Job's Priesthood and God's Greater Purpose

Lesson ten in the Job series.

Did you notice that somewhere during the course of God's speeches, the three friends must have been converted? They must have seen the great compassion God had for Job when he stormed on the stage to deliver Job from the abuses of Elihu.They must have noticed that God had been listening to Job all along. They must have seen how comforted Job was when God answered his prayers. Ponder this for a moment: There is Job--still sitting in dust and ashes, still covered with painful boils and maggots, poor as a church mouse, and all his family are dead. And his friends look at him and they think, "I want what he has!"

What does Job have? He has a God who loves him and hears his cries and pleads his cause and judges his enemies, and now his friends want in on it too no matter what it costs them! They would be willing to trade places with Job to have a God like that. God's plan all along was to convert these kings so they could take the gospel back to their homelands. God is willing make an innocent person suffer unjustly so that others can be saved. It's outrageous! It's scandalous! And it is the Gospel. God did the same to his own Son so that all of us could be saved. And we are all the beneficiaries of God's great compassion and covenantal faithfulness. 

Job obeys God and prays for his three friends and makes sacrifices for them. He has a newly defined role and because he was faithful in little he is given greater responsibility. He has a story to tell the world and he will write it down and pass it on so that anyone who needs comfort can find it in Job.

A lot of people wonder why Elihu is never mentioned again. This is also part of God's judgment. No sacrifice could be made for one who refuses to hear the wisdom and counsel of God. Look at these verses from Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

"How long O simple one, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

when terror strikes you like a storm,

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you. 

Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,

and have their fill of the their own devices.

For the simple are killed by their turning away,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

but whoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be at ease, without dread of disaster. 

Psalm 50:16-17 plainly says, "But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recited my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline and you cast my words behind you." 

Elihu's fate is the fate of all the wicked who abuse God's people.

Conclusion

You will have to suffer unjustly sometime. Peter tells us we are called to do that. When that happens, God will be enough for you. His grace will be sufficient. You will find God to be your Advocate and Shield and Defender and Rock. You will remember Job and sing the songs of David. More importantly, you will remember the cross. Then you will pick up your own cross and follow Jesus into his death so you can be raised up with him in the resurrection. And who knows? God may make you a source of comfort to others who are suffering.

And now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

Job's Perseverance and Prosperity

Lesson nine in the Job series.

God's speech in chapters 38-41 has thoroughly vindicated Job, but it has done much more that that. Do you remember Job's prayers? The first prayer was that Job would be kept from sinning, from denying the words of the Holy One. The second prayer was that God would provide an advocate who would be God himself, but who would argue the case like a man. We have already seen God answer the second prayer in his speech. But what about the first prayer? Did Job find the comfort he was so longing for? Let's look at chapter 42:1-6. 

Then Job answered the LORD and said:

"I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

'Here and I will speak;

I will question you and you make it known to me. 

~Job 42:1-4

In the above verses Job is saying that even he had underestimated what God could and would do to bring about his own purposes. Job imagined how it would have to play out, but it turned out way better than Job had imagined. Job knew God would provide an upright man to argue his case for him, but he had no idea it would be God Himself! No wonder he says, "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." This was the situation of all the Old Testament prophets. They saw things through a glass darkly, not knowing how everything would actually come to pass. God didn't hold that against them and He didn't hold it against Job. Job acted on what he knew and that was what counted. His faith was rewarded. Job goes on to say:

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear

but now my eye sees you;

therefore I despise myself,

and am comforted (repent) in dust and ashes.

~Job 4:5-6

If you feel confused here, you are not alone. On the surface, it looks like Job is confessing to some great sin. So now we have to go back to the Hebrew again. Job is not "despising himself" because he has sinned, but because he has seen God!  Do you remember the final bet that Satan made with God? He said basically, "Job doesn't love you as much as he loves himself. If you touch his flesh and bones, he will curse you to your face." So now, when Job says that he sees God and (by comparison) despises himself, he pretty much puts the nail in Satan's coffin. There is no question that Job loves God more than he loves himself. I lost track of the score here, but in the end God takes all and Satan scores a big fat zero.

Does Job repent? No. Not in the way you are probably thinking. Remember the Hebrew word nacham? The word means comfort. That is the Hebrew word that is infrequently translated in English as repent. It means that Job was comforted. (The Hebrew word for repent as in turning away from sin is shub.  It is a completely different word with a completely different meaning.) 

Now we have to go back and look at Job's prayer in chapter 6. Job said the only thing that would bring him comfort is getting through this trial without sinning. If he is comforted now, it is because God has granted his request.That is the importance of the next line "in dust and ashes." Job is not comforted because God has healed him. He is comforted before any change takes place in his circumstances. He is comforted because he persevered during the trial without resorting to sin--without denying the words of the Holy One. Job has indeed come forth as pure gold as he predicted he would. God has done this for him, just like he does for you and me. 

There is more evidence that Job did not sin during the course of this trial. God's final verdict comes in verses 7 and 8. "After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "My anger burns 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 a burnt offering for yourselves. 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 has never lost his status as God's servant and we really can't argue with God can we? If God says Job did not sin, then Job did not sin. Job did not have to make an offering for himself for that very reason. Once Job prayed for his friends, God restored Job's health--a miracle like the raising of the dead--as decayed flesh and rotting teeth became like new. He also restored Job's family and friends and wealth. Job had double what he had before. He started out in chapter 42 surrounded by ashes and by the end of the chapter, he was surrounded by beauty in the form of three beautiful daughters. We know that God does not always promise great wealth and prosperity to believers. Some believers will suffer until the day they die and some will be martyrs. But vindication will come for all God's people and it will come in the flesh, when at the Second Coming we are all raised from the dead with glorious new bodies. 

What happened to Elihu? Stay tuned for part ten as we conclude this study.

Job's Protector part three

Lesson eight in the Job series.

Job 40 and 41 is the section of Job that a lot of people find difficult to interpret. It doesn't help that every English translation is different, so we have to go to the Hebrew to find out what is really happening. Chapter 40:1 says, "And the Lord said to Job: Shall a faultfinder content with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." OK, stay with me here while I try to unpack this. Job had already prophesied that when God came on the scene, he would not contend with Job in power, but as an upright man who would argue his case and acquit him (23:6-7). If you look up the Hebrew word that is translated faultfinder  in English, you will see that it means one who lays out his case--like a plaintiff. So the questions God is asking here is this: "Shall the plaintiff lay out his own case before the Judge?" It is a rhetorical question and the answer is obviously 'No!' A plaintiff should have a lawyer or an advocate to represent him. (If you remember, Elihu was doing an illegitimate interrogation of Job where there was no defense lawyer or anyone to plead Job's case.) 

Then the Lord says, "He who argues with God, let him answer it." For the last two chapters--chapters 38 and 39--who has been arguing Job's case? God Himself! So God is basically saying, "I see what's been going on here and I've got this. Job, I will be your advocate. This battle is mine and I will plead your case for you." Can you imagine Job's relief? His prayer was answered and his Arbiter has arrived! 

Job responds by laying his hand across his mouth. Do you remember from an earlier lesson what that means? In that culture, if somebody of greater importance or greater wisdom came into the room, others would lay their hand over their mouth to show respect and to keep silent while that person spoke. So Job is showing respect to God and promising his silence so that God can do it all for him. God always does it all, children. From start to finish, it is all God. 

The first several verses of chapter 40 seem to be targeting Elihu again. We need to remember that God is speaking for Job now--in Job's place. So we can look at the next words as Job's argument given by God. God is angry and he mentions several things that only Elihu has done. Elihu has committed blasphemy, promoted a false gospel, slandered God, called for eternal condemnation for God's servant, lashed out in burning anger, spoken with extreme arrogance, etc. In chapter 40:7-14, God uses phrases like "thunder with a voice like his," "clothe yourself with glory and splendor," "pour out the overflowings of you anger," and ends with "then I will acknowledge that your own right hand can save you." These same ideas and phrases are found in Elihu's monologue, which is our big clue that these words are directed against him. God says, "Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be right?" Of course we know that Elihu is the only one who has done that. Elihu is the one who twice mentioned God's thundering voice. Elihu is the one who clothed himself with glory and splendor by claiming to be equal with God. Elihu is the one who said Job could save himself by his own right hand. It follows then that God's words are targeting Elihu.

I should tell you that there are some people who think that God's speech is connected to Elihu's in this way because God is agreeing with Elihu and is picking up where Elihu left off in interrogating and condemning Job. There are several reasons this cannot be true:

1. In chapter 42:7-8, God states unequivocally that Job spoke only what was right.

2. God would never step into the vacated role of Job's accuser. Not even remotely possible.

3. We know that God answered Job's prayer to keep him from sin during this trial because Job 42:6 tells us that Job was comforted. (More about that in the next lesson.)

4. Job was not required to offer a blood sacrifice like the other three friends.

5. God never condemns people he has already declared to be blameless.

6. God responds in compassion and mercy to those who are poor and needy and afflicted and he will always defend their cause.

7. According to the Apostle James in James 5:11, God's whole purpose in this story is to show compassion and mercy. Slapping a dying man on the wrist by public humiliation is contrary to that purpose. Jesus never responded that way to any sinner who cried out for his help.

Since God and the Apostle James both say that Job was right and steadfast, I am going with that. The Lord did answer Job--not by submitting him to a forced interrogation, but by answering his prayers. By pleading his case. By keeping him from sin. And by destroying his enemies. 

Coming up: If Job didn't sin, then why does he repent?