Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Study No.24                  Passage: Job 42:1-1        

Title: Job's Confession

 A. Find Out

1. What does Job acknowledge about the Lord? v.2

2. What does he acknowledge about himself? v.3

3. What had the Lord said? v.4

4. How had Job known the Lord? v.5

5. What does he conclude about himself? v.6

B. Think:

1. What does Job acknowledge has been his folly?

2. What had brought about change in him?

3. What is his final state?

C. Comment:

As we draw near the end, we find the Lord stops speaking and allows Job space to speak (v.1). Job acknowledges first of all the Lord's sovereignty (v.2) that the Lord can do whatever He wants and (implied) that will be right. Any plan He has can be brought to ultimate fruition and we cannot stop it.

Next he acknowledges what the Lord had asked about who speaks without knowledge (v.3a) and he acknowledges that this was a true description of him, yes, he had spoken about things that were beyond him, things that he did not understand (v.3b). This is surely true for he had not been privy to all that had gone on in the courts of heaven between the Lord and Satan and therefore did not know the true nature of all that was happening. It was testing not judgment.

Yes, the Lord had challenged him to answer His questions (v.4) and they had all been questions (over seventy of them!) designed to help Job realise the Lord's greatness. Previously Job had heard about the Lord but now he had encountered Him (v.5) and he had come to realise something of the Lord's greatness (implied) and so now he despised himself for all his foolish words (implied) and he truly repented of his wrong attitudes (v.6)

This is a time of truth that came to Job through revelation and a right perspective has now truly been gained.

D. Application:

1. Can we acknowledge we sometimes speak without knowledge?

Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Study No.25                 Passage: Job 42:7-9       

Title: Friends Rebuked

A. Find Out

1. To whom did the Lord next speak? v.7a

2. Why was He angry with them? v.7b

3. What did He tell them to do? v.8a

4. What would He have Job do for them? v.8b

5. What did He say about Job? v.7c,8c

6. So what happened? v.9

B. Think:

1. Why were the friends rebuked?

2. How was Job's activity spoken of?

3. What had to happen to put things right?

C. Comment:

Now is a time of humbling and correcting of the three friends (Elihu doesn't get mentioned). The Lord speaks to Eliphaz (v.7) who had spoken the most, possibly the elder or leader of the three. He expresses His anger at the three for not having spoken correctly about Him. He doesn't itemise the things they have said wrong but just gives a blanket disapproval.

He instructs them to offer sacrifices (v.8) as a means of coming into a right place with God and, to make a point, the Lord will have Job pray for them – a humbling of them in the light of all they have said. No, he is not the sinner they maintained; he will be their intercessor.

The divine corrective is so strong that they get on and do it without question (v.9) and Job prays for them and the Lord accepts his intercession on their behalf. They are forgiven.

Now perhaps the most significant words in these few verses, which we have referred to a number of times as we've gone through the speeches are, “ as my servant Job has ” (v.7 & 8) referring negatively to what the friends said and positively to what Job said. In this Job gets a doubly repeated approval from the Lord. Yes, he may have spoken with understanding what went on, but he spoke to the Lord and he spoke truthfully. His cries come out of his previous relationship with the Lord.

D. Application:

1. Would God chide us for speaking wrongly?

2. Can the Lord praise us for speaking well about Him?

Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Study No.26                  Passage: Job 42:10-17     

Title: Consolation & Restoration

A. Find Out:

1. What did the Lord now do for Job? v.10

2. Who came and did what for him? v.11

3. What was a sign of God's blessing on him? v.12

4. And what else? v.13-15

5. And what else? v.16,17

B. Think:

1. How was Job restored financially?

2. How was he restored socially?

3. What further were signs of God's blessing on him?

C. Comment:

The blessing that now comes, comes in abundance. We aren't told that this is reward for Job but it is clearly God's blessing on him. He had suffered financial ruin as his livestock had been stolen (1:14-17) but now God blesses him and his finances are restored and he is twice as wealthy as he had been before (v.10) with large numbers of livestock (v.12) as obvious signs of that.

Moreover he is restored socially, he is no longer the outcast that his illness had made him and his family gather to him to bless him again (v.11). More than that, having lost all his children previously ( 1:18 ,19), his family is rebuilt with ten children (v.13) and the daughters were put on an equal footing with the sons (v.14,15).

At the end we are told that he lived to a ripe old age (v.16,17). No doubt he would have looked back many times to that awful period in his life, but now he lived in affluence with the clear and obvious blessing of God on his family. If anything shows the lie that his suffering had been because he was a sinner, this does. He is a man mightily blessed of God. He has come through the trial and he has been blessed. The trial was short lived but the blessing lasted over many years. The trial was a time of awful suffering and being ostracised by people. The following life was clearly one of well-being and social acceptance once again. Job has remained faithful and the Lord has blessed him.

D. Application:

1. Can we trust God to bring us through our trials?

2. Can we believe His future blessing will be greater than the present?

Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Title: RECAP 5:   " Confrontations & Blessings ” - Ch. 42

SUMMARY :  

In this final little group of 3 studies we have seen:

•  Job is faced with speaking without knowledge and repents.

•  The friends are chided for not speaking rightly while Job is praised by the

   Lord

•  The evident blessing of God on Job's life again in abundance.

COMMENT :

Blessing is preceded by repentance and obedience. It is almost a spiritual law in the Bible. This little chapter is ultimately a chapter of blessing but before that we have seen that Job had to face up to his failure in this test. Yes, he had remained faithful and had stuck to the truth, and yet there have been a lot of words spoken and many of them would have been better left unsaid. They came out of the anguish of suffering and that meant they were very real, but the big thing is that they were spoken in ignorance. Job had spoken without full knowledge of what had previously gone on in the courts of heaven and so had not realised that he was being put through a test which all of heaven was watching and which history would record.

Having come to that place of recognition Job is affirmed by the Lord before his three friends and is then totally restored in every way. The latter days were even more glorious than the former.

LESSONS?

In this chapter, which we'll limit ourselves to for the moment, the lessons are obvious, as we've stated above: blessing is preceded by repentance and obedience. When we humble ourselves the Lord is quick to restore us. John tells us that when we get it wrong, Jesus intercedes for us (1 Jn 2:1), surely to restore us, for that was Paul's teaching (Gal 6:1). Whatever trials we may be going through, the Lord will be working in them (Rom 8:28 ) for our good and will be looking for our restoration.

PRAY :

  Thank the Lord for His loving presence in your life, even if the anguish of circumstances squash that awareness. Thank Him that He is working for your good and will restore you. Thank Him for all your blessings, all the goodness you have received from Him.

Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Study No.                  Passage:    

Title: Summary

Book: The Challenges of Job (Job, chapters 32-42)

SERIES 3 of 3 in Job  :   PART 5 of 5:     CHAPTER 42

Study No.                  Passage:   

Title: Conclusions

As we come to the end of this book, particularly as we have covered these chapters where Elihu and then the Lord speaks, the following may be some of the things we may wish to think on further:

Living in a Fallen World means that life isn't always smooth. Things go wrong! More than that, we sometimes bring problems down about our own ears because of our own foolishness. Even more we have an enemy who seeks to war against us and lead us away from our relationship with our Lord by deception, by temptation and by outright attack. Yet in it all we must remember that the Lord is sovereign and He is either allowing it, or even bringing it, so that it will act as a test for us. The object of a test, when the Lord allows or brings it, is to prove our faith and strengthen us in it. It may feel negative but the Lord wants to bring positive things out of it.

The Lord's Goodness

One of the things that Elihu declares loud and clear is that “ It is unthinkable that God would do wrong.” (Job 34:12). It is a truth that we need to hold firmly on to. If the Lord does either allow or bring suffering, Elihu reminded us, it is simply one of the ways He speaks to us (Job 33:19) and He speaks to us in a whole variety of ways (Job 33:14) even if we may not realise that He is speaking. The truth is that our emotions or beliefs sometimes seem to block our ears and we are unable to hear what God is trying to say to us. But the truth remains, and we must learn to hold on to it, that whatever is going on, God is good and He is working for our good.

Our Security

These truths that emerge and confront us as we read through Job, should leave us with a fresh assurance of God's love and His goodness and His good will towards us. That is the starting place. Following that, when the way gets tough, we should learn to call on Him and trust Him. Calling on His is a sign of reliance on Him. Trusting Him is the heart attitude that is at rest and peace in the knowledge that He is there for us and will be working in the background for our good and will eventually bring us through the present trial. Yes, we have a part to play in it – to remain faithful – but He IS there, working for us in it. Hallelujah!