Read Job 42
Job
42 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.”
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 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. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 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.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
Go Deeper
We’ve finally reached the end of the book of Job! Chapter 42 brings us to the conclusion of one of the most unique books of the Bible. We’ve had a front row seat to a meeting between God and Satan where they agreed to Satan’s plan to tear down Job under the watchful care of God. We listened in on over 30 chapters of dialogue between Job and his four friends. We cringed as we read their horrific counsel. In Job 38-41, we watched closely as God lovingly rebuked Job and reminded him who is God and who is not.
Now we come to the end as Job responds one more time to God. Previously his ears had heard of God, but now he has finally seen Him (Job 42:5). Job repents of his pride and from the times when he demanded an answer from God. We can relate to Job in his questions throughout the book, but now we get to see how Job’s love and trust for the Lord have grown through his trials and challenges. All things considered, Job proved why he is called blameless and upright (Job 1).
In his book 30 Days to Growing Your Faith, Max Anders (paraphrasing Daniel Defoe and The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) says “God will often deliver us in a manner that seems, initially, to destroy us.” We have seen this play out with Job, have we not? It certainly appears that he is being destroyed, but ultimately God delivered him to a deeper intimacy with Himself through these very trials.
In the end, as Job dies as “an old man and full of years” (Job 42:17), he’s gone from knowing about God to actually knowing and seeing God. Would you be willing to do and undergo whatever it takes to say the same? Do you trust God to use your circumstances, both good and bad, to see, understand, and worship Him in deeper intimacy than ever before?
As we wrap up Job, let’s collectively thank God for this book and for the story and example of Job. God allowed a blameless and upright man to walk through unspeakably brutal trials for His own glory and for the good of Job. May God give us all this kind of faith!
Questions
- Do you trust God in both the good and bad times? Why or why not?
- Would it have been hard for you to pray for Job’s three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar)? Why or why not?
- How has God used trials and challenges in your life to better see Him (Job 42:5)?
Pray This
God,
Thank you for preserving the book of Job. Thank you for the lessons we’ve learned about trusting you and your sovereignty over everything that happens, both seen and unseen. Help us to see you fully, and that increasingly over our days our vision (of You) would improve. Help us to be blameless and upright like your servant Job, and even more so like your Son Jesus. Help us to trust you in the trials of life. Thank you that ‘you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’ Amen.
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Do you have an idea? If so, e-mail us at jgreen@harriscreek.org. Thanks for helping us think!
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3 thoughts on “Job 42”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) How do we respond to the magnitude of our God? Just as Job did! Our response should be one of humility, submission and great faith as over and over again we’ve witnessed Him redeem the whole of creation. Romans 8:32 declares “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things.”
We made it to the end of Job! What a journey that was.
Today, I’m reminded to cling to what’s true. It’s simple, but I hope to always hold the truth tightly and trust God with each small step, day in and day out, through trials and tribulations..
First time reading the entire book of Job and what an incredible journey it has been. Thank you Harris Creek for your thought provoking, Gospel centered commentaries and questions. Looking forward to the next book.