Job's Suffering

Colin Melbourne

© 08 Born-Again-Christian.Info

Why did God allow Job's trials?

Q: I have been witnessing to some co-workers, and they asked me why did God allow Job to lose everything, and why did God let all those bad things happen? I am not quite sure how to answer it, so I told them I would ask, and get a better answer than I was capable of giving them at the time. Sassa

A: Excellent Sassa, we need more Christians like you, reaching out in the workplace, streets, shops and markets, where sinners are. Never be afraid to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out!", then seek the Lord for the answer, He'll never let you down when you stand up for Him.

The Book of Job can make eyes glaze over, because it's so long, and quite intimidating. Christians really only get to grips with it when the tough times come, and that's when they find the jewels.

T.L. Osborn answers "Why?"

I feel a special attachment to Job, because the Lord used Job Ch. 24 to confirm His calling me as a missionary. Since then, I have seen the whole heart-breaking chapter literally fulfilled in-front of me. But that's another story.

I compliment your co-workers on an astute question, and one every honest enquirer must ask themselves as they read the Book of Job. Like you, I get asked this sort of query often, so here's a lesson I've learned the hard way.

Force-feeding swine

In my experience, many people, use episodes like Job's trials to accuse God of being harsh and unloving, simply in order to give themselves an excuse to discard the Bible, and the Gospel. Your colleagues may be motivated by this, rather than a genuine desire to understand the Bible, God's character and love. In which case, you plough on endlessly explaining, and answering their questions, until everyone is worn out. A wiser tack is to simply ask the Lord to give you a Word for them, and leave it at that.

This second approach certainly works better in the long run with sceptics. It will bug them, and make them genuinely curious as the Holy Spirit begins to open their eyes. This is how Christ handled Nicodemus, and the woman at Jacob's Well. It is also why He often used parables.

So instead of trying to spoon-feed pearls to swine, give them a taster, and let them search for more, should they hunger.

Okay, let's have a look at Job's story.

No Pain: No Gain

The short answer to your colleague's question, "Why did God allow Job to lose everything and suffer so much?", comes as a shock.

It was to bless him. That's right, to bless Job. In addition, He used it to glorify His Name, embarrass the Devil, and use Job as an example for us.

When you get to the Glory, corner Job and ask him face to face, "Brother Job, if you had your time over again, would you prefer not to have all those appalling trials?"

I'm sure, he'll exclaim,

"No, that was the greatest time of my life!"

Come on you saints, isn't that the truth?

Wouldn't any one be thrilled to have Almighty God point to you, and boast about you to the Devil? Of course you would, it's what we live for, to please our Father's heart, and make Him proud of us. He gave His only begotten sinless Son to have us as friends and children. Remember the Price. Give Father reason to boast about you today.

Who amongst you would not be delighted to have their name honoured in the Holy Bible? Long after each published fragment of Homer, Jonson, Shakespeare, Goethe, and every fêted author, has been burned to dust (2 Pe. 3:7-10), the Word of God will endure forever. 1 Pe. 1:25

Dear Job didn't just receive an honourable mention in dispatches, he got 42 glorious chapters in the Greatest Book of all Time! Think about that.

Of course he missed the mark in much of what he said, though not as badly as his well-meaning, but soul-destroying, "comforters". And after the LORD put him straight, Job immediately repented, then the Lord rebuked the others sternly, and humbled them before Job. I think Job revelled in that honour, don't you? (Job 42:7-9)

The next verse tells us, that following his shocking trials, the Lord blessed Job with twice as much as he had before. Recall verse 1:3 confirms he was the greatest man in the East before the testing, yet he was more blessed in the latter part of his life (Job 42:12).

Good News Travels Faster

Do you think this got people's attention? Henceforth, could anybody keep Job quiet? Who was he glorifying? Who did he point sinners to for the next 140 years? (Job. 42:16) Boy did he give the Devil ear-ache with his testimony! Job's story spread by word of mouth in the ancient world, and is sealed in the Word of God for eternity proclaiming the Lord's glory through it. Take that Satan!

Can you begin to see why Job is so delighted now by all that happened to him? How his only regret is that he was slow to catch on, and falsely implied God was being unjust to him.

Whoops!

The verse that really tickles me is Job with his "indignation throttle" wide open in 19:23-24. Remind Job of his words when you meet him, and have a laugh together. Don't tell me God has no sense of humour. What is the lesson there to us?

Lush Growth in the Valley

Job grew spiritually through the trial, he learned a lot more about the Lord he loved. And so have we, without having to go through the same trials, just read, observe, meditate, and assimilate it. Notice how the Holy Spirit points us to Job as an example of perseverance and patience in trials. Jas. 5:10-11.

Note: Under the New Covenant, sickness is never put on Christians to test them, or as a trial. And don't forget, it was Satan who smote Job with boils, not God. There's a wonderful scriptural explanation of Job's Boils in Healing the Sick.

A Shocking Truth

Now here's a staggering thought:

Job's response to losing his family, livestock, and home, was superb, just perfect. Read Job 1:20-22 and weep. He showed the same heroic faith even when God allowed Satan to strike his mortal frame. Job. 2:10.

Yet Job was a sinner-man, he was not born again, he had an unregenerate Adamic nature; he didn't have what a Christian has. Some may object, and say, "Wait, he was a righteous man, God Himself called Job upright and blameless in verses 1:8 and 2:3."

That's right, the same God who never contradicts Himself, and also said there's no one righteous, not even one: Including Job.

Job was blameless in what he did, not in what he was by nature. God was talking about his deportment and behaviour, not his nature. Job was born a sinner through Adam's sin, just like every one of us. Ro. 5:12,18-19.

Job went through all that tragedy a sinner-man, and still managed to glorify God. How much more ought a righteous child of God, filled with His Spirit, triumph in trials and testing? Salute Job, and thank God you are born again, under a better Covenant with better promises (Heb. 8:6), and more power than Job ever dreamed of. 1 Jn. 1:12-14.

Falsely Accusing God

Finally, people accuse God of being cruel and unrighteous for allowing Job's testing. They forget that Job was a fallen man, a child of the Devil, still under the condemnation Adam brought to everybody still in their sins.

It was only because of God's Grace that Job had been blessed in the first place, he didn't deserve to be the "greatest man in the East"; only by God's grace was he allowed to draw breath. This was the point he finally understood when God humbled him from the whirlwind. The penny dropped. Job Chs. 38-41. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache, and unnecessary pain, if you will meditate upon this revelation, and embrace it from now onwards.

Now read Job's story again with that new perspective, and you'll easily be able to answer your workmates. There's lots more jewels to mine in Job. Don't miss the significance of Job 5:26 for example.

Which Covenant are You Under?

One final reminder: Sometimes sick Christians claim their sickness is "permitted by God to test them like Job". So rather than claim healing, they patiently accept and endure the sickness, thinking they are glorifying God. This is plain ignorance of the Gospel, and utterly false.

Christians are under the New Covenant, not the Old one Job was under. Christ bore your sickness so you never have to bear it. The only way the Devil is "allowed" to put sickness on a Christian is when that Christian doubts their perfect redemption, and the Blood-sealed New Covenant of grace. Here's more on the healing covenant.