There is hope for a tree
Who determined its measurements -- surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
God's point and second great lesson of the Book of Job is that, we cannot know God's ways and therefore to accuse God of injustice assumes a level of knowledge about God that we humans do not and cannot possess.
Here is my favorite verse from the Book of Job,
"For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grow old in the earth,
and its stump die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant. (Job 14:7-9)
And my lesson: we may not always have understanding of God's ways, but we can always have hope that God will not abandon us to the cruel ways of the world, because there is another world where all our questions will be answered.
(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including "Religion for Dummies," co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.)
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