Lecture 4 — The cruel lot of the just and the wicked

^9:22^ I have said one thing: he destroys both the innocent and the wicked.

^9:23^ If he scourges, let him kill at the same time; and let him not laugh at the punishment of the innocent.

^9:24^ The earth is given into the hands of the wicked man; he covers the face of his judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

^9:25^ My days pass swifter than a runner; they have fled away and they have not seen the good.

^9:26^ They move on like ships laden with fruit; like the eagle swooping down on its prey.

^9:27^ If I say: I will speak so to no avail; I alter my countenance entirely and I writhe with pain.

^9:28^ I was anxious about everything I did, knowing that you do not spare anyone who is delinquent.

^9:29^ If, however, I am so wicked, why have I labored in vain?

^9:30^ If I were washed as with the waters of snow, and my hands shine as though very clean,

^9:31^ yet you will dip me in filth and my clothing will deprecate me.

^9:32^ For he is not a man like myself that I should answer him, and he cannot be heard in judgment with me as an equal.

^9:33^ Nor is there anyone who can evaluate both our arguments, who could lay hands on both of us.

^9:34^ May he withdraw his rod from me and let terror of him not frighten me!

^9:35^ I will speak and not be afraid of him; nor can I answer him when I am afraid of him.

167. I have said one thing. After blessed Job has shown that it is not his intention to argue with God, he proposes the principle issue in dispute between him and his adversaries. For Eliphaz had said that punishments from God are only sent for sins. Job had spoken against this in his first response. Since Baldath had tried to support the opinion of Eliphaz, Job repeats his opinion a second time, saying, I have said one thing: he destroys both the innocent and the wicked. By this he seems to mean, “Death is inflicted by God not only on sinners, but also on the innocent, which is the greatest of the present punishments.” So, what you say is not true, namely, that man is only punished by God for his own sins. Deuteronomy teaches that death comes from God, I give death and I will give life (Deut 32:39). But although death is commonly inflicted by God on everyone, one thing which seems most severe is that the innocent experience many adversities in this life besides the death which is common to all. He now intends to investigate the cause of this. So he then says, if he scourges, let him kill at the same time, saying in effect, “Granted that the scourge of death is common to all, still, it seems reasonable that the innocent, who are not guilty of their own sins, should not be inflicted with any other punishment besides the death which is due to the original sin. For if, as you [the friends] say, there is no other reason why someone can be justly inflicted with punishment except sin, whereas clearly, the innocent suffer punishment in this world, it seems to follow that they are punished without reason, as though the punishments themselves pleased God.” So he says, and let him not laugh at the punishments of the innocent, for we ordinarily laugh about those things which please us in themselves.

168. If it is unfitting that the punishments of the innocent please God in themselves, and yet the innocent are frequently found to be punished on earth, another conclusion which is equally unfitting seems to follow, that is, that punishments of that sort do not proceed from divine judgment, but from the malice of some evil ruler who has power over the earth and punishes the innocent. So he continues, the earth is given into the hands of the wicked, as if to say, “If the punishments of the innocent who are still punished on earth are not pleasing to God in themselves, it is necessary to conclude that God has committed the rule of the earth to some evil person, from whose iniquity judgment is perverted on earth, so that the innocent may be punished.” He expresses this when he says, he covers the face of his judges, that is, he obscures their reason, either with concupiscence, hate or love, so that they do not follow the truth of judgment in judging. If it is not he, that is, the wicked man to whom the earth has been committed who causes the punishment of the innocent, then who is it? that is, who is the cause of the punishment.

For supposing your position that sin alone is the cause of the present punishments, God cannot be the cause of this, as he has already demonstrated. He expresses this when he says, the earth is given into the hands of the wicked. This is certainly true, in a sense, inasmuch as materialistic men remain under the power of the devil, as one text says: he who commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34). However, it is false, strictly speaking. For the dominion of the earth is not absolutely given over to the devil, so that he can freely do what he likes on it. Whatever he is permitted to do proceeds from divine disposition, which dispenses everything from a reasonable cause. So the very fact that the innocent are punished does not absolutely depend on the evil intention of the devil, but also on the wisdom of God who permits it. Therefore, if sin is not the cause of the punishment of the innocent, it is insufficient to reduce it to the malice of the devil, but one must also find some reasonable explanation for God permitting it. So he clearly shows this, saying, if it is not he, then who is it? as if to say, “If the evil will of the devil is not the sufficient cause of the punishment of the innocent, one must investigate another cause.”

169. To investigate the reason why the innocent are punished in this world, he first proposes the harm which he has experienced in the loss of his goods, and shows the fickleness of the present prosperity using a simile with those things which appear most fleeting in this world. Note first that different people have different relationships to the prosperity of this world. Some men have it as an end, because they hope for nothing beyond this. This seems to be the opinion of those who declare that all rewards and punishments are in this life. Such men do not go beyond the prosperity of this world, but the prosperity of this world escapes from them when they lose it. Some, however, among whom Job was included, do not place their end in the prosperity of this world, but aim at another end. They pass up the prosperity of this world more than they are passed up by it.

Three things are required for someone aiming at an end.

The first is that they fix their heart in nothing else which might delay them from the end, but hasten to attain the end. So he gives as his first example a runner who aims at the end of his course so that he does not tarry along the way. So he says, my days pass swifter than a runner. In this he shows both the frailty of the present fortune and his intention to pursue something else. They have fled away, as if repose for the heart is not found in the things of this world. The text then continues, they have not seen the good, namely, to which my intention was borne, which is the true good. Therefore, I do not count myself rewarded for justice, because if you [the friends] think the present prosperity is a reward, I have been punished, as an innocent man, because this has been taken away.

Second, when one pursues some end, he must acquire for himself those means which are capable of attaining the end, just as one who desires to be healed must acquire medicines by which he can be cured. In the same way, he who wishes to reach the true good must seek those virtues by which he can acquire that end. So he then says, they move on like ships laden with fruit. Two things are demonstrated in this verse: the frailty of present fortune, because ships laden with fruit hasten to sell it to keep the fruit from spoiling by delay, and the enthusiasm in tending to an end. This is as if to say, “My days have not gone by empty, but I have collected virtues with which I am aiming at experiencing the end in effect.”

Third, there remains the actual experiencing of the end, and so he says, like an eagle swooping down on its prey, which he uses as an explanation for the first two things. For the eagle is a bird of swift flight, and is especially fast when it is driven on by hunger and has the prey by which it renews its existence as a goal.

170. Because his adversaries thought he was presumptuous, as in these words he had implied that he was just and innocent, he begins to confer with God about his innocence, for God alone can judge the conscience. So he continues: if I say, in my heart, I will speak so to no avail, claiming that I am just and innocent, I alter my countenance entirely, from the assurance which I began to feel about my innocence to the anxiety in searching for my sins, and I writhe with pain, reflecting in examining my conscience, lest perhaps I will be punished for some sin. He then expresses the cause of his pain, saying, I was anxious about everything I did. For the cause of pain is great for someone when he has great anxiety about some one thing, and yet he falls in the very thing he tries to avoid. However, he experiences great anxiety about everything he does, fearing, lest he will fall away from justice in some way. This is what he means when he says, anxious about everything I did. The reason why he was so anxious about everything he did was fear of the severity of divine judgment. So he says next, knowing that you do not spare anyone who is delinquent, unless he be converted, because, as the Psalm says, unless you will be converted, he will brandish his sword (Ps 7:13). If however, after such great zeal for innocence, I am so wicked, that I merit to be punished with such great punishments from God, why have I labored in vain, namely, with such great anxiety to maintain my innocence? For he labors in vain who tends, by his labor, to an end which he does not attain.

171. But since man’s purity, however great it can be, is found wanting under divine scrutiny, he shows as a consequence that when he says that he is pure and innocent, he understands himself to be pure and innocent as a man, not as though he were lacking in nothing from the standpoint of the righteousness of divine justice. Know that there are two kinds of purity: one is of innocent man, the other is of the repentant man. Both of these are imperfect in man if he is compared to the perfect righteousness of the divine standard. He speaks about the purity of the repentant, saying, if I were washed, if I will be zealous to cleanse myself from my sins, as with the waters of snow, which are said to be very cleansing. He speaks about the purity of the innocent when he says, and my hands shine as though very clean, that is, if in my works, which are designated by the term hands, no uncleanness would be found, but the bright clarity of justice would shine from them.

However, he uses the expression, as though very clean, to suggest that perfect cleansing cannot exist in man. He says, I will be cleansed, yet you will dip me in filth, because I will be shown to be filthy compared to your justice, and convicted by your wisdom. For there is always some defect found in human works. Sometimes this results from ignorance, because of the weakness of the intellect, but sometimes from negligence, because of the weakness of the flesh; sometimes from the infection of some affection for earthly things even mingled with good works, because of the mutability of the human heart, which does not persevere, fixed always in the same state. So there is always something in human works which is deficient from the purity of divine justice. When someone is unclean, who nevertheless has shown some exterior manifestation of justice, the signs of justice which appear in him exteriorly do not suit him. So he then says, and so my clothing will deprecate me, for exterior works are designated as garments because they wrap someone round about; as Matthew says, they will come to you in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15). Clothes, then, deprecate someone when the exterior works of a man who pretends to be just are not in accord with his interior desires.

172. He shows next why, no matter how pure he is, he cannot defend himself for being convicted as impure by God because of two things in which God excels in man. These are the purity of his justice and the authority of his majesty.

As to the first, he says, for he is not a man like myself that I should answer him, as if to say, “If any man wants to convict me of impurity, I would be able to resist him, if he should charge me with things he thinks cannot be preserved in man concerning the perfect purity of justice. But I cannot respond in this way to God, for there is no defect found in him.”

As to the second, he says, and he cannot gain a hearing with him as an equal. For when two men contend with each other, they can have a judge who examines both arguments. But, for two reasons, there can be no arbiter between God and man.

One reason is because a judge must have a higher wisdom, which is like the standard according to which the arguments of both parties are examined. It is clear, however, that divine wisdom is the first standard, according to which the truth of all things is examined. Because of this, he then says, nor is there anyone who can evaluate both our arguments. He means here that there is no one superior to God from whose greater wisdom divine wisdom can be corrected.

Another reason is because there must be a greater power in the judge by which he can sanction both parties. Job excludes this quality, saying: who could lay hands on both of us, that is, coerce both, for this is excluded by the immensity of divine power, which he has already demonstrated.

173. Since, as has been said, he intends to investigate why the innocent are punished in the world, he shows in conclusion what could impede him from this investigation, and with what intention he wishes to make this investigation. He could be impeded from this investigation by two things.

First, by the affliction from which he was suffering. For men whose minds are occupied with sorrow are not able to investigate accurately. He refers to this, saying, may he withdraw his rod from me.

Second, from the reverence which he had for God. For men sometimes omit to investigate things which pertain to God from the reverence which they have for him. As to this he says, let terror of him not frighten me. He means, “May he grant my spirit rest from the affliction which I suffer, and not impute irreverence to me because I debate about divine things. Therefore, I will be able to investigate,” and so he continues, I will speak and not be afraid of him, that is, not being frightened by him. Nor can I answer when I am afraid of him, that is, when I hold myself back from investigating something because of reverence for him. Note that the fear of God sometimes does not restrain those fearing God from investigating divine things. This is the case when one investigates divine matters from a desire to know the truth; not to comprehend the incomprehensible, but always with the rudder that one submits one’s intelligence to the truth of divine things. However, they are restrained by the fear of God lest they seek to investigate divine things, willing to comprehend them and not regulating their intellect with divine truth. So, by these words, Job intends to show that with this rudder he is investigating things which pertain to divine providence, so that he may subject his intellect to divine truth, and not oppose divine truth, which would be against the reverence for the fear of God.