HOPE & LIGHT

For much of the book of Job, the main character in the story has been asking for an audience with God. In these final chapters of the book, when Job has come to the end of his own strength and understanding, the Lord begins speaking to Job out of a whirlwind. But I don’t think the words were what Job was expecting!

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge. Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:2-3 NIV)

What follows is a rebuke from the Lord. Through a series of questions, God basically puts Job in his place. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? … Have you ever given orders to the morning? … Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? … Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?” These are just a few of the questions God addresses to Job, demanding an answer. And Job, who has had plenty to say in the past thirty-plus chapters, is reduced to silence.

The Lord’s questioning of Job is broad and detailed. It includes questions about the Creation, the weather, light and darkness, stars and constellations, and a wide variety of animals. So what was God’s purpose in asking all these questions? I bleieve He was wanting Job to be reminded of Who he was condemning with his words. He wanted Job to be reminded of His power and authority. And He wanted Job to come to the place of humbling himself in repentance. 

Where the words of Job’s friends may have been with the same desire, to bring Job to repentance, their method of reaching that goal was wrong. Instead of pointing out to Job all he had done wrong, God reminded Job of Who He is. Jehovah God is Creator, and He is the One who was and is and will always be in control.  Job’s eyes had become so focused on his trials that he had lost sight of this essential truth. And his faith in God and trust in His love and faithfulness had been weakened by his focus on his troubles. 

By the time God finished questioning Job, he was more than ready to admit that God can do whatever He desires, and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:1-2). He confessed, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”  (Job 42:3)  Job‘s response is one of sorrow over his sin and repentance.

With Job now repentant, the Lord begins addressing Eliphaz as the representative of Job’s three friends.  We learn that they had angered the Lord by saying things that were not right about Him. What had they spoken in error against the Lord? The book of Job does not specifically answer this question, so I won’t speculate about this. But we do see them doing what the Lord commanded. “So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering?” (Job 42:8)

Further evidence of Job’s repentance is seen as he also accepts God’s solution and prays for his friends. After the unkind and accusatory words they had spoken to Job, this could not have been easy. But in praying for his friends, Job was healed and his fortunes restored, even receiving twice as much as he had before. And verse 12a says, “The Lord blessed the later part of Job’s life more than the former part.”

So to conclude this week’s lesson from Job, what truths are we to take away and apply to our lives?

1.  First, when we walk through seasons of pain and suffering, we need to keep our focus on what we know to be true about God. Job entered this time of trial with an understanding of the authority and sovereignty of God, as shown through his own words. For example, in chapter 2 when his wife tells him to curse God and die, he responds, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (verse 10). Job understood that God was still in control. Yet, as the trials dragged on and on, Job lost sight of this truth. 
2. Next, when we face times of suffering, we need to be especially diligent about guarding our words. The temptation to wrongly accuse God will be there, and we need to guard against this sin and repent if we catch ourselves falling. Being honest with the Lord about how we’re feeling is okay, but accusing Him of being unfair or cruel is not. One of the main things God desires from us when we are hurting is the choice to continue trusting Him.
3. Forgiving those who hurt us with their unkind words is an importsnt step toward healing. Just as the Lord healed and restored Job when he forgave his friends who had so deeply hurt him, He will bring healing and restoration into our lives when we forgive those who have hurt us by their words and actions. I wish that always meant total physical healing. Often it may, but even if God is currently more concerned with making us whole in other areas this process of forgiveness brings healing.
4. Finally, Job makes a very important statement near the end of the book. In Job 42:5, Job concludes his response to God with these words: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”  

This is my own persoanl testimony of the benefit of suffering in my life. Through the variety of trials I’ve faced, I have come to really know God. My knowledge of Him is now more than just what I’ve read or heard from others. 

• As I endured the suffering of losing a child, I better understood how much it cost the Father to offer His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sin. “For God so loved the world” took on new meaning.
• By loving a son who is completely dependent upon others to meet all of his needs, I’ve learned much about God’s unconditional love. Our son David can’t do anything to earn our love, and we can’t do anything to earn God’s love. It is His gift!
• And through the suffering from a long list of chronic illnesses, I’ve learned that God is just waiting for me to come to Him with my needs. I’m learning that He is my strength in weakness, my peace in turmoil, and my joy in sorrow. He is all I need, no matter what I face!

This concludes our study of Job. I hope you’ve learned as much through it as I have. I hope you too can sum up this study with Job’s closing words: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”