Today’s Scripture Reading (May 6,
2015): Job 20
King George
VI will be remembered for several differences that he has made in history. The
movie “The King’s Speech” remembers him for his ability to overcome a lifelong
speech problem (giving hope to all of us who stutter uncontrollably at times.)
He was the reluctant King, only taking over after his brother, Edward VIII,
abdicated the throne after only serving as king for less than a year. He was
the king that may never have been king. Not only was he not in line for the
throne which should have flowed through the lineage of his brother Edward VIII,
but even after Edward’s Abdication there was some thought that maybe George
(whose first name is actually Albert) should be overlooked as king in favor of
his younger brother Prince George, the Duke of Kent. The argument seemed to have
been based on the idea that George had sons while Albert (George VI) only had
daughters. (And if that had happened, we would have been deprived of the treasure
that we have received in Elizabeth II.) George was the king that restored
stability to a monarchy that was noticeably shaken after the abdication of his
brother. Albert decision to reign as King George VI was made to show continuity
between him and his father, George V. King George was the Second World War king.
In many ways he was the king of the people. Together with his Queen Elizabeth,
they restored faith in the monarchy and courage to a people desperately in need
of it during troubled times. The Royal couple suffered through war rationing
just as everyone else did. Elizabeth, known better to my generation as the
Queen Mother, might be best remembered for her words of defiance spoken after
narrowly surviving two bombs being dropped on Buckingham Palace while the Royal
Family was there in residence. She said that "I am glad
we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the
face". (East End had received the first German attack on the British Isle
killing a thousand civilians.)
But maybe what we forget is that George was also a King
of mercy. Maybe his identification with the commoner in Britain should lead us
to this conclusion, but we often seem to miss it. A book was recently released
which chronicled the life of a Jewish woman who had fled to England during the
war. Her fear of Germany caused her and her mother to try to commit suicide
together. Mom was successful, but the daughter (Irene) was not. The penalty for
assisting in suicide, one of the charges brought against Irene, in Britain at
the time was death. Irene was guilty, and the penalty was mandatory. Irene was
handed over to be hung. But the case was brought before the King, and George
immediately changed the sentence to life in prison. And after serving three
months, Irene was released from prison totally. The mercy of a king had saved Irene’s
life.
Zophar in his speech says many things that we know are right
about God. The words with which he describes the fate of those committed to
evil are accurate. But because Job has lost every material possession in his
life, Zophar insists that Job must be numbered among the evil of the world –
something that the beginning and ending of the Book of Job denies. (It is
interesting that Zophar concentrates on the material effects that evil has on
us.). Even though Zophar is right, he is wrong. And his main problem is that he
refuses to see God as a God, and a king, of mercy. In his mind, all of the
effects of evil are due to Job and there is nothing that Job can do to return
to a right standing with God. This is now his lot in life, and God will not
back down. There is absolutely no mention in anything that Zophar says with
regard to grace and mercy. And that is a huge problem with Zophar’s theology,
since even Zophar must have stood in a place of needing the grace and mercy of
God.
But Zophar has been listening to his friend. The idea
that “the heavens will expose
his guilt; the earth will rise up against him” (Job 20:27) stands in direct
contrast to the great hope of Job expressed in the preceding chapter – “I
know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will
stand on the earth” (Job 19:25). The great hope of Job embodies both
grace and mercy. It is a vision sent by God. But, by contrast, the merciless
words of Zophar can only be satanic in nature. They are words that urge us to
stop trying because we serve a God who really doesn’t care. And the entire Book
of Job argues against that idea.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 21
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