Job 42:10-17 Job Restored
Job’s lesson is complete. His friends have been given their instructions. And now we see Job restored AFTER he completes his prayers for his friends.
One of the things I noticed last time was the conditions imposed on Job and his friends for forgiveness and restoration. Job’s friends had to come to him and let him present an offering for them to the Lord. Job then had the responsibility of presenting the offering and praying for them. I have a feeling that if either of these conditions were not met, there would have been no restoration.
This required Job’s friends to ask for his forgiveness as well as God’s, and trust that Job would indeed be their mediator. As I typed this I was reminded that Job called out for a mediator for himself while in the midst of his suffering. We are introduced to his plea for a mediator in chapter 9. He asks for one in this chapter but he proclaims he has one in chapter 16.
We have a mediator and His name is Jesus. He stands before the Father and makes intercession for us. Romans 8:32 explicitly says that He intercedes for us and 1 Timothy 2:5 says that Jesus is the ONLY one who can fill this role. NONE OTHER CAN FILL HIS SHOES.
Got side tracked there, maybe. Back to our text. I wondered last time what would have happened if Job had refused to accept his friend’s offering or repentance or refused to pray for them. I didn’t touch on the ‘what if they refused’ to submit to him in this way or to ask his forgiveness. What if Job had waited with open arms and a willing heart but his friends never came. Would God still have restored him? What would have happened to them in that scenario?
I have heard it said that the other person does not necessarily HAVE to ask for forgiveness for you to grant it. You can forgive the person, even if they are not repentant or even sorry for their actions. I started to wonder about this but then the Spirit reminded me that Jesus did this on the cross. The Sanhedrin NEVER asked for forgiveness for their part in Jesus’ crucifixion. The majority of the Romans didn’t either. But Jesus prayed for their forgiveness even while they were committing these acts against Him. He didn’t wait for an ‘I’m sorry’ or even for them to feel bad about their actions. He asked for their forgiveness while they were in the MIDST of their sin. He loved them even then and forgave them.
Job didn’t have to worry about my ‘what if…’ scenario. His friends followed God’s command and his heart poured out for them to the Lord. Job was VERY experienced in praying for others, as he had done it for his children for years. That was the kind of man he was.
After Job prayed he was restored. And AFTER Job was restored his family came to comfort him. That part blows my mind! His family looked on him with disdain while he was in the midst of his suffering. But as soon as things were extra rosy again, they came out of the woodwork to comfort him. HE DIDN’T NEED THEIR COMFORT THEN! He needed it during his despair. Where were they then? Did it make him angry that they waited until he had something to offer, again, before they reached out to him? I know I would have been tempted to tell that group just what they could do with their ‘comfort and encouragement’. But apparently Job accepted what they had to offer and asked for nothing more. I don’t believe God would have doubled his blessing if he had held a grudge against them.
Job received a double portion from what he had before. He also had a whole new group of children. He had ten more. His daughters are the only ones named and are said to be the most beautiful women in the land. I wonder if he still mourned the children he lost or if he surrendered them to the Lord. I doubt he ever forgot them.
We are told that Job lived 140 MORE years after being restored. I wonder how old that made him at the time of his death. He had already been old enough to have adult children when he had his great testing. He saw his great-great-grandchildren enter this world. I wonder if the children were born to the same wife who told him to curse God and die. If so, she would have had to repent also to Job AND God.
I am astounded at the man who came out of that trial. THAT is the man I would like to emulate. A woman who has forgiveness in her heart at all times. Even for those who never repent of their wrongs against me. I AM trying to be that person.
Father God, thank You for bringing me this vision of Job. I was so busy looking at the lesson that I forgot to see the changes or refinement it brought about. I don’t want ‘the patience of Job’ but the ‘loving heart’ of him more. Help me be that woman who is filled with love, even for those who have wronged me. I KNOW You started that lesson yesterday and hammered that point this morning with Your word. Help me truly forgive the workman who I dismissed yesterday. Forgiving him doesn’t require I continue a relationship with him.
Job was able to do both with those who he couldn’t, wouldn’t, or shouldn’t end his relationship with. Family being primary in that group. Help me know when to draw dividing lines between those who I forgive and cut ties with and those I forgive and work to restore the relationship. I have a feeling there was work to be done in Job’s family.
