Job 42
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Job 42:1-6
“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.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job (nearly) quotes what the LORD said in Job 38:2-3, now fully recognizing that he has been wrong. Previously, he had known about God; now he has encountered God and can begin to truly know God Himself. And with that Job finally relents — and repents.
Note that the LORD has not offered Job any kind of explanation for his plight. He has provided no answer to Job’s “Why?” That may leave us somewhat unsatisfied, but that is our own arrogance speaking. Job, on the other hand, repents. And that helps confirm the sincerity of Job’s repentance. That is, had God presented a “rational explanation” and justification for Job’s suffering, it would have been a concession to Job’s pride. Job then could have continued in that pride, saying, “See? I got God to explain himself.” And that would have left Job (and us) in a noxious state, entirely contrary to God’s loving purpose. So God gives no such explanation, allowing Job’s repentance — and redemption — to be complete.
The LORD then turns to Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar and says that His anger burns against them because they have not spoken of [Him] what is right, as [His] servant Job has. (Job 42:7-8) Earlier, when the friends were speaking, we referenced these verses to help us discern that what they said was off base. And now they get to see that for themselves. Nothing in the text says this, but I imagine that while God was speaking to Job, the friends were all nodding in smug agreement, gleeful that Job was getting his comeuppance — and now they are shocked to find out that they are the ones who have been wildly out of line, and that Job is the one that God says is to pray for them, and that his prayer will be accepted. Talk about a dressing-down!
Not only does God say that the friends had not spoken rightly, but He says that Job has spoken rightly. Yet Job was clearly in the wrong in accusing God of injustice. So what did Job say that was right? God does not spell that out, so we are left to ponder Job’s words in the light of the whole of Scripture, relying on the Holy Spirit to discern truth from error.
And finally we get to the fairytale ending, “And they all lived happily ever after.” (That’s my paraphrase of Job 42:10-17.) And that makes us feel all right about the whole thing. But what if this movie had an “alternative ending”? What if God decided to leave Job in his suffering? What if Job had no more children, and his siblings didn’t return but continued to reject him? What if Job died in his miserable condition and in poverty? Would that change anything for us? Would we come away with a different understanding of God? I’d like to suggest that if we need this “happy ending” to feel OK about God, then we probably need to read Job again…
Two people from the Job story are missing from Job 42. One is obvious: Elihu. Given that Job’s other three friends were chastened by God, we might conclude that God was giving full assent to all that Elihu said – and I don’t personally recall anything that Elihu said that would have been outside our beliefs today. However, as was stated in earlier postings, God may have had some difficulty with Elihu’s arrogance!
The second person missing from Job 42 is Job’s wife. You may recall that she appeared in Job 2:9, not our most favorite character: Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job’s response suggests that Job did not regard his wife’s advice as acceptable: But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:10) I see Job’s response as one of the high points of all that Job said – it surely rings true to us today! In both the good and the bad in our lives we need to trust that God has His best wishes for us in mind. But what of Job’s well-meaning wife, she of those famous ill-advised words? Was she also the mother of the second set of seven sons and three daughters? We have no idea, but we can imagine… Husbands and wives disagree and make up. Hopefully that’s how Job and his wife ended their story.
Wow! Many, many thanks again to John for your wonderful notes, thoughts, and exhortations for self-reflection as we studied Job! (You really should write a study guide!)