Read Job 42
Job
42 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
Go Deeper
We’ve finally reached the end of the book of Job! Chapter 42 brings us to the conclusion of one of the most unique books of the Bible. We’ve had a front row seat to a meeting between God and Satan where they agreed to Satan’s plan to tear down Job under the watchful care of God. We listened in on over 30 chapters of dialogue between Job and his four friends. We cringed as we read their horrific counsel. In Job 38-41, we watched closely as God lovingly rebuked Job and reminded him who is God and who is not.
Now we come to the end as Job responds one more time to God. Previously his ears had heard of God, but now he has finally seen Him (Job 42:5). Job repents of his pride and from the times when he demanded an answer from God. We can relate to Job in his questions throughout the book, but now we get to see how Job’s love and trust for the Lord have grown through his trials and challenges. All things considered, Job proved why he is called blameless and upright (Job 1).
In his book 30 Days to Growing Your Faith, Max Anders (paraphrasing Daniel Defoe and The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) says “God will often deliver us in a manner that seems, initially, to destroy us.” We have seen this play out with Job, have we not? It certainly appears that he is being destroyed, but ultimately God delivered him to a deeper intimacy with Himself through these very trials.
In the end, as Job dies as “an old man and full of years” (Job 42:17), he’s gone from knowing about God to actually knowing and seeing God. Would you be willing to do and undergo whatever it takes to say the same? Do you trust God to use your circumstances, both good and bad, to see, understand, and worship Him in deeper intimacy than ever before?
As we wrap up Job, let’s collectively thank God for this book and for the story and example of Job. God allowed a blameless and upright man to walk through unspeakably brutal trials for His own glory and for the good of Job. May God give us all this kind of faith!
Questions
- Do you trust God in both the good and bad times? Why or why not?
- Would it have been hard for you to pray for Job’s three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar)? Why or why not?
- How has God used trials and challenges in your life to better see Him (Job 42:5)?
Pray This
God,
Thank you for preserving the book of Job. Thank you for the lessons we’ve learned about trusting you and your sovereignty over everything that happens, both seen and unseen. Help us to see you fully, and that increasingly over our days our vision (of You) would improve. Help us to be blameless and upright like your servant Job, and even more so like your Son Jesus. Help us to trust you in the trials of life. Thank you that ‘you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’ Amen.
Help Us Brainstorm
We are trying to figure out what would make the BRP’s Rest Day (Sunday) entries more helpful and engaging. Maybe it’s a video, a podcast, a personal reflection…the options are endless!
Do you have an idea? If so, e-mail us at [email protected]. Thanks for helping us think!
Leave a Comment Below
Join the Team
Interested in writing for the Bible Reading Plan? Email [email protected].
8 responses to “Job 42”
Here is a BUT GOD moment in time.
We dont know the whole story and yet we give a verdict. I am so guilty of that. I hear some of the story and know what should happen or what I would do. Sometimes we can be right in that but most often we miss a many a mark. BUT GOD had a different ending to the story. Job did not give up. He had not sinned but still all this was happening to him. His friends thought he must be keeping something from them that he had done. Job still was in the middle of sores and hurts beyond my comprehension but he turns to God and repents for not fully trusting Him.
Without knowing the answers to why God let this bad thing happen to him, Job, repented. He turned to God without completely understanding. He let God be Lord of his life. Job did not know that God was going to restore to him all the things. Job just knew that he desired God over all things. Yes, he got all the things of this earth restored but more than that Job got a deeper relationship with God and he has all eternity to praise and worship God for all, woohoo!!
God thank You for BUT GOD moments in my life. Thank You for helping me to continue to listen with shema hearing into obedience. God Your ways are always so much better. Help me to surrender to You more and more of my life. Thank You for my focus being on You. Help me to stop to hear, listen to obedience and to speak with You and Your word coming out of my mouth. God I need help with memorization of Your word, and that I can also memorize the address of where it is in Your word and not just depend on google. God thank You for today , these minutes of this day that I can glorify and honor You better than I did yesterday. I repent of not being very Christ like with my words or actions. God please forgive me for not being a good example. Thank You for showing me and that I can learn from my mistakes. God thank You for Your son, thank You for all He accomplished for me to be Your child. God You are so good and I thank You for all You do for me. Thank You that I do not ever take that for granted today or any other day. God let all I do and say be a praise and honor to You in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amen!
My question was, “What about Elihu?” So, I went back and read Elihu’s words. What he stated about God was similar to what God says in chapter 38 and following. We have on right or need to question God because He is God the creator of all and in Him there is no darkness. Trust God, no matter what our finite brains are telling us because He, God, knows and desires goodness for us.
I had the same question.
In Job 42 we learn that true wisdom lies in humbling oneself before God’s incomprehensible power and love, trusting His sovereignty over our human understanding.
For Job, God’s restoration goes beyond replacing loss. It brings new beauty, new life and unexpected grace. Today I surrender all my misunderstandings of You, loving Father and I place my trust in You. In Jesus name, Amen
Job is a challenging book for me due to the many times I have responded to people much like Job’s friends.
V3 stood out to me, “Surely I spoke things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
My Bible has an application footnote to sum up the chapter: We cannot reduce God’s policies to a simple formula that fits our limited understanding.
I pray that I can remember that.
These lyrics kept circling through my head at the conclusion of Job:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
17 “And so Job died, an old man and full of years.”
As I have read Job over the years, I always feel a little empty. Although he was certainly blessed in his later years, certainly that couldn’t make up for the losses he suffered. But that’s my arithmetic, not God’s!
I have learned a lot through this study of Job. Very thankful! Ready to move on!