When our God is too small
February 15th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens
Today we’re continuing on in our look at the book of Job as we seek to answer that ever-present question, “How 
could a good God…?” To catch up on the posts in this series that you may have missed, they are all indexed here.
Now, if you’ve read through the book of Job recently, you probably buzzed through the first few chapters and then may have found yourself wandering in a fog through chapters 4 through 37. These chapters contain a cycle of dialogue between Job and his friends which fall into a pattern. (“E” for Eliphaz, “B” for Bildad, “Z” for Zophar.)
What is going on in these chapters?!
Here are a few quotes drawn from the dialogue – obviously this is a VERY brief summation, but hopefully it will help us glimpse the larger picture.
(From Eliphaz) Job 4:7-8
Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed?
As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.
Job 5:17
Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
(From Bildad) Job 8:3-6
Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.But if you will look to God
and plead with the Almighty,if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.
(From Zophar) Job 11:14-15
if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.
Do you see what Job’s friends are saying? In so many words, “clearly, Job, you have sinned. There is no other explanation for what has happened to you. Repent and God will restore you.” [Since we have read the beginning of the book, we know this is not true. Actually, Job is being attacked by Satan, not God - and his suffering is because of his righteousness!]
The theological term for their belief system about God is “retribution theology.” It basically boils down to:
If you are righteous, you will be blessed with prosperity.
If you are unrighteous, you will be poor and suffer.
Here’s the catch. If you remember back to our discussions about the book of Deuteronomy, God did promise to bless Israel for obedience and curse them for disobedience. But that was specific to His covenant with the nation
of Israel – it doesn’t necessarily translate to individuals. Being prosperous is not a sure-fire sign of God’s blessing on your life for righteousness, and poverty or suffering is not a clear sign of sin in your life.This type of retribution theology reveals that our “version” of God is too small – we have reduced Him to less than He is and will arrive at false conclusions about who He is and what He is doing.
Their limited understanding of God’s ways caused Job’s well intentioned friends to completely miss the mark in their counsel. And unfortunately, as we will discuss in the next post, Job arrived at false conclusions himself after listening to their accusations.
Is retribution theology alive and well today? How have you seen this flawed view of God expressed in our modern-day? How has it led to false conclusions about God’s character and ways?
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- Posted in Job, Understanding pain and loss
March 16th, 2010 at 11:03 am
[...] Wednesday we looked at the evidence that Job was also working from a perspective of retribution theology. He knew he had not sinned, and he knew that he was suffering. Therefore he concluded that God [...]
March 16th, 2010 at 11:09 am
[...] Monday we looked at the fact that Job’s friends had a view of God that was too small – they [...]