2392 שָׁלָה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 927). Moody Press.