I Lay My Hand on My Mouth
Why did I just read that book?
Job was the last Old Testament book I read during my reading of the Bible last year. And this was the first time that I listened to it being read.
By the end, I couldn’t help but ask the question “Why did I just read that?”
For those who are unfamiliar with Job, the majority of the book is dialogue written in dense Hebrew poetry. Yes, there’s a story with a beginning and an end, but the narrative predominantly serves to set up the dialogue.
And here’s where my question comes in. At the end of the book, God makes it clear that three of the characters who talked with Job did so wrongly:
“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right…” (42:7)
I’m not going to go back and count all the chapters in which there were “not right” things spoken about God, but it’s a large portion of the book. In fact, not only did Job’s interlocutors get some things wrong about God, despite the fact that God states that Job spoke rightly about God, there are other places where it’s stated that Job didn’t know what he was talking about (38:1-2, 40:4-5, 42:3). Job indeed repents for speaking about God without knowledge (42:6).
So the majority of the book of Job is incorrect or unknowledgeble speech about God!
Now, I’m not challenging the inspiration of this book, nor am I questioning its authority. Really, I’m simply questioning how we ought to interpret Job.
Did its first hearers identify with Job – blameless before God and rich? Or did they hear some things in Job’s friends’ speeches that they may have said themselves?
I believe that Job is, at least in part, a mirror to show us how we talk about God. It seems to me that the key passage is in 42:1-6 where Job admits his wrong doing, recalls the experience he had with God and repents.
Another significant text is in 40:3-5 where Job confesses he didn’t know what he was talking about, then places his hand over his mouth.
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| Photo by Nsey Benajah on Unsplash |
In order to remind myself of how easy it is to speak wrongly about God, how often it happens and how serious it is.
Practically, it also helped me consider how much I talk and how many of the things that come out of my mouth aren’t that important.
James 1:19 summarizes it well,
“…let every person by quick to hear, slow to speak…”
It’s a reminder I need, and one that has been on my mind throughout the first week of the new year. This reminder has saved me words and regret already.
The disciplines of being ready to listen and slow to speak are also vital to both being and making disciples. We must always be ready to listen to the Lord, whether reading, meditating or studying God’s word. God still speaks to us today. We ought to always be quick to listen.
But that stance doesn’t stop with God. Being quick to listen to those we live and work with is one of the most practical ways in which we love them. In a world in which everyone wants their thoughts out there, a patient listener is of utmost value.
I think that’s why the image of Job laying his hand over his mouth is what I remembered most about my last reading of Job.
It’s so counter-cultural. It’s so needed. And it’s what we, as disciples of Jesus, are often called to do.
(This post was originally published on my other blog on January 10, 2023.)
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