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What is the word, that if we knew its answer, would make us know as much as God?  What is the word that righteous souls who believe in God and in God’s government of the world have spoken as they looked out over the world and saw the reign of injustice and wickedness?  What is the word that believing and afflicted souls have pronounced when God’s hand lay heavy upon them? What is the word that mothers have spoken over the lifeless bodies of their children?  What is the word that Gideon spoke when he saw Israel devastated by the Midianites?  What is the word that Job spoke when he was stripped of his possessions, his wealth, his health and was left desolate?
That word is “why”.  The word why is a symbol of the unknown and unknowable.  It is the cry of the human heart when calamity strikes.  It is associated with why me and why now.  The word is often asked of people who are in despair and who feel powerless in the face of difficult circumstances.  The word was asked by Gideon and also by Job.  Let’s consider each of their circumstances and see if we can discover the answer to this haunting question.

Gideon’s Why?
In Judges 6:11-13, a verbal exchange takes place between an angel of the Lord and Gideon.  “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Oprah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, whey then is all this befallen us?  and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”  Israel was oppressed by the Midianites.  They raided the crops every year and so none dared to thresh his grain openly.  In a hidden glen under the oak of Oprah, Gideon was secretly threshing out the grain of his father’s farm.  An angel stood by him and said, “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”  Gideon’s response indicated his keen sense that God had abandoned them and left them in despair.  He felt that God had forsaken His people.  However, on Gideon’s father’s farm, there was an altar to Baal– a clear indication of apostasy in Israel and even in Gideon’s own house.  God’s people had forsaken Him!  God is not to blame for Israel’s problems.  When Gideon asked, why?, he failed to see his own culpability.  Sin separates us from God.  The worship of Baal was prominent in Israel.  The sense that God had forsaken Israel was strong, but God was still where He always is and His power was the same as at anytime in Israel’s past.  The problem was not God.  The problem was sin in the hearts of the people.  Still, the question, why? remains.  The human soul often cries out why? The question probes what is unknown to us.  God does not answer the question.  He commissions Gideon.  God’s answer to Gideon is a command to action–a test of faith.  When faith in God is restored, then, God will fight for His people.  God told Gideon to destroy his father’s altar to Baal and build an altar to the LORD God.  Gideon did this proving his faith in God.  Then, God used Gideon to destroy the Midianites–120,000 of them (Judges 8:10).  This victory manifested God’s presence and power among His people.  Gideon’s question, “why then is all of this befallen us?” is answered.  God has not abandoned them, but they had abandoned God.  But, when faith in God is restored and the sin barrier removed, God will fight for His people and victory is assured.

Job’s Why?
In Job 3:11, Job says, “Why died I not from the womb?” Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of my mother’s belly?  Job is an eternal symbol of the mystery of human life.  Job was a man of Uz who feared God  and lived an upright and righteous life.  He had seven sons and three daughters.  His substance was great–seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred donkeys. Job was a great man.  He was blessed.
Job was put to a severe test of his faith in God.  Satan believed that Job served God because God had blessed Job so abundantly.  Satan reasoned that if all this prosperity were taken away from Job that he would turn away from God.  Swift calamities befell Job.  The Sabeans drove off his livestock.  His servants were slain with the sword.  Fire fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the shepherds watching them.  The Chaldeans drove of the camels and slew their drivers with the sword.  A whirlwind struck Job’s eldest son’s house and killed all of his children and their families.  In a single day, Job lost his possessions and his family.  Job’s response was, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither.  The LORD gave, the LORD taketh away, blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Another test came.  Satan believed that if Job was afflicted personally, he would turn away from God.  “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job 2:4).  God permitted Satan to afflict Job but restricted him from taking Job’s life.  Job’s body was covered with boils from head to toe.  Job’s wife told him to, “curse God and die.”  Job said, “What? shall receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?  Job maintained his integrity.  Job’s three friends come to visit him–Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  They sat in silence for seven days.  Then, Job lamented the day he was born.  “Why died I not from the womb?” (Job 3:11).  Job’s three friends could not answer the why?  Neither Elihu nor Job could answer the question why.  Then, God speaks to Job and God does not directly answer the question why.  But, God does affirm His sovereignty.  God extolled His glory and asked Job a series of questions Job could not answer.  The answer to Job’s why was twofold.  There is a sovereign God and He is worthy of our trust no matter how difficult the circumstances of life may be.  God’s promise to us is: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God will never fail nor forsake His beloved people.  In the end, the mercy and grace of God was shown to Job and all of his possessions and his family were restored (James 5:11).

Our Why?
We may find ourselves in difficult circumstances that test our faith in God.  This world is a vale of soul-making.  God is working and satan is working.  God works to help us develop the qualities that will glorify Him.  Satan works to bring us to condemnation before God.  Every test must be met with faith in God!  God will never forsake those who love Him and are committed to His Will.  Let us permit God to be God and let us put our trust in Him in all things.  We may not know the answer to every why question.  But, we can answer every why question with faith in God: “I will trust in Him!”