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When Life Seems Unfair by Abidan Shah, PhD

Abidan Paul Shah

WHEN LIFE SEEMS UNFAIR by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction:  AI is crazy! Don’t try to find that video on Google. It was produced by our staff just as a funny introduction to our new series on Job. As we get into this series, we will learn that Job was nothing like what you just watched. If anything, he was just the opposite. But, unfortunately, that’s how we are until problems come into our lives. It’s all sunshine and rainbows until the rainclouds come and the storms move in. There are several goals through this series, 3 in particular: 

No matter what you are facing in life, the goal of this series is to help you have a vision of God! My prayer is that with the eyes of faith you will be able to see what Christ is doing in and through your life.

Job 1:1 (page #776) “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

Context: Before we can dive into the message of Job, we need to have some fundamental understanding of its context:

1. The Book of Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible. Of course, Genesis contains the oldest account of the world’s history, but Moses wrote the Pentateuch around 1500BC. Although scholars disagree over when Job was written, in my view, it was probably written before or around the time of Abraham somewhere around 2100BC (Creation – 4000BC; Flood – 2350BC; Abraham – 2000-2100BC; Exodus – 1500BC). There are several reasons for that (most of the following is taken from an article on Job by Longman in DOTWPW, even though he advocates for a much later date):

  1. Job’s wealth is measured by cattle and flocks. Job 1 (page #776) 2 “And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.”
  2. The patriarch of the family functioned as the priest for the family. Job 1 (page #776) 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.
  3. Job was probably 200 years old when he died. He lived another 140 years after his trial. Abraham was 175 when he died and Sarah was 127. Isaac was 180 and Ishmael was 137. Jacob was 147 when he died. This was still the age when people lived long, not as long as the pre-flood people; definitely, not as long as Noah who lived to 950 years of age.
  4. There is no mention of the covenants, the Torah, exodus, the temple, etc.
  5. The Sabeans and Chaldeans are depicted as marauding tribesmen.
  6. Job 42:11 mentions “kehseetah” as a unit of money. It is mentioned very early in Genesis 33:19 (also referred to in Joshua 24:32).
  7. There is mention of Dinosaurs in the book of Job. If you remember from our message several years ago titled “Leviathan,” Job talked about the Behemoth and the Leviathan, massive creatures on the land and the sea. This means that Job was written somewhere after the Great Flood mentioned in Genesis 6 and 7.
  8. There are references to the Ice Age in the book of Job. Listen to Job 37      9 “From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds of the north. 10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen.” Again, Job 38      22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail…29 From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? 30 The waters harden like stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen.” Now, Job could’ve been talking about the frozen lakes in the Middle East or just the harsh winters that come occasionally, but it could be that he is actually referring to the Ice Age caused by the Great Flood in Genesis 6 and 7.

2. The age of this book does not make it irrelevant; it actually makes it timeless. 

  1. The dialect of Job seems to be different from the Hebrew of Jerusalem, much closer to Aramaic. In fact, the words used are rare and unique but also reflect a combination of various dialects of Hebrew. Even its poetry is early archaic in form. Based on this, it seems that this book must go back to ancient times, but that does not mean that it is primitive. It has 110 words that are found nowhere else in the Bible (See F. E. Greenspahn). There are 4 different words for “lions,” 6 different words for “traps,” and 4 different words for “darkness” (See R. Gordis). In fact, it is a book of many different genres – narrative, dialogue, poetry, psalms, and much more. One scholar (J. E. Hartley) remarked – “The author of Job was truly an international sage.”
  2. It is similar to some other ancient works from the same period in history, but Job goes much deeper and much higher.
  3. There were Mesopotamian and Egyptian texts from the time that dealt with the problem of human suffering, especially of the good. There are the Sumerian Man and his God, A Sufferer’s Salvation, the Babylonian Theodicy, etc. Then there are Egyptian texts like A Dispute over Suicide, the Admonitions of Ipuwer, the Prophecies of Neferti, etc. In the weeks ahead, I will show you how they got to the problem but couldn’t give the solution or gave the wrong solution.
  4. To the contrary, Job was from the land of Uz. The Bible mentions the Uz two times: Genesis 10      21 “And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. 22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.” Again, it is mentioned in Genesis 26:28. Later in Lamentations 4:21 “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, You who dwell in the land of Uz!” More than likely, it was on the east side of the Jordan towards Northern Arabia, very lush and green at the time. Hence, probably before the time of Abraham and Lot.
  5. Job’s name declares his dissimilarity with other works of the time. Some say that it is from the Hebrew and refers to “enemy” or “enmity.” Others say that it comes from Arabic meaning to “repent” or “the penitent one.” According to one scholar, it can be translated as a question – “Where is my father?” Here, father is referring to God. The name was found among the ancients (Egyptian, Mari, Alalakh, and Amarna) between early 2nd millennium and 1400 BC.

3. What is the message of the book of Job? We will learn this over the next weeks and months. The Bible Job describes him as “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” By the world’s standards, he was a very blessed man…until his world fell apart.

Ultimately, the greater answer was Jesus! Job 19       25 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

Job does repent but for doubting God.

Contrary to Bernard Shaw, there was another literary genius named Victor Hugo, who said: “Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, I should save Job.”

Do you know the Redeemer? Are you saved?

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