A study of the book of Job

#15 The Final Examination-- Job 38-42

 “I had a million questions to ask God; but when I met Him, they all fled my mind; and it didn’t seem to matter.” -- Christopher Morley

Surely Chapters 38-41 are the climax of this great book of Job. Here the voice of Jehovah himself is heard, speaking out of the whirlwind. There are many places in the Scriptures where God symbolizes his presence by a wind.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "The Spirit of God is like the wind. It is sovereign, it blows where it will, and except a man be born of wind and water he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," {cf, John 3:8}. Jesus used two symbols -- the wind for the Spirit of God, and the water for the Word of God. We are born again by the Word and by the Spirit of God. On the day of Pentecost God turned on a mighty, rushing wind, like a great siren, that brought the whole city down to the temple courts to see the strange phenomenon that was taking place there: the speaking in other tongues and the dancing flames of fire upon the heads of the disciples. So this is a frequent symbol in Scripture for God. Out of this whirling wind the voice of God comes.

The storm that Elihu had been describing finally broke, and God spoke to Job out of the storm. The answer to Job’s problems was not an explanation about God, such as the three friends and Elihu had given, but a revelation of God. The four men had declared and defended the greatness of God but had failed to persuade Job. When God displayed His majesty and greatness, it humbled Job and brought him to the place of silent submission before God. That was the turning point.

Swiss psychologist Dr. Paul Tournier wrote in his book Guilt and Grace (Harper & Row, p. 86), “For God’s answer is not an idea, a proposition, like the conclusion of a theorem; it is Himself. He revealed Himself to Job; Job found personal contact with God.”

We prefer that God speak to us in the sunshine, but sometimes He must speak out of the storm. This is how He spoke to Israel on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:16-19; Heb. 12:18) and centuries later to Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-11). Ezekiel saw the glory of God in a storm and heard the voice of God speaking to him (Ezek. 1-2). Experiencing this majestic demonstration of God’s power made Job very susceptible to the message God had for him.

God’s address to Job centered on His works in nature and consisted of seventy-seven questions interspersed with divine commentary relating to the questions. The whole purpose of this interrogation was to make Job realize his own inadequacy and inability to meet God as an equal and defend his cause.

“Then summon me, and I will answer,” Job had challenged God, “or let me speak, and You reply” (Job 13:22, niv). God had now responded to Job’s challenge.

God’s address can be summarized in three questions:

1. “Can you explain My creation?” (38:1-38)

2. “Can you oversee My creation?” (38:39-39:30)

Job’s first response (40:1-5)

3. “Can you subdue My creation?” (40:8-41:34)

Job’s second response (42:1-6)

The first question dealt with God’s power and wisdom in bringing the universe into being. The second dealt with His providential care of His creatures, and the third centered on two creatures (probably the hippopotamus and the crocodile) that defy man’s ability to subdue them. When Job repented of his self-righteousness, God restored him (vv. 7-17).

God is now called “the Lord,” that is, Jehovah God, a name that (except for 12:9) has not been used in the Book of Job since the first two chapters. In their speeches, the men have called Him “God” and “the Almighty” but not “Jehovah.” This is the name that God revealed to Israel centuries later (Ex. 3:13ff), the name that speaks of His self-existence (“I AM THAT I AM”) and His personal covenant relationship to His people.

1. “Can you explain My creation?” (Job 38:1-38)

Some of the commentators have thought that perhaps those words were addressed to Elihu, that God is saying to the young man, "Who is this that darkens counsel with words without knowledge?" But, at the end of the book, Job applies these words to himself, and therefore it is clear that it is not Elihu but Job that God is speaking to. God challenges Job and says that Job, by the ignorant words that he uttered, has been darkening the light that could have come to him.

I wonder how many times we have done that same thing? God is trying to speak to us but we have darkened the light by ignorant words of complaint, rebuke, and rebellion against his will.

So Jehovah challenges Job, "Gird up your loins like a man and let me ask you some questions. You have claimed that you want a trial before me. Well, let me examine your competence to see if you can answer some simple questions first." He indicates that the questions will be those that a man can answer, and, in the account that follows, God's great discourse to Job, which runs through Chapters 38 to 41, you have the voice of Jehovah subjecting Job to a series of very penetrating questions in three different areas: First, he examines his creative wisdom in the world around and in the heavens. Then, second, God turns to the theme of his providential care of the animal creation, and what he does in that area. And finally, he turns to his restraint of the forces of evil at work in the world.

Job was sure that his speeches had been filled with wisdom and knowledge, but God’s first question put an end to that delusion: “Who is this that darkens My counsel with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2, niv) The Living Bible paraphrases it, “Why are you using your ignorance to deny My providence?” (tlb) God didn’t question Job’s integrity or sincerity; He only questioned Job’s ability to explain the ways of God in the world. Job had spoken the truth about God (42:7), but his speeches had lacked humility. Job thought he knew about God, but he didn’t realize how much he didn’t know about God. Knowledge of our own ignorance is the first step toward true wisdom.

God began with the Creation of the earth (38:4-7) and compared Himself to a builder who surveys the site, marks off the dimensions, pours the footings, lays the cornerstone, and erects the structure. Creation was so wonderful that the stars sang in chorus and the angels (1:6; 2:1) shouted for joy, but Job wasn’t on the scene! Then, how can he claim to know so much about the works of God?

There is no more magnificent poetry in all the world than in this section of the book of Job. It is put in marvelous language. Here God is calling Job's attention to some of the bases upon which the earth itself rests. He calls them "the foundations of the earth," and challenges Job to explain them. Notice how simply he puts the questions. These are just kindergarten questions. They come in terms of "Where?" and "Who?" and "What?" and "When?" did these things happen.

First, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" Where was man? He was not even in existence yet. That is why in all the centuries since this question was asked of Job, man has never been able to settle the question of origin. Where did the universe come from? How did it originate? Who brought it into being? What process was followed? The whole world is debating that question today, but man has never been able to answer the question of the origin of the earth because he was not there to observe it.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. {John 1:1, 1:3 RSV}

There we learn that the Trinity was at work in creation. In this question to Job there is a hint that God the Father was not alone in this work, that the other members of the Trinity were involved with it as well. Then Verse 6 is the question of what was the procedure. How did God hang the earth upon nothing, as Job himself put it earlier in this account?

Back in the days when the Scriptures were written down, the scientific world of that day believed that the earth was flat. There were strange, legendary accounts of how the earth came into being, that it floated on elephants' backs, or rested on turtles swimming in the sea, this kind of thing. But in the book of Job you have the clear statement that God has hung the earth upon nothing.

Now God asks Job, "How did that happen?" The only answer that science can give today is gravity, but nobody knows what gravity is. It is just a word we use, but it does not tell us what it is. Here again is a question that we still cannot answer today. How is the earth suspended between the various heavenly bodies in such a way that it moves in such orderly procession through the illimitable reaches of space? How can it be? We still do not know. Finally, God says, "Were you there when it happened?" and he links it with a tremendous event when the whole creation seemed to break into harmony and melody, "when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."

From the beginning, God planned His Creation to be a garden of joyful beauty; but sin has turned Creation into a battlefield of ugliness and misery. Man in his selfishness is wasting natural resources, polluting land, air, water, and outer space, and so ravaging God’s Creation that scientists wonder how long our planet will support life as we know it. Mahatma Gandhi was right: “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.”

The Lord then moved to a consideration of the seas (38:8-11). The image here is not building but birth: The seas were “knit together” in secret (v. 8; see Ps. 139:13) and then burst forth like a baby emerging from the womb. They were clothed with clouds and darkness, and their limits were set by God. “Who did all of this?” asked God of Job, and Job knew the answer.

We know that water is made up of two invisible gases, hydrogen and oxygen, and when these two are combined, a visible substance, water, springs into being. What a dramatic moment when God caused these invisible gases to join together in such quantities that an ocean suddenly spread across this planet! God is asking Job about it, but Job knows nothing at all about it.

Yet the emphasis of this seems to be on how the ocean is controlled. God said he puts bounds to it and said to it, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed." It has always seemed to me symbolic of the ways of God that the substance he uses to keep the ocean in its bed, sand, is one of the most shifting, unreliable substances we know of. Beaches of sand hold the oceans in place and say, "Thus far shall you come."

The next aspect of Creation that God mentioned was the sun (Job 38:12-15). Here God pictured Himself as a general commanding His troops (the heavenly host). Had Job ever told the sun to rise and dispel the darkness? As the light spreads across the world, it reveals the details of the landscape, like the impression of a seal on clay or the unfolding of a beautiful garment taken out of a dark closet. But the light also puts an end to the evil deeds done in the darkness (John 3:19-21) and stops the criminal from attacking his victim.

God describes here how the sun rises in a different place every morning, changing according to the seasons, moving from north to south. His question is, "Have you caused the dawn to know its place? Are you the one? Are you able to tell the sun just where to get up so that it marks the exact season of the year?" Then he says, "Are you able to control the effect of the light upon society?" Light "takes hold of the skirts of the earth," he says.

Have you ever seen the sun coming up and noticed how the fingers of light seemed to lay hold of the darkness and dissipated it? This imagery speaks of how the wicked are shaken out of it. They hide from the light and go back into their dens. Then as the day goes on the sun, rising and coursing across the heavens, changes the colors of things. Like clay under the seal it is dyed like a garment. We know how scenery is changed by the different positions of the sun through the day. In the evening hours when the redness spreads across it, what a different cast it puts upon things. God is asking Job, "Can you do this? Are you able to change it all like this?" Finally, "Can you govern how the light affects the night and controls the length of time that darkness prevails (when the wicked operate) and to stop them in their deeds (when the daylight comes again) -- their uplifted arm is broken?"

The next eleven questions (Job 38:16-24) relate to the vast dimensions of creation. The average child today knows more about the heights and depths of the universe than Job and his friends could ever have imagined. Had Job ever taken a walk in the depths of the sea and visited “the gates of Sheol”? Did he know how far down he had to go to find the ocean’s floor? (The greatest depth measured so far is in the Pacific Ocean—35,810 feet or 6.78 miles.) And as for the reaches of space, Voyager 2 spent twelve years going 4.4 billion miles, and in 1989 passed within 3,000 miles of Neptune’s cloud bank!

"Do you know what is on the surface of the globe?" Today, perhaps, we can say "Yes," we pretty well know what is there. We have mapped most of the earth -- not all of it -- but it has almost all been explored. So thousands of years after Job we have come to an answer on that. We know that you can take a jet plane in London, have lunch in New York and dinner in San Francisco, and, of course, baggage in Buenos Aires! We have covered the expanse of the earth at last, even though there are still some areas we do not know much about. But how long it has taken to solve even one of these simple problems that Job was asked about.

In verses 19-21, God asked Job if he could calculate the reaches of east and west, or if the horizons were too much for him to measure. Then God inquired if Job understood the heights where the snow and hail were stored until God needed them (vv. 22-23; Ex. 9:18-26; Josh. 10:11) or the places where God kept His lightning and winds (Job 38:24). To be sure, God’s words are full of irony; but that’s what Job needed to puncture his pride and bring him to his knees in repentance.

That verse is to me one of the most intriguing verses (vs. 23) in all of the Scriptures. For years I have wondered what that is talking about. It suggests that there is some hidden process in the formation of snow and hail -- the process of vaporizing or freezing or whatever it may be -- that will release tremendous power which God says man will probably discover in the time when the whole of the earth is engaged in battle and war. Something is hidden there. I have asked scientists about that and they shake their heads and say they do not know what that means. But there must be something there.

God says, "I have reserved it for the time of trouble." That is almost always in Scripture a reference to the last days, the terrible time of Jacob's trouble, when the great tribulation bursts out upon the earth. God says "I have hidden something in the snow and the hail, Job, do you understand that? "

Can you imagine what Job must be looking like by now? -- all these questions coming and he has not got one of them right yet!

How much did Job know about the rain? (vv. 25-28) Did he know how to plot its course so that it would accomplish God’s purposes? Could he tell the lightning where and when to flash? Was he able to “father” rain and dew so that the land would have the water that it needed? Can he explain why God sends rain to the places where nobody lives? Then God turned from the spring and autumn rains to the winter hail and frost (vv. 29-30). If Job didn’t know how the rain was “fathered,” did he understand how the ice was “born”?

Here Jehovah is examining the forces in the common phenomenon of a storm, and he says, "Can you understand this, Job?" Many of the scholars have been puzzled by the way this section begins. The question is, "What is the way to the place where the light is distributed?" For years many have wondered why God begins with light being distributed, but at last we have begun to get a little clue as to what this may mean, for now the scientific world knows that all energy comes to us from the sun. It is the rays of the sun, broken into various forms of ray activity -- x-rays, actinic rays, rays of various forms -- that activate processes in the world around us from which all functioning in the natural world comes. Energy comes from the sun and it produces various phenomena, including the evaporation of water, the formation of clouds; it produces thunder and the release of great bolts of lightning. All this is coming, ultimately, from the rays of the sun as they strike the earth. It is amazing how much is revealed here that we have painfully worked out after thousands of years of scientific endeavor, but it all seems to fit into what God is saying to and asking of Job.

Then God speaks of the way he takes care of the desert. "Who cares for the desert?" Have you ever flown the entire distance of this country from coast to coast and noticed, as I have, that though we think of this as a populated country, there are hundreds of thousands of acres of desert? "Who cares for that," God says. Who brings the rain to cause the desert blossoms to come that no man ever sees, except God himself?

As the poet says,

"Full many a rose is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness On the desert air."

The only answer, of course, is God does this. Man does not think of those things. He has a hard enough time handling his own problems, let alone taking care of the deserts of the earth.

Then God asks, "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?" Science now knows that the rain does have a father. Before rain can form into drops, there must be dust in the air, and raindrops form around these little specks of dust. That is why we spray the clouds with certain substances to try to increase the rainfall -- because we know the rain has a father.

By this time, Job was probably wishing for a reprieve; but the Lord kept right on. He centered Job’s attention on the heavens—the Pleiades, Orion the hunter, the various constellations (“Mazzaroth,” kjv), and the Bear (“Arcturus” with his cubs). Did Job understand the laws that governed their movements, and could he control these stars and planets and make them appear in their proper seasons? Man may study the heavens, but he can’t control them.

The question “Canst thou set its dominion in the earth?” (v. 33) is translated in the nasb, “Or fix their rule over the earth?” The niv reads, “Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” and The Living Bible says, “Do you know . . . how the heavens influence the earth?” Is there a suggestion here that the stars and planets have a direct influence over events on earth as the advocates of astrology maintain? Not at all. The statement can be paraphrased: “Job, if you understand so much about the heavenly bodies that are thought by some to affect the earth, then why don’t you use that authority to change your situation?” The Lord was speaking with “holy sarcasm” and not revealing some profound truth.

From the very beginning of time men have known that in some strange way the stars affect the earth. No one has ever been quite able to analyze it. Many wild guesses have been made, and many strange, so-called sciences have emerged from it, such as astrology, which insists that every human life is governed by what the stars do. Many people read their horoscopes every day to see what the stars have said they can do that day.

But that is not what God is asking about here. He is saying, "What about the influence the stars seem to have upon the seasons? The Pleiades, that little circle of stars high in the heavens appears in the springtime, it ushers forth the spring. What he is asking here is, "Can you bring the spring out in its season?" Orion is the mighty hunter who strides across the winter skies. You can see him this month of December.

What God is asking Job is, "Can you produce winter, in its season?" "Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth?" It is a bit doubtful as to what that word means, but many of the scholars take it as referring to the constellations that make up the zodiac. He is asking, "Can you control the zodiac and its influence upon the affairs of men?" The Bear is what we call the "Great Dipper," and it points unerringly to the north. (If you stay up all night in the open and observe the stars, you will see them wheel in an endless circle around the north.) So the Great Bear points to the north, and in Scripture the north is always seen as the seat of God, so that the whole universe seems to revolve around his throne. Job is being questioned here as to how much he understands about this.

Now, even astronomy today does not understand this. There are mysterious objects in space we know nothing about. These great "black holes" are to us a puzzling, mysterious phenomenon that we have not begun to understand. So we cannot go much further than Job in the answering of these questions.

In verses 34-38, the Lord called Job’s attention to the clouds. Since Job knew the laws of the heavens, could he order the clouds to give rain? Was the lightning his servant, reporting for duty? Could Job take inventory of the clouds and “tip them over” like jars to make the rain come?

Creating all these things is one thing; maintaining them for man’s good is quite something else. The Lord moved next into a series of questions about His providential working in the world. He moved from the inanimate world to the animate.

2. “Can you oversee My creation?” (Job 38:39-39:30)

The Lord brought before Job’s imagination a parade of six beasts (lioness, goat, hind [deer], wild donkey, wild ox, and horse) and five birds (raven, ostrich, stork, hawk, and eagle). As he contemplated these creatures, Job had to answer the question, “Do you understand how they live and how to take care of them?” Obviously, Job’s reply had to be no.

The providence of God is certainly remarkable (see Ps. 104). In His wisdom and power, God supervises the whole universe and makes sure that His creatures are cared for. “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Ps. 145:16, nkjv). We humans have a difficult time keeping the machinery of life operating successfully, but God runs the whole universe with such precision that we build our scientific laws on His creation.

Did Job know how to feed the lion cubs or the young ravens? (Job 38:39-41) Would he even know that they were hungry? Where could he find food for them? The ravens would know to find the carcasses left behind by the lions because God taught the birds (even unclean ravens!) how to find food.

God then moved from the topic of death to the subject of birth. Did Job know the gestation periods for the goats and deer and how the young are born? (39:1-4) How do the little ones grow up safely, and how does the mother know when they are ready to leave home? Shepherds and farmers assist their animals during pregnancy and birth, but the wild beasts bring forth their young alone.

The wild donkey (vv. 5-8), also known as the onager, roamed the wilderness freely and refused to be domesticated. It survived without human assistance because God taught it how to take care of itself. The wild ox (the aurochs) was another “loner” in the animal kingdom (vv. 9-12), refusing to yield to the authority of men. You couldn’t keep him in your barn, harness him to your plow, or force him to do your threshing.

“Now, Job,” asked the Lord, “if you can’t succeed with these animals, how do you expect to succeed when you meet Me in court? How strong do you think you are?”

God then turned to a description of two birds, the stork (“peacock,” kjv) and the ostrich (vv. 13-18). God asked Job no questions in this paragraph; He simply reminded him of the bizarre anatomy and behavior of the ostrich and suggested that perhaps Job could explain it.

The stork has beautiful wings that are very serviceable, but all the ostrich can do with her wings is fan the air! Why did God make a bird that couldn’t fly but that could run faster than a horse? Why did He make a bird that puts her nest in such a vulnerable place where her eggs might be destroyed or eaten by a predator? Unlike most birds, why does she seem to be unmindful of her young?

The horse was next in line (vv. 19-25), an animal that was greatly admired and valued for strength and courage. This is a description of a war horse, not a farm horse; and you can visualize it prancing and pawing and eager to rush into the battle. When he hears the trumpet, he can’t stand still, but runs so fast that he seems to be “eating up the ground.” It was God, not Job, who made the horse with the strength and ability it needed to face danger and serve effectively on the field of battle.

The parade ended with two birds, the hawk and the eagle (vv. 26-30). Who gave the birds the instinct to migrate and the knowledge to build nests? Not Job! Eagles build their nests high on the cliffs; but God gave them keen eyesight so they can see their prey from afar, swoop down, and capture it. Eagles can also find corpses on which to feed themselves and their young because God made them that way.

Job is silenced by this display of God's creative wisdom. What Job says is, basically, "I see that I am not in the same league as you are. I am of small account." Remember, earlier he had said, "If I could just come before the Lord, like a prince would I come before him. I would present my case and prove myself right," {cf, Job 31:37}. But now he says, "I'm not in the same league at all. I'm just small peanuts. I couldn't handle this."

But notice, he has not gone deep enough yet. Job is silenced, but he is not convinced. He has not yet seen what the basic problem is. He has not learned what God had in mind when he invited Satan to try him in the first place.

So Jehovah picks it up again, and, in the next account, he produces by the use of symbols, a revelation of truth about what he is doing in the life of Job that leaves Job absolutely without an answer, leaves him humbled before him, spread out on his face before God, waiting for God to deliver him and restore him -- which he immediately does. But so far he has only been silenced. This often happens to us. Sometimes our troubles bring us to a place where we shut up. We stop complaining, but that is not what God wants. What he wants is for us to trust him, to put the matter back into his hands and believe that he is working things out right.

3. Job’s first response (Job 40:1-5)

God uses language that reflected Job’s desire to take God to court and argue his case. “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it” (Job 40:2, nasb). God presented His case; now He gave Job opportunity to present his case. But Job has no case to present! His first words were, “Behold, I am vile!” which means, “I am insignificant and unworthy. I have no right to debate with God.” Job had told his friends to cover their mouths (21:5), and others had covered their mouths when Job appeared (29:9); but now Job had to put his hand over his mouth lest he say something he shouldn’t say (Prov. 30:32; Rom. 3:19). Until we are silenced before God, He can’t do for us what needs to be done. As long as we defend ourselves and argue with God, He can’t work for us and in us to accomplish His plan through us.

But Job was not quite broken and at the place of sincere repentance. He was silent but not yet submissive; so, God continued His address.

4. “Can you subdue My creation?” (Job 40:6-41:34)

Instead of confronting Job again with the broad sweep of His creation, God selected only two creatures and asked Job to consider them. It’s as though God were saying, “My whole universe is too much for you to handle. However, here are two of My best products. What can you do with them?”

The issue now is not the power of God but the justice of God (Job 40:8). Job had said that God was unjust in the way He treated him (6:29; 27:1-6) and in the way He failed to judge the wicked (21:29-31; 24:1-17). In 40:9-14, God asked, “Job, do you have the strength and holy wrath it takes to judge sinners? If so, then start judging them! Humble the proud sinners and crush the wicked! Bury them! You claim that you can do a better job than I can of bringing justice to the world, so I’ll let you do it!”

However, before God turned Job loose on the sinners of the world, He asked him to put on his majestic robes and “practice” on two of His finest creatures, the hippopotamus (vv. 15-24) and the crocodile (41:1-34). If Job succeeded in subduing them, then he would qualify to execute judgment against a sinful world.

The hippopotamus (Job 40:15-24).

Most students agree that the animal described is the hippopotamus, although some prefer the elephant or the water buffalo. The word “behemoth” is the transliteration of a Hebrew word that means “super-beast.” Today’s big-game hunter with his modern weapons would probably not be deterred by the hippo’s size or strength, but this beast was a formidable enemy in the days of arrows and spears.

God reminded Job that He was the Creator of both the hippo and man (v. 15), and yet He made them different. The hippo eats grass and is strong and mighty; Job ate a variety of fine foods and was weak and unable to fight with the hippo. The hippo has a powerful body, with strong muscles and bones like iron rods; while man’s body is (comparatively speaking) weak and easily damaged. The hippo lounges in the river, hidden under the water, and feeds on the vegetation that washes down from the hills; while man has to toil to earn his daily bread. A raging river doesn’t frighten the hippo, and hunters don’t alarm him. In Job’s day, it was next to impossible to capture the hippopotamus; but how easy it is to capture a man!

“Now, Job,” asks the Lord, “can you capture and subdue this great creature? If so, then I’ll believe that you have the power and wisdom to judge the world justly.”

The crocodile (Job 41:1-34).

The word “leviathan” is the transliteration of a Hebrew word, the root of which means “to twist, to writhe.” People used the word to describe the “sea monsters” that were supposed to inhabit the Mediterranean. Psalm 104:25-26 may refer to whales or dolphins. The Jews used the word to describe their enemies (Isa. 27:1), especially Egypt (Ps. 74:13-14). Revelation 12:9 refers to Satan as “that old serpent.” In mythology, the leviathan was a many-headed monster that ruled the waters and feared no man.

“Can you capture the leviathan?” asked the Lord. “And if you can, what will you do with him?” (see Job 41:1-11) Well, what can you do with a captured crocodile? You can’t make a pet out of him, no matter how agreeable he seems to be (vv. 3-5); and the merchants won’t want to buy him from you (v. 6). If you try to train him, you’ll quit in a hurry and never try to do it again! (vv. 8-9) God drew a practical conclusion: “if you can’t come to grips with the crocodile, how will you ever be able to stand before Me?” (vv. 10-11)

In verses 12-24, God gave a poetical description of this great creature’s mighty limbs, fierce teeth and strong jaws, and impregnable covering (vv. 12-17). When the crocodile churns up the river and blows out water, the sun reflects from the vapor; and it looks like fire and smoke from a dragon’s mouth (vv. 18-21). His armor is so strong that he can go anywhere without fear (vv. 22-24).

The chapter closes with a description of the leviathan’s anger and courage (vv. 25-34). People flee from him in fear (v. 25), but he doesn’t flee from them. In verses 26-29, God named eight different weapons that the leviathan laughs at and treats like pieces of straw or rotten wood. Just as this creature fears nothing around him, so he fears nothing under him; for his underside is protected with a covering like sharp pieces of pottery (v. 30). He fears no enemy on the land or in the water (vv. 31-32), for he makes the water to foam like the ingredients in the apothecary’s mixing pot. And when he swims through the water, the wake looks like the white hair of an old man!

5. Job’s second response (Job 42:1-6)

His first reaction is a new view of God himself. Notice the distinction he makes here, or the subjects he brings out: "I know that thou canst do all things." God is omnipotent. Job knew that at the very beginning. Now he sees it expanded tremendously, but also he sees the sovereignty of God: "that no purpose of thine can be thwarted." The amazing mystery is that nothing that God ever plans ever sets aside man's responsibility. Yet nothing man ever chooses thwarts the purpose God intends to carry out.

Isn't that amazing? Job has now learned that God is a sovereign being, and that all he does is right. It is not only mighty, but it is right. It is in line with his character of love. He is consistent, ever, with himself. Then Job, when he sees God this way, sees himself rightly. This is always true. If we cannot understand ourselves it is because we do not know our God. When man loses God he always loses himself. When man discovers God he finds himself. This is what Job sees. Now he has a new view of himself.

'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?
[He is quoting God's first address to him.]
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
   things too wonderful for me which I did not know.
'Hear, and I will speak;
   I will question you, and you declare to me.'
[Here he is quoting God's second address to him.]
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
   but now my eye sees thee;
therefore I despise myself,
   and repent in dust and ashes." {Job 42:3-6 RSV}

Notice the difference -- "I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee." The inner eye of the heart sees the nature of God. And the result? Job says, "I despise myself."

Now that is repentance. What he is really doing is agreeing with what God says about him. He quotes what God says twice. He says, in effect, "Lord, you asked me, 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' You are right, Lord. It is me. That is what I have been doing. I am an ignorant man. I do not know enough to begin to challenge the wisdom of the Almighty. I am an ignorant, limited man who speaks without even knowing what he is talking about. You are quite right, Lord, it is me."

Then he quotes God again: "Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me." He is saying, "Lord, you are right about that, too. I have been an arrogant man. I have been thinking I could answer your questions, and that I would even ask you questions that you could not answer. Lord, I have been an arrogant man. I see it now. Something within me has been proud, lifted up, self-righteous, confident that I was right. I have been wrong all along." So, he says, "Lord, I despise myself."

Job has never been in this place before. He is learning at last the hardest lesson of life, what God seeks to teach us all: the problem is never in others, or in God, the problem is in us. And it is a problem that only God can handle. We are unable, unequipped to handle it ourselves. All we can do is put it back in his gracious hands.

Now it looks as though God has humiliated Job and brought this poor, broken-hearted man down into the dust almost cruelly. Yet it is not cruelty, it is love -- because, at this point, when Job has finally given up trying to defend himself and justify himself, God begins to heal and to pour into this man's life blessing he never dreamed of.

Now this is the story of the whole of Scripture, isn't it? Everywhere the Scriptures seek to tell us this. Jesus said. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, the men and women who are bankrupt in themselves, who stop counting on what they've got to make it. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

God will begin to heal a life that repents before him and begin to fill it with blessing and honor and glory and power. None of these things will be worth one whit of the glory and joy we have discovered in coming into a relationship with God himself.

That is what we are going to see in the closing section of Job. Here he is, now, confessing his sin, but discovering the gift of forgiveness.

Job knew he was beaten. There was no way he could argue his case with God. Quoting God’s very words (Job 42:3-4), Job humbled himself before the Lord and acknowledged His power and justice in executing His plans (v. 2). Then Job admitted that his words had been wrong and that he had spoken about things he didn’t understand (v. 3). Job withdrew his accusations that God was unjust and not treating him fairly. He realized that whatever God does is right and man must accept it by faith.

Job told God, “I can’t answer Your questions! All I can do is confess my pride, humble myself, and repent.” Until now, Job’s knowledge of God had been indirect and impersonal; but that was changed. Job had met God personally and seen himself to be but “dust and ashes” (v. 6; 2:8, 12; Gen. 18:27).

Now, in Chapter 42, beginning with Verse 7, we come to a new beginning. Job has learned his lesson now. He saw that there were depths and degrees of pride and self-sufficiency in himself that he was not aware of. Surely there is nothing more difficult for us to learn than the fact that there are things in us that we are not conscious of. We think we are doing well. Our own view of ourselves is rather superficial, and we think everything is right. It is a shocking revelation to us to learn that what we thought to be love was really nothing but self-centeredness, playing the game by which we get something back in return. What we thought to be righteous behavior was really nothing but a manipulation of someone else.

This is what Job has learned. He thought he could trust God through any circumstance of life. He was confident in his own ability to serve God, like Peter saying to Jesus, "Everyone else will deny you but I will never do so; you can count on me," {cf, Matt 26:35, Mark 14:31, Luke 22:61}. So in a sense Job, quite honestly and earnestly from his heart, had been saying to God, "I'll stay with you no matter what." For a while he held in there, but now God has shown him that without divine help he is totally weak, thoroughly undependable. Job has seen his guilt and admitted it before God, and has repented.
 

Now it is the three friends' turn, and in Chapter 42, beginning with Verse 7, Jehovah summons Eliphaz, the leader of the three, before him. These friends dropped out of sight for a while when Elihu came on the scene, but now God calls them before him, Verse 7:

After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and 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 his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." {Job 42:7-8 RSV}

That sentence from God must have had a stunning effect upon Eliphaz and his two friends, for the one thing they had been sure of all through this account was that they were defending the righteousness of God. They were zealous for God's honor, and they must have prided themselves on the fact that they were standing for God's righteousness. They were upholding his sovereignty among men, they were scathing in their denunciation of human pride and evil and now, to their startled amazement, they are charged by God himself with defaming him. That must have been a hard blow to their pride.

This chapter seems to us to be filled with surprises. One of the surprising things to these men was the discovery that all their vaunted concern and zeal for the honor of God was regarded as worthless in his sight. They are charged with defaming the name of God.

Well, what is it that they said that God took such offense to? You recall that they formulated a theory of suffering that made God out to be nothing but an arbitrator of justice, a great cosmic judge who visited punishment upon those who did wrong, without exception and instantly, and he rewarded those who did right with prosperity and blessing. This was the kind of God they set before people, a great judge of all men, but not at all concerned with compassion, love, mercy, and patience. Thus the God they set before men was a God far from reality. They did indeed distort the Being of God.

Now I find a lot of Christians like this. The God they picture before people is one who is wholly concerned with truth, as though that is all there were; who is deeply offended by sin -- and he is -- but who instantly visits it with some kind of condemnation and judgment. They picture God as a very stern and harsh Being who is leaning over the battlements of heaven, ready to cry "Cut that out!" the minute anybody steps out of line. That is why the world gets very distorted views of what God is like. That is what these three friends were doing, though they did not mean to. They meant to uphold God's righteousness, but they said nothing about his mercy, his compassion, his patience, his willingness to reach out and wait for men and give them opportunity to repent.

The Bible says that God sends the rain upon the just and the unjust alike {cf, Matt 5:45}. God's blessings are not withheld from those who are wrong and who are rebellious. He gives them family life. He gives them joy, times of pleasure, and times of peace. As Romans puts it, it is the goodness of God that is designed to lead to repentance, that men may understand where their blessings are coming from {cf, Rom 2:4}.

It is God who sends rain, who, as Job so beautifully puts it, "tilts the wineskins in the heavens," and lets the rain drop upon us. God allows these things to come in order that we might understand the basis of human blessing and repent of our wickedness and our rebellion and turn back to him. This is what these friends have failed to set before men. They set forth a distorted God.

Then, as you look back through the book, remember they charged Job with hypocrisy, and even with outright wickedness, without any basis in fact whatsoever. This man, who morally was perfect and upright in his conduct -- even God himself said so -- they charged with being a hypocrite and with hiding some deep and terrible sin in his heart. All his troubles came from the fact that he was unwilling to admit some awful thing that he had done, they said, and they increased the torment of this poor man's suffering by these false accusations. In doing so, they represented themselves as the mouthpiece of God; they were speaking as though God himself was charging Job with this. Now God takes offense at that. They were doing the devil's work. The devil is the accuser of the brethren {cf, Rev 12:10}; is the accuser in heaven and the destroyer on earth. These men, unwittingly, find themselves victims of the devil's lies, and they have become his instruments to torment Job. So God calls them to account. He says that his wrath is kindled against them because they have been guilty of these things.

Perhaps we are also surprised that twice in this account God says that Job said what was right about him. We have never seen any recognition up to this time that Job had said things right. In fact, the whole book is aimed at pointing out that Job was wrong in his attitude about God. Although both the friends and Job say some wonderfully true things about God, and there are great passages of brilliance and glory that depict something of the power and beauty and wisdom of God, nevertheless, Job himself had admitted now that he spoke in ignorance and folly, and he repents of this and puts his hand upon his mouth. So it is rather surprising that God twice admits that Job has said that which is right about him.

In what way did he say what was right?

First, I think, if you look back through this you will see that when Job could see no sin in himself he did indeed charge God with unfairness, but the moment God showed him the sin that was still deeply embedded in his heart he immediately repents. There is no hesitation, there is no argument, there is no self-defense. He admits immediately that the problem was in him and not in God.

Second, remember that Job was always true to the facts as he saw them. Now he did not see them very clearly, and there are things about himself and about God's rule in the universe that he did not understand, but to the point where he did see things, he was always honest. There was no distorting or twisting of the facts to fit an inadequate theology. He did not try to kid himself, and he did not try to admit to things that could not see were true. He was always brutally honest and forthright.

Third, as you remember the account, he took his problem to God, even though God was his problem. That is an admirable thing in Job. You remember how all through the account he is breaking into prayer constantly. Out of the torment and anguish that he feels, he always ends up laying his complaint before God. Now the friends never pray for Job. They never ask God to relieve his suffering; they never ask for help or wisdom or understanding on their part. They simply ignore all contact with the living God themselves, but Job is forever crying out before God and bringing his problems, his bewilderment and his bafflement unto the Lord himself and asking for wisdom and help. Remember how Jesus said to the people in his day, "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest," {cf, Matt 11:28}.

Finally, when Job does repent, he declares without restraint and without reservation that God is God, that he is holy and wise and just and good, even when he seems to be different. Ultimately, that is the highest expression of faith -- that we do not trust our human observations of what is happening. We understand the limitations to our humanity and we do not assume that we have all the facts by which we can condemn and judge a holy God. That is what Job does. He pronounces God as just and holy in all that he does.

Now, however, to the credit of these three friends, they too immediately obey God when he tells them what is wrong. Look at Verse 9,

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamanite went and did what the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer. {Job 42:9 RSV}

There is no resistance on their part either, no argument, even though it means they have to go with their hat in their hand to Job and ask him to pray for them. Can you imagine how humiliating that must have been, after all the proud things they had said against him, and how they had put him down and scorned him? Now they have to come and say, "Job, old friend, we're sorry for all we said. God has asked us to ask you to pray for us." But they do this. They bring the offering of seven bulls and seven rams. Now, seven is the number of perfection in Scripture, and the bull is always the picture of service, perfect service, even unto death. That is the meaning of the offering of seven bulls. The ram in the Bible is the picture of energy, and seven rams offered is the total commitment of their energies unto God, even unto death. In this burnt offering they are picturing the true basis of their acceptance before God -- not their own service for him, but that which is represented by that great and all-sufficient substitute for man's wrongdoing -- Jesus himself.

All these offerings of the Old Testament picture Christ. They are the way the Old Testament saints looked to the work of Christ, just as we do in looking back to the cross. These offerings were a picture of the cross of Christ. As these men offered these bulls and rams, it was a way of indicating that they understood that before God, man's honor is laid low and even his best efforts are shown to be folly. They turn from all this to that perfect substitute for man, the righteousness of Christ, and accept what God gives in man's place.

All of us get angry with God because he has rejected our service, our efforts on his behalf. I would hardly dare ask you to raise your hands, those of you who have felt angry and upset with God because he did not, apparently, recognize all the good things you had done for him this last year. That is the way we feel. But the thing he labors to show us is that none of that can ever stand in his presence. The New Testament tells us that "No flesh shall glory in his presence." We must rest only on that sacrifice made on our behalf, the righteousness of Christ himself.

Now, notice also God's insistence on intercessory prayer here. What an interesting thing this is. God tells these friends, "There will be no pardon for you without Job's petition on your behalf. If you want to be received and forgiven you must not only bring the sacrifices, but my servant Job must pray for you." What an instructive lesson this is on what prayer is. Many of us, I think, grow up with the idea that prayer is a kind of a way that has been given to us to manipulate God to do what we want, a kind of heavenly Aladdin's lamp that we can rub, sometimes for a half-hour at a time, and feel God is going to suddenly appear as the genie and bow and say, "Master, what do you want me to do for you?" But prayer is not that. Prayer is not the way we get God to do what we want. Prayer is the way by which God enlists us in what he is doing. This is what is underscored in this passage, and it is so important that God says that without prayer he will not do it! Remember it is James in the New Testament who reminds us of Job. James tells us, "You have not because you ask not," {cf, Jas 4:2b}. How impoverished our lives are, and the lives of our friends and loved ones, simply because we think prayer is unimportant and we do not bother to pray for one another. God underlines this here: "Your friends will not be accepted, Job, unless you pray for them." When Job prayed, they were indeed forgiven and pardoned.

Now, what a beautiful picture of forgiveness here! I love to picture this scene in my imagination. Here is Job's chance, if he ever wanted it, to get even with these friends. When God sent them to him with their hat in their hand asking for pardon and asking for his prayers, how easy it would have been for him to have said, "Aha! I thought you'd come around, you stinkers you! You were the ones who gave me all that trouble. You ran me down, you falsely accused me, you said all those evil things about me, and now I've got you where I want you. I'll let you sweat a little bit. I'm going to get even with you!" That is what many of us would have said, but it is obvious that Job does not do that.

I wish we could have heard his prayer. I am sure it would have been something like this: "O Lord, here are these three friends of mine. They've been stubborn, hard-headed, foolish, ignorant men, just as I was, Lord. You forgave me, and now I ask you to forgive them as well." What a beautiful spirit of forgiveness is exercised here. Job might have said, "I called them miserable comforters, and that's what they were. I suggested that they were so proud and cocky that they were the people, and wisdom would die with them. But Lord, I was just as proud and just as ignorant. You forgave me, and so, Lord, I ask you to forgive them as well." It says that the Lord heard Job's prayer and accepted it, and the friends were forgiven.

Doesn't that remind you of Paul's words in Ephesians 4, when he wrote to the Christians and said, "Be ye kind, tenderhearted, one to another, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you," {cf, Eph 4:32}. I do not think there is anything more contrary to a Christian's spirit than an unforgiving heart, a grudge against someone else, Christians refusing to talk to someone, or being cold and frosty in their relationships with each other. Nothing is more removed from the spirit of Christian forgiveness than that. What a beautiful thing, to see Job praying for his friends without a vestige of resentment or an attempt to get even on his part, but holding them up before God, and God honoring that prayer, forgiving these men and restoring them to his grace, withholding his punishment, and blessing their lives.

Now, in the next section, Verses 10-13, we get a picture of the restoration that God brought into Job's life:

And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house, and they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. He also had seven sons and three daughters. {Job 42:10-13 RSV}

This is what James calls "the end of the Lord," or, in the Revised Version, "the purpose of the Lord" {Jas 5:11}, revealing him to be compassionate and merciful. Now, God did not suddenly become compassionate and merciful to Job; he has been that way all along. God's character, unchanging, is compassion and mercy. He is love. This is what we must remember. Though he puts us through times of trials and pressures and hardships, as he did Job, it is not because he is angry and upset, it is because he is compassionate and merciful.

If we wait, he will bring us to the place where we will see that as plainly and clearly as Job did. So the end of the Lord, the purpose of the Lord, is to reveal his own heart of compassion and mercy to this dear old man.

There is a beautiful passage in Jeremiah's Lamentations that I think we must always remember when we are going through trials and afflictions.

For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
   according to the abundance of his steadfast love, for he does not willingly afflict
   or grieve the sons of men. {Lam 3:31-33 RSV}

Isn't that encouraging? He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men. He will do it because he loves us and we need it, but he does not do it lightly. He feels with us in it. As a good parent with his children, he hurts worse than we do at times. He does not willingly do it. "Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love." I think we need to recall that when we are put through times of pressure and danger.

Now God moves Job's relatives and friends to bring him gifts of silver and gold. (I commented already on this last week in our Christmas meditation, which, by the way, is not intended to be a part of this series on Job -- it was a meditation. The exposition of the passage is what I am attempting this morning.) But perhaps these gifts of silver and gold that these friends and relatives brought were God's way of providing a foundation of the wealth that he is to bring Job. At any rate, as the text tells us, Job ended up with double everything that he had before:

• He started out with seven thousand sheep, and ended up with fourteen thousand.

• He had three thousand camels, and now he has six.

• He started out with five hundred yoke of oxen and now he has a thousand.

• He once had five hundred she-asses, but that is doubled now to one thousand.

"Well," you say, "God doubled everything but his sons and daughters. He ended up with seven sons and three daughters, just like he had at the beginning." No. You forget he has seven sons and three daughters in heaven, and seven sons and three daughters more on earth, so God indeed gave Job double everything that he had to start with. That is the mercy of God. He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men, but longs to give them blessing when they come to the place where they can handle the blessing that he wants to give.

Now, there is another surprise here, in Verse 14. The focus of the chapter now comes upon the daughters of Job:

And he called the name of the first Jemimah; and the name of the second Keziah; and the name of the third Keren-happuch. And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job's daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. {Job 42:14-15 RSV}

The fascinating thing about this account is that the whole Scripture seems to focus now on the daughters of Job instead of the sons. In Chapter 1 it was the sons who were in the forefront. They had a birthday party every year and they invited their sisters to come and share with them, but here, at the end of the book, it is the daughters of Job. Now, being the father of four beautiful daughters myself, I know how Job must have felt about them. (It would have been a mistake to ask Job about his children, because you would have had to wait as he drew out all the pictures and gone through them all with you!) He was proud of these daughters. In fact, he gave them an inheritance among their brothers, which was absolutely unheard of in the culture of that day.

If women's lib were wanting a text from Scripture, I would think this would be an excellent one, for the whole point of the passage is that these daughters were made to share alike in the inheritance that they were given.

I believe that is symbolic, for the story of this book is the story of a man who, as far as he knew himself, wanted to serve God, was upright and morally strong, and did his very best to do what God wanted, but was unconscious of the level of evil that was in his heart and life. On those terms he was living what we would call today the "natural life," the life of those around. The best of men at times will live moral, clean, upright lives; Job was like that. I believe he was a true believer; I am not implying that he was not. But he was living as though he had not yet discovered truth about God that would take him to that deeper level of life called the spiritual life:

• By the end of the book he has learned not to trust himself for anything at all.

• By the end of the book he has learned that he cannot, in his own strength, do anything acceptable before God.

• By the end of the book he has come to the place where he has cast everything upon the grace of God, and is taking his righteous standing before God totally from God's gift to him.

He is taking his stand in the great mediator of whom he himself has spoken throughout this book. On those terms, as the New Testament tells us, if any man be in Christ there is neither male nor female, but all share alike in the glory of God and in the inheritance that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord, {cf, Gal 3:28}. Spiritually, there are no distinctions. That is what is brought out so beautifully at the end of this book.

Now, I have suggested that the names are significant, and here are the meanings of them:

• Jemimah means "dove." As you know, throughout the Scriptures, and even in our culture today, the dove is the symbol of peace.

• Keziah is another spelling of the word cassia, and, you recall, when the wise men brought their gifts to the infant Jesus, they brought gifts of cassia, aloes, and myrrh, all of which were fragrances, incenses, expensive, rare, beautiful. Cassia, therefore, is an incense, or a fragrance. That is the symbolism of it.

• Keren-happuch literally means "the horn of adornment," and is a reference, therefore, to the outward beauty that comes from an inward character.

What you have here then is peace, fragrance, and beauty as the fruits of Job's trials. Surely, as the text says, there were none so fair in all the land as these. The New Testament, in Romans 5, tells us that suffering does this to those who learn to take it as the evidence of God's love. "Suffering," Paul says, "produces patience, and patience produces character, beauty, fragrance, peace." "And character produces hope, hope that you are realizing the kind of person you want to be, and hope does not make us ashamed," Paul says {cf, Rom 5:3-5}. It leaves us confident and sure of our God and of the power and resources of the spiritual life. That is what we have here at the close of this book. We are focused in on this in order to teach us what came out of Job's trial.

Now the book ends on a note of contentment and peace:

And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days. {Job 42:16-17 RSV}

He was probably about seventy when the book opens, so he is a good old man, even older than me! What a picture of peace, a contented man. God had greatly blessed him.

“The door of repentance opens into the hall of joy,” said Charles Spurgeon; and it was true for Job. In the climax of the book, Job the sinner became Job the servant of God (Job 42:7-9). Four times in these verses God called Job by that special Old Testament title “My servant” (see 1:8; 2:3). How did Job serve God? By enduring suffering and not cursing God, and thereby silencing the devil! Suffering in the will of God is a ministry that God gives to a chosen few.

But Job the servant became Job the intercessor. God was angry with Job’s three friends because they hadn’t told the truth about Him (42:7), and they had to be reconciled to Job so he could pray for them. Job became the umpire between God and his three friends! By forgiving his friends and praying for them, Job brought back the blessing to his own life (v. 10). We only hurt ourselves when we refuse to forgive others.

Job ended up with twice as much as he had before. He had twenty children, ten with God and ten in his home. (He and his wife were also reunited.) Friends and relatives brought money for a “restoration fund,” which Job must have used for purchasing breeders; and eventually, Job had twice as much livestock as before. He was once again a wealthy man. If the “double” formula also applied to Job’s age, then he must have been seventy when the story began (Ps. 90:10), and God allowed Job to live twice as many years (Job 42:16).

In the East, parents are especially proud of beautiful daughters, and Job had three of them: Jemimah (“dove”), Keziah (“cinnamon”) and Keren-Happuch (“horn of eye paint”). Jemimah had quietness, Keziah had perfume, and Keren-Happuch had the cosmetics!

To die “old and full of years” was the goal of every person. It means more than a long life; it means a rich and full life that ends well. This is the way Abraham and Isaac died (Gen. 25:8; 35:29), and also King David (1 Chron. 29:28).

Postlude

We must not misinterpret this final chapter and conclude that every trial will end with all problems solved, all hard feelings forgiven, and everybody “living happily ever after.” It just doesn’t always happen that way! This chapter assures us that, no matter what happens to us, God always writes the last chapter. Therefore, we don’t have to be afraid. We can trust God to do what is right, no matter how painful our situation might be.

But Job’s greatest blessing was not the regaining of his health and wealth or the rebuilding of his family and circle of friends. His greatest blessing was knowing God better and understanding His working in a deeper way. As James wrote, “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the purpose of the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11, nkjv). And Hebrews 12:11 reminds us: “Now, no chastening seems to be joyous for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (nkjv).

“In the whole story of Job,” wrote G. Campbell Morgan, “we see the patience of God and endurance of man. When these act in fellowship, the issue is certain. It is that of the coming forth from the fire as gold, that of receiving the crown of life” (The Answers of Jesus to Job, Baker, p. 117).

No matter what God permits to come into our lives, He always has His “afterward.” He writes the last chapter—and that makes it worth it all.

Therefore, BE PATIENT!

Last time updated: Thursday July 10, 2008 10:22 AM