One of the ways in which we’ve entered into the text of Job is through something called Bibliodrama. Bibliodrama invites people to place themselves into the story; one takes a specific moment in the text and explores what a character in the story might have been feeling or thinking at that time. We looked at the beginning of Job.

People were invited to put themselves in Job’s shoes after all the disasters had happened and Job’s wife told him to curse God. They could share thoughts, feelings, questions. It was harder than it sounds, mostly because of who Job is. How does one, after all, take on all the devastation that Job had experienced and his only words seem to be to praise God? It is like trying to imagine oneself in Jesus’ shoes.

It was easier to move away from Job to being one of those around him, whether friend, wife or bystander. His suffering could be experienced more from a distance, although the helplessness of the situation became even more obvious. How does one help someone we care about who has lost so much? But what if we’re not that close to Job? Regarding the question of what “others” will think, the response seemed more curiosity than condemning: less of a “he deserved it” to what do we make of his faith and this God now. Both of these questions are helpful to keep in mind as we keep looking at the book.