Restored

Lessons in Job: Restored Job 42:7-17 | March 24, 2024 Everyone loves a happy ending. Gabrielle watches a lot of Disney movies. Not the classics like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast, but the "new? classics," like Frozen and Tangled. Classic or otherwise, so many of these stories end with a "happily ever after." They're called fairy tales for a reason, aren't they? We all know that our stories don't always end like that. But as we'll see in our final text this morning in our sermon series in Job, the Lord decided to write a "happily ever after" ending in Job's story. I think most people are familiar with the story of Job, so I suspect I didn't spoil anything for anyone. In our sermon series, we've done a survey of this great book. I would say that one of the lessons we've learned to this point is that God is always sovereign, and because of that, learning to trust God in the seasons of suffering is critical to getting through them. In this final passage, we'll see a bit of a progression in Job's restoration. Since our passage is significantly shorter than the previous ones, we'll read the whole passage to start. Follow along as I read Job 42:7-17: 7 AFTER THE LORD HAD SPOKEN THESE WORDS TO JOB, THE LORD SAID TO ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE: "MY ANGER BURNS AGAINST YOU AND AGAINST YOUR TWO FRIENDS, FOR YOU HAVE NOT SPOKEN OF ME WHAT IS RIGHT, AS MY SERVANT JOB HAS. 8 NOW THEREFORE TAKE SEVEN BULLS AND SEVEN RAMS AND GO TO MY SERVANT JOB AND OFFER UP A BURNT OFFERING FOR YOURSELVES. AND MY SERVANT JOB SHALL PRAY FOR YOU, FOR I WILL ACCEPT HIS PRAYER NOT TO DEAL WITH YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR FOLLY. FOR YOU HAVE NOT SPOKEN OF ME WHAT IS RIGHT, AS MY SERVANT JOB HAS." 9 SO ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE AND BILDAD THE SHUHITE AND ZOPHAR THE NAAMATHITE WENT AND DID WHAT THE LORD HAD TOLD THEM, AND THE LORD ACCEPTED JOB'S PRAYER. 10 AND THE LORD RESTORED THE FORTUNES OF JOB, WHEN HE HAD PRAYED FOR HIS FRIENDS. AND THE LORD GAVE JOB TWICE AS MUCH AS HE HAD BEFORE. 11 THEN CAME TO HIM ALL HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND ALL WHO HAD KNOWN HIM BEFORE, AND ATE BREAD WITH HIM IN HIS HOUSE. AND THEY SHOWED HIM SYMPATHY AND COMFORTED HIM FOR ALL THE EVIL THAT THE LORD HAD BROUGHT UPON HIM. AND EACH OF THEM GAVE HIM A PIECE OF MONEY AND A RING OF GOLD. 12 AND THE LORD BLESSED THE LATTER DAYS OF JOB MORE THAN HIS BEGINNING. AND HE HAD 14,000 SHEEP, 6,000 CAMELS, 1,000 YOKE OF OXEN, AND 1,000 FEMALE DONKEYS. 13 HE HAD ALSO SEVEN SONS AND THREE DAUGHTERS. 14 AND HE CALLED THE NAME OF THE FIRST DAUGHTER JEMIMAH, AND THE NAME OF THE SECOND KEZIAH, AND THE NAME OF THE THIRD KEREN-HAPPUCH. 15 AND IN ALL THE LAND THERE WERE NO WOMEN SO BEAUTIFUL AS JOB'S DAUGHTERS. AND THEIR FATHER GAVE THEM AN INHERITANCE AMONG THEIR BROTHERS. 16 AND AFTER THIS JOB LIVED 140 YEARS, AND SAW HIS SONS, AND HIS SONS' SONS, FOUR GENERATIONS. 17 AND JOB DIED, AN OLD MAN, AND FULL OF DAYS. I want to begin with a warning. Here's how Wiersbe put it: "We must not misinterpret this final chapter and conclude that every trial will end with all problems solved, all hard feelings forgiven, and everybody "living happily ever after." It just doesn't always happen that way! This chapter assures us that, no matter what happens to us, God always writes the last chapter. Therefore, we don't have to be afraid. We can trust God to do what is right, no matter how painful our situation might be." So, what's the main idea of our passage today? A restored relationship with God begins with recognizing God's greatness with humility and repentance. Recall, one of the purposes of Job's suffering was to know God through a personal encounter with Him. Let's break down this main idea. Note that this passage addresses two things. * A REBUKE (vv. 7-9) Why [the rebuke]? o Twice, the Lord states that they have not spoken of God correctly. o Did you notice that Elihu was not rebuked here? Why? Well, I think it is safe to conclude that Elihu's words were accepted by God, while the three friends were not. o But, what about Job? Well, one could argue that he was already rebuked in chapters 38-41, but something changed at the beginning of chapter 42, didn't it? o Job repented from his sin. He became broken and humble, and through that personal encounter with the Lord, he was restored. o In the large section of chapters 3-31, we saw the cycle of debate and discussion between Job and his friends. There, we determined that the biggest folly to the friend's argument was, what we would consider to be, retribution theology. Or, how we defined the theology of Eliphaz a few weeks ago, that: "trouble comes to those who sin, but the innocent do not perish. Suffering is the result of sin, and prosperity is the result of righteousness." o And recall, we know that this was not the reason that Job was suffering, because of what we know from chapters 1-2. o So, they relied on their own understanding of God, instead of relying on God's revelation of Himself. o So, in this rebuke, the Lord has both the friends, and Job take action. The first action is for ... * The friends make a burnt offering for their sins. The offering served two purposes: o Atonement with God o A reminder to us that a wrong towards another is a sin against God. Recall David's words in Psalm 51:4: AGAINST YOU, YOU ONLY, HAVE I SINNED AND DONE WHAT IS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT, * Next, we see ... * Job prays for his friends. * I can't help but think of the passages that command us to pray for those who wrong us. * I think it's interesting that Job was tasked with praying for his friends. You'd think it would be other way around. * I was reminded this week that Job was still sick. Nowhere in the text do we hear that Job was healed from his conditions. Rather, in his sufferings, he intercedes for his friends, and his physical losses are restored. * But Jesus also tells us in Matthew 6:14-15: 14 FOR IF YOU FORGIVE OTHERS THEIR TRESPASSES, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU, 15 BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS THEIR TRESPASSES, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES. * So, that may have been part of the reason why Job had to pray for them, as part of his restoration process. * Here is what one commentator said about this: By interceding for his friends, Job images the character of the Lord (e.g., slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and mercy) and embodies the very mercy he himself had received. o The second part of this passage discusses ... * JOB'S RESTORATION (vv. 10-17) o It's through God's blessings to Job that help us to understand what the purpose of the sufferings of Job. o We've said it before, but it's worth repeating. o The purpose of this book is not suffering. o It's not about where God is during the hurting, rather where am I during the hurting. How do I respond? How do I seek to understand God's purpose in this? How do I go about accepting and trusting God's purpose for us? o It's about our relationship with God. o Worshiping Him, no matter the circumstances. o Having confident faith, no matter how much it hurts. o Recognizing God's sovereignty in and over my life. o For Job, part of the purpose was physical restoration, but it was more about his relationship with the Lord being restored. o Our text tells us that Job was doubly blessed with all that he lost. o Effectively, Job was able to start all over again, sort of like being "born again." o Job's restoration, his new life, began once he surrendered to God, which followed his repentant heart from verses 1-6. o I've said this before, but I love this part. Job never asked for all of his possessions to be restored, let alone doubled, he only asked for God's answers and God's presence. o What is that called? Grace. o It's no coincidence that we opened our year in a series on God's grace, and we close this section of Scripture on God's grace. o Next week, we see grace played out in the most loving way, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who also suffered on our behalf. Then ... we get into the book of Ephesians, where Paul speaks more on the grace of God. o Even the act of restoration is an act of grace, because just like Job, we have done nothing to earn it. So, we can still say, as we did earlier in our main idea: A restored relationship with God begins with recognizing God's greatness with humility and repentance. So, I want to close our series in Job by looking at the whole book, and namely: THE MESSAGE OF JOB: I'm borrowing this from author and theology professor Layton Talbert, who brings us four thematic messages from Job. First ... * Believe Him implicitly, with or without proof, because He has spoken. o This draws us to return to the ongoing theme of God's sovereignty. o Verse 11 alludes to all that Job had to suffer through. And, if you read the devotional this week, Pat was sure to point out that the word "evil" there refers to disaster and harm, or "bad" in a nonmoral sense. o This shows that God alone determines the outcome. o He effectively made this promise about Job to Satan back in chapters 1-2, and because He spoke it, we can be assured that He will do it. o Next, * Trust Him submissively, with or without understanding, because He is sovereign and good. o While it took Job awhile to accept this, we only need to return to verse 2 to see that he did. Job, in his response to the Lord says, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS, AND THAT NO PURPOSE OF YOURS CAN BE THWARTED. o Again, Job never received the answer to his question of "why." Rather, he learned to submit, knowing that God is sovereign and good. o I was doing some reading this week, and the author reminded me that even with the Bible in hand, we still do not know everything we need to know about God. One example he cited were from the words of John about Jesus' miracles. Here's what he said in John 21:25, NOW THERE ARE ALSO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT JESUS DID. WERE EVERY ONE OF THEM TO BE WRITTEN, I SUPPOSE THAT THE WORLD ITSELF COULD NOT CONTAIN THE BOOKS THAT WOULD BE WRITTEN. o You see, we don't have or know everything! So, we must learn to trust God in the work that He is doing. o Then, * Worship Him reverently, with or without reward, because He is worthy. o This might be one of the more difficult ones to follow. o In the example of Job, everything turns out amazingly. o He has double the livestock that he had previously, which we determined weeks ago, makes him a very wealthy man. o He had ten more children. o And he lived another 140 years. o That very last verse, verse 17, isn't just a footnote where the writer says: AND JOB DIED, AN OLD MAN, AND FULL OF DAYS o That Job dies "full of days" indicates that he was satisfied with his life. o As we alluded to earlier, he got to experience a new life, life after death, if you will. By grace, through faith. o But the reward is different for each of us. The results will be different for each of us. Not all of us will receive the blessings like Job. In fact, here's what famous preacher CH Spurgeon said: "We are not all like Job, but we all have Job's God. Though we have neither risen to Job's wealth, nor will, probably, ever sink to Job's poverty, yet there is the same God above us if we be high, and the same God with his everlasting arms beneath us if we be brought low; and what the Lord did for Job he will do for us, not precisely in the same form, but in the same spirit, and with like design." o Finally, * Wait for Him patiently, with or without reprieve, because He will come. o This lesson actually comes from James 5:7-11 (specifically verse 11), where we read James' summary of the book of Job: 7 BE PATIENT, THEREFORE, BROTHERS, UNTIL THE COMING OF THE LORD. SEE HOW THE FARMER WAITS FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUIT OF THE EARTH, BEING PATIENT ABOUT IT, UNTIL IT RECEIVES THE EARLY AND THE LATE RAINS. 8 YOU ALSO, BE PATIENT. ESTABLISH YOUR HEARTS, FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD IS AT HAND. 9 DO NOT GRUMBLE AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, BROTHERS, SO THAT YOU MAY NOT BE JUDGED; BEHOLD, THE JUDGE IS STANDING AT THE DOOR. 10 AS AN EXAMPLE OF SUFFERING AND PATIENCE, BROTHERS, TAKE THE PROPHETS WHO SPOKE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. 11 BEHOLD, WE CONSIDER THOSE BLESSED WHO REMAINED STEADFAST. YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE STEADFASTNESS OF JOB, AND YOU HAVE SEEN THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD, HOW THE LORD IS COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL. o James understood the patience of Job, but more so, the grace of God. o This part of the book of Job is considered the epilogue. The epilogue serves as a conclusion of the story. Here, God closes the story on Job. Let me say it again. God closes the story. No matter what God permits or allows in our lives, He always writes the epilogue, the last chapter, the last word on our lives. If you believe this, then it's all worth it in the end. So, we must be patient in and through the trials. o Job waited a long, long time for God to respond, but He did. o They waited a long, long time for the First Coming of Christ, but He came. o Today, we wait for the Second Coming of Christ. Be patient, He will come. That's the hope that we have today. Personally, I've thoroughly enjoyed studying and teaching through Job. While Job's story ended with a happily ever after, I know that many stories do not. I don't know why some must endure suffering, and others don't. I don't know why some seem to skate through life, while others tumble. Like Spurgeon stated earlier, "we are not all like Job, but we all have Job's God." The Gospel never promises to take the suffering away, but it promises eternal life in Christ Jesus to those who believe. I'll close with this. The Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh. We don't know what his thorn was, but we do know that it affected him greatly. Paul says this about that thorn in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10: 8 THREE TIMES I PLEADED WITH THE LORD ABOUT THIS, THAT IT SHOULD LEAVE ME. 9 BUT HE SAID TO ME, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS." THEREFORE I WILL BOAST ALL THE MORE GLADLY OF MY WEAKNESSES, SO THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST MAY REST UPON ME. 10 FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST, THEN, I AM CONTENT WITH WEAKNESSES, INSULTS, HARDSHIPS, PERSECUTIONS, AND CALAMITIES. FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG. Is God's grace sufficient for you? Let's pray. 2