Job 42:1-6
Epilogue of Job
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
In CS Lewis' novel, Till We Have Faces, the main character, Orual, demands an answer for her multiple layers of grief and loss of her sister Psyche...Orual, a protagonist in the book, shares a profound kinship with Job in her relentless pursuit of divine answers, though their experiences diverge in significant ways...Like Job, Orual is consumed by a deep sense of injustice, believing the gods have unfairly burdened her, particularly in the perceived loss of Psyche...She persistently demands explanations, seeking to understand the reasons behind her suffering and the apparent cruelty of the divine. Both characters experience a sense of betrayal, perceiving their trials as undeserved, and grapple with the frustrating silence of the gods, leading to feelings of abandonment and despair...She is questioning God, but He gives no answer to her...But after meeting God in a vision, Orual better understands God: “I know now, LORD, why you utter no answer...You are yourself the answer...Before your face questions die away...What other answer would suffice?...Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words.”...
So in Lewis' writing of his book, I think of Job...These words of Orual resonate strongly with the narrative of Job...Job's story is a profound exploration of human suffering and the search for Divine Justice...Throughout his ordeal, Job relentlessly questions God, demanding an explanation for his undeserved afflictions...He seeks answers, justifications, and a clear articulation of God's purpose...Like the speaker in Lewis's quote, Job initially expects a verbal response, a detailed account of why he suffers...However, God's eventual response to Job is not a direct answer to his specific questions...Instead, God reveals His majesty and sovereignty, His incomprehensible power and wisdom...This revelation, much like the realization in Lewis's quote, causes Job's questions to "die away."...Job, confronted with the sheer Presence of God, recognizes the inadequacy of his previous demands...He understands that God Himself is the answer, that His Being transcends any finite explanation...Job's experience highlights the limitations of human understanding and the futility of trying to confine God within the boundaries of human logic or language...In the end, Job's encounter with God is not about receiving a set of answers, but about experiencing the Divine Presence, a Presence that brings peace and understanding beyond words...This aligns perfectly with Lewis's assertion that "You are Yourself the answer," and that "Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words," would be insufficient...Both Job and the speaker in Lewis's reflection arrive at the same profound truth: God's Presence, not His words, is the ultimate answer...