When Does Suffering & Sin Make Sense to You? – Job 4:1-21

I recently was listening to an audiobook of this particular pastor called Sam Storms. Sam Storms was recounting the story of the time he received an email from one man in his congregation. This man wrote in his email about his friend’s oldest son who committed suicide. There was nothing this man could say other than “I’m sorry”. He wanted to know if Sam Storms could help him with an high-level insight or wisdom from the Bible that could help him talk a grieving father. Pastor Sam replied to him saying the best thing you could do right now is to be there and not some insight or wisdom. 

We have the urge to understand stuff logically or make sense of things so that we could be at peace, correct? How easy it would if we had simple answers to what was happening in our lives and around the world.

But there is no simple answer. Why is there destruction, killing, immorality, and other such evils in the world? Why has sickness taken over me, or my children not in the Lord, or my job not great, or sin such a great struggle for me?

There is no simple answer.

However, there is a way to make sense of suffering but that comes only by knowing Jesus. Only by understanding what God did in the past, is doing today, and will do in the future can we make sense of suffering.

In our passage, Job’s friend, whose name is Eliphaz the Temanite, is trying to make Job see the reason for his suffering.

Before this, Job’s three friends sat with him in mourning for seven days straight. And they didn’t say a word.

But in chapter 3, Job begins pouring out his grief by cursing the day he was born and a lot of other not-so-uplifting things.

After this, Eliphaz begins to speak to him and tries to make him see why he’s suffering. What does he say? In a nutshell, Eliphaz is telling Job that his suffering is a result of some guilt or sin.

It would have been easy to accept pain in the world if we followed the logic of Job’s friend in chapter 4.

I’m experiencing pain and suffering because I did wrong. End of story. I need to accept that and seek God.

If you pay for economy seats in an airplane or Sleeper class in trains you’re going to get what you paid for. Itne paise me itnaa hi milega.

But Job’s suffering was not a direct result of some evil he did. Chapters 1 and 2 show us that. Satan took away his family, wealth and possessions. Job responds by saying the Lord gives and takes away, blessed be His name. Then Satan attacks his body. Job now has a disease that result in “loathsome sores” that covered his entire body. Job’s wife tells him to curse God and die. Job however replies saying shall we only receive the good and not the bad? The Bible says that even after what happened to his family and himself, he didn’t sin.

In the light of this, Eliphaz’s explanation falls flat. Job cannot accept such a simplistic explanation. Like I said earlier, it would’ve been easier.

On the other hand, Eliphaz’s explanation raises more questions? Will the suffering end if he repented of this so called sin? How long will he have to wait? Should he do something to stop the suffering? Can he do something? What about my sin? Can man ever be pure before God? Will my complaint before God seem unspiritual?

Suffering comes to both people who’ve done good and evil. Just like the sun rises on all so does suffering meet everyone. The Bible has many examples. Think of Noah’s time, God brought the flood as a result of the wickedness of mankind. Or the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, where they lied before Peter and God about the money they got after selling land. They dropped dead immediately. On the opposite end, you have Cain and Abel, where Abel suffered a brutal death at the hands of his brother. Or the account of the blind man in John 9, of whom the disciples ask Jesus about the origin of that man’s blindness, a result of his sin or that of his parents? Jesus says neither his sin nor his parents but it happened to reveal the glory of God.

Without the proper biblical or theological framework, suffering and sin will not make sense. I’m venturing out to say that suffering and sin makes sense only when we know Jesus.

Why do I say that? 

1. Through Jesus, you get an understanding of the world’s corruption
2. Through Jesus you find hope in your own sin struggle 
3. Through Jesus, you have confidence before God