Today in God's Word—July 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
July 7, Job 42
”I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." - Job:42:5-6
Through the years of my ministry, I’ve met some people who were deeply convicted of their sinfulness, but would not come to God through Christ to be forgiven and saved. They were embarrassed and ashamed, and did not think they were worthy to come before God. Like Adam and Eve, their sense of guilt made them hide from God instead of run to him when they realized their sinful condition.
Job is a powerful example of a better way to respond to strong conviction. He did despise himself, but that was the end of it. He also heard and accepted the call from God to come and stand before him. Job did not run away when he was convinced of his guilt after he gained a clearer understanding of God's majesty, holiness and power. Instead he repented and humbled himself before God.
How did Job “see” God when the Lord spoke to him out of the whirlwind? As God described his own great power, skill and creative genius, Job got a clearer picture of the Lord. He did not imagine him any longer as being one with whom a human like himself could reason or argue. God was God, and Job realized with new clarity the great distance between God and humans. Job realized that God was entirely self-sufficient and able to do whatever he chose to do, unaffected by any outside force or influence.
As Job responded, he quoted some of God’s words back to the Lord. God had rebuked and dismissed without naming Elihu for his words that “hid counsel without knowledge.” Job confessed the same about the words he spoke in ignorance and anguish. He would never forget God’s intense and relentless interrogation. He knew that God’s unanswered questions put him in his place and exalted God to the highest place.
The booming questions had been like thunder. But Job found the ray of light and hope and encouragement in the invitation to come to God. The words were convicting, but God spoke, Job listened, and embraced God's invitation for him to come near to him instead of allowing the guilt and shame to drive him away.
God spoke to Job and Eliphaz. He also referred to Bildad and Zophar as Eliphaz’s friends. But the Lord did not mention either Satan or Elihu. Satan was already condemned, and Elihu had been Satan's most vocal and hateful puppet as he attacked Job. God offered the three friends an opportunity to repent. He told them to bring a large offering for Job to sacrifice on their behalf, and ask Job to pray for them. Just as Job acted as a patriarchal priest on behalf of his children in Chapter 1, so Job now acted as priest and intercessor on behalf of his friends who had spoken wrong things about the Lord and slandered Job. God vindicated Job, saying he had not said wrong things about him as the others did.
God restored and blessed Job. He gave him double his former great wealth. He gave him seven more sons and three more daughters. I think there is a pre-echo of the equality of men and women in Christ in the way Job's daughters were named in the text, and that they received an equal share of the inheritance. Both those things were quite unheard of in Job's time.
When we are convicted by God's word and get a clearer sense of God’s holiness, we are surely more aware of our unworthiness. But we should follow Job's example and run to God instead of away from him. We need to hear the invitation to come and repent, instead of hearing only the condemnation and feeling guilty. The deeper our rebellion and disobedience, the greater our desire should be to get up and go home like the prodigal son, to go home to a Father who loves us and wants to reconcile us to himself.
At the end of the book about Job's suffering, there is no definitive answer about the problem of suffering. Instead, God gives us testimony of
his absolute sovereignty and great power, and calls us to trust him and run to him. Job is a shining example of trusting God even when we suffer and do not understand why. We need God on those days more than ever. May God give us grace to run to him and cling to him when troubles and suffering come our way.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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