As I read the book of Job, like many people I’m struck with how much Job remains in the dark about his “test.” One scholar interprets Job’s ignorance (and our knowing) as the way the Hebrew author communicates God’s omniscience. Because we are creatures of limited knowledge, we can’t understand how God knows everything. (We don’t even know what we don’t know!)
In Job’s case, however, we know what he doesn’t. That gives us a taste of omniscience: we experience God’s knowledge. It’s also important that in the heavenly conversations, God affirms Job’s innocence. The Lord says, “…you (Satan) incited me against him for no good reason” (2:3). If we didn’t have that information, we’d side with Job’s friends: he suffered because he sinned.
Job, therefore, makes the best of what he knows. He lives his life, like us, without understanding the reason why, without warning, he should be wiped out of possessions, employees, and children. That’s how we experience life, too. We live our lives the best we can with the knowledge we have. We usually do our best with what we know at the time. If we can’t fathom a deeper meaning for events in our life, or those in others’, we learn to live with our questions, protest our lot, and/or, in spite of cirumstances, trust God.
