One point that didn't make it into the outline for yesterday's sermon, but which came out in the sermon (somewhat) was the interesting contrast in the first 12 verses between Job who is the greatest of the "sons of east" and the "sons of God." For all of Job's greatness and perfection, he is not among the assembled sons of God. He's a son of the East and not a son of God (or so it seems).
Related to that: there are a number of parallels between Job and Adam in the opening chapters of Job. One I only noticed recently is that Job is in the "east" which is of course where the garden was planted, in the east of Eden. However, as I've thought about it more, I wonder if the emphasis is more post-Fall. That is, when Adam and Eve were exiled, they were exiled to the east, as witnessed by the two cherubim (sons of God) guarding the presence of God with their flaming sword at the east end of the garden.
So while Job is this new Adam, he also finds himself outside of the courtroom of Yahweh, exiled to the East. And though he is the greatest of all the "sons of the east," he is still not a "son of God," a member of the counsels of Yahweh. At the beginning of the story, Job has not yet been (re)admitted to the garden-presence of the Lord.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Job and the East
Posted by Toby at 3:57 PM
Labels: Bible - Job
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4 comments:
I have not thought much about this and so I am not sure what I think of that but to continue in this thought- Satan was in God's court talking to Him about what to do with Job.
Gabe Rench
Perhaps, like the book of revelation, You have man restored and replacing the angels?
Right, Jason, I think something like that is going on. And the really cool thing is that Job is a gentile.
Gabe, your point about Satan is also important. At the end of Job, it is Job speaking to God on behalf of his friends, and Satan is gone. The Accuser has been replaced by an Advocate.
Also, regarding Jason's point, the angelic accuser is replaced by human accusers.
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