Job 28:1-7 "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind..."
Chapter 38 of the Book of Job is too long to copy here. Let's focus on the first seven verses, which give a strong sense of the entire chapter.
"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man. I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?'" (Job 38:1-7).
Comment:
The problem with the Book of Job, from a Unity perspective, is basically this. It seems that the ills that befall Job are totally undeserved and irrational—almost whimsical. They happen because they happen. God and Satan—not the John Milton Satan determined to overthrow God’s creation, but simply a member of God’s spiritual council with, apparently, a twisted sense of humor and too much spiritual time on his hands – these spiritual energies enter into a debate over whether Job is faithful to God because he is a genuinely good man, or whether he’s faithful because God has rewarded him abundantly. With the permission of the divine, Satan sends suffering after suffering to Job. His fortunes are lost, his servants and children are killed, and when even that doesn’t sway his faith, his own body is inflicted with sores and disease.
If we accept the surface story as a true thing, it seems to contradict our most cherished Unity principles – especially the principle that we are the co-creators of our own life experiences. But I think the truth lies in the very first verses of the book, in which Job is described as secretly fearful —he sacrifices extra to God out of fear that his children won’t, and will be punished. When we live with a secret fear that we don’t deserve our good, that fear will find ways to manifest in our lives. So although it may seem to Job—and to the fair-weather friends eager to observe and analyze his downfall—that it’s all random—which means that God is not a Power that can be depended upon—the reality is that Satan is just manifesting Job’s own intrinsic fear and doubt. In the early chapters of the story Job is like the man in Jesus’ parable who built a house on sand. It seems prosperous and impressive, but the foundation is unstable. "What I greatly fear has come upon me," Job later notes, and he's absolutely right.
As for God's attitude when he finally speaks in Chapter 38, I think it's not that Job doesn't have the right to question God, but rather that he needs to realize the limits of what he knows. God is not a power that we can control and direct, like the Genie in "Aladdin." Our understanding of the divine law according to which the energy of God flows into our lives is always going to be incomplete. What seems unfair from our limited perspective will be clear and understandable if we allow ourselves to see from the higher vantage point of the Presence of God within us. There will always be more to God than we can know; the path to greater understanding is not by judging and challenging the energy of God, but by embracing it, allowing it to carry us to higher levels of awareness.
Blessings!
Rev. Ed