Lessons From The Book Of Job
Feature 4 – October 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine
Lessons From
The Book Of Job
The book of Job is centered on the experience of a believer named Job. He lived long ago, and what he experienced is still important even for us in our day.
Some suggest that Job lived around the same time as Abraham. This is based on what is and what is not mentioned in the book. His life span was at least 140 years (Job 42:16 NKJV), and perhaps even longer than this since the verse suggests “after this.” His age length is in keeping with the time of Abraham, who lived 175 years (Gen. 25:7). The patriarchal role of Job as the father of the family is also seen throughout the book of Genesis, starting with Abraham. Job knew about Adam (Job 31:33) and the flood during Noah’s life (12:15), but at the same time there is no mention of the law of Moses, which suggests that Job lived prior to Moses just as Abraham did.
Much attention is given to the suffering of Job, which we can say shows that bad things can happen to good people. However, this is not the only lesson of the book, nor is the purpose of the book to help us understand such events. In fact, Job never received an answer as to why he suffered so much.
The readers of Job are given divine insight as to what led up to Job’s experiences. Job was not aware, nor ever became aware, of what was going on behind the scenes – things he, his wife and friends could not physically see. From the discussion between God and Satan, who is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), we know that there is a spiritual dynamic going on that has a deep meaning. It explains for us why Job went through the trial he did. With that being said, let us consider together a few of the many lessons from this book.
Spiritual Warfare
At the beginning of the record we are told that Job was a unique man. He was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Job was considered to be “the greatest of all the people of the East” (v.3). He had ten children – seven sons and three daughters – and enormous wealth: 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys. Also, he had a large number of people who worked for him – his household – to care for his possessions and to work the land. In addition, Job would worship God with ten burnt offerings, one offering for each of his children, to appease God in case they had sinned (v.5).
God was pleased with Job and spoke well of him to Satan (v.8). It was at this moment that Satan accused Job of not having real faith. Satan said that if Job lost his blessings, Job would no longer believe or follow God, saying he was only being faithful because God had blessed him. Satan suggested that if God would take away the blessings, then Job would no longer trust in God. He would give up his faith in God. What a wicked accusation!
Satan continues to accuse believers today. He accuses us of things we have done and suggests how we might sin. He also accuses us of doing sinful things which we have not even done. What evil! Truly “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). For this reason we must take up the whole armor of God to withstand the enemy in the evil day.
The lesson from this observation is that when we go through trials, there is a spiritual battle going on that our eyes cannot see. Satan and his fallen angels are trying to ruin our lives as believers so we will no longer be effective ambassadors for Christ. Satan can’t take away our salvation, but if allowed he can harass us believers and bring much sorrow into our lives to discourage us from being faithful. Let us ask the Lord to help us through our trials and to put a hedge around us from the evil that Satan would cast upon us. We read in 1 John 4:4 that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” May we cast our cares upon the Lord, as we are encouraged to do in 1 Peter 5:7, knowing that He cares for us. “Resist the Devil” as well (Jas. 4:7), who walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
Test The Spirits
In Job’s time, before the Word of God was fully given, God spoke occasionally in dreams and visions. This form of communication was needful, since not everything had been revealed by the written Word. Now we have the completed Word of God, through which we know God’s will and purposes. Yet, we can learn valuable lessons from Job’s friends.
For example, Eliphaz, the first friend to speak in the story, received a vision (Job 4:12-21). He explained that a spirit had passed by him in the night and brought him much fear. The message of the spirit was that God judges His creatures, both angels and mankind. God’s severe judgments must indicate that our trials are only due to our sins, which we must confess and ask for forgiveness. Eliphaz spoke to Job by the authority of that spirit’s night visit. The conclusion that Eliphaz made of the message was that Job must have done something wrong in order to experience such a deep trial, and that Job needed to confess his sin before God.
Later, in Job 33:14-18, Elihu, the youngest and fourth friend of Job, described how God would speak in dreams and visions. Elihu’s thinking was that these messages must be true because of how the message was sent. Therefore, he reasoned that God must be the author of such communications.
When we feel we are being given instruction from God, we need to be mindful of this exhortation: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). We must compare what we hear or see with what God has already revealed in His Word. If they are not the same, then the new message is false and should not be considered as coming from God. We need discernment, especially in these last days when there are so many voices and much false teaching. May we be students of God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15) and search the Scriptures like those in Berea (Acts 17:10-11) to confirm what is of God and what is not.
Humility
Family, friends, workmates and others all go about their daily lives with little to no thought about helping us to become and remain humble. Often we are not concerned about our own humility and becoming more humble. But there is One who does care about this important attribute to be displayed in the believer’s life: God. He cares about our being humble and becoming even more humble as we grow into spiritual maturity.
Consider the whole story of Job’s experience. While we may wonder why this suffering happened, there is one thing we can be certain about: God had a purpose for all Job experienced. Sometimes He has more than one purpose. God, most of all, wanted to make Job humble and help him reach greater levels of humility in his character. This would please God very much, and it is only through such difficult trials that this character building can be accomplished. Humility in us reveals to others the blessed Lord Jesus, who humbled Himself like no other (see Phil. 2:5-11).
Have you ever wondered why some devout Christians suffer greatly, whether physically, financially, through persecution or other ways? People at times suggest that the sufferer must have done something wrong to displease the Lord to cause their suffering. We know that God has many reasons for what happens to us, and if we know we have done something wrong, we need to confess it and get right with the Lord. When there has been nothing knowingly done that was displeasing to the Lord, we can still be sure that the Lord wants us to develop more humility.
The apostle Paul knew this from personal experience. He told of his entering Paradise and hearing things that cannot be expressed. After this experience, a “thorn in the flesh” was given to Paul (see 2 Cor. 12:7) to keep him humble. He stated, “…Lest I be exalted above measure.” How insightful. Paul understood God’s purpose for his suffering was to keep him humble. Even after Paul prayed three times to have the thorn removed, he accepted the Lord’s response that “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v.9).
Job proclaimed this same truth in slightly different words. He said, “He knows the way that I take, when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). God uses the fiery trials for our sanctification. Gold is purified by fire, and after it is melted the impurities are removed and the gold is purer. Job eventually understood that the testing he was experiencing was to remove the impurities of pride and display more of God’s character rather than his own. He said, “I know You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (42:2). Job had new insights about God and His ways with us. He came face to face with his Redeemer and acknowledged God’s greatness and his own littleness (vv.5-6).
Our Trials Impact Others
When there is an event or trial in the life of a believer, God may have in mind lessons for more than just that one person. Spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, coworkers, schoolmates and others may also be impacted by what we experience.
In the case of Job, after losing his children, household and possessions, he then suffered the loss of his health. The Lord allowed it, but Satan was the one who brought the trial. Job’s wife also went through the same trial with him, except for her health.
At first glance we may think that she was a bad person, for her words to her husband were, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (2:9). How could she justify such a suggestion? It was foolishness. But if we take a step back, we can consider what Job’s wife was also experiencing. After all, she also lost all ten of her children, the household and possessions. She then had to see all the physical suffering her dear, godly husband was experiencing. If we were in the same situation, we might reach a low spiritual condition and say the same words that she did. Surely, she loved her husband and hated to see him suffer so badly. Yet, she needed to learn to trust God more, and Job would help her do so through patience and example.
Job corrected her by telling her – not others – that she spoke as one of the foolish women. That indicates she rarely, if ever, spoke this way. Job seemed to understand her situation of shock and grief, and he showed compassion. We read that Job would not look with lust upon any other women (Job 31:1), for he honored his wife above all others. At the end of the story we have no reason not to believe that this same wife bore Job ten more children, as a testimony to God’s mercy and grace. She had suffered along with Job, and God replaced the loss in full to both of them! God is the blesser and loves to delight the hearts of His own.
Job’s friends are another group that were impacted by his trial. They came to comfort him. Initially they did well: for seven days they said nothing, simply sitting by his side in sympathy. Unfortunately, after the seven days they began to speak. In Job 3, we hear the voice of Job first, cursing the day of his birth (vv.3,16). Job was all about “Woe is me!”
The first friend to speak was Eliphaz. He urged Job to be humble and repent from his sin. The second friend was Bildad, who accused Job of opposing God. Finally, the third friend Zophar exhorted Job to get right with God. Job told them they were all wrong about him and that they were “miserable comforters” (16:2). This cycle of exhortation from Job’s friends followed by Job’s denials and justifications went on two more times.
Finally, the fourth and youngest friend, Elihu, spoke. He waited until the end. Elihu basically repeated what the other friends had said, and he was angry. Elihu’s anger is mentioned four times in Job (32:2-5), but God’s anger is only mentioned once in the book (42:7). Despite the flaws we may see, Elihu’s comments were distinct from those of the other three friends, for Elihu spoke correctly about God.
In Job 38 the LORD began to speak directly to Job. Later, God addressed the matter of Job’s three friends who spoke wrongly about Him. God required them to be restored to Himself through the intercession of Job. This would teach them to be humble and not to think of themselves better than their friend. They were instructed to bring sacrifices and ask Job to offer them up on their behalf (see 42:7-9). How humbling for them! In this we see that the trial and suffering of Job was used by God to teach others lessons about God’s mercy and grace, and to also help others become more humble, like His servant Job.
Trials Produce Blessings
It would be a mistake not to mention that God’s intent for Job was to bless him and the others in the end. Job and his wife ended up with more than they had when the trial began. They had ten more children – seven sons and three daughters, the same number they had at the beginning. These daughters were described as the most beautiful in all the land. In addition, we are given the daughters names, which have special meanings:
- Jemimah – means “handsome.”
- Keziah – means “fragrance.”
- Keren-Happuch – means “the horn of color” or “the colorful ray.”
Even their names were beautiful! Job gave each daughter an inheritance among their brothers.
The LORD also blessed Job and his wife with double the possessions that they had at the beginning. He received 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. How gracious, merciful and marvelous are the ways of our Lord! Looking at this story we should be encouraged to trust the Lord no matter what happens, knowing that He intends to bless us through it all. This is always God’s desire.
In Romans 8:28 we are told, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God’s intent with the blessings and the trials is to make each one of us more like His Son. That we become conformed to the image of His Son is the ultimate goal (v.29). He has promised this blessing to all who believe in Him. In addition, according to Hebrews 12:11, the discipline – trials and testing – of the Lord help produce the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” in the believer.
There are many other lessons from the book of Job that we have not considered. However, may the Lord bless these few that we have covered.
By Bill Kulkens
I gaze upon Thee, Lord of resurrection, and abhor myself! And is all that Thou art, mine? Thy beauty and Thy glory – the perfume of Thy holy person, all mine? Is all this the portion of every sinner saved by Thee? Yes, this is conversion! To let go all I am in death, and now to stand forever in the everlasting bloom, the freshness, the sweetness, the fair beauty of Thee, my risen Lord! —Charles Stanley, “Job’s Conversion” (adapted)