Instruction, discipline and divine blessing

Instruction, Discipline, and Divine Blessing
Job 42
“Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
It is not wrong to have questions and doubts, but it is wrong to distort God. The last chapter of the book of Job provides us with the conclusion and insight into the discussion between Job and his friends. Four essential lessons are revealed in this final chapter that give us the point of the story. First, to understand suffering, we need to focus on “who” rather than “why.”  Job was not wrong to question God. Even though Job had deeply questioned God and God’s purpose in his suffering, in the end, he remained innocent of sin. The problem of Job was not sin; it was a failure to grasp the infinite nature of God fully. Even though Job struggled to understand God’s purpose in his suffering, he remained steadfast in his faith. Throughout the story, Job had continually asked, “Why?”  In the end, Job learned that we may never know why, but through our suffering, we can gain a deeper understanding of God as we maintain our trust in Him. Job’s struggle was not a sin; it was a failure to grasp the infinite nature of God fully.
Second, in our interaction with people, God holds us accountable when we distort or speak presumptuously about God. In a remarkable turn of events, God does not condemn, but he condemns the actions of Job’s friends. In their speaking, they did not speak what was right. In other words, they did not speak what is true. Questioning God is not sin, but when we distort God, when we misrepresent God, then God holds us accountable.   We must always guard what we say about God and when we speak to others about God. If we distort his character and misrepresent God, it is sin and requires repentance. While they had criticized Job for his folly in questioning God in his suffering, God condemns them for their folly in presuming to speak for God. James 3:1 warns us that when we teach others, when we speak for God and instruct others about God, he holds us accountable for any misrepresentation of him. God accepts that we will struggle to understand his purposes and plans fully, but he will not tolerate when we distort his character.
Third, we see the value of community. While Job lost all his possessions, he did not lose his friends. In chapter 42, we see the value and importance of friends during times of adversity. We see that God blesses obedience, and he restores us when we seek him. In restoring Job’s fortune, God used his family and friends as they came to console and comfort him, for each of them assisted Job financially by giving him money and gold. When others are going through adversity, we become the vessel that God uses to help relieve their suffering and comfort them.
Last, we find that God richly blesses and restores the fortune of Job. God brings suffering into our lives to teach us and others through us, but he never abandons us. In a remarkable turn of events, God doubles all his wealth. In verse 10, we read that God doubled all that he had lost. However, we are immediately struck by a cul-de-sac. We see him double all that he had, but he only restores his family with the same number of children. Or does he? If we look closely, we discover that God did indeed double his children. While all his animals were gone, God gave Job double of what he had lost. However, with his children, even though they had died, in reality, they were not lost. God did not give him 20 children, for in fact, his 10 children were not lost; they were still alive in heaven. IN Job 19:25-27, Job had affirmed the resurrection. So when Job gave him 10 more children, he doubled his family, for his first 10 children were still alive, albeit now in heaven. Subtly, Job points us to the hope of the resurrection and the promise that our ultimate blessing is still future.
While God brings adversity into our lives, he does so with a purpose. Even though we may not understand that reason in the present, the book of Job reminds us that when we still place our trust in him, there is restoration. It may come in the present, or it may come in eternity, but it will come! Thus, when we are going through adversity, when we suffer the loss of loved ones who died in Christ, we know that restoration is coming. The trials are temporary, but the blessings are eternal.