Job 32-33 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians 9-11

Job 32 – The three “friends” of Job now give up on him “because he kept insisting on his innocence” (32:1).

Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, now speaks to Job in anger. He is younger that all the others, so he has tried to hold his tongue, but now he is annoyed that the three “friends” have been so unsuccessful in convincing Job that he must have sinned. He thinks it is “the spirit in men, the breath of Shaddai, that gives them understanding” (32:8), not just age. He finds it disturbing that they will just “leave it to God” to censure Job.

“I am full of pent-up words, and the spirit within me urges me on  , , I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers” (32:18-20).

Job 33 – Elihu claims to be speaking with complete integrity. He sees himself a little differently from the others; the authority he claims is from the “spirit” not from age or experience or expertise in the wisdom handed down from generation to generation. “[T]he Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (32:4). And it is to this Spirit that Elihu tries to get Job to look: “God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night . . .He whispers in their ears and . . . makes them turn from doing wrong” (32:14-17). His advice hinges on an approach that is more Quakerly than that of the three “friends”; they rely more on the wisdom passed down to us from “tradition.”

He sees that he and Job are the same before God – but he thinks Job does not see the ascendancy of God before them both.

” (31:40).

Ignatius to the Philadelphians

9 – “The priests of old, I admit, were estimable men; but our own High Priest is greater, for He has been entrusted with the Holy of Holies, and to Him alone are the secret things of God committed. He is the doorway to the Father, and it is by Him that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets go in, no less than the Apostles and the whole Church; for all these have their part in God’s unity. Nevertheless, the Gospel has a distinction all its own, in the advent of our Savor Jesus Christ, and His Passion and Resurrection. We are fond of the prophets, and they did indeed point forward to Him in their preaching; yet it is the Gospel that sets the coping-stone on man’s immortality. It is in all these different elements together that goodness resides, if you have a loving faith” (95).

10 – He reports that news has reached him that there is now peace in the church at Antioch. He encourages them to send an “ambassador” there to celebrate this peace.

11 – He speaks of two men – a deacon from Cilicia named Philo and another man named Rheus Agathopous – who have told him of a warm welcome they had from the Philadelphians. He thanks them. He says he is writing this letter from Troas and will send it with Burrhus, a man whom the Ephesians and Smyrnaeans sent to accompany Ignatius to Rome.

Job 31 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians 6-8

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Job 31 – Job’s lament continues. He wonders what it is that makes God choose what we shall receive from Him. “[W]hat has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil?” (31:2-3) – just as his “friends” have said over and over. This idea is a great temptation. It makes sense when we weigh our ideas of God against the notion of what justice is. I think this quandary about our sense of “justice” and God’s “omnipotence” that eventually led the faithful to embrace the idea of heaven as a place where the “just” reward for our faithfulness will be made manifest.

But he has not done bad. He has not lied or deceived anyone. “Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted by uprooted” (31:6-8).

But even pondering the possibility that such a wrong might be suggested about him makes him recoil. He has NEVER taken pride in his wealth or rejoiced when disaster hit anyone, or cursed anyone or failed to open his door to a stranger or poor person “Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me” (31:35).

And so the “words of Job are at an end” (31:40).

Ignatius to the Philadelphians

6 – Do not listen to those who preach “Jewish law” to you whether they be circumcised or uncircumcised. If they do not testify to Jesus Christ, “they are in my judgment but as monuments and sepulchers of the dead, upon which are written only the names of men.”

7 – He makes reference to some way people took some kind of advantage of him in the past, but it was not apparently in things having to do with the faith – maybe some more worldly matter. He mentions it to assure them that his “spiritual” self is safe from all such danger.

And he mentions another event that happened when he was “with [them]” (Penguin Edition 95). Apparently in meeting with them, he felt stirred by the Spirit to “cr[y] out, speaking with a loud voice – the very voice of God – [to] ‘be loyal to your bishop and clergy and deacons’. Some who were there suspected me of saying this because I already knew of certain dissensions among you; but He whose prisoner I am will bear me witness that no such information had ever reached me from human lips. No that was the preaching of the Spirit itself, telling you never to act in independence of the bishop, to keep your bodies as a temple of God, to cherish unity and shun divisions, and to be imitators of Jesus Christ as He was of His Father” (95).

As a person very much formed by Quaker ideas and practices, this section really interested me. These words must be a little tormenting to Friends reading them, because on the one hand Ignatius is clearly testifying to an experience of having witnessed publicly to a leading from God in a way any Quaker would understand; but the content of his “leading” has to make Friends squirm a little – all this talk of submitting to bishops and clergy. I am very curious as to how modern Friends received these words. We are after all talking about a church leader who was trained by the apostle John and who was teaching about the faith in the generation after Jesus lived among them.

8 – “As for me, I did my part as one dedicated to the cause of unity; for where disunion and bad blood exist, God can never be dwelling” (95).

I think the argument is between those who believed that some aspects of Jewish law should be acknowledged in the Christian community. They were arguing over what weight should be given to the “ancient records.” “Certain people declared in my hearing, ‘Unless I can find a thing in our ancient records, I refuse to belie it in the Gospel’; and when I assured them that it is indeed in the ancient scriptures, they retorted, ‘That has got to be proved’. But for my part, my records are Jesus Christ; for me, the sacrosanct records are His cross and death and resurrection, and the faith that comes through Him” (95).

Job 29-30 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians 3-5

Job 29 – Job reminisces about his blessed past “when God’s company graced my tent” (29:4).  “The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me. . . . Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming” (29:5-8).

“All who saw me spoke well of me. For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. . . Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban” (29:11-14).

“I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help. . . . I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life. For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.’” (29:16-19)

Job 30 – But now Job is disdained and derided by young and old. “I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud. . . now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. At night my bones are filled with pain” (30:15-17).

God “has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes I cry out to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me” (30:19-21).

“My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep” (27-31).

Ignatius to the Philadelphians

3 – Jesus Christ tends those plants, which are the Father’s. But there are “plants” out there that are not the Father’s and these plants must be avoided. “If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

4 – “Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show forth] the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons . . .”

5 – Ignatius says that he is greatly “enlarged in loving you” [Philadelphians]. Their prayers for him are much appreciated. He praises the prophets too “because they too have proclaimed the Gospel, and placed their hope in Him, and waited for Him; in whom also believing, they were saved, through union to Jesus Christ, being holy men worthy of love and admiration. . . .”

Job 27-28 and Ignatius' Epistle to the Philadelphians [Introduction through 2]

Job 27 – Job continues, maintaining that for “as long as there is life in me and God’s breath is in my nostrils, my lips will speak no wrong, nor my tongue utter deceit” (27:3-4).

“I will never concede that you are right; I will defend my integrity until I die. I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live” (27:5-6).

Job goes on to speak nearly the same “wisdom” he has heard with such frustration and anger from his “friends” – wisdom about how the wicked will obtain punishment from God in the end. “The wicked go to bed rich but wake to find that all their wealth is gone” (27:19). And not only will they lose everything, they will also be jeered and mocked by everyone.

Job 28 – Job describes the amazing creation of God – its riches and resources for man and man’s ability to mine every one of those riches. “They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures. But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?” (28:10-12).

“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning. Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’” (28:23-28).

Ignatius to the Philadelphians

Introduction: This letter from Ignatius is the first of three that he wrote from Troas. He passed through Philadelphia on his way from Smyrna. Apparently many in the church were from a large Jewish community in the city, and he is disturbed by remnants of Judaistic thinking in the church community. As in most of his other letter, Ignatius believes that the solution to the problems he sees as submission to the authority of the bishop who is in charge of the church.

While he is in Troas, he learns that the persecution of Christians in his own city – Antioch – had died down and he suggests that the Philadelphians should send a deacon there with a message of congratulations and good will.

Greeting: Ignatius greets his addressees “in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially if [men] are in unity with the bishop, presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom He has established in security, after His own will, and by His Holy Spirit” [New Advent Translation: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0108.htm].

Philadelphia was east and a little north of Ephesus in Asia Minor.

1 – The bishop, though meek and silent, is “able to accomplish more than those who vainly talk. For he is in harmony with the commandments [of God], even as the harp is with its strings.”

2 – “As children of light and truth, flee from division and wicked doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there follow as sheep. For there are many wolves that appear worthy of credit, who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive . . . those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place.”