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Literature About the Mystery of Human Suffering
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Readings for Daily Masses During Ordinary Time Year II, Weeks 25 & 26
The Dream of Solomon (1 Kings 3:5 - 14) - Luca Giordano
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We explore three books of wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) that delve into the mystery of human suffering. Each has a different answer to the fundamental question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
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To jump ahead to a particular book, please choose from the links below.-
Proverbs
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Job
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Ecclesiastes, a.k.a. Qoheleth
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The Book of Proverbs
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God Rewards the Just and Punishes the Wicked
The Book of Proverbs is comprised of 9 sets of sayings and instructions. The book is largely organized around Hebrew numerological constructions, such as acrostics — where passages run 22 verses in length, one verse for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Much of the 31 chapters are composed of loosely-related couplets, each worth pondering, making it difficult to read the book completely in one sitting. A few sections include longer trains of thought. 1:1 - 9:18 and 31:10 - 31, in particular, are exhortations for the young and the experienced alike to seek wisdom in all things — both the pragmatic wisdom for daily living and the religious wisdom regarding the nature of God. In these sections, God's wisdom is personified as a woman, which we explore in more detail on our page about the Book of Wisdom.
While some sections of the Book of Proverbs have been attributed to Solomon (reigned c. 970 - 930 BC), and while 10:1 - 22:16 and 25:1 - 29:27 seem to date from before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586, it seems likely the this book was compiled into its current form by the author of 1:1 - 9:18 in the 5th century BC.
Proverbs claims that if one studies God’s Law and lives righteously, God will reward that person with prosperity, health, and family. Likewise, God will cause those who are wicked to suffer. While we tend to characterize such sentiments as "folk wisdom," it is very often true that the good things in life come to those who strive to live good and upright lives. (Compare the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs with the later proverb of Algernon Sidney, 1623-1683: "God helps those who help themselves.")
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Lady Wisdom - Kiernan Antares
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The Book of Job
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Tragedy and Comedy - Tim Green
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Humans Strain to Understand God's Logic About Suffering
The Book of Job is considered one of the greatest works of ancient literature. Countless artists have taken inspiration from its central enigma. Consider three mid-20th century playwrights' contrasting renditions, for example: Archibald MacLeish's dramatic J. B., Robert Frost's whimsical A Masque of Reason, and Neil Simon's comedic God's Favorite. Job is considered the most difficult book of the Bible to translate, as it contains more than 100 words not found anywhere else in ancient Hebrew. In an attempt to make sense of some confusing passages, the committee creating the New American Bible translation — including Jewish scholars of ancient Hebrew — went so far as to change the order of the verses in a few places, such as in chapter 28.
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Most of the plot of the Book of Job is laid out in the first two chapters, mostly in prose. The title character, a prosperous, righteous, non-Israelite man, loses his wealth, his family, and his health in rapid succession. Over the next 35 chapters of poetry, Job asks why such tragedies have befallen him. His companions Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, later joined by a fourth person named Elihu, tell Job that he must have done something wrong. Even if he hasn’t committed any sins, he should still apologize to God for having given offense in some other way. Job repudiates such simplistic answers. He curses the day he was born and he longs for death, but he refuses to complain against God.
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Job and His Comforters - Luca Giordano,
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Job on the Dunghill - Gonzalo Carrasco
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Two of the most famous passages from Job's many speeches include:
Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!
(Job 1:21)
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;
Whom I myself shall see:
my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him,
And from my flesh I shall see God;
my inmost being is consumed with longing.
(Job 19:25, 27, 26)
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Instead of making a complaint against God, Job demands a response from God. Finally, in chapters 38 - 41, God responds. God explains to Job that human beings cannot comprehend the workings of the universe:
Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its size; do you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
Into what were its pedestals sunk,
and hwo laid the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
(Job 38:4 - 7)
It may not seem like much of an answer to us, but Job is satisfied. In a few brief verses in chapter 42, he acknowledges that he cannot comprehend God's ways, but he is honored to have seen and heard God for himself. The conclusion to the vexing questions posed by the Book of Job is simple: even the just and righteous person can suffer tragedy, but if they persevere in faith, they will surely be rewarded.
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When the Morning Stars Sing Together - William Blake
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Ecclesiastes, a.k.a. Qoheleth
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God's Logic is Incomprehensible to Humans
The Book of Ecclesiastes is sometimes called Qoheleth. (These two names are the Greek and Hebrew words, respectively, meaning "one who convokes an assembly.")
This book is not to be confused with the Book of Sirach, which is sometimes called Ecclesiasticus. ("Ecclesiasticus" means "the church book," since Sirach was frequently proclaimed in the assemblies of early Christians.)
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Ecclesiastes is one sweeping oration in front of an assembly, by a speaker identified in 1:1 as "David's son Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem." It is highly unlikely that David's son Solomon, who was a king in Jerusalem and reputed to be the wisest person who ever lived, wrote this book or gave this speech. The language indicates that it was written roughly 6 centuries after Solomon's death.
Qoheleth laments that no matter how much we study the ways of the LORD, the LORD’s ways are beyond our understanding. The most famous refrain of the book is “vanity of vanities, all is vanity," with the word “vanity” (a blowing of wind) appearing frequently throughout the book. Our work is easily undone by calamity, say Qoheleth. Wealth is useless. Even simple pleasures are only a momentary relief from despair and negativity. Nevertheless, Qoheleth concludes, no matter how unpredictable life may be, the best solution remains to trust in God’s providence.
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The Judgment of Solomon
(1 Kings 3:16 - 28) -
workshop of Peter Paul Rubens
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Synthesis: Resolving the Contradictions?
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How can all three of these books be considered to be the inspired Word of God? They seem to contradict one another.
We must remember that the Bible is not a book; it is a library of books, presenting many voices within “so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). These three books present us with an example of dialectic: by holding the ideas of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes in dynamic tension with one another, we come to a deeper truth about the nature of God than we would reach by any one of these three books alone. Perhaps our response to such truth should be the humility to recognize that God is greater than the limits of human comprehension.
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King Solomon in Old Age
(1 Kings 11:4 - 8) - Gustave Doré
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The response to the first reading during these weeks is always from the Book of Psalms. The gospel is from the Gospel of Luke, chapters 8 - 10.
This concludes page 8 of 40 in our Lectionary Guide. For a comprehensive reading of the entire guide, we suggest going next to Prophecy During the Time of the Divided Kingdoms.
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