God’s answer to suffering

When we struggle to understand why godly people suffer, we can doubt God’s goodness or His justice. This is the theme of the book of Job in the Bible. Job probably lived in about 1900 – 1700 BC. The Bible’s authors assume that Job was a historical figure (Ezek. 14:14, 20; Jas. 5:11).

The Bible reveals that some suffering is the result of the spiritual conflict between God and Satan (Job 1-2; Eph. 6:10-18; Col. 1:12-13). Even though this conflict is invisible to us, godly people can be assured that their omniscient (all seeing) and omnipotent (all powerful) God understands and allows the situation.

Job’s suffering

Job 1-37 describes the intense suffering of Job, which causes him to question God. Then God asks lots of questions to show the huge gap in understanding between God and humanity.

God’s questions to Job can be divided into the following categories.

Source questions (Job 38:4-21)

God asked, what do you know (Job 38:4, 21)? The answer is “Very little”. Job was ignorant of God’s knowledge and God’s works. He didn’t know any of the answers. He didn’t understand the divine plan that lies beyond the universe (Job 38:2). He didn’t exist when the earth was created.

Job assumed greater knowledge than he possessed. He couldn’t understand the origin and extent of the cosmos, the oceans, the sun, death, geography and light. Who did all these things? The answer is “Not us”, only God can do these things. God is the primary source of everything.

If God can establish the cosmos, the oceans, the sun, death, geography and light, we can trust Him for the future.

Meteorological questions (Job 38:22-30, 34-38)

God asks, who controls the atmospheric water cycle? Who causes clouds, rain, hail, snow, dew, ice and frost? The answer is “Not us”, only God can do that.

If God can control the atmospheric water cycle, we can trust Him for the future.

Astronomy questions (Job 38:31-33)

God asks “can you direct the movement of the stars” in the sky whose position changes according to the seasons? The answer is “No”, only God can do that. God also asks, “Do you know the laws of the universe?”. The answer is “No”. Even today astronomers don’t understand all the laws of the universe.

If God can control the stars, we can trust Him for the future.

Zoology questions (Job 38:39 – 39:30)

Then there are a series of questions about a wide array of animals and birds: lions, ravens, goats, wild donkeys, wild oxen, ostriches, war horses, hawks and eagles. The answer is “Not us”, only God can do these things. The world is far more complicated than we can understand. We can’t do what God has done. We can’t understand what God understands.

If God can control and sustain zoological life, we can trust Him for the future.

After God’s first speech (Job 38:1 – 40:2), Job is humbled and has stopped complaining (Job 40:4-5). He is overwhelmed by the Lord’s vast power and knowledge. He has limited understanding compared to God. But he has not repented yet.

Justice questions (Job 40:6-14)

Then God says that if Job had the power of God, then he could save himself. He challenges Job to act like God and administer justice against the proud and the wicked. If Job is so great, God asks why doesn’t he act like God and glorify himself, and demonstrate his great power. But Job can’t do these things and neither can we. God is different to us. He has more power and more authority and more justice than we could ever have.

The lesson for Job and for us is that because God will administer justice in His own time, we can trust Him for the future.

Authority questions (Job 40:15 – 41:34)

God illustrates His sovereignty, authority, power and wisdom in creating two magnificent creatures.

Behemoth is powerful and strong. It rules over all other land-dwelling creatures. Only God is greater than Behemoth.

Leviathan has enormous strength.  It rules over all other aquatic creatures. Only God is greater than Leviathan.

Huge creatures like dinosaurs are a reminder of God. God is sovereign, a powerful ruler, and the ultimate authority. It is dangerous to stand against and oppose God.

After God’s questions to Job in chapters 40-41 Job confesses and repents (Job 42:1-6). He realizes that God is supreme. He humbly accepts what God has allowed to happen, which included suffering. He said, “I was talking about things I knew nothing about”. He had received a revelation of God’s power and sovereignty through Behemoth and Leviathan. He realized his limited understanding compared to God. Then he repented of the presumptuous words he had spoken to God.

Lessons for us

After God interrogated Job with a barrage of questions, Job humbly acknowledged God’s supremacy.

We know something about suffering that Job didn’t know. God suffered. And because of this, the godly can expect to suffer (1 Pt. 4:12-16).

When you are suffering or questioning God’s goodness or His justice, read Job 38:1 – 42:6.

And if you are tempted to doubt or question God, remember what happened to Job in 38:1 – 42:6.

Written, September 2024