Jon Huer writes

THE SEDUCTION OF JOB:  Twenty Years Later

  

A Dramatic Poem

CHAPTER NINE

Job stands accused and reacts to the charges of seduction.

ELIHU TO SELF: 

I am confounded by this accusation against Job  

By a witness who is credulous beyond doubt, 

Whose words ring with absolute truth and authenticity.  

But her charges are against the pillar of Uz, 

With great integrity and piety, wisdom and charity,  

Who walks humbly and opens his heart to all. 

How can Job be accused of such wantonness,  

Of forcing a poor maid into submission, 

While hiding behind his power and authority?  

His place in the land is second only to God, 

The loftiness warranted by his purity and wisdom,  

Untouchable by the standards of us mere mortals. 

The ordinary and mundane stand in awe of him:  

Behold his great wealth wrought by God's own hand, 

And who can deny him of his high esteem  

Which is his own merit judged by the angels? 

Can this man be accused of injustice to a maid?   

JOB TO SELF: 

I am summoned to answer charges of seduction.  

But whom have I seduced?  My memory fails me. 

Could that be Bashana, the maid of long ago?  

Why would she accuse me now, so late, 

And why the charges of seduction by me?  

I am baffled and puzzled by this development, 

Especially as I have been walking before God  

On His straight and narrow path of righteousness. 

Could my peace of mind be but a thought that passes,  

And God's grace a cruel joke of the unscrupulous?  

ELIHU:  

Job, of the land of Uz, you have been accused 

Of forcing an innocent maid into wanton submission  

By the use of your power and authority 

And the pretense of guidance and instruction,  

Causing her many months of pain and anguish so deep, 

Her spirit has been ruined and her soul lost.  

The accusation is serious and the crime heinous; 

The law is unforgiving and the punishment certain.  

The accuser's name is Bashana, address unknown. 

Do you have anything to say in your defense?   

JOB: 

O Lord, my God, I am punished for my sin,  

Accounting for all my wrongdoing gone unpunished. 

I have repented but God did not deem it in full;  

My hope that rose to a mountain peak 

Was but a cruel and pitiless mirage;  

My peace of mind but the brief respite 

That comes to a hopeful heart before the daybreak;  

My spirit in comfort merely a lull before the storm.   

Defense?  What can I say in my defense

When God has willed his punishment in full, 

When He told His angels to stop singing for me,  

And when He ordered Satan to pursue and destroy me 

For the balance of payment that my sin owed?   

Defense?  What defense can there be 

When my heart is crushed in heavy sorrow,  

My spirit chained to the past that cannot be undone, 

And the soul of mine humbled to silence and shame?   

ELIHU: 

Then, Job, who stands accused of the charges,  

Do you plead guilty as charged herein? 

Before you enter your plea, clear my vexation:  

Why has she waited this long to lodge the charges?  

JOB:   

God is my witness and I fear no evil. 

Yes, I plead guilty as charged herein,  

For I see the hand of God Who is displeased 

With my penance and grief that I confessed,  

Because my sin of haughtiness and impiety 

Is much too immense to be appeased by my lowliness.  

I have walked humbly before God as never before, 

Opened my warehouse to the needy and hungry,  

And immersed myself in the sweet sorrow of the penitent. 

But God has balanced my payment against my debt  

And found it wanting on the side of my payment.  

  

You ask, Why has she waited this long?   

The Almighty works in mysterious ways, 

Who can guess why this and why that?  

Perhaps her spirit became inconsolable, 

Her sighs and laments unbearable,  

And her soul defeated against the wall of despair? 

Or, who knows if she is not an angel in disguise  

To teach me the morality of true piety and lowliness?  

ELIHU:  

The king will decide what punishment fits the crime, 

Upon the recommendation of my office, prompt and proper.  

Do you wish to seek counsel for your defense?  

JOB:  

I am a sinner accused in God's court 

Already condemned by the angels and saints in heaven:  

Why should I need an earthly lawyer? 

Do with my crime as you wish, Elihu,  

But who can unsnare me from God's displeasure 

And from the sweetness of penance within my heart?  

Yes, my spirit sags and my soul aches with sorrow, 

But who can say no to His mysterious ways?

 

 Job's Despair -- William Blake