Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Elihu encouraged Job to answer him. To give his opinion on what Elihu was saying. But before Job had a chance to speak, God showed up. He came out of a storm (as He often does – Psalm 104:4) and asked His own set of questions. Job had sought to question God, but before He was allowed, God had a few things to ask Himself. These are questions which establish the RIGHT to speak before God on things. These are questions that only the Anointed One could possibly answer. Job had wished for a mediator (Messiah) and God was showing what was needed to BE that mediator (Messiah) – only Jesus is worthy and meets these qualifications (Revelation 5:4-6).

Most of today’s reading (Chapter 38-41:34) is God speaking. He doesn’t pull back the curtain on what happened in heaven in the courtroom. He doesn’t explain ANYTHING to Job at all. He simply asks questions designed to show Job’s inferior position to God. The proper position of humanity to God is humble submission. God wasn’t rude. He wasn’t antagonistic. He simple pointed to what HE had done, what HE had created, and what HE understood and asked Job if he did too. Of course, no matter WHAT limited knowledge we acquire, there is always more another layer down that baffles us. No human will EVER hold the knowledge that God does, and therefore is in a subordinate position. We rightly should be repenting of ANY pride and submitting to Him. We rightly should be focusing on Him and trusting Him because we can believe that He knows what is best. His approach to Job and his friends PROVES that He knows best. He mirrors much of what Elihu said (proving Elihu WAS inspired by Holy Spirit and spoke truth). He doesn’t berate the others, but uses gentle wisdom (Matthew 11:29).

Job had spoken poorly. He had intimated that he (Job) was superior to God. In the face of God, all that melted away. Job had spoken out of emotion against what he himself knew what was right and here he is properly chastised. In fact, he completely refuses to justify himself and totally repents of his attitude (Job 40:3-5; 42:1-6). He goes so far as to declare he was going to put his hand over his mouth to physically force himself to shut up. Modern humanity has spent hundreds of thousands of years learning about the Earth and the processes we find here. We can explain a lot more than Job could. We can be proud of our accomplishments and our scientific knowledge – but MANY of God’s questions remain unanswered. We have learned some things, we can explain some things, we can explain parts of others, but the majority of the questions God asks here STILL reveal our lack of knowledge and understanding. We have advanced, and we will advance more, but we will NEVER reach the level of understanding and knowledge needed to stand one-on-one with God and deserve to question. Only Jesus can AND He chose NOT to (John 5:19-20). He is the ONLY one worthy to be our mediator. He is the ONLY one worthy to answer God. Everyone and everything else, by our very nature and continued existence, should humbly submit and give God the glory.

Job’s sin (Job 40:2) was that knowing he (Job) had done nothing to deserve this treatment, Job reproved God for allowing it. This sin came AFTER the events that led to his suffering and it was NOT the CAUSE of his suffering. Job’s response to God pointing this out is his hand over his mouth, repenting from ever speaking from a place of self-righteousness, and a total submission to God’s superior point of view and wisdom. He has no arrogance. He is changed in how he views himself. He has a godly repentance with no hidden areas. He was changed by seeing God as God really is (from the WORDS not the vision of the STORM). We should also be changed like this as we read the Word with the intent to see God’s character in it (Romans 12:2).

God ignores Job and continues. Job had been saying that he wished God would show up and give an account of His actions. God challenges Job in this asking if Job truly thought he was stronger than God or more justified or worthy of reversing or annulling ANY decision or action that God made. God encourages us (especially in Jesus through the New Covenant) to have a real relationship with Him. To be close. To be cooperative comrades. But we are NEVER to forget our relative positions one to another. You can be the best friend of the king, but you never forget that he IS your king. You never put yourself in a position of equal or greater authority. The truth that Job was pitiful compared to God was becoming VERY evident to Job and he responded with proper humility. As we ALL should even as we lean deeper into Jesus as He wants us to (Ephesians 3:14-21).

Job had focused on a single thing (what had befallen him) and ignored the overall majesty and glory of God. he had been selfish and self-centered, not God-focused. Job admitted he had spoken about things he didn’t understand. Job had presumed to know better than God and admitted how wrong he was. Job had now come to know God better and it gave him a better knowledge of himself. He released his pride and repented completely. God owed him and had never owed him anything. Job rested on his trust in God and refused to any further impute His character. Instead, he bowed and accepted that God was God and deserved his worship, praise, belief, and trust.

God then spoke to Job’s three good friends (not Elihu) and clearly stated that what they had said about Him were WRONG. There had been some truths in what they said, but they had been misapplied. They were wrong in their thinking and wrong in their approach. He had NOT sent suffering to teach or to judge Job in ANY way. Therefore, as we read their words we need to be careful to take in the words, but not their logic or their conclusions. There are many lessons in the book of Job, but we should focus on the ones God approved of and not the ones He rebuked (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The solution for those God rebuked was full repentance as evidence by sacrifice (pointing to our need for Jesus as the mediator and saviour). During their discussions they had placed themselves superior to Job, convinced hidden sin was causing this judgment/teaching experience. In order to demonstrate repentance from that religious thinking, they had to humble themselves and ask Job to pray for them. As a point of interest, they were instructed to offer the same sacrifices that Ezekiel was told to offer during Passover (Ezekiel 45:21-23). Job was NOT asked to sacrifice. His sacrifice was a repentant heart – much like with David over the Bathsheba and Uriah incident (Psalm 51:16-17).

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his losses. He forgave those who wronged him. He had repented of thinking he was the Most Important. It was AFTER Job had repented, humbled himself, and forgiven all who had mistreated him that his family reached out to him to support him (Job 42:11). All the loss Job had suffered was not what the Lord wanted for him, but in order to be just and to be bound by His own word, it was what He had to do (Romans 3:23). He would have been unjust to keep Job’s master from afflicting him as was that master’s right. But in the end, Job was delivered and he was increased – starting with gifts from his family. The Lord once again blessed Job. This time with TWICE what he had had in the beginning. He had another seven sons and three daughters – making DOUBLE the children since the others were in God’s bosom (Luke 16:22) [I have also heard that this was a resurrection of the original seven sons and four daughters, which is certainly POSSIBLE with God although not specifically stated one way or another. The new names would be accounted for in the fact that in the ancient world your name changed based on what was going on in your life or your contributions to society.]

Job was somewhere between 50 and 60 years old at the beginning of the book, based on his children’s ages. After he repented he lived for another one hundred and forty years – seeing a full FOUR generations of offspring. In total, Job lived around two hundred years. That means that out of two hundred years of life he suffered (intensely) for about two to three weeks. It was a LIGHT affliction when set against his whole life. It was MOMENTARY when put in the context of his lifespan. When we suffer, no matter WHAT it FEELS like to us, we need to trust God and rest in HIM because it really isn’t any time at all OR what we truly deserve outside of life in Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:17; John 15:5). The book of Job is about our Messianic NEED for a saviour and mediator, our Messianic HOPE in Jesus, and the Messianic FULFILLMENT of that in our new lives and identity in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21) as we FULLY trust in God Almighty as our SOURCE for EVERYTHING in ALL circumstances and situations. We are called under His yoke which is NOT a burden (Matthew 11:28-30). Oxen aren’t told why they are about what they are about. Only where to go. If we stay under His yoke by believing His character and trusting His Word, we enjoy the protection of His BLESSING. But when we break off the yoke? The BLESSING that protects us flees – not because God chooses it, because WE choose not to submit and despise His character. In Jesus, we have access to a covenant of protection based on our LOVE – which includes obedience (John 14:15). In HIM we have SHALOM.

The book of Job is a very visual representation of our identity in Jesus and both the peace and the overcoming victory over Sin and the devil’s mastery that we have in, through, and because of Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen.

Summary

Key Players: God, Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu.

Key Verse(s): Job 38:1-7; 39:19-25; 40:1-5; 41:1-11; 42:1-11, 16-17