Not kidding. This actually solves a gaggle of philosophical problems.
One of the most difficult books of the bible is Job, but it truly does give a window into the issue that no other book does.
The devil accuses Job to God. God lets the devil wipe out almost everything for Job. Ultimately after enduring a lot of grief from his friends, God lectures Job on how great He is, then restores Job’s fortunes.
What, God, are You mad?
No He is not mad. He is just showing where the root of goodness is. Job considered it worth the grief, but not while the grief was going on.
I’m in the middle of my own spiritual experience, more like Jonah.
http://www.netivotshalom.org/5770-YK-aft-buchin
In 1891, a young sailor named James Bartley was an apprentice on a whaling vessel called “The Star Of The East.” As the “Star of the East” traveled through the South Atlantic in pursuit of a tremendous whale, disaster, somewhat inevitably, ensued, the ship was capsized and Bartley, much to his surprise, I’m sure, was swallowed by the whale.
Bartley was discovered three days later as the now dead whale was being cut open. The gastric juices from the whale’s stomach had burnt off all of the hair on Bartley’s body, and permanently bleached his skin bone white. For the remainder of his life he was blind. Despite all this, he was otherwise healthy and in good shape after two weeks of recuperation.
Ultimately, Bartley returned to England, where he worked as a cobbler for the remaining eighteen years of his life. The final, fitting epitaph carved on Bartley’s tombstone read: “James Bartley -1870-1909 - A Modern Jonah.”
What bothers me about this legend, which originally came from a 19th century newspaper article, is that it leaves out the most important part of the Jonah story. While it maintains the iconic image of the whale, it removes God from the equation. Jonah, unlike Bartley, did not have fellow whalers to save him. The whale that swallowed Jonah was never cut open; rather, Jonah’s redemption came from God.
It’s a beautiful moment. Jonah, a skeptical, perhaps cowardly prophet, tries to run away from God, only to realize the futility of his actions. So he turns to God. His prayer, uttered while in the belly of the whale, is the crux of the story; it is the turning point for Jonah, and it demonstrates one of the key lessons of the book: That God does hear our prayers.
In Jonah’s prayer to God, Jonah says: “You cast me into the depths, into the heart of the sea, the floods engulfed me; All your breakers and billows swept over me... The waters closed in over me, the deep engulfed me. Weeds twined around my head. I sank to the base of the mountains; the bars of the earth closed upon me forever.” This depicts Jonah before he’s had his satori moment, when he is still stuck in despair. This is the pre-transformed Jonah speaking; all he can see is misery and gloom.
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