The Impatience of Job!

The Book of Job is a lesson in faith and patience (James 5:11), but more than anything else, the main lesson it contains is against self-righteousness! Job's sin was that he was so confident of his own righteousness and proud of his "perfection"! We've all fallen prey to this same sin many times, but may we – like Job – learn that only God is righteous! "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

So, why not shut the world out for 10 minutes and let the words of this story feed your spirit?

The Impatience of Job!

High above far, far beyond the dusty plains and mountain of Uz, in an indescribably beautiful Realm beyond the sight of Man, a very unusual scene was taking place.

The sons of God, Angels great in power and magnificent glory, were presenting themselves before the throne of God. Suddenly a herald Angel announced, "O Lord God, Satan requests an audience with You!"

Knowing full well why the Devil had come, the Lord gave him permission to enter, and soon a dark figure swaggered across the shimmering Sea of Glass toward His throne. (Job 1:6)

"Have you been thinking about My servant Job?", the Lord challenged. "There is no one on Earth like him; he is good and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil!"

"Does Job fear God for no reason?", the Devil sneered. "Have You not put a hedge of Angels around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed him, and his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land of Uz! But strike everything he has, and he will curse You to Your face"

The Lord replied, "Very well, you shall see--everything he has is in your hands. But on Job himself do not lay a finger!
Then Satan left the presence of the Lord, and went down to the barren Arabian desert. Soon he had turned the desert breeze into a "dust devil", and then into a howling sandstorm whipping its way across the barren rocks and sand towards the land of Uz.

To the East of Uz, there was a drunken party in the camp of the Babylonian traders. "Why should we by 100 of Job's camels?", the caravan leader shouted, "Look!-We're armed! We can steal them all instead!"

To the Southeast, there was a stir in the desert camp of the Sabean nomads. "Mount your horses!", Ras-Houid roared to his men, a fiery gleam In his eyes. "We've longed hoped to strike against the rich lands of Job, and now is the time!"
The warriors raced to saddle their horses, and soon there was a thunderous din as hundreds of savage raiders raced at breakneck speed across the desert salt-flats towards the land of Uz. Late in the afternoon of the next day, they reined in upon a hill overlooking the fields where Job's oxen were finishing their plowing.

"A terrible desert wind shall strike soon!", Ras-Houid observed, watching the sky grow black and turbulent.-"But we shall be long gone before it is here!" He slid his glistening sword out of its sheath waved it high above his head and shouted, "Attack!!"

Job was sitting in his house that evening with his wife, enjoying his meal. In the background, as he dined, his said-servants were softly playing a lyre and flute.

Suddenly a messenger burst into the dining hall! His clothes were ripped, his arm was bleeding, and he gasped, "My lord Job, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, when suddenly the Sabeans attacked and carried them off! They killed all your servants with the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped alive!"

In shocked disbelief, Job rose hastily to his feet, and had the messenger describe to him what had happened. While the messenger was still speaking, suddenly another servant burst into the room, his clothing and hair singed, and cried out, "Master! - Fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and your servants watching them! It was a disaster! Only I survived!"

While he was still talking, another messenger staggered into the room and said, "The Babylonians formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried all 3,000 of them off! They killed all of your servants! Only I am left alive!"

Job slumped backwards into his chair stunned!-But the worst news was yet to come! A final messenger raced into the room threw himself weeping at Job's feet and said, "Your sons and your daughters were feasting at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and smashed against the house! The house collapsed on top of them, killing them all!--Only I escaped from it alive!"

When Job heard this, he moaned, stood up and tore his richly-decorated robe from the top to the bottom! Throughout the sleepless night he paced back and forth in his mansion, torn apart with grief! All he had left was an empty house! His wealth, his servants and even his children were ... gone!

But the Devil was not done with him yet. Only days later, he obtained permission from the Lord to further test Job, and afflicted him with painful, festering boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

Job felt more wretched than any man alive, and finding a heap of ashes behind his house, he slumped down in it. Picking up a piece of a broken earthen pot, he began to carefully scrape away the pus oozing out of his sores. Even his own wife finally reviled him in disgust and told him, "Curse God and die!" But at least he refused to deny his faith in God, and replied, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!"-In other words "Even if He doesn't heal Me!"

As the days passed, Job continued sitting on the ash-heap, wearily scraping at his painful sores and scabs. His skin grew black and peeled, his body burned with fever, and one by one, his few remaining servants deserted him. His wife and all his relatives despised him, and even small boys and the dirtiest beggars avoided him except to stop and mock him and spit upon him. (Job 7:5; 19:13-20, 30: 1,7-10, 30)

Job had some very wealthy friends in Edom and other neighbouring countries, who, after hearing of his calamity, met together and journeyed to his estate in Uz. How different it all looked! His usually well-kept properties were deserted and had begun to fall into ruin. When they saw Job from a distance, sitting on the ashes, covered with sores and so thin he was only skin and bones, they could hardly recognize him! (Job 2:11-13, 19:20)

Dismounting from their camels, they sat beside him, weeping.

For seven days and nights they didn't say a word, for they saw that his grief was great. Finally Job's sorrow was uncontrollable, and he burst forth with bitter complaint that he had been brought to such great ruin! "The thing that I greatly feared has come upon me!", he cried out. (Job 3:1-14; 10:1; 3:25)

His friend, Eliphaz the Temanite from Edom, chided him for complaining that God was mistreating him. "Can a man be more righteous than God? Or can he be more just than his Maker?" he asked. (Job 4:17-18)

But Job was beyond listening to counsel, and bitterly complained that God was punishing him for no reason, that he had done nothing wrong! (Job 6:8-9)

Bildad the Shuhite, an Arab, protested, "How long will you say such things? Does God pervert justice?' (Job 8:1-3)
Again Job insisted that he was completely innocent, but Zophar the Naamathite from Northern Edom, contested, "How can you say to God, 'I am pure in Your sight?!' No man is completely innocent!" (Job 11:4)

Sarcastically Job replied, "Oh, doubtless you are 'the people', and when you die, wisdom shall perish from the Earth! But who doesn't know such things as you are telling me? I know all this already! I tell you, all of you are worthless physicians! If you would just keep silence, for you, that would be wisdom! Now shut up and let me speak!" - And again he began to protest his innocence! (Job 12:1-3, 13:4-5,13,18,23)

Eliphaz responded, "But how can you say you're totally innocent? What is man that he could be pure or righteous?" (Job16:11-17) "Know that God has wronged me!", he complained (Job 19:6-11)

Zophar replied that Job must have sinned, because God judges evildoers, not good men (Job 20:all), but Job answered that God often lets the wicked get away with their sins, so what was the point of serving God and trying to be good if He treated the righteous this way! (Job 21:7-14, 34:9)

Again, Bildad pled with Job saying, "How can a man be righteous compared to God?"
But Job snapped back, "As surely as God lives, Who has denied me justice, I will never admit that you are right! I will maintain my righteousness as long as I live!" (Job 25:4, 27:2-6)

Then Job began to argue, "Look! I have delivered the poor and the fatherless and the destitute that cried for help! I have caused the widow's heart to sing for joy! I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was like a robe and a royal crown! I was eyes to the blind, feet to the lame and a father to the poor! (Job 29:12-17)

"I have sworn that I would never look at a woman lustfully!", he cried. "And I've always treated my servants fairly. I wasn't greedy and covetous with my great wealth! No! Oh, if God would only weigh me in honest scales, He would know that I am blameless!" (Job 31:1,6,9-10,13-18,24-25)

Finally, the Bible says, "These three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes!" (Job 32:1)

It was apparent That Job's main problems was self-righteousness, but Job's three friends had not fully understood that. Instead, they felt sure that God had judged him because he wasn't righteous, and that he must have committed some grave crime or injustice! (Job 22:4-11) - Which actually was not the case, for Job had been very "righteous" and done many "good deeds". And Job knew it! - Which was why they hadn't been able to convince him!

A young man named Elihu had sat listening respectfully as Job's three old friends had argued with him, and now, as he clearly saw what the problem was, he became angry with them because, though they had not been able to come up with a valid reason for accusing Job, yet they had still critically condemned him! (Job 32:1-5)

Elihu was also angry with Job, "because he justified himself rather than God"! (Job 32:2) "In accusing God of unrighteousness," Elihu scolded Job, "you have foolishly blamed God for your troubles just like any wicked man would have done! Job this is rebellion against God!" (Job 34:7-9,36-37)

Turning first to the three friends, then to Job, Elihu said, "Job has said, 'I am righteous, but God has denied me justice!' Job, do you think this is right, that you have said, 'My righteousness is more than God's'?" (Job 34:5: 35:2)

Suddenly, just as Elihu finished speaking, the sky grew strangely dark and a great whirlwind moved across the land toward them! Above the fierce howling of the wind, out of the midst of the storm, the Voice of the Lord spoke to Job: "Your words are without knowledge! Will anyone who contends with God correct Him?" (Job 38:2, 40:2)

Job trembled, frightened half out of his wits and stammered, "Behold, I am vile! How can I answer You? I will put my hand over my mouth and speak no more!" (Job 40:3-5)

The Lord continued, 'Would you discredit My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?" (Job 40:8)
Job replied, 'O Lord, surely I spoke of things I did not understand! Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes! Forgive me!" (Job 42:3,6)

Job totally repented, now realizing that his sin had been self-righteous pride, and Job's three friends were quite pleased that he had finally confessed some sin! – But now it was their turn, and the Lord rebuked them for having been so critical and mistaken in their charges against Job, and told Job – now humble and repentant – to pray for Him to have mercy on them! (Job 42:7-10)

Then, soon after Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord healed him and soon made him prosperous again, and gave him twice as many flocks and possessions as he'd had before! Seven more sons and three daughters were born to him and he lived many, many more years, long enough to see his great, great grand-children!

Food For Thought:

1.) Most Christians do not understand "why the Lord treated Job so badly", and think that the main lesson of the Book of Job was his faith and great patience despite his "undeserved troubles and afflictions", they say. In mistakenly agreeing with Job's complaints that God treated him unfairly, they're missing the whole point of the Book!

2.) Why did God let the Devil afflict Job? - A.) To test his faith, and B.) to humble him, as up till that time, he was quite proud of his own righteousness! Job finally saw that he wasn't good and that only God was good – and that his own righteousness was like "filthy rags" in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6), and he needed to depend utterly on God's mercy.

3.) Some people think that Job was right all along, and his friends were wrong, because in Job 42:7 the Lord says, "You have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has". – But God was referring here to Job's repentance! – Because up until that time, Job was doing nothing but complaining against the Lord and accusing Him of perverting justice!

4.) One of the most dangerous things anyone can do is start blaming God when things go wrong, saying, "Why me, Lord?! – Why do this to me when I'm so good?" Such murmuring is pure self-righteousness, and God won't tolerate it!

5.) Job's three friends were right in much of their accusations! They knew that something was wrong with him!-And it turned out that he did have a very serious sin: self-righteousness! All along Job had protested how good he was, and this in itself was a sin! – The worst of all sins, in fact!