“When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came. I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me. I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.” – Job 30:26-28
The book of Job is a fascinating book, one of three wisdom books found in the Bible. The other two are Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Proverbs is a book about the wisdom of life and Ecclesiastes addresses our purpose in life. What makes Job unique is that it answers the question that so many people ask, “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” Using the story of Job, it beautifully communicates the fact that although we may experience harsh circumstances, God maintains His sovereignty and justice even if we don’t understand it.
The book of Job begins as a spiritual chess match between God and Satan. Satan makes the claim that Job appears righteous because God has blessed him with material things and a beautiful, loving family. God refutes that claim by allowing Satan to do whatever he wants to do to Job except to take his life. So, Satan removes all of Job’s possessions and kills his immediate family putting Job in a state of shock and awe.
Job spends the rest of the book pondering why these terrible things occurred to him. His three friends, Eliphaz, Zophar and Bildad, are elders in the community and openly express their earthly wisdom in the form of gentle condemnations of Job. They claim that God is simply punishing him for unconfessed sin he keeps hidden in his heart. Job reacts to their cutting accusations by arrogantly claiming that he is a righteous man who has no hidden sin to confess. This proud reaction by Job only spurs further condemnation from his three friends until a fresh and new perspective is provided by an odd character.
After the three elders are finished talking to Job, Elihu, a much younger and less experienced friend, provides a fresh perspective to the debate. He chastises Job for justifying himself rather than the all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present God. He reminds Job of just who God is. He is the very One who made Job and provides him breath. He is the one who made the very stars Job stares with wonder at every night. He is the One who provides Job’s very sustenance. And the list goes on.
After Job is chastised by Elihu for taking his eyes off of God, God Himself shows up in a whirlwind to follow up with what Elihu said. He starts off by asking Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (38:4). Job can do nothing but stand in awe.
In the end we learn that Job’s three friends were wrong in their condemnation. We also learn that Job was wrong in thinking he was a righteous man. We realize the answer is found when Job refocuses his eyes off his situation and onto God, realizing that God is both just and sovereign. He is able and capable of doing whatever it is He chooses. He also discovers that God loves him and never left him through his troubled time. Because Job recognizes the sovereignty of God he is rewarded with double the possessions and another family to bless him.
The takeaway from Job is simple. Oftentimes we tend to look at our circumstances through the lenses of self-righteousness or self-pity. Both of those lenses are cloudy, to say the least. We need to be reminded, like Job, that God is just and sovereign. It’s ok to question God but never forget who He is. If we acknowledge Him for who He is and remember that He loves us immensely, we can endure anything the Devil throws at us. Remember that everything that happens to us has been filtered through the hands of God. There is no way that God is going to allow the Devil to checkmate us! His sovereignty and foreknowledge will never allow that. That’s comforting to know!
Related Articles:
For more on Job and God’s Sovereignty see and The Great Potter and God’s Continual Sovereignty.
For more on what the Bible says about facing life’s difficult times read Facing the Storm.
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