Genesis
2: 17
17 But
of the tree of the
knowledge
(Heb. da`ath)
of
good
(Heb. tob)
and
evil
(Heb. ra),
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die.
NOTE:
It is NOT the tree, in and of itself, but rather the “knowledge”
of good and evil; this awareness will be achieved only through experience.
Ecclesiastes
9: 2-3a, 11b-12
2 All
things come alike
to all; One
event happens to
the righteous and the wicked; To the [b]good,
the clean, and the unclean; To him who sacrifices and him who does
not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the
sinner; He who takes an oath as he who
fears an oath. 3 This is an
evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to
all. But
time and chance happen to them all; 12 For man
also does not know his time; Like fish taken in a cruel net; Like
birds caught in a snare; So the sons of men are snared
in an evil time; When it falls suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes
9: 11
11 I
returned and saw under the sun that—The
race is not
to the swift; Nor the battle to the strong; Nor bread to the wise;
Nor riches to men of understanding; Nor favor to men of skill; But
time and chance happen to them all.
Job 2: 10b
What?
shall we receive good (Heb. hatob/the
good)
at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (Heb.
hara/adversity)?
NOTE: Let's look at the events in Job 1: 13-19 and 2: 7-9: The entire book could also be a metaphor for Life; too. God is in this narrative representative of Nature or Life; in the sense of experience in this Reality. Job has this mysterious lone servant who is present at all these disasters but somehow escapes to tell him the bad news. There is also a repeating pattern. Sabeans steal livestock and kill servants; fire from heaven destroys livestock and servants; Chaldeans plunder livestock and kill servants; a great wind from the wilderness, or, out of nowhere (without warning; suddenly) strikes the house of eldest son where Job's sons and daughters were partying, and the roof collapses, killing the men (fate of daughters not mentioned??). After all this great loss, Job's wife turns on him; and if that wasn't bad enough, he contracts a terrible itching and painful skin disease. The rest of the book, which even be an elaborate parable, show Job's closest friends turn on him. Becoming a victim of a theft or robbery; natural disasters, property damage, death of loved ones, suffering from health issues, a devoted, loved one or life partner criticizing you and friends turning their backs on you at your lowest point and most vulnerable moment when you most need their sound advice and support- "This is Life."
NOTE: Let's look at the events in Job 1: 13-19 and 2: 7-9: The entire book could also be a metaphor for Life; too. God is in this narrative representative of Nature or Life; in the sense of experience in this Reality. Job has this mysterious lone servant who is present at all these disasters but somehow escapes to tell him the bad news. There is also a repeating pattern. Sabeans steal livestock and kill servants; fire from heaven destroys livestock and servants; Chaldeans plunder livestock and kill servants; a great wind from the wilderness, or, out of nowhere (without warning; suddenly) strikes the house of eldest son where Job's sons and daughters were partying, and the roof collapses, killing the men (fate of daughters not mentioned??). After all this great loss, Job's wife turns on him; and if that wasn't bad enough, he contracts a terrible itching and painful skin disease. The rest of the book, which even be an elaborate parable, show Job's closest friends turn on him. Becoming a victim of a theft or robbery; natural disasters, property damage, death of loved ones, suffering from health issues, a devoted, loved one or life partner criticizing you and friends turning their backs on you at your lowest point and most vulnerable moment when you most need their sound advice and support- "This is Life."
COMMENTARY:
There
is a tendency, or perhaps it is resignation and acceptance at the
inevitable conclusion that things are beyond your control. Natural
disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and
other extreme weather conditions) as well as diseases, being a
victim of criminal conduct, social injustice and all other outcomes
are perhaps seen as simply, God's Will. God is not always seen just as Creator but
sometimes acting as an unseen, non-moral agent in the planetary
disruptions and violent activity demonstrated in nature. Maybe, just maybe the
things that are happening around us are simply Life; in all of it's
sublime beauty, complexity and often wretched ugliness. Starting with Adam in the
garden of Eden, is perhaps a metaphor for the harshness of this Life.
God doesn't need to always micro-manage us because We are created in the image and
likeness of God; thereby having an aspect of divine characteristics
or qualities within ourselves. There are things we can control or
influence, to the extent that we are able, and there are things we cannot
because we are flesh and blood. God may be seen as directing,
causing, or allowing things to happen but it just could be, and is, what the
wisdom of Solomon says: Chance and circumstance happens to every
living thing; that's just the way it is. He admonishes us while in this life to fear God
and keep His commandments; that is the whole duty (opportunity??) for
Man (Ecclesiastes 12: 13).
Robert
Randle
776
Commerce St. Apt 701
Tacoma,
WA 98402
October
13, 2018
