Sunday, May 20, 2012
THE FINAL WORD ON JOB
Job 42:7-17
Today we
come to the end of the book of Job.
Perhaps there is something in us that wants to say “Hallelujah, we’re
done!” Going through the book of Job has
not been easy. I dare say that most of
us have never spent so much time in Job, and likely never will again. Nevertheless, I do believe the Lord has kept
us there for a reason. Before we come to
the last verses of Job, a quick review is in order. Surely there is no better way to review than
to begin by simply reading chapters 1-2.
Read Job 1-2…
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was
blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And
seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his
possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke
of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this
man was the greatest of all the people of the East. 4 And his
sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would
send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So
it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and
sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings
according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons
have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did regularly. 6 Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to
Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said,
"From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on
it." 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you
considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless
and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" 9 So
Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have
You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he
has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions
have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand
and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your
face!" 12 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all
that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So
Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.13 Now there was a day
when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest
brother's house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said,
"The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when
the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have killed the
servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell
you!" 16While he was still speaking, another also came and
said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the
servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 17 While
he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed
three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants
with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 18 While
he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and
daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,19 and
suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four
corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I
alone have escaped to tell you!"20 Then Job arose, tore his
robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.21 And
he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return
there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the
Lord." 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with
wrong.
Chapter 2: 1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to
present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan,
"From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From
going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on
it." 3 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you
considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds
fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him
without cause." 4 So Satan answered the Lord and said,
"Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But
stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely
curse You to Your face!" 6 And the Lord said to Satan,
"Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life." 7 So
Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils
from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he
took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the
midst of the ashes. 9Then his wife said to him, "Do you still
hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 10 But
he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we
indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all
this Job did not sin with his lips. 11 Now when Job's three
friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from
his own place--Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the
Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with
him, and to comfort him. 12 And when they raised their eyes
from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and
each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. 13 So
they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one
spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
Chapters
3-31 consist of a three-round debate between Job and his three friends –
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Then in
chapter 32, a young man named Elihu begins to speak and continues through
chapter 37. Finally in chapter 38, we
hear from the Lord Himself, whose words are recorded in chapters 38-41. There is one little break in chapter 40,
where we find this little exchange between the Lord and Job (Job
40:1-5)…
Moreover the
Lord answered Job, and said: 2 "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct
Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it." 3 Then Job
answered the Lord and said: 4"Behold,
I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. 5 Once I have
spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."
Though Job
admitted that he has already said more than he should have, the Lord is not
done speaking to him. In the rest of
chapter 40 and in chapter 41the Lord gives a lengthy dissertation about his
mighty creatures behemoth and leviathan.
And that brings us to chapter 42, where we find Job’s humble
response. Let’s read it again in Job
42:1-6…
Then Job
answered the Lord and said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose
of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked,
'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered
what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 Listen,
please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer
Me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now
my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I
abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
The Lord
has brought Job to a brokenhearted joy (John Piper’s term). He has confessed the sinfulness of his pride
and rejoices in his newfound fellowship with Almighty God. While that might be a fitting end to the
book, we can be thankful that there is more.
Praise God that the Lord has seen fit to bless us with a further
unfolding of this story. That is what we
will look at this morning. Let’s read it
in Job
42:7-17…
And so it
was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to
Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two
friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 Now
therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant
Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall
pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your
folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job
has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted
Job. 10 And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job
twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had
been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house;
and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had
brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. 12 Now the Lord
blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen
thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one
thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he
called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the
name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the
land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father
gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this
Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren
for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.
Now let’s
look at the picture of Job which is revealed to us in this last section.
I. Job, the Servant of God
As we read
verses 7-8, we can hardly miss the fact that God refers to Job as “My servant”
no less than four times. That is no
small thing to have God say “My servant.”
I can count only nine individuals of whom God said that, including
Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus.
Job is in very select company.
But wait a
minute. What about his sin? We saw in chapters 1 and 2 that when God was
talking to Satan, He referred twice to Job as “My servant” (1:8; 2:3), but a
great deal has happened between chapter 2 and chapter 42. Didn’t Job say some things about God that
weren’t true? We will look more at that
in a minute. And what about his growing
pride during the debate with his friends?
Bear in mind that this is the same Job who had to repent before God in
dust and ashes (verse 6).
First of
all, let’s deal with the fact that Job did indeed repent in dust and
ashes. Our human logic might lead us to
conclude that a person’s admission of guilt in repenting might set God against
him. But what we find in God’s Word is
just the opposite. The Lord delights in
a humble attitude of repentance, which is exactly what Job demonstrated. Of all those whom God refers to as “My
servant,” David stands out above all the rest.
Do you know how many times God calls David “My servant”? Twenty three.
No other man comes close (Moses is a distant second, with six). And what do we know about David? Did he commit sins? Indeed, he did, even adultery and murder, as
well as a numbering of the people which resulted in 70,000 Israelites dying. Yet he is the man above all others who is
known as God’s servant. Is it not primarily
because of his zeal in repentance? It
was this same David who said, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken
heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Ps. 34:18 NKJV). The fact that Job repented of his sins
endears him to a God who is gracious and merciful and delights to forgive
sinners like Job and David.
Repentance
is fine, but didn’t Job say some things about God that should have disqualified
him as a true servant of the Lord? Let’s
read again verse 7, “And
so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to
Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends,
for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’” Then the Lord repeats the same thing again at
the end of verse 8. What do we make out
of this? God clearly states that Job’s
three friends had not spoken what is right, as Job had. So I ask you again, did Job himself not say
some things about God which were not true?
I read back through all of Job’s speeches this week, and I have to say
that without question he erred in what he said.
Let me give you just a couple of examples. Job 16:9, “He tears me in His wrath
and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; my adversary sharpens His gaze
on me.” Job 19:11, “He has also
kindled His wrath against me, and He counts me as one of His enemies.” Job accuses God of hating him and of counting
him as an enemy, statements which are absolutely false.
So in what sense can
God say that Job’s three friends have not spoken what is right, while Job
has? Did Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar
ever speak truth? Yes, they certainly
did. As we have seen before, they said
some things that are absolutely true and valid.
So we would have to say that both Job and his three statements made true
statements and false statements. However,
there are a couple of fundamental differences between Job’s words and those of
his friends. First of all, Job’s friends
vehemently contended that a man is always properly repaid for his actions while
on this earth. If he is wicked, he will
be punished; if he is righteous, he will be rewarded. Job, on the other hand, argued that it was
not so. Though Job himself is not always
consistent in this area, he definitely says that sometimes the wicked live a
life of comfort and ease in this life, while the righteous suffer. The disagreement bore upon the case of Job
himself. His friends said that Job was
suffering because he had committed some terrible sin. While Job couldn’t understand why he was
suffering so severely, he never would say that it was because of some great
hidden wickedness. Along these same
lines, someone has pointed out that Job’s friends didn’t see beyond the
grave. While Job seemed to agree with
them at times, there were other times when he clearly pointed to something
higher. Remember his famous statement in
19:25-27,
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the
earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in
my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold,
and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Please note one more glaring
difference between Job and his friends.
I apologize for not seeing this before.
It should not escape our notice.
During the three rounds of debate, there is no record that Job’s friends
ever prayed. Though they said many
things about God that were true, they didn’t speak to God. While they blasted Job again and again, they
didn’t pray for him. Job, on the other
hand, repeatedly speaks to God. When he
responded to one of his friends, he would talk to him for a while, and then he
would turn his eyes heavenward and speak to the Almighty. While it is true that he said things to God
that he should not have spoken, the fact is that Job dealt with his God.
It is no
accident that there are twice as many references to “My servant Job” in chapter
42 than in chapters 1 and 2. After all
that has happened, Job is still the servant of God, and even moreso than he was
before. We see that truth illustrated in
the fact that Job now serves as a kind of priest, one who stands between his
friends and God. Job doesn’t take this
responsibility upon himself, but God gives it to him. Let’s read again what God said to Eliphaz in 42:8,
“Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to
My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant
Job shall pray for you. For I will
accept him, lest I deal with you accord-ing to your folly; because you have not
spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” The seven bulls and seven rams is exactly the
same offering Balaam prescribed in Num. 23:1, which likely indicates that this
was the standard offering to atone for sin.
So now God calls on Job to accept the offering and intercede for his
three friends.
Can you
imagine the humiliation of his friends?
They have accused Job of great wrongdoing, and now God tells them they
are the ones who have been wrong. The
Lord doesn’t demand that they go and do some great deed of penance, only that
they present an offering and let Job pray for them. Although they were indeed “miserable
comforters,” just as Job had said (16:2), give them credit for a wise and godly
response to this difficult command. Verse
9, “So Eliphaz, the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted
Job.” They swallowed their pride,
brought their offerings, and humbly submitted themselves to Job for. Though Job’s prayer, these three were
reconciled to God.
Praise God
that He restored Job as His servant and used him in the life of his three
friends.
II. Job – Blessed By God
As the
story didn’t end after verse 6, neither does it end after verse 9. There is more. The next section is sum-marized in advance in
the first part of verse 10, “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed
for his friends…”
Notice the term “Job’s losses.” It’s very difficult to forget about those
losses, isn’t it? Job lost everything he
owned. Far more devastating than that,
he lost his ten children. On top of
that, he also lost his health. The Lord
has already restored Job’s fellowship with Himself and his position as His true
servant, but now He is speaking about what we might call Job’s tangible
losses.
By the way,
a more literal translation of verse 10 in found in the King James: “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job
when he prayed for his friends.” It is
interesting that this word (turned captivity) is used quite a number of times
in the Old Testament. Most of the more
recent translations consistently render it “restored the fortunes” (or
something similar) while in the KJV it is “turned the captivity.” However, it is interesting to note that while
the New American Standard follows the same practice as the other newer
translations, in Deut. 30:3 it reads:
“Then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity…” The context in verses 1-2 makes it abundantly
clear that this would happen when God’s people would cry out to Him “in all
nations where the Lord your God has banished you” (verse 1). Dt. 30:3 is the first occurrence of this term
in the Bible and the word clearly carries the idea of being rescued from
captivity. The Lord did indeed turn
Job’s captivity. Job certainly felt like
he had been locked up, banished from the presence of his God, held prisoner by
the pain and suffering he had experience.
But when he had prayed for his friends, the Lord set him free.
The rest of
this section demonstrates that this was not just an inner freedom, but it
consisted of a material abundance. Let’s
read it again in 42:10-17…
And the Lord
restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job
twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had
been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house;
and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had
brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. 12 Now the Lord
blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen
thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one
thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he
called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the
name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the
land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father
gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this
Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren
for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.
We can see
that the “twice as much” was literally true, as the number of Job’s animals was
effectively doubled. However, on the
surface, that does not seem to be true of his children. He had ten, but the Lord does not now give
him 20, but only ten more. It has been
pointed out that while his possessions were destroyed, his children could not
be destroyed. While they died to life on
this earth, Job will be reunited with them forever. So in reality Job does effectively have twice
as many children as he did before.
Not only
were his children and possessions restored abundantly, but the Lord also
blessed him with restored fellowship with those around him. Let us be reminded of what Job had said
earlier in 19:13-19…
He has
removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged
from me. 14 My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten
me. 15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as
a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 16 I call my
servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth. 17 My breath is
offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. 18 Even young
children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me. 19 All my close
friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me.
But now all
his brothers and sisters and friends came to Job’s house and sat down to eat
with him. The sharing of a meal was a
visible demonstration of meaningful fellowship together. These loved ones not only ate with Job, but
they “consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had
brought upon him.” While the NKVJ and
other translations soften it by using “adversity,” the word is literally “evil”
(as KJV, ESV). What happened to Job
certainly seemed evil, but if you were to ask Job about it, I believe he would
have replied with the sentiments of Gen. 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…” Satan meant it for evil, but God meant it for
good.
The summary statement of verse 10 is echoed by the words
of verse
12, “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his
beginning…” There follows the numbers
which confirm the doubling of Job’s possessions, and then the addition of seven
sons and three daughters. It is
interesting that the focus is on the daughters rather than the sons, as Job
even gave his daughters an inheritance among the sons. This not only runs counter to the cultural
emphasis of that day, but it also reverses the emphasis on the sons that we
found in chapters 1 and 2. Perhaps this
is an early preview of the truth that in Christ there is neither male nor
female (Gal. 3:28). Ray Stedman gives
the meanings of the three daughters names as “peace, fragrance, and beauty” (Let
God Be God, p. 235). They were
beautiful from the inside out, and their names adequately describe the
God-given qualities of Job’s life.
The chapter closes with, “So Job died, old and full of
days.” We don’t know exactly how old Job
was when he went through this crisis, but most would estimate his age to have
been 60 or 70. Add that to the 140 years
he lived after the Lord turned his captivity, and we come out with an age of
200 years or more. That was a long life,
but it was consistent with the time in which he lived. Though his first ten children were no longer
with him, it is likely they had children and grandchildren who were. How blessed Job was to see his children and
grandchildren to the fourth generation.
Job’s experience may raise some questions about material
blessings for God’s people. Suffice it
to say that God blesses as He chooses.
Job knew both the deprivation of all material blessings and the
abundance of those blessings. Before
very long we will be looking in depth at how we as saints are to view God’s
material blessings.
III. Job – A
Testimony for God
You will notice that we are talking about Job, but it is
impossible to talk about this man without focusing on his God. Job was the servant of God. Job was a man blessed by God. Now we want to look at Job as a testimony for
his God. Our reading of chapters 1 and 2
remind us that behind the story of Job is the larger battle between God and
Satan. Although Job knew nothing about
what had transpired in these first two chapters, we are privileged to have that
knowledge. We cannot conclude our story
of Job without coming back to that spiritual battle. Though chapter 42 doesn’t specifically tell
us any more about it, the facts speak for themselves.
Satan’s contention was blunt and simple. He told God that Job served him only for the
benefits he received. He went on to say
that if the benefits were taken away, Job would curse God. That is when the Lord gave Satan permission
to take away everything he had, but not to touch Job himself. He passed the test. “In all this Job did not charge God with
wrong.” Satan then countered with the
claim that a man will give everything for his own life, asserting that if God
would afflict his body, Job would curse Him to His face. So the Lord gave Satan permission to do
anything short of killing Job, and Satan attacked him without mercy.
So who came out victorious in this particular
battle? God Himself gives us the answer
through His servant James: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the
Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count
them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the
end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James
5:10-11). This verse tells us
something about Job and something about his God. Job is an example of enduring
perseverance. This ought to encourage
us. He was not a perfect man. By going through the entire book, we have
seen that more clearly than if we had just read the beginning and the end and
scanned the middle. He struggled with
discouragement on the one hand and pride on the other. Nevertheless, the Lord sets him forth as a
shining example of perseverance. Don’t
be slain by your failures. I’m not
saying we should take our sins lightly, but after we have truly confessed them
and received forgiveness through the blood of Christ, we move on, realizing
that we are in this for the long haul. That
is where Job can be a great encouragement to us.
By the way, this gives us more
insight on the twice-repeated statement that Job’s three friends did not speak
what was right, as Job had done. One
thing we realize is the difference in their circumstances. The three friends were not called upon to
endure anything, except having to watch Job suffer. After the first week they seemed able to
shrug that off easily enough, as they blasted Job again and again. Job, on the other hand, by no choice of his
own was forced to endure intense and prolonged suffering. God considered not only the words spoken, but
the circumstances that were behind those words.
Job was a man who persevered.
Though he faltered, he continued to deal with his God, who brought him
through all the trials.
This verse in James also tells us
something about God, that He is very compassionate and merciful. Hear that statement and hear it well. And as you hear it, bear in mind the context
in which it is spoken. Many of us are
familiar with Ps. 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy.” That is a
wonderful truth, but it comes on the heals of a list of God’s wonderful
benefits: He forgives our iniquities,
heals our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with
lovingkindness and tender mercies, satisfies our mouth with good things,
executes righteousness and judgment for all who are oppressed (verses 3-6). Yes, we would have to conclude that God is
merciful and gracious. But now, against
the background of Job’s suffering, we are told that the Lord is very
compassionate and merciful. Wow! How could a compassionate and merciful God
put Job through such severe suffering?
Of course, you can say, “Well, God didn’t do it; it was Satan.” You are absolutely right, but your explanation
doesn’t really offer any help, because it was God who gave him permission. How could a God of mercy and compassion say
to Satan, “Have at him. Do anything you
want except kill him.” God did not watch
Job go through all that suffering in spite of the fact that He is a
compassionate and merciful God, but because He is a compassionate and merciful
God. We must understand that one of the
things Job learned through it all is that God is all wise. An all wise God knew exactly the refinement
needed in his life to bring him forth as gold.
And brothers and sisters, He is wise enough to do the same thing in us.
God won the battle, a preview of His ultimate victory
over Satan and all his forces. Job was
God’s testimony that the Lord is worthy to be loved and served. In spite of all Satan did to him, Job did not
curse God. Someone might claim that he
came close, but the fact is that he did not.
When Job spoke his last recorded words to God in verses 2-6, there was
no more accusations against his Lord.
Though he may not have understood all the reasons for his suffering, he
was content to trust an all-powerful and all-wise God to do what was
right. The depth of his suffering was
equaled only by the joy of his newly-found fellowship with his Lord. When Job repented in dust and ashes, he was
freely acknowledging that God had done him no wrong. He could have spoken the words of Ps.
119:67,71-72,75…
67 Before I was
afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word… 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may
learn Your statutes.72 The law of
Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver… 75 I know, O
Lord, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have
afflicted me.
Job is also a testimony to the fact that he now stands
as a man who has been prospered by his God.
The Lord has now blessed Job with the only commodity Satan really
understands – material wealth. Anyone who
looks at Job would have to conclude that his God is good to him. And now Satan can never claim that Job serves
God for what he can get out of him. Job
is a shining example of a man who is both rich and righteous.
Conclusion
So after thoroughly examining the book of Job, what can
we take away? Let me mention a few
things; you may want to add more, and I would welcome that.
1.
Take the long look.
How long did Job’s severe trials last? At one point Job himself speaks of being afflicted
for “months” (Job 7:3). Maybe it was six
months; maybe it was a full year. At any
rate, it was much longer than Job desired.
But in light of Job’s approximate 200 years on earth, it was really a
very short time. During that brief time
we have the opportunity to see Job at what seems like his worst. Nevertheless, it was during this time and
through these afflictions that God was able to work in the life of His
servant. If we had rendered our judgment
of Job at the end of his last speech in chapter 31, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have
given him much hope, but God wasn’t through with this man.
Brothers and sisters, take the long look at both yourself
and others. One of our greatest
temptations is to be squeezed into the mold of our instant society, which
bombards us with the lie that we must have what we want right now. God is patient. I remind you that He took a full 25 years to
fulfill His promise of a Son to Abraham.
He didn’t call Moses to deliver Israel until he was 80 years old. Noah didn’t start building the ark until he
was almost 500 years old. To the best of
our knowledge, Jesus never healed anyone or preached a sermon until He was 30
years old.
Remember the truth of Phil. 1:6, “Being
confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Someone has well remarked, “And that is just how long it will
take.” Our glorious God has purpose for
every circumstance in our lives, even though the situation may be painful and
doesn’t make any sense to us. When we
take the long look, it helps us to trust the Lord, who is always faithful.
2.
Rejoice in your trials.
You might say, “Job sure didn’t rejoice in his
trials.” That’s true, but remember that
we aren’t here just to imitate Job; our desire is to learn from him and his experiences. If Job had understood the end of everything,
do you think he would have rejoiced during his trials? We might be tempted to say, “Even if he had
known, his trials were too severe to endure with joy.” Not so, because we read in Heb. 12:2 that
Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising its
shame. Brothers and sisters, we know the
end of all things. We know that God is
going to triumph over Satan and all his forces.
We know that all the world will bow down to Jesus as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. Then we will experience
unmingled joy in the presence of our Lord.
Though that is not our experience now, we known right now what the end
will be. “For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).
So let us count it all joy when we fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of our faith produces patient endurance (James 1:2-3).
3.
Be Merciful to Others.
Job’s friends thought they had all the answers, and they
weren’t shy about sharing them with Job.
Whatever you might say about the long speeches they offered, you could
never say that they were merciful toward Job.
Instead, they continually used their perspective of God’s ways to try to
force Job to confess some terrible sin that he had never committed. They pounded on him without mercy. Though they spoke much truth, they did not
apply it correctly to Job’s life. It
wasn’t until God spoke to them in the end that they realized their error. It is most likely that they were present when
God spoke to Job in chapters 38-41, but they weren’t moved to repentance, as
was their friend. The lack of mercy has
a way of blinding the mind and hardening the heart.
Praise God for Job’s example of mercy. When God sent Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to him,
Job did indeed pray for them. There is
no record that he first chastised them for the way they had treated him. There was no “I told you so.” He simply interceded on their behalf and God
heard his prayer. Just a couple of weeks
ago Tracy spent some time on our need to show mercy to others. Maybe the Lord is trying to tell us
something.
4.
Glorify God.
It would be nice if we could say
that all through his trials Job gave glory to God, even as he did at the end of
chapter 1 after he lost all his children and possessions, but that was not the
case. However, when Job heard from the
Lord Himself and came to see things clearly, He did indeed glorify the
Lord. When Job said, "I have
heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes," he was not only confessing his own sin
and foolishness, but he was also declaring that God was right, that He who is
all-wise and all-powerful is worthy of all praise. We don’t have to wait to learn what Job
learned from God in chapters 38-41. We
have already read those chapters; we can learn from Job. Furthermore, we are living on the other side
of the cross. The Son of God has been revealed
to us and in us. John said, “And the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We say, “After the Word was made
flesh, He died on the cross in our place, rose from the grave, ascended to the
right hand of the Father, and sent the Spirit to dwell within us. All glory be to Him!”
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