A Good Job! (Part 3)

TEXT:

‘There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil’ (Job 1:1 NLT)

THOUGHT:

In this final part of “A Good Job!”, Today’s Teaching considers the outcome or end result. Who wins, God or Satan? God always has and always will. Job does have a happy ending.

Some would say, “But what about the loss of his ten children? Possessions can be replaced but not life.” His children are in heaven and Job has joined them. Not re-united in a physical state but a spiritual one, where there is neither male nor female. The earthly relationships believers had with each other are replaced by a God-man marriage which is eternal.

This is why Christians do not grieve like those who do not have this sure hope.¹ This truth was referred to during the funeral of Prince Philip.

• Job’s Future

In the midst of this awful trial, all Job saw ahead was continued pain, suffering and ultimately death, something he wanted to come quickly to put an end to his misery. God, however, had a glorious future in store to help compensate for the unjustified attacks by Satan.

I want to highlight three voices that helped bring about this change for the better!

1. A Different Friend – ‘Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he … Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay. So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you’ (Job 32:4, 33:6-7 NLT).

Job had had enough of his three close friends’ criticism and condemnation. He called them “Miserable Comforters”.² Elihu was different because he was prepared to tell Job where he was wrong without condemnation, speaking the truth in love.³

When we are saying the wrong thing, we need someone to challenge us in love, to start to say what is right and with faith. I remember saying to a young mum, “Why are you like a prickly pear? No one can get close to you.” She burst into tears saying, “I do not know why, I do not want to be like this. I want to be able to get close to people again.” Having been hurt in the past, the root cause of her trouble was a spirit of fear. It was dealt with within a short space of time and her life was transformed. People in the church were talking about her, but she needed me to talk to her in love!

See how gently but firmly Jesus dealt with the two on the road to Emmaus.⁴ Once their eyes were opened they wanted to get back into fellowship to share the Good News of their experience.

There will be someone there for us too, to tell us the truth in love. Someone who does not over-look our wrongdoing but does not just find fault and condemn either. Isolation is a terrible state to be in. The devil tries to isolate us from the church because it makes it easier for him to attack. The Bible says, ‘God sets the solitary in families’ (Psalm 68:6). He does that so we will have people around us to speak God truths into our lives!

2. God Himself

The change in Job’s attitude led to God’s intervention. ‘Who is this who speaks without knowledge?’ (Job 38:2). God is Almighty God and we must never forget that. He condescends for our benefit, that we may have a meaningful relationship with Him. He came down to lift us up!

Job had continually said, “When I see God I’ll tell Him…”, but when God gave him his opportunity he did not have very much to say after all, other than:

‘I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I lay my hand upon my mouth in silence. I have said too much already’ (Job 40:3-5 TLB).

‘You said listen and I will speak! Let me put the questions to you! See if you can answer them! But now I say I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you, and I loathe myself and repent in dust and ashes.’ (Job 42:4-6 TLB).

It is never wise to argue with the Bible, for it is God’s Word and the final authority. Do not debate it, just obey it! The Bible puts it like this, ‘God’s plan looked foolish to men, but it is wiser than the best plans of men. God’s plan which may look weak is stronger than the strongest plans of men’ (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLV).

3. Job Himself – ‘My servant Job shall pray for you’ (Job 42:8)

God told his three friends to make an offering and Job would pray for them, to avoid divine judgment and retribution, because they had unjustly attacked Job’s character. This should serve as a warning for us to be very careful how we speak about others.

The challenge for Job was, could he really pray for mercy and blessing on those who had hurt him so badly and made his misery even worse? Yes he could, for his faith came shining through again. It was only after his willingness to speak this out loud, that the Lord restored Job’s losses.⁵

Oh how much we are robbed of, when unforgiveness prevents us from praying a blessing on those who have hurt us. Unforgiveness continues damaging us long after the event happened, but praying for those who have despitefully used and hurt us⁶, kills it stone dead, even if the memory of it all is still painful to bear.

Now Job could once again enjoy life to the full as God gave him twice as much as he had before and blessed him with another seven sons and three daughters.

Only God knows the end from the beginning. When we do not know or like what is ahead, let us say like Job,

‘He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold’ (Job 23:10)

Endnotes:

¹ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18       ²Job 16:2          ³ Ephesians 4:15          ⁴ Luke 24:13-35                 ⁵ Job 42:10 ⁶ Matthew 5:44