Thoughts on Job and his life

After Job lost all of his children, his crops, his livestock, had been afflicted with a bad skin condition, and has had people including his wife telling him it must be his fault, he is feeling pretty dang low. I would say that is quite understandable. In chapter 30 he is hopeless because of his situation.

“And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me. Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest. In his great power God becomes like clothing to me; he binds me like the neck of my garment. He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes. I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me. You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm. I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.” Job 30:16-23

Job really doesn’t get why he’s endured such suffering. Most of chapter 31 is Job reassuring himself and his “friend” that he has not done anything wrong to deserve his plight. I’m not sure if Job is claiming to be sinless or not. But he certainly seems to be making a case that “bad things” really shouldn’t happen to “good people.” After his buddy Elihu rambles on about this and that about how Job is not repentant, that he lacks insight, is rebellious, wicked, you know all the things that a caring friend should say to someone who has had their entire world ripped apart, God finally speaks to Job.

And he says in 38:2, “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” That statement there tells me that those things that Job said before about God were not exactly true. But I believe that God wants us to be honest in the way we are feeling even if our views of Him at the time are not accurate. God then went on to ask Job many questions to help Job see His power and true character. 38-41 is full of questions that God throws at Job. There are way too many to list, but they are cool to read. I listed a few below. A top 10 list, if you will.

God says, “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you; and you shall answer me.” (38:3) Uh oh, is God telling him to get it together, to stop whining and act like a man? To suck it up, buddy, and hold on to your shorts, and let me tell you a thing or two. I don’t know. But that’s kind of what it sounds like to me.

From chapters 38- 40 of the book of Job
Questions that God asked of Job:

1. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? (38:4)
2. Who marked off its dimensions? (38:5)
3. Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? (38:16)
4. Have the gates of death been shown to you? (38:17)
5. Does the rain have a father? (38:28)
6. From whose womb comes the ice? (38:29)
7. Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? (38:35)
8. Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? (39:1)
9. Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? (39:9)
(I love that one, by the way.)
10. Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? (39:27)

After all this Job admits that he spoke of things that he did not understand, things too wonderful for him to know. (42:3) He realizes that his knowledge of God was so limited that he portrayed God in a light that was not true to God’s character. Job understand and accepts that he had heard of God but had never before really and truly seen God for who He is. (42:5) God revealed Himself to Job and Job repented. We know from the first chapter of the book of Job that he was blameless and upright, that he feared God and shunned evil. But it took having his world ripped apart to go from blameless and upright to knowledgeable of the true heart of God. God blessed Job and gave him twice what he had before.

Does that mean that if we are steadfast in our love for God, that He will restore twice what has been taken away? That at some point the tides will turn and our pain on this earth will be over? No way, but God will bless our lives in ways by giving us hope, joy, and love through the pain, by revealing more of Himself than we could ever have seen other wise. And I just have to think about Heaven when I think of all of Job’s possessions being restored to him. On this earth we won’t have every loss given back to us no matter how much we trust and serve God. That’s just not the way things work. But in Heaven, twice the abundance of what was lost on earth is an understatement. What we will receive there is not even imaginable.

Some people believe that the story of Job is kind of a parable or something. Like maybe the actual person didn’t really exist. I don’t know. I tend to think that the book is about a real guy. But I also think that it is an example of turning from our own abilities and good works and calling upon God to restore us to Him. And in turn, He gives us salvation. He gives us so much more than we ever could have accomplished or gained from our own hands.

And in the end, or the beginning, He gives us Heaven.