Job: Changed by the Thunderbolt

Job 42:1-3

Elie Wiesel was disappointed by Job. Wiesel believed Job let God off the hook too easily. Having survived several Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Buchenwald, Wiesel knew much about injustice and suffering. He also understood grief; his mother and younger sister perished in the gas chambers, while his father endured forced labor until he died in Buchenwald. Wiesel was liberated from the Nazi death camps in April 1945. His book, Night, is a personal account of his horrendous experiences and his will to survive imprisonment. Thus, when the book of Job concludes with restoration and prosperity, Wiesel felt that Job caved. He maintained that no amount of prosperity could compensate for Job’s suffering.[1] In chapter 1 of Job, Satan accused God of buying Job’s love. Wiesel shares a similar sentiment regarding the book's final chapter.

As we conclude our study of Job, let’s take a moment to reflect on and think through the book's ending. A quick reading of the last verses can seem too “fairytale-ish”—"And Job lived happily ever after.”

When Job prayed for his friends, “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job... And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). We studied this previously, but I want to reiterate a practical perspective. God’s restoration of Job’s fortunes did not happen overnight. Over the next 140 years, God blessed the work of Job’s hands as he rebuilt his wealth. Once Job was healed of his disease, he hosted a celebration. All his brothers, sisters, and acquaintances who attended “showed him sympathy and comforted him” and “gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold” (Job 42:11). Most scholars believe that Job used these resources to purchase a few sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys to begin rebuilding his herds and livestock, and this rebuilding required time and effort. Additionally, having ten more children would have taken fifteen to twenty years or longer.

Why do I want to clarify this aspect of Job’s story? When I speak with people who are going through a hard time, they connect with Job. They often say, “I have been reading the book of Job,” or “I feel like I am going through a Job experience.” The danger is reading Job 42:10-17 and concluding that, as we endure our challenging stretches, we can expect that one day we will “wake up and…poof...all will be better!” Pain gone. Fortunes restored. Grief dulled. But as we see in Job’s case, it likely won’t happen that way. Rebuilding and healing take time. Often, the recovery pathway progresses at a pace of three steps forward and two steps back. If you talk to a person who has lost a loved one, they will say, “I have good days and bad days.” They will tell you that waves of grief hit when they least expect it. A song on the radio or worshiping at church brings floods of tears.

There is also the situation with Job’s children. When we read that Job had ten more children, we might incorrectly conclude that God provided a swap—ten new children for the ten deceased ones. At first, that seems cruel, but remember, Job believed in eternal life. Recall his words:

Job 19:25-27
For I know that my Redeemer lives,and at the last he will stand upon the earth.²⁶And after my skin has been thus destroyed,yet in my flesh I shall see God,²⁷whom I shall see for myself,and my eyes shall behold, and not another.My heart faints within me!

Job believed his deceased children were in heaven. However, that didn’t stop him from remembering, missing, and thinking about them. The children he had after his crisis were blessings from God, but certainly not replacements. Loved ones are never replaced. We never “move on” from grief and suffering; however, with God’s help, we can “move forward.” God uses all things in our lives to mold us into the people he wants us to be. Our past experiences are not left in the past; we move forward with them. They make us who we are. The scars are a reminder of our growth and dependence on God.

The man we see in the last chapter is not the same man we met in the first chapter. The fire refined Job, and he gained a new perspective on God. Remember how he reacted after God spoke to him out of the whirlwind?

Job 42:1-3
Then Job answered the Lord and said:²“I know that you can do all things,and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

The “school of normal life” is a curriculum of introductory classes. We can show up to class and pass most tests. However, the “school of suffering” consists of advanced courses. As hard as we try to work through the painful experiences, we will fail some tests. Yet, in the pain and failure, the three steps forward and two steps back, we will learn “things too wonderful” about God and his action in our lives.

The Scottish author and pastor, George MacDonald, said it well:

Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes in the life of a peaceful family, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything seems changed. That family is no more exactly what it was before. Better it ought to be, damaged it may be. The result depends on the family itself and its response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, its spiritual weather is altered. But for the family who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophes never come but where they are turned around for good in that family’s life and in other lives they touch.[2]

Our final lesson from Job is clear: sometimes, thunderbolts can strike from a cloudless sky. Our lives may be altered, but we will uncover wonderful things about God and emerge stronger for having weathered the storm.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD

Read Job 42:1-3. Reflect on Job’s response to the Person of God.

Talking to God
Talk to God about your storm. Ask him to provide everything you need today and help you grow deeper for his purposes.

Job Zoom Call
On Monday, May 5 at 7:00 pm, we will meet on a Zoom call to review what we have learned in Job and answer questions. Information and a link to join the call will be included in the May 5 devotion email.

Have Questions?
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