Job 37:1-24
Monday, 7 June 2021
"Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders.” -Job 37:14
The Book of Job starts with a testimony about him-a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). Contrary to this testimony and Job’s many questions to God, his friends blamed him for his sins when he was afflicted. Biblical scholars have credited it as one of the earliest books written in the Old Testament and it shows us how the people who knew God at that time had their own concepts about the cause of bad or evil things happening to them.
One who reads the book of Job gets to know that God was very much confident of Job that he would stand any test and be a faithful witness of God’s relationship with him- it was proven at the end! Here in the midst of the trials Job went through, the evil one was given the limits as to how far he can get to Job (Job 2:6). Yet Job proved his loyalty to God.
God knew that suffering of many kinds are inevitable in the world and made it known to humanity about the necessity, the extent, and the end result that is going to happen, in the oldest book itself in the Bible. The same principles are found in the New Testament also about suffering. If Job became a wiser man by his suffering, we too when we are pruned by Lord, grow more into His likeness. Jesus said in John 15:2: “He (God) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
Some other verses from the New Testament with the same theme of suffering as in Job:
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast (1 Peter 5:10).
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Job who was unaware of these truths, questions God. As Mathew Henry puts it “Job had silenced, but had not convinced his friends. Elihu had silenced Job, but had not brought him to admit his guilt before God.” The Lord, in response to the questions of Job, puts forward a barrage of questions about the wonders of God, He has instituted. And at the end Job repented at the sight of the Almighty and for saying things which Job himself did not understand.
When trials and tribulations may affect us unexpectedly, as Elihu advised Job (though in his limited knowledge), sometimes it is better merely to dwell on the wonders of God. He is Love; a God of wonders and for Him wonderful things are possible anytime, anywhere. All the more so since the shadow of burnt offerings Job made for his friends (Job 42:8) was actually a shadow of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to make us “friends” with Him even while we were enemies. Now when we believe and trust Him as our Lord and Saviour we are justified through faith and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)— that wonderful work of salvation we can dwell on endlessly!
Prayer: LORD Almighty, thank You for the wonderful work of Salvation through Christ by which I am made a child of God. Help me to stop and consider Your mighty works that You are able to do even in the midst of difficult times and trust You all the while! Amen