After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring. So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers. Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.
(Job 42:7-17, NLT)
I heard a story about a man who left his house one day for exercise. As he jogged down the street, he was approached by a man in a mask who had a knife. The man cut the jogger and took his money. Moments later the jogger was found on the sidewalk. Emergency Medical Services soon arrived and took him by ambulance to the nearest hospital. After a brief evaluation in the emergency room, he was rushed into surgery, where he was approached by a man in a mask with a knife who cut him and took his money.
Suffering is a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
I believe the purpose of the Book of Job is to help us frame our questions about suffering. Is God fair? Is God just? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do the righteous suffer? But the answers to those questions are incomplete in this story, especially when everyone lives happily ever after. I’m happy for Job and others whose suffering concludes with a sigh of relief, but for many, if not most people, it doesn’t end that way.
Job helps us frame the questions, but the real answers we seek come from Jesus.
Think about some interesting parallels.
Jesus faced a test from Satan following his baptism.
Jesus met popular acclaim in the early days of his ministry, which was short lived.
Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, while his three friends slept.
Jesus was betrayed, then denied.
Jesus was falsely accused.
Jesus was offered up to the crowds in a popularity contest with a felon, which he lost.
Jesus was beaten, then crucified.
Jesus was buried.
Surely there are one or more items on that list that you can personally identify with. But for the Christian, Jesus rose from the “ashes” of death to proclaim his victory over sin, death and the grave. And because he is risen, we know that we, too, shall rise from the ashes of our suffering. Our happily ever after may not come in this earthly existence, but we can be confident that in eternity, we will indeed rise from the ashes.
There is no singular answer as to why people suffer. Bad things do happen to good people. But the story of Jesus is the ultimate good news story. Bad things happened to him so that good things can happen to us!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series from the Book of Job. My prayer for you is that you maintain hope in the midst of whatever you’re facing today, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith!
