140 - The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective

The Suffering of God:
An Old Testament Perspective
By Terence E. Fretheim
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1984. 203 pp. $10.95.

The suffering and vulnerability of God has long been a neglected motif in Old Testament studies, as well as in the life and teaching of both church and synagogue. Though writers such as Heschel, Wiesel, and Moltmann have tried to emphasize certain strands of this motif, its importance for understanding the Old Testament has not become

141 - The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective

prominent. In his book, Fretheim (professor of Old Testament at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota) has brought this motif fully out of the closet. In a lucid manner, he has examined the suffering of God in its relationship to both biblical and theological traditions. Fretheim is determined to take seriously the "revelatory capacity" of metaphors in the Old Testament, especially those metaphors which describe God as being vulnerable and in specific relationship with a particular people, Israel.

Fretheim is aware of those theological traditions which have been sensitive to the "suffering of God" motif, such as the theology of the cross, process thought, feminine, black, and liberation theologies. The reader will note how all of these perspectives have aided Fretbeim in describing his findings. He calls for a reexamination of the predominant images of God currently understood as central in the Old Testament. This reexamination is to be based upon three criteria: "(1) adequacy to common human experience; (2) intelligibility and coherence; (3) faithfulness to the biblical witness and the tradition in which a given image stands." Fretheim finds the present scholarly discussion lacking an emphasis on these criteria. He proposes further a metaphoric shift toward "a renewed recognition of those metaphors which have been neglected." For Fretheim, these neglected metaphors are vital for discovering "the kind of God" to which Israel and the world are related.

In chapters 3-9, Fretheim presents the heart of his argument. First, Israel's understanding of the relationship between God and the world is explored with respect to two poles: monarchial and organismic. The former is seen as the most common and the latter as the most neglected by scholars. The organismic view sees God as being in a reciprocal and dialogical relationship with the world. "The world is not only dependent upon God; God is also dependent upon the world. The world is not only affected by God; God is affected by the world in both positive and negative ways." In this section, Fretheim explores Israel's belief that God's decision to be in relationship with the world was a decision to be limited, vulnerable, and open to that world. "God will be faithful to God's own promises, and that is a limitation of freedom. God's freedom is now supremely a freedom for the world, not a freedom from the world." Israel's understanding of the vulnerability of God is examined further in sections dealing with the foreknowledge, presence, and power of God.

In an important chapter entitled "God in Human Form," Fretheim discusses the importance of theophanies as exhibitions of God's willingness to share in the human condition as well as participate in human history. Pastors and scholars who have struggled with these texts will find this chapter particularly helpful. The theophanies are seen in a new light which permits Fretheim to conclude his chapter by asserting, "there is no such thing for Israel as a non-incarnate God."

Fretheim goes on to examine how the Old Testament depicts God as

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suffering primarily in three ways. God suffers because, with, and for God's people. God suffers because of broken relationships. God suffers with God's people and is "genuinely anguished over what has occurred" to the distressed and oppressed. Here Fretheim's emphasis on God's sorrow as a spur toward repentance is an intriguing thought. God's "suffering with" is rooted in two factors: "suffering with suffering Israel, and suffering in the face of other nations who have seen God's name dragged through the mire." Fretheim describes how God's future is linked to Israel's future. The pain which Israel suffers is pain experienced by God as well. Finally, God suffers for God's people. The language of divine weariness and restraint is central here. "There is an intimate relationship to be seen between the continued life' of a sinful people and the suffering of God. It is only because of God's willingness to continue to suffer as long as he has that the people continue to live." Fretheim closes the book with a look at the prophet as one who stands "in the same tension filled situation as God" and is willing to endure as long as God does.

Readers will find that Fretheim has opened a number of interesting doors which should serve to challenge and provoke them toward new ways of interpreting the Old Testament understanding of the character of God. If there is a problem with the book, it is that theological preconceptions, especially those of process thought, may be controlling the interpretation of certain texts, rather than vice versa. Whether this is true or not does not diminish the value of this book as a pointer toward a long neglected theme in Old Testament study.

Murray Joseph Haar
Augustana College
Sioux Falls, South Dakota