JOB – BEFORE AND AFTER
The story of Job is one of adversity bringing maturity. The Job we see at the beginning of the story is one who has wealth, honor and a knowledge of God. Through a series of events initiated by transactions in the spiritual realm, Job loses it all and is afflicted with a painful disease. And as he debates with his friends, who mistakenly accuse him of sinning, thereby bringing God’s judgment, we see one who is also self-righteous. He was a proud man, unwilling to accept that he could be a sinner and smug in his assurance that prosperity naturally follows all who follow God.
Eventually God speaks to Job out of a storm (38:1). The proximity of God and the pointed questions he asks Job is enough for Job to come a deeper realization of God. If he knew God peripherally before, he comes away now with an intimate experience of God. He recognizes that arguing with God is self-defeating and wisest thing man could do is to submit to the sovereignty of God and trust his justice. And so while God gives him no clue of why he went through the calamity that came upon him, he comes away feeling the reassurance of God and his presence.
Job also is able to put away his self-righteousness and acknowledge his sinfulness. “I am unworthy”, he says (40:4), a sentiment that was not evident during his debate with his friends. There is no other attitude in sinful man that can coalesce with the pure God. Unless a man goes on his knees, salvation is impossible.
From being resentful of his friends, he is able to forgive them and accept them even as God asks him to pray for them. In fact we read that only after he does so, does he go on to his second innings of prosperity.
‘After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before’.(Job 42:10)
Loving one’s neighbor naturally follows an intimate love for God. The story is silent as to what happened to his wife, who had suggested to Job to curse God and die. Considering his initial children who died were adults, it is more likely that his wife followed her own advice, leaving Job to start a family all over again. He ended up with seven sons and three daughters along with wealth that exceeded what he initially had. But what was truly special about Job’s change is the fact that he went from knowing God peripherally to acquiring an intimate experience of a loving God. And at times, that can happen only through the most extreme adversity.
