Job's angry words to God

I AM SHOCKED at how much "patient" Job shredded God.

I’ve written about the Bible almost all my career. But when you have to paraphrase the Bible into casual English, as I do for The Casual English Bible,® you study it like you’ve never studied it before.

The safe thing to do would be to soften his words. But I don't.

Here are just a few of the bone-jarring complaints Job raised to God and about God. I’m pulling from only the first 10 chapters.

Quotable angry Job

Damn the day I was born,
The night they announced my arrival,
"It’s a boy!" Job 3:3, The Casual English Bible®

Why didn’t I die at birth?
Why didn’t I come out and drop dead?
Why did I end up on some stranger’s lap,
Sucking on her breasts? Job 3:11-12

I would rather choke to death
Than live like this any longer.
I’ve had it with this life.
I can’t get out of here fast enough.
So leave me in peace
For the short time I have left.
What are humans to you anyhow?
Why are you so obsessed with them?
You’re there every morning
And you’re putting us to the test every day. Job 7:15-18

Give me one doggone moment of peace,
Long enough to swallow my spit.
Tell me this, you People Watcher.
What’s my sin? How’d I hurt you?
Why did you turn me into a bullseye?
What did I ever do to you? Job 7:19-20

If he decides to take something away
Who's going to stop him?
Who's going to take him to court and say,
“God, who do you think you are?” Job 9:12

Look what God did to me.
He crushed me with a windstorm.
He covers my skin was sores,
Though I did nothing to deserve it. Job 9:17

He gave the world to the wicked.
He took justice from the judges.
If it's not his fault, whose fault is it? Job 9:24

Here’s what I’m saying to God:
Stop it. Stop condemning me.
Instead, start explaining yourself.
What’s your problem with me?
Do you enjoy hurting people?
Is it fun to make something and then break it? Job 10:2-3

Editorial comments from Steve

I'm halfway through paraphrasing the book of Job. I just finished Job 21. There are 42 chapters in this book. I haven't yet gotten to the part where God tells Job off. I know that's coming. But right now I find myself somewhat encouraged by some of the harsh words Job has for God.

Forgive me.

I've been angry with God for some time, and I'm just now trying to turn the corner. But it's bad timing. My Mom is dying of dementia and my dog is dying of lymphoma.

What got up me upset with God was having to put down my other dog, Buddy, two years ago. I think there's some post-traumatic stress going on because of the last look between Buddy and I. His beautiful brown eyes fixated on me. He trusted to help him as I had done so many times before. But I gave the vet the OK and watched Buddy’s lights go out. The thought of that moment still makes me swear inside sometimes. Silent profanity. But it's an improvement.

Last Friday I asked the vet about our dog Maizey. She has failed three different chemotherapy protocols. The lymph nodes where getting bigger. The doc said they might get big enough to choke Maizey.

Again? I have to deal with the exact same scenario again? That’s why I had to make the call about Buddy. With laryngeal paralysis, he was choking for air. It’s the worst way to die, another vet has told me.

Chemo attempt #4

We started the fourth attempt on Friday.

I asked the doctor what would happen if we chose not to give her that fourth tier of chemotherapy. He said we might have weeks with her.

I told him how difficult it was to put Buddy down. And I asked if there's any chance that Maizey might just quietly fall asleep so I don't have to do that again.

He said I would probably have to do it again.

He said we should watch for five things that Maizey likes to do. He said the degree to which she stops doing some of those things is a measure of her quality of life. If she dips to doing just one thing, that is the quality of life that we should not impose on her. We should not abandon her to the suffering, as by law we do with humans.

Dogs die hard.

They worry about me

My family is actually worried about me, because I've lost so many family and friends in recent years. It's okay. I'm worried about me too. But as uncomfortable as this is for me, it’s not about me. This whole thing is about the life that has been entrusted to me and my wife.

I'm not sure I have it in me to once again tell a vet okay. Because it is not okay. It is not okay at all.

My daughter is insisting to come with us when the time arrives. She says she will be the one to give the okay. I do not want to put her through that. She has known Maizey, our rescue dog, four years longer than we have. Maizey had belonged to her neighbor. My daughter has no idea yet what she is volunteering to do. I can't put that on her.

So I've got stuff to work through here. But in the meantime, I thought you might find it interesting to read what Job said to God after he lost his family to a windstorm and his herds and servants to raiders and wildfires.

Let me offer one caveat that will make a lot of people feel even more uncomfortable than they already are. I don't think Job is a story that actually took place. It reads like an extended poem written with such descriptive detail that no one could have kept such notes. Well, God could have. But I don't think he did. The story reads to me like an extended parable intended to teach us that good people sometimes suffer. And when they do, it's not because of any sin they committed.

So when I read the quotes from Job, I feel like I'm reading the quotes of a writer who is imagining this conversation and drawing on his own experiences and the questions he would have for God in Job’s situation.

Those of us who have suffered painful loss don’t have to guess what it feels like.

We’ve lived it, cried it, and cussed it.

Then comes the hard part. It’s God’s turn to talk.

I’ve been complaining in high gear for two years, and I’ll complain some more—anywhere from third gear to overdrive. But I’m pulling over at the rest stops for some quiet time, to listen.

A friend of mine once got mugged at a rest stop.

I’m not worried about that. I’ve already been mugged. If I were Job, I’d say God did it. But all I’m willing to say is, “God’s will be done.”

Dear God in heaven

You can take that as the prayer of a suffering soul or the joke of cynic. It works either way. But I’m trying to adjust to God’s will when it’s the opposite of my will. I've had to do that all my life. But these hurt a lot.

I know he knows it would be easier for him to change his mind than it would be for me to change mine. So, I’m praying he will change his mind or at least change his plans. He did it for King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:5-6). I'm no Hezekiah, but I'm no less a child of God. Maybe there is a cure out there somewhere for canine lymphoma.

“Dear God, heal my dog. Don’t ‘heel’ her anywhere. Let me keep her years longer. That’s what I want. Mom, however, is no puppy. She’s 91, blind and without much of a memory. She’s a good mother. Be good to her. You know goodness better than I do. Heck, you know me better than I do. I probably got it wrong when I told the readers Job was a fictional character. Twenty-one chapters into his story, I'm thinking Job might be me. Looking forward to hearing from you in the later chapters of the book. I'll be listening. Thank you, Father."