The end of the book of Job. After such heart-wrenching despair, judgement from friends, feelings of abandonment from God, we see Job's redemption!! But what part of these chapters is his redemption??
My first inclination is to quote 42:12-13
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. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
Wouldn't we consider that Job's full restoration? This ending satisfies our human idea of Job "finally getting what is owed him" after suffering for God so much. And yes, I do think that this is part of God restoring Job and rewarding him for his faithfulness, but when I read these chapters today, something else struck me.
Job's Spiritual Restoration
Job has spent the entire book, lamenting, calling out to God "WHY ME"?!?! He deals with extremely judgemental friends trying to answer that question on behalf of God and yet, hears nothing from God for 37 chapters. Finally, after 3 Chapters of response from God, I believe Job actually experiences his Spirit and Soul restored.
Job 42:1-5
1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 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.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
He fully understands and experiences God's sovereignty. He submits 100% to God's plan and realizes it was never his place to question what God was doing. And. He. Repents. This is the part I often forget. I sin, I question, I submit, but often... to often... I forget to repent.
I love, love, love, verse 5: "My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." What a gift, what a place to be for Job. He is at a point where he not just knows OF God, he KNOWS GOD!
And notice, it is AFTER this that God has him pray for his friends (which is a WHOLE other post!) and THEN restores his earthly wealth. I just love, this story of complete restoration. Did anyone notice how this reading totally tied in with Sandy's post from yesterday??? The fact - again - that we need to remember our place:
"Jesus is our friend. He's our co-heir, according to the Word. He's our Savior, He loves us and wants our company and fellowship.
But we are not equals.
We are as dogs at His feet. Beloved companions to be sure, but not equal."
I've attached a link to my favorite Praise and Worship song of all time. I've also included the lyrics underneath. I think it totally describes what we see with Job in this book, and is a song of victory for those of us living in complete and utter dependence on God. I mean - who else can turn mourning into dancing, but our loving, SOVEREIGN GOD!!!
You bring restoration
You bring restoration
You bring restoration
to my soul
You've taken my pain
called me by a new name
You've taken my shame
and in it's place, You give me joy
You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take weeping and turn it into laughing
You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take my sadness and turn it into joy
hallelujah, hallelujah
You make all things new, all things new
~Praying we all dance, laugh, and bask in the restoring love that God pours out on us all!~
Tomorrow's passage: Genesis 23-24; Matthew 17
10 comments:
Good observations, Jody!
True, repentance is a much forgotten thing. To turn completely away from our old habits and sins is a daily thing, isn't it? But He is gracious and patiently waits for us. Thank you Jesus for your love!
Thank you, Jody. Repentance is a difficult thing for many, but necessary!
Matthew 16:23 stood out to me today as well. Jesus told Simon he did not have the things of God in mind, but the things of men. Had I been Simon, I wouldn't have wanted to believe what Jesus had just said about being killed either. We often don't want to believe that this or that has happened or will happen, especially if we don't understand the reason for it. All I can say is, although Jesus being crucified was an evil act and a terrible thing not only for him to endure, but his friends and family as well, I am so thankful that it happened. Hopefully I will remember when things happen that I don't understand, that I am looking at it from the perspective of a human being and don't have in mind the things of God. God is faithful!
Excellent wrap-up to Job, Jody! Awesome post. I like, too, how you highlight the need for repentance. Funny how people who've been Christians for a long time seem to lose sight of their need for repentance. It's almost like we believe that's a one-time thing when we first come to Christ.
(speaking for myself, anyway!)
I'm going to admit I'm ready to be out of Job! LOL
Wonderful post Jody! Your posts are always insightful.
Thank-you! What a beautiful picture of Job's relationship with God and how he got restored!
I love these last few chapters in Job. I also love the first few chapters. It's the LONG stretch of middle that I wonder about - why is the middle part so long when all the friends say essentially the same thing? I know there has to be a reason because ALL scripture is inspired by God and has a purpose.
Anyway, great lessons to be learned her, thanks Jody! Repentance is a biggie. Something I also want to be more purposeful about in my parenting - we teach the kids to say sorry to each other, but they should also be repenting to God for they have sinned against Him!
Today's readings included my daughter Kezia's favourite verses: ;)
"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."
One thing that stuck out for me is that while Job did get full restoration of his abundance before disaster struck, I wonder about his "replacement" family?? Does that mean his new family is better than his old one or is that not the point??
I liked what you said Miriam:
"Hopefully I will remember when things happen that I don't understand, that I am looking at it from the perspective of a human being and don't have in mind the things of God." So true. Difficult, but so true.
I always wonder about the "replacement" family, too. I'm guessing in that particular aspect, the restoration was lacking, in a way. You just can't replace loved ones the same way you can money and livelihood. I wonder why just the three daughters are named in the end?
Another character I always wonder about is Mrs. Job. She seems rather cold and uncaring when she tells Job to curse God and die in the early chapters, and yet, HER family and lifestyle had been destroyed, too. I imagine it would be difficult to be a supportive, loving, encouraging wife if your life had been destroyed ~ and your husband's wisest friends thought it was kinda all his fault!! I wonder about her life after Job was restored ~ did she feel the restoration to the same extent or did she always harbour some bitterness because of the experience?
Tammi-I have wondered about that too. It never occurred to me until the post that said the reason that Mrs. Job was not included in Job's loss was because husband and wife are one flesh. I imagine I would be quite bitter to go through that experience thinking my husband may have done something to deserve it.
I guess the "replacement" family doesn't fully make up for it but maybe like having another child after a miscarriage does ease the burden in some way...maybe??
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