Job 16-17 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians 11-13

Job 16 – Job continues in anger: “I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking? I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you. But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief” (16:2-5).

Times when people are going through profound suffering and grief are not the times to get philosophical or analytical with others. They are times to stand by others, help them cope, give them support and love. If analysis and self-examination are needed as sometimes they are, THEY must bring that to the task.

It seems to Job that God has showed him no mercy – “My face is red with weeping; darkness covers my eyes for no injustice on my part” (16:16-17).  He begs that earth may not cover his blood so that his “witness” may reach to heaven. (16:19).  And he refers to an advocate he has in heaven: “He who can testify for me is on high . . . Let Him arbitrate between a man and God as between a man and his fellow” (16:19-21).

Job 17 – Job continues: “My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me. “I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me. You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me” (17:1-3).

The graveyard awaits him. Who will stand up for him? Where then is his hope?

Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

11 – Ignatius believes that these gnostic teachings are “poisonous growths with a deadly fruit” (81). “They are none of the Father’s planting” (81).

“It is by the Cross that through His Passion He calls you, who are parts of His own Body, to Himself. A Head cannot come into being alone, without any limbs; for the promise that we have from God is the promise of unity, which is the essence of Himself” (81). I love these words.

12 – The churches of “Asia” that have come to visit Ignatius join with him in this message to the Trallians.

“These chains, which I wear for Jesus Christ’s sake in my constant entreaty to reach the presence of God, utter their own appeal to you to continue in unity and prayerfulness with one another” (81).

More than anyone else, the clergy of the church should “see that the bishop enjoys peace of mind” (81). He begs that they heed his advice.

13 – He sends love and greetings to them from Smyrna and Ephesus, and asks that they keep him “Syrian church” in their prayers.

“Love one another, all of you, with a heart above all divisions. My spirit offers itself on your behalf, not only now but also which I shall stand in the presence of God. Whether that will happen is still in hazard; but the Father may be trusted in Jesus Christ to grant my supplications and yours. May you be found faultless in Him” (82).

Job 14-15 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians 8-10

Job 14 – Job continues with these amazing words: “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?” (14:1-3) The limits of man in the face of God are so infinite, it seems simply unfair to be so demanding. But denying human accountability to God also undermines the dignity of man – are we so frail and so passing we should not be held to any standard?

It seems clear that Job does not have a belief in any kind of afterlife: “’Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches. Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling. But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they? As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, people are laid to rest and do not rise again” (7-12).

“Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle and I would eagerly await the release of death. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins” (14:14-16).

I am not sure I get Job’s logic here. If there were a life beyond what we have on this earth, surely we might be held more accountable. But he seems to see in life-eternal a hope that God would value us more and in yearning for us, hold out more assistance to us in our journey. 

Job 15 – Eliphaz now speaks: Job’s words seem like “windy opinions” to him – “useless talk” (15:2-3).  They “subvert piety and restrain prayer to God” (15:4).  He challenges Job’s ego: “’Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made? Were you listening at God’s secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that we do not?” (15:7-9)

What can he know that the “gray-haired old men” (15:10) do not? Job should be satisfied with whatever comfort God gives him. “What is man that he can be cleared of guilt, one born of woman, that he be in the right?” (15:14).

The wicked take no comfort from God. They defy Him at every turn but even though they may be prosperous in this life, they will inevitably face ruin: “Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure” (15:29). He sees Job as one of the wicked, full of delusions and impious.

Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

8 – It is not that he sees the Trallians of being unfaithful or renegade-like but he is simply trying to warn them of the dangers that are out there. “So let gentleness be your weapon against them; take a fresh grip on your faith (the very flesh of the Lord) and your love (the life-blood of Jesus Christ), for there must not be any ill-feeling between neighbors” (80).

9 – It becomes plain in this section that Ignatius is warning them against docetist denials of Jesus’ humanity. “Close your ears, then, if anyone preaches to you without speaking of Jesus Christ. Christ was of David’s line. He was the son of Mary; He was verily and indeed born, and ate and drank; He was verily persecuted in the days of Pontius Pilate, and verily and indeed crucified, and gave up the ghost in the sight of all heaven and earth and the powers of the nether world. He was also verily raised up again from the dead, for His Father raised him; and in Jesus Christ will His Father similarly raise us who believe in Him, since apart from His there is no true life for us” (81).

10 – “It is asserted by some who deny God – in other words, who have no faith – that His sufferings were not genuine (though in fact it is themselves in whom there is nothing genuine). If this is so, then why am I now a prisoner? Why am I praying for a combat with the lions? For in that case, I am giving away my life for nothing; and all the things I have ever said about the Lord are untruths” (81).

Job 12-13 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians 5-7

Job 10 – Job says he is disgusted with his life and must complain about it. “I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me—tell me the charge you are bringing against me’” (10:2).

Job believes God does not “see” with the eyes of men – God is eternal and so mysterious, it is pure pride to claim any kind of “knowledge.”

“You guided my conception and formed me in the womb. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love” (10:10-12).

But now “you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me” (10:17). He cannot understand how God could be the source of both these blessings and this present curse. He begs God to desist from vexing him. “I have only a few days left, so leave me alone, that I may have a moment of comfort before I leave—never to return—for the land of darkness and utter gloom” (10:20-21).

Job 11 – Zophar now has his say: He censures Job for rattling on and on about his pain. And they don’t know what they should do when they hear Job challenging God. “Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?” (11:3) “If only God would speak; if only he would tell you what he thinks! If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter” (11:5-6).

Who could disagree with the WORDS Zophar speaks here? “”’Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld—what do you know?” (11:7-8).

All of this seems reasonable to me; what faithful believer would not try to step in and help a friend deal with suffering without losing trust in God.  Ironically, the matter will be resolved in the end by God coming to Job and speaking to him directly. But while Zophar and the others recognize the complexity of God’s realm, they seem compelled to SOLVE the mystery by placing blame on Job.

“If God comes and puts a person in prison or calls the court to order, who can stop him? For he knows those who are false, and he takes note of all their sins” (11:10-11). “’If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear’” (11:13-15).

Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

5 – He speaks of “high and heavenly topics” he feels tempted to communicate to them, but worries that “they might well be beyond your power to assimilate” (80).

“Even I myself, for all my chains and for all my ability to comprehend celestial secrets and angelic hierarchies and the dispositions of the heavenly powers, and much else both seen and unseen, am not yet on that account a real disciple. For there is much that we must still fall short of, if we are not to fall short of God” (80).

6 – “I entreat you (not I, though, but the love of Jesus Christ) not to nourish yourselves on anything but Christian fare, and have no truck with the alien herbs of heresy. There are men who in the very act of assuring you of their good faith will mingle poison with Jesus Christ; which is like offering a lethal drug in a cup of honeyed wine, so that the unwitting victim blissfully accepts his own destruction with a fatal relish” (80).

7 – He sees the safety net as being the avoidance of all pride and submission to “Jesus Christ and your bishop and the apostolic institutions” that have been established. These three are seen by Ignatius as the “sanctuary” of the Christian church. “To be inside the sanctuary is to be clean; to be outside it, unclean. . . . nobody’s conscience can be clean if he is acting without the authority of his bishop, clergy and deacons” (80).

Job 8-9 and Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians [Introduction through 1]

Job 8 – Now Bildad of Shuah speaks to him, censoring him for talking too much. “Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right? Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved” (8:1-3).

Bildad’s advice is similar to that of Eliphaz – Job or someone in his family MUST have done something to bring this misery on him, “but “if [he] pray[s] to God and seek[s] the favor of the Almighty. . . if [he is] pure and live[s] with integrity, [God] will surely rise up and restore [his] happy home” (8:5-6).

This is the wisdom that had come from their ancestors. Man’s life is too short to learn all that he needs to know. “[W]e were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow. But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old” (8:9-10).

The godless may look like they are flourishing, but once they are gone, it is as if they never existed. Job must seek Shaddai, and he will restore him to his favor.

Job 9 – Job responds – he acknowledges the greatness of God and the creation that flowed from His power. Job acknowledges that he as a man cannot hold God to account – God cannot be taken to court, cannot be held accountable. But “I am blameless—I am distraught; I am sick of life” (9:21).

God destroys the innocent with the guilty. There is no hope of being found blameless before God.

Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

Introduction: Tralles was a prosperous city 17 miles east of Magnesia in Asia Minor, on the road from Laodicea to Ephesus. Like the other churches in the region, they had heard that Ignatius was going to be passing through Smyrna, and the bishop – Polybius - of their church had come to see him. This letter is mostly concerned with the danger Ignatius saw in the teaching of those who came to be called “docetists” – people who believed that the outward, material aspects of Jesus’ identity were mere illusions, that only the spiritual aspects of his nature were “real.”

1 – Ignatius greets the church and notes that its reputation is “beyond all praise” (79). The impeccable “character” of its community was simply its “natural disposition” (79). When bishop Polybius visited him, he “was so full of joy with me in my bonds in Christ Jesus, that in him I had a vision of your whole congregation” (79). He acknowledges and thanks them for the gift they sent as a sign of their regard for him.