Blessed Are the Pure in Heart…

Anand Mangal – November 7, 2022

The Book of Job poses a challenge of Biblical interpretation: the text seems to make
little effort to reconcile the suffering of an innocent man with the goodness and compassion of
God. The critical moment arrives in Chapter 39 when God appears to Job. Instead of giving a
justification for Job’s ordeals, the pitiless Creator seems to mock the man for his insignificance.
Dr. David Novak’s innovative interpretation demonstrates how this oft-repeated understanding
of Job is sorely mistaken.
Novak’s approach starts with Job’s motivation: after losing everything, what does he
want from God? It is tempting to assume he wants God to explain Himself for his undeserved
suffering – but Job, being a righteous man, desires something far greater: to see God. Job 19:37,
converted into future tense as Novak suggests, reads, “In my very flesh [will] I see God. I myself
[will] behold Him, with my own eyes I [will] see Him, not with another’s – my heart is consumed
with longing within me!”
This longing reframes God’s appearance in Chapter 39 as the giving of an impossible gift,
a sight too holy even for Moses to behold. In Job 42:5, he exults, “I have heard of You by
hearsay, but now my own eyes have seen You.” This vision of God in His splendor is so
beautiful, so overwhelming, so awe-inspiring that all the pain of his tribulations melts away.
This same vision, which awaits the faithful in resurrection, is the only answer to the problem of
pain that can truly satisfy.