Job 6; Suffering Saints Praying to the God of all Grace

SUFFERING SAINTS PRAYING TO THE GOD OF ALL GRACE

NEW TESTAMENT APPLICATION FROM JOB’S EXPERIENCES

1Pe 5:10  “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

We have spent the last five weeks learning about the “God of all grace”, in the life of Job.

By looking at key texts in the spiritual journey of a suffering giant we have observed the handiwork of God:

Job 1:21

Blessed be the Name of the Lord; Job’s Confession of Faith

“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Job 19:25

My Redeemer Liveth; Job’s Hope in Christ

 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” 

Job 23:10

I Shall Come Forth As Gold; Job’s Trust in a Sovereign God

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold”

Job 38:1

God in the Whirlwind; Job’s Experience with God

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind...”

Job 42:6 

Dust and Ashes; Job’s New Beginning

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

This text from Peter, does much more than supply us with the title for this series of studies.  Peter’s words can be interpreted as a commentary on the life of Job.  This suffering saint was perfected, stablished. strengthened and settled by the God of all grace in his affliction.  While Job’s personal sorrows were extreme in their uniqueness - sorrow and suffering are not unique.  Quite the contrary - they are normal human experiences in a broken world.  Therefore Peter’s words are as relevant for 21st Century believers as they were for 1st Century Christians.  As sorrow and pain remain a feature of human life, so the God of all grace remains our constant and cherished companion.

Peter’s words are a prayer, a prayer to the God of all grace which is full of faith and promise.  The prayers of the apostles are valuable in that they are the inspired utterances of the Holy Spirit.  Such prayers can be claimed and recited with faith by every believing heart as they are prayers that are agreeable to the will of God.

SUFFERING SAINTS PRAYING TO THE GOD OF ALL GRACE

1:  Praying to be Perfected

The word perfected, while it means to make whole, carries the idea of repairing or mending.  For example when Jesus found the fishermen mending their nets (Matthew 4:21) this is the verb employed.

It easy to see how this applies to Job - his life was broken by grief and trauma but his latter end was greater than his beginning, because the Healer intervened.

Whatever our brokenness, our sorrow, our pain, our failure may be - we can trust the mending and restoring power of the God of all grace.

2:  Praying to be Stablished

This verb is very close in meaning to the verb translated stedfast, used by Peter earlier in this passage.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, Whom resist stedfast in the faith...” (1st Peter 5:8-9).

The word stedfast, linked to the attack of Satan, depicted as a roaring lion, highlights the reality of Christian warfare.  While we are under attack, God will give us the strength to be stedfast.  However weak we may feel ourselves to be, there is power flowing from the God of all grace to make us strong and stedfast in the faith.

This is the same word that Peter heard from the lips of Christ, when his days of testing at the hands of Satan were predicted:

“But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32).

Peter, through his failings, brought about by human pride, was equipped to strengthen his brothers, only because Christ’s prayers had stablished him.  We are not stedfast through our own convictions and resolve, only through the God of all grace.  A lesson that must be learned and relearned!

3:  Praying to be Strengthened

This verb, translated “strengthen”, while it appears to be similar to that which is translated “stablish”, is a different word.  This is a unique Greek verb, at least unique in the New Testament, employed in only one other place:

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).

The context in which Paul uses the word, also in a prayer, gives us the clue to the meaning, spiritual strength in the heart and soul, given by the Holy Ghost.

This is the strength that matters ; this is true power, that surpasses all physical energy.  The power of the Spirit alone, can make the weakest, feeblest Christian strong in days of great trouble.

4:  Praying to be Settled

The word “settled” refers to a foundation.  It is employed in Matthew 7:25, of the wise man’s house which was founded upon the rock:

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

The word is linked to the verb “rooted” employed in Paul’s great prayer in Ephesians 3:

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17).

 

A house that is grounded on the rock survives the storms and a plant that is rooted lives and will therefore produce foliage, flowers and fruit.

We often use the metaphor “grounded” to describe a Christian who is solid, dependable and certain.  This grounding is drawn from the foundation of faith upon which a person rests, Christ alone.  

To be rooted is another metaphor we could use to describe such a Christian life.  The rooted Christian will produce evidence of that life by his or her conduct and Christ likeness.

Both the foundation and the root are hidden.  Yet the hidden aspect is the source of strength and fruitfulness.  So it is in the Christian life - if the hidden life is not proper, the outward life will be unsure.

Yet this hidden life, this grounding and rooting comes from God; the God of all grace.  Job had a hidden life that was solid, therefore he survived and was victorious as the storms raged.  His spiritual life stood firm and he continues to bless our souls today.  This is testament to the power of the God of all grace.

Let us pray today that these graces would be perfected in our hearts.  Claim the promise, step into victory:

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

JOB 5; Dust and Ashes

 THE GOD OF ALL GRACE IN THE LIFE OF JOB

PART 5 – DUST AND ASHES; Job’s New Beginning

 Job 42:5-6

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

 This is our final key text in the Book of Job.

After a protracted period of conversation between suffering Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, and after Elhiu the younger man entered the discussion God came and revealed Himself in all His power and glory.

 This is both a transforming moment and a turning point in the experience of Job.  His thinking is altered and life is turned around by the appearance of God.

 Job was not the only one who was changed when God came, but the other four men were also taught invaluable lessons, especially Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.

These men had talked and reasoned in their attempt to understand the mysteries of providence.  This is the question of the ages – Why good people are called to suffer?  As all humans do when attempting to comprehend the incomprehensible – they went round in circles.  How many times have we not talked and debated issues and after hours of discussion found ourselves no further forward?  When God appears, however, everything makes sense, even though we still do not understand His dark and mysterious ways.  Only when we are humbled before God can we move forward.

 Job needed a new beginning after his descent from happiness and prosperity to sorrow and bereavement.  This new beginning only took place when God revealed Himself to His servant.

Let us apply this to our immediate circumstances in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some have attempted to claim with great certainty that this is the judgement of God upon our world for the moral wickedness that abounds.  I do not say the world does not deserve judgement; but I do say that we deserve as a society much more than Covid-19.  If we argue that each terrible event is the specific judgement of God then we need to face the suffering that happens every day in all kinds of scenarios - suffering from which none of us are immune.  Suffering is not always judgement for specific events; if it were God becomes caricatured as a vindictive ogre, rather than a God of grace and mercy.  We ought to be careful with the manner in which we portray God to the world if we continual focus on the wrath of God without balancing His nature in a biblical manner – because He is also a God of longsuffering, of goodness and forgiveness. 

Others have gone down the conspiracy theory route – that the death rates are not what they all seem.  This pandemic is a stage-managed production by the globalists who want to lead us closer to a one world Government.  Some have even described it as dress rehearsal for the arrival of antichrist!  Such foolish talk ignores the fact that health services across the world have been overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of seriously ill people.  Covid-19 has not been a phoney illness. 

Among the unbelieving world conspiracy theories abound among those who see China as deliberating inventing the virus to order to move ahead of the West in power and prosperity.  There was the rather crazy notion that was mooted that 5G masts were transmitting the virus into Europe.  Some have even claimed that this is another desperate attempt to overthrow President Trump in the wake of the failed attempt to have him impeached.

The world at large places a heavy reliance upon science to get us out of the pandemonium that Covid-19 has brought upon the world.  The differentials in the lockdowns across the world and the variations in how the virus has affected nations has shown that science cannot supply all the solutions.

Both believers and unbelievers, the Church and the world have been guilty together of running around in circles looking for reasons, seeking solutions, attempting to make sense of this situation in which we all are involved.

The truth is – we cannot make sense of the world because no man of woman is God.  Only He knows the end from the beginning and His ways are unfathomable.

An unbeliever may well read this and accuse the writer of a cop-out.  If we are challenged to explain something, they say we blame God and by claiming that He knows best.  I certainly do not blame (because the word blame carries with it the implication of condemnation) but I accept that God has decreed every event that comes to pass and that He works His purpose out through it.  I rest on this and this brings peace to my soul.

When God visited Job, the man of God was taught this truth in a most demonstrative way, and therefore was made ready for a new beginning.

Job was not sinless.  He had got things wrong, as had His friends.  Therefore, he needed correction.

We too need a new beginning.  If a man like Job, who rose to the incredible heights of faith when facing bereavement, loss, ill health, betrayal and  condemnation needed correction – how much more do we?

We need to be corrected by the most high God.  When He visits us everything changes.  This was Job’s experience at the end of his story.  May it be ours likewise.

1:       Job’s Confession to God

Job 42:2-3

“I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.”

 When faced with His Creator, whose power and wisdom are fundamental to the world and the universe Job recognised the futility of his own reasoning and logic.  He confessed that He ought to have said nothing, even when accused by His friends.  Rather he ought to have waited on God.  A most vital lesson we all need to learn in our rush to either defend ourselves or accuse others!

As he was given this new experience with God he is described as abhorring himself and repenting with dust and ashes.  Job already knew God, he was a valued and highly commended servant of God.  Yet there was so much more of God for him to discover.  So, it is for us – let us seek more of His presence that we might be humbled before Him.

 2:       His Prayer to God

Job 42:7,10

“And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath…And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends”.

 It appears that Eliphaz, Bilbad and Zophar did not react with humility, as Job had done, when God appeared.  Why this was the case we cannot be sure but we do know that this brought about God’s disproval.

There is no doubting that the way in which these men had treated Job, in his suffering was wrong.  They accused him of sin, of hypocrisy especially, and insisted that God was judging him.  Despite these glaring failings, these men still did not admit their faults and humble themselves before the glory of God.  They tenaciously clung onto their opinions with an air of stubborn pride.  If Job had admitted his fault in the affair, these men had more reason to request forgiveness.

These men had sinned against God, they had certainly wronged Job and they remained fixed in their arrogant ways.  But before God would reverse Job’s circumstances it was important that he prayed for his failing and offensive friends.  I can imagine some Christians when challenged with this kind of situation refusing to pray for those who had treated them in such a cruel fashion.  But God does not want us to hold spite and bitterness against our brothers and sisters.  He wants us to settle our differences at the throne of grace.  It is a credit to Job that he rose above the selfishness and stubbornness of his friends – he claimed the higher ground on his knees before the God of Heaven.  Blessings flow from God to those who have the capacity to forgive.

James 5:16

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”.

 Matthew 18:21-22

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

 3:  His Acceptance by God

 Job 42:10

“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

Job now had a life to rebuild.  This would involve much by way of industry and sacrifice.  We should not imagine that the events of the latter part of Chapter 42 took place over a few days or months.  But life went on and Job accepted the challenge as a man who had an encounter with God.  He regained acceptance by his family, the Lord replaced the loss of his children and his flocks and herds were replenished. 

Our nation is facing the deepest recession in history.  The economic impact of this pandemic will perhaps not be fully realised until the end of the year.  We have read of The Great Depression years in the 1930s and it is very possible that we will pass through a similar period. 

Like generations before us we will have to play our part in rebuilding the British nation.  This presents challenges for individuals, families, small and medium businesses, large companies as well as political leaders.

 But the lesson from Job is – that an encounter with God provides the strength for the task that lies ahead.  God is able to recover our national prosperity and restore our economic fortunes, BUT will he do it for a people who have turned against Him?  He may well do because He is merciful and good and kind.  He may also turn the tide that overwhelming our nation in response to the prayers of His people.  The world may not realise it, but the people of God are the best and the most valuable resource in any nation – the salt of the earth.  But if God were to reveal Himself and bring our nation collectively to its knees we would truly be on the way to recovery.

Britain rose from being island on the edge of Europe to an international superpower which ruled the waves after the Protestant Reformation, the greatest revival since Pentecost.  Britain similarly has been in steady decline in the Post World War Two Wars; years in which we have nationally lost our way immersed in the quagmire of secularism which offers us nothing but failure.

Let us pray that God will come as He came to Job who was suffering and sorrowing amid the ashes of failure.  That we would turn from our wicked ways, seek the Lord and then He will heal the land.

Only then can we look forward to the future with a sense of optimism.  God gave Job in his latter days more than he had in his beginning.  He did fulfil the word that Bildad spoke - words that we can claim for tomorrow for our homes, our church, our business and our nation if we will but trust and obey:

Job 8:7

“Thou thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase”

Job 4; God in the Whirlwind

 THE GOD OF ALL GRACE IN THE LIFE OF JOB

PART 4 - God in the Whirlwind; Job’s Experience with God

Job 38:1

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind...”

This 4th key text in the life of Job is not so obvious as the previous three, yet it is crucial to our understanding of the Book of Job and the mysterious providences of God.

While the sight of Job sitting down in utter devastation and blessing the name of His God (Job 1:21), His remarkable faith in anticipating the coming Redeemer (Job 19:25) and the peace he experienced knowing that he would come out of the furnace of affliction pure as gold (Job 23:10) are well known in the life of Job - the contents of chapter 38 are less so.

Chapters 38 & 39 are vital, to our understanding of this book, however, because here the Lord enters the conversation.  

The Book of Job, as well as being the story of one man’s multiple tragedies, is also a conversation.

Chapters 1 & 2 records the conversation between the Lord and Satan.

Also in Chapter 2 there is the briefest of conversations between Job and his wife.

At the close of the second chapter Job’s 3 friends arrive after hearing of his losses; Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.

Chapters 3 to 31 record the conversation between Job and his friends.  While the proverb ‘Job’s Comforters’, is used of people who create pain rather than bring comfort, we often forget that the friends of Job were godly and spiritual men.  A close study of their speeches will show that they had a firm grasp of theology and deep sense of the divine.  Nevertheless, despite their knowledge they misjudged Job’s predicament.  They were guilty of treating Job as a sinner, whom God had chastened sore with frightful visitations of wrath.  

Eliphaz

“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:  For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” (Job 5:17-18)

Bildad

“Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?  Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.  So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish.” (Job 8:11-13)

Zophar

“But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” (Job 11:5-6)

Being bombarded with such cruel words, from those who purported to be his friends, it is no wonder that Job retorted:

“I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.” (Job 16:2 )

This is salutary lesson to all of us, be careful before ever judging a situation!

Nevertheless, Job in his reaction to the accusations of his friends - over compensates by protesting his innocence in a way that was improper, even tainted with pride.

“Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.” (Job 31:4-8)

Job, therefore, held onto the idea, perpetrated by his fiends that terrible events occurred because of sin - therefore he  held himself up and declared that he hadn’t sinned.  While it is wrong to be harsh on a man who was in such a dark place, yet there was something missing in his language.  Job was in effect questioning God in protesting his innocence, therefore failing to recognise the wickedness of his own heart, a fact that is true of all of us.

Therefore, there a need for someone else to enter the conversation.

From Chapters 32 - 37 a younger man called Elihu, who had been sitting silently listening in, entered the discussion.  He was frustrated by all 4 older men, and their failures to assess the situation aright.

“Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.” (Job 32:9).

Elihu’s purpose was to show these men the absolute sovereignty God.  The tragedies of Job, rather than being linked to his sin, must be attributed solely to the hand of providence which no man can challenge.

 “Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.”  (Job 33:13)

In this, Elihu certainly was a greater help to Job, than any of his friends.  The younger man was much wiser than his seniors in this regard.

The progress of this conversation, warns us not to declare with certainty why God acts in a  certain way or why he permits particular events to unfold.  Ultimately the mysteries of providence are veiled in secrecy.

“God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform”

After men have had their say, God must have the final word.  Chapters 38 - 42 contain God’s conversation with Job as an individual.  God must have the final say.  Our thoughts and ideas must be subservient to the thinking of the Almighty.  We need an ear for His voice.  When God speaks our sins are uncovered and our wrongs are put to right.

God in the Whirlwind; Job’s Experience with God

Job 38:1

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind...”

1:  His Presence in the Whirlwind

The whirlwind is a fearful natural phenomenon, that uproots, devastate and can kill.  As Job and his companions, who now numbered 3, a watched the cloud of swirling dust moving in from the wilderness, they were to learn that the presence of God was in the whirlwind.

The whirlwind, was a fitting emblem of all Job’s calamities.  The failure of his business, the loss of his children, the deterioration of his health, the abandonment of his wife, the accusations of his friends, the depression of mind, the confusion of his soul - was an awesome whirlwind of turmoil and upheaval.

Yet in a very visual way God was showing Job that He was in the whirlwind.  Job was not abandoned.

When we face our whirlwinds sorrow and suffering let us remember that God’s presence is in the storm , even though we fail to recognise Him.

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a smiling providence

He hides a smiling face”.

2:  His Voice in the Whirlwind

Ultimately God revealed His presence by speaking.  This is how God continues to reveal Himself to us...by speaking.  Without His voice we never could be aware of His presence.  It is His voice in His Word that makes us so sure that we will never will be left alone ( Hebrews 13:5), that He is present to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord (Romans 8:28).

But when the whirlwind comes, His voice is heard in a clearer way.  He brings the whirlwind to teach us new lessons about Himself.  The whirlwind is has an awesome sound, of deafening wind.  But God’s voice is heard above the storm.

In these days, of disease, of death and of confusion let us listen out for the voice of God above the storm.  He has words for us that we would not hear, were it not for the experience of this pandemic.

The message God had for Job, echoed the sentiments of Elihu.  This is the same message we need to hear and appreciate today; He has laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4) and as a result every aspect of the natural world is under His control.  A close study of these chapters will reveal a God who in absolute control.

As God spoke out of the whirlwind - this was the message Job heard.

Let us as God’s redeemed children, hear this same message today.

Job 3; Job’s Trust in a Sovereign God

 THE GOD OF ALL GRACE IN THE LIFE OF JOB

Part 3 – I Shall Come Forth As Gold; Job’s Trust in a Sovereign God

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10)

This third key text highlights another of Job’s famous, and comforting utterances. We must remember that all of these statements were made in a terrible time of personal calamity and as such they console and inspire us during these difficult times.

Text 1
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord; Job’s Confession of Faith
“ And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:2).

Text 2
My Redeemer Liveth; Job’s Hope in Christ.                                                                                               “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth”(Job 19:25)

Where the last study focused upon Job’s eternal ambitions for resurrection and glory, this text will examine Job’s optimism for the life that he was currently living.

It seemed that with a broken heart, a ruined business, a loveless marriage and surrounded by friends who misjudged and misrepresented him Job didn’t have much to live for.

There were times when Job emotionally and spiritually saw nothing but the darkness of the night, to the extent that he even wished he never had been born:

“Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived” (Job 3:3)

“Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” (Job 3:11)

“For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” (Job 3:25)

As he medicated upon God and His providential dealings, Job became increasingly convinced that God was going to bring good out the tragedies and catastrophies that had befallen him.

Every Christian will identify with the roller coaster of emotion that Job was hurtling along, even though our experience may not be as severe. There are the lows and the highs. Naturally we look around and we cannot see good but yet we know our Father has planned all things and that they will work out for His glory and our good.

On this account Job’s words are such a blessing – we shall come out of the fire shining and glittering as gold.

I Shall Come Forth As Gold; Job’s Trust in a Sovereign God

1: Gold Exposed to the Fire

The substance that is exposed to the fire is the most precious of all metals. Indeed, the very reason why the refiner will spend time and effort exposing the gold to the flames, is because of its high worth.

Gold, therefore, is a picture of the Christian. This may not be the perception that society has of the church and we often fail to view ourselves in this way; BUT from from the standpoint of eternity God sees His people as gold.

The breastplate of the Hebrew High Priest was dominated by 12 precious stones, each of which represented the twelve tribes of Israel. Each of these stones were set in gold (Exodus 28:20).

Gold represents wealth and royalty. The rich travellers from the east brought a gift of gold to the child Jesus, because he was a King. For God to view His people as gold, emphasises our unity with Jesus Christ, in His resurrection and righteousness. It also teaches us that as His people we will always be precious in His sight.

While the Church is in the world, however, we are the raw material. The refiner invests time exposing the gold to the furnace because it is not the finished product, impurities must be burnt off that the gold will be valued according to its full potential.

Therefore, God has a purpose in taking His people through the fire. We possess the impurities of sin which must be erased. God is the refiner, controlling the heat of the furnace, carefully watching over His precious people as he purifies us through affliction.

As his life spiralled out of his control Job logically found it difficult to see the hand of God:

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:” (Job 23:9-10).

While he didn’t feel that the Lord was there, spiritually he knew that the Lord was there. Therefore, in the darkness of sorrow and confusion he cried out:

“But he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me…”

The one who knew his path, had planned his path. Whatever had been happening as the bandits stole his livestock and murdered his servants, as nature collapsed his eldest son’s home and as his health deteriorated – Job knew that God had never lost control of the situation. Indeed – positively God was working out a spiritual purpose in his life through the trials.

While we may not always, understand our trials, we know that God is using them to bring rich blessings into our lives. However, we feel, we know that He is in control. This reminds me so much of a Christian song which was very popular a number of years ago:

“He’s still working on me To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be ‘

‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me

He’s still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me

There really ought to be a sign upon my heart

Don’t judge him yet, there’s an unfinished part

But I’ll be better just according to His plan

Fashioned by the Master’s loving hands

He’s still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me

In the mirror of His word

Reflections that I see

Makes me wonder why

He never gave up on me

But He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray

Remember He’s the potter,

I’m the clay He’s still working on me

He’s still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me

2: Gold Purified through the Fire

The refiner does not expose the gold to the flames to destroy it. The gold cannot be destroyed by the flames. There is only one prospect for the gold in the furnace – IMPROVEMENT.

Afflictions, therefore, play a part in God’s sanctifying influences.

Writing to Jewish Christians, who had been ostricised by family members and were now facing persecution by Roman authorities, Paul comforted them with this very truth, that they grow spiritually in adversity.

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb 12:1).

Paul, himself, testified to receiving blessing from the rod of God. He even admitted that the thorn in the flesh, which caused him such misery, was used to burn off the dross of pride. Therefore the thorn, which must have been so debilitating, made him stronger spiritually and certainly gave him a remarkable experience of sustaining grace.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2nd Corinthians 12:7-9).

The prophet Malachi, is given a vision of the Lord as a refiner:
“And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:3).

The refiner would sit with the molten silver or gold and carefully remove all the dross, until he could see his own reflection in the shimmering liquid. In a similar way, God was working on Israel, through many trials, purging them, so that they would bring their offerings to Him. Then His glory would be revealed through them.

In Romans 8, Paul defines the “good” that God works out through every situation in the lives of his people as being conformity to Christ:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:28-29).

In our selfish and materialistic way, we want to define good according to our terms. But God’s definition of good is different – He is in the business of strengthening the spirit, improving the inward man, in glorifying Christ through us. He wants us to see the reflection of His Son in our characters. This is the goal and what an incredible and majestic end this is!

In these days of isolation and uncertainty let us learn these lessons from providence.

That God is in control, not just as a Creator but as our gracious Heavenly Father.

That the trial will never be greater than the sustaining power of His grace.

That we are not passive instruments in His work of purifying.

Where there is grace, there is a response. Grace helps us to pray more fervently, study more intensely and above all to yield with greater meekness as we pursue the reflection of Christ in our characters.

Oh that we would come forth like gold!

Job 2; Job’s Hope in Christ

 THE GOD OF ALL GRACE IN THE LIFE OF JOB

Part 2 - My Redeemer Liveth; Job’s Hope in Christ

The first key text we looked at in the life of Job was one of resigned sorrow; a man consumed with terrible pain clinging onto His God in the darkness of the night:

“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” ( Job 1:21).

He now rises like a bird above the waves of agony which engulfed His mind and soul.  His vision is sharpened with prophetic insight.  The doom and gloom seems to vanish in the light of the glory yet to be revealed as he boldly declares:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

It seems that God comforted His suffering servant by giving Job a glimpse of a glorious and happy future, which was unique in the experience of the Old Testament saints.  This is an example of Paul’s teaching:

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

(2nd Corinthians 4:16-18).

Job was strengthened in soul through seeing by faith the eternal weight of glory which make even his extreme brokenness fade away as an irrelevance.  A view of eternity is the great hope for the child of God.  Our Heavenly Father has His own precious ways of giving us renewed hope in hours of earthly trial.  He is truthfully the God of all grace.

Job’s hope is the same as the hope that we presently enjoy.  This hope principally is fixed upon a person.  The one whom described as His Redeemer, we know to be Christ:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

1:  Belief in a Redeemer

It is evident that Job was comforted with the assurance that He had a personal Redeemer:

“I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

This key statement contains four key words:

“Know” - The word of ASSURANCE

“My” - The word of POSSESSION

“Redeemer” - The word of DELIVERANCE

“liveth” - The word of OPTIMISM

The Hebrew word employed for Redeemer is ‘goel’ and gives us an insight into the identity of this person who gave Job such optimistic confidence.  The word literally means ‘one with the right to redeem on account of being a kinsman’.

Under the law in the Old Testament:

A slave could be redeemed by the ransom paid by a kinsman (Leviticus 25:48-49).

Land could be redeemed by a kinsman, land which had been sold off and lost to the family (Leviticus 25:25).

A widow could be redeemed by a kinsman of her husband’s, who would marry her (Leviticus 25:5).

The famous example of these liberating practices in found in the book of Ruth where Ruth and Naomi are redeemed from penury and childlessness by Boaz who married Ruth In so doing  he secured property that was lost and a family was raised up, thus preserving the family line of Elimelech, which had died off in Moab.  This not only preserved Elimilech’s lineage, but more than that, was the chosen family out of which Messiah would come.

There is so much in this word ‘goel’ and the surrounding practices, which show us Christ:

He is our kinsman, having become flesh and blood.

He redeems those who are slaves of sin.

He redeems those who have lost their entitlement to eternal life.

He redeems those who are labouring under sorrow and death by making them his bride; He marries sinners and gives them new life as Boaz married Ruth.

The price He paid he was not in shekels or any other currency but in the blood shed on Calvary which Peter described:

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1st Peter 1:18-21).

Job, by faith, saw this Redeemer in His glory, anticipating that a price would be paid for his redemption, a redemption that had already been prefigured  by God in the chambers of eternal providence.

Yet, remarkably Job knew his ‘goel’ prior to the law of Moses and the establishing of Israel as a kingdom of priests.  He offered sacrifices, something that was forbidden after the establishing of the priesthood under Aaron, indicating that he belonged to ancient time; possibly a contemporary of Abraham.  

How then did Job know about his kinsman Redeemer?  Job’s knowledge was rooted in the promise made in Eden that one born of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, bruising His own heel in the process.  This was the one ray hope amid the darkness of Eden’s failure; a message of hope that echoed down the corridors of time - the Redeemer would come!

In our days of darkness and sorrow, in a world that suffers the effects of sin’s dreadful curse, we look not back but forward to our kinsman who has already come, our personal Redeemer, with whom we are intimately acquainted.  Our confidence rests in Him.

2:  Belief in Redemption

Logically, if Job believed in a Redeemer, then he also believed in redemption.

What did redemption mean to Job?

Redemption in the Old Testament, was about securing that which was lost, as a result of a price that was paid.  

Job had lost ever so much; his business, servants, family, the love of his wife and the respect of his friends.

Yet now in this dark hour he anticipated redemption by one who was able to grant him recovery.  He bound up in the prison house of despair but freedom beckoned through his own personal Redeemer.

Isaiah had this thought in mind as he prophesied of the coming of Christ, the Redeemer who would stand upon the earth:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.” (Isaiah 61:1-4).

The meek hear the good news, the broken-hearted are healed, the captives are liberated, the mourners are made joyful and desolate cities are restored to their former glory.   All this is achieved by the one who would come in the fullness of the Spirit, Christ our Redeemer.

This is a constant encouragement to every child of God because whatever we seem to have lost on this earth, we have not really lost - because no-one who is redeemed can ever be a loser.  

“Blessings abound where’er He reigns;

The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;

The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

Where He displays His healing power,

Death and the curse are known no more:

In Him the tribes of Adam boast

More blessings than their father lost.”

Isaac Watts

3:  Belief in Resurrection

Job’s faith in his Redeemer, was by no means limited to this world and all he had lost.  Ultimately, Job like the travellers in Pilgrim’s Progress who caught a glimpse of the Celestial City from afar, saw the brightness of the dawning eternal day.

He believed that His Redeemer would stand upon the earth at the last day, an event that we describe as the Second Coming of Christ.  Job was realistic in his knowledge that he would be dust before this day, but he knew that the clay vessel would be restored in life.  Job in suffering the onslaught of death and pain believed that his redemption meant resurrection!

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:26-27).

Job’s faith led him through the millennia that stretched before him and the world to the day that John also, foresaw - when God’s people would see the face of Christ.  Job was not motivated by seeing his loved ones, the gates of pearl, the streets of golf and a city bathed in everlasting light.  He had one desire - to see his Redeemer.

Job had requested that these very words be engraved into the rock with an iron pen, and set in lead, as an everlasting memorial:

“Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!  That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!” (Job 19:23-24).

Some believe that he was referring to the custom of engraving words into stone at grave or a tomb.  If so he was referring to his own grave.  He wanted the world to know that if he died a pauper, as a consequence of this horrible trial that the end had not come - he would live again when the Redeemer came to claim the body that had long since been destroyed by the flesh eating worms.  That failure was not the end.  Eternal glory awaited.

Redemption for the Christian means not only, the salvation of the soul but the resurrection of the body also.  Believers who have been taken home to glory as a result of this pandemic have been buried without the normal dignity that we give to the dead.  But none of this matters, in the light of eternity.  The coffin will be burst asunder, the body will rise without disease and will meet the the Lord in the air.  What a gathering that will be!  The eternal state will dawn.  Death and the curse will be no more.

What blessed words these are for this hard time:

MY REDEEMER LIVETH