Job 42.10 l THE RESTORATION OF JOB

Today’s reading: Job 41.01-42.17

Job 42.10 “10 The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.”

In today’s reading, God mentions the Leviathan (Job 41.01-34) to illustrate man’s inability to oppose God because man cannot even control another created being (Job 41.01-10) or to try to claim that God owes him anything since everything was made by Him and belongs to Him (Job 41.11). Job then confesses his sin and pride, and acknowledged that God is sovereign (Job 42.01-06). We then see that God is unhappy with Job’s three friends, and they had to go to Job and he was to be their mediator (Job 42.07-09). God then restored all that Job had, in fact giving him double the amount of what he started with (Job 42.10-12; Job 01.03).

The restoration of Job’s material wealth was no because he did something, or that he endured a great trial, it was just simply because of God’s grace. God in His sovereignty can give blessings or hold back blessing in accord with His will.

The experience of Job during this trial illustrates the truth that the worship of God by man is not based on a contract, where if man does so much, God will reward him. For that is a works based relationship (Ephesians 02.08-10). God is NEVER obligated to give man anything, for it is truly by God’s grace that mankind has been given eternal life if mankind chooses to make Jesus their LORD and Saviour (Romans 06.22-23; 1Timothy 01.16; Titus 03.07; 1John 05.11-20). Instead, man is to trust in God completely (Proverbs 03.05-06), worship Him always despite what our current circumstances are. Hardship does not mean that God has forsaken those who are His (Hebrews 13.05), but what it does mean is that He has plans that the sufferer, even though the sufferer may have no idea why they are undergoing hardship.

Just as Job was never told why he suffered, man is to realize that God is always in charge that God still loves him and cares for him. This is what Job learned, and may this be what man learns as he undergoes suffering.