Job and the Release of the Hostages

by Audrey Lichter

In the book of Job, we meet a righteous and pious man who, unbeknownst to him, is put to a test of faith by a wager between the “Adversary” (some type of celestial being) and God. God, sure that Job will not lose his faith, allows the adversary to afflict him with all sorts of troubles, and Job, although beaten and angry with God, does not renounce his faith.

The book addresses the question of how we should react when confronted with evil. How do we acknowledge as human beings our ultimate lack of control in the face of God’s power, with the mandate to confront evil and not (as his friends try to argue) accept it as a result of our sins? Job is not a pacifist… he rails against this evil and rejects both a fatalistic and rational interpretation (we suffer for our sins even if we are unaware of them).  Job is sure he does not deserve this treatment and is incensed that this has happened to him. When confronted with evil, we, like Job,  must continue to rail against it and do what we can to confront evil from the source… as Job does in his anger with God. Although Job does not reject God, he does not stay silent.

I wondered how the hostages coped and what role faith might have played.

For all the days and weeks we marched to release the hostages who were always on our minds, and for the war Israelis had to fight against a morally bankrupt, nihilist, jihadist evil regime, I wondered how the hostages coped and what role faith might have played.  What sustained them for almost 2 years through the darkest of days? We will surely learn more about the evil they encountered and about how they dealt with this evil. I wonder if Job’s story was helpful and if it sustained them through the torture they undoubtedly experienced.