Job Repents
Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue
After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Even though Job has worshiped God for so many years, he has never had a first – hand experience of God. But through Job’s sufferings, he has finally met God and now knows God’s nature much more fully than he did before his disasters. Never again will Job doubt God’s power, His wisdom, His authority, or His comprehensive care of the world. But wait! There is more!
After weeks of meaningless orations, Job’s three friends are finally getting the divine rebuke they so richly deserve. ““I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has….You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” By this point, we are ready to stand up and cheer! Go God! Nail those imposters! But what is this? Where is Elihu in all of this? Why doesn’t God rebuke Elihu as He does Job’s three friends? There are three possibilities: A) Elihu takes one look at the whirlwind with God speaking from it and repents. B) God feels Elihu is so insignificant there’s no need to rebuke him. C) God knows that Elihu is young and brash but that he is not nearly as bad as Job’s three friends who are older and who should therefore know better. God knows that if He punishes Job’s three friends, Elihu will watch and learn humility.
Now the same men who have been busy reviling Job have been ordered to bring seven rams and seven bulls to Job so that Job may make a sacrifice to cleanse them from the sin of not speaking the truth about God. These men have put their mouths in gear before engaging their minds and hearts with disastrous results. The fate of Job’s friends should serve as a warning to everyone who sets out to give a sufferer advice by citing what they think they know about God. Get it right or shut up!
We continue to cheer as God restores Job’s fortunes. “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” Notice the condition: Job’s fortunes were restored AFTER he prayed for his friends and offered the sacrifices. We do not know the words Job may have spoken, but we can be confident that Job prayed earnestly and not proudly. Humility is the mark of someone who is close to God because the more we learn about God and His greatness, the less we think of ourselves. It is not that we despise ourselves; after all, we are people for whom Jesus Christ died. But the closer we get to God, the more we worship Him rather than ourselves. Job’s three friends are full of themselves; that is why they have spoken wrongly about God and why they need someone to intercede for them.
“All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.” Hmph! Where were these people when Job really needed help? They were all standing at a distance. There is nothing to suggest that any of these people believed in the One True Living God; therefore, as soon as Job’s fortunes deteriorated, they left, assuming that if they remained, Job’s bad luck would attach to them as well. Now that Job is doing well, it seems safe to be with him.
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years” In Job’s old age, he fathers seven sons and three beautiful daughters and lives long enough to see his great great grandchildren. Job is so wealthy that he gives his daughters the same inheritance that he gives his sons.
APPLICATION: We read this last chapter of the Book of Job and sigh with relief. Virtue has finally triumphed! Job has been vindicated and is rewarded for his faithfulness. The restoration of Job’s life gives all of us who have suffered in any fashion the hope that one day we too will see restoration and peace.
We have spent our missionary careers in challenging situations. Somehow, God appears to have chosen us to pioneer projects, to start a work and to contend with the problems that would make that work impossible. For nearly 18 years, I have served as the only doctor in various mission hospitals. Those who have succeeded me have generally had one or more doctors to assist them. At one point, I simultaneously served as the Acting Administrator as well as the Medical Superintendent. Currently, I continue to support a younger colleague. Due to equipment problems in a neighboring facility, we are handling all their surgical emergencies as well as our own. Both of us long for the day when that facility will solve its problems, giving us some peace.
There are many people throughout the world who face far more daunting challenges than we do – sickness, poverty, persecution, war, famine, and natural disasters. Many of these people probably feel that God has turned His face away from them; however, that is not so. God is always there in the midst of our suffering. But remember what Job said in chapter 23:10 “Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” One day, we will look back on all our suffering and see that God has been there with us and that He is the One who has given us the strength to go through it. Let us honor and praise Him!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we thank and praise and glorify You for the many times when You have delivered us without our knowledge. Thank You, that You are the God of Restoration and Hope. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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