The End of the Matter
I often thought of putting this part of the book at the beginning; because it explains what is occurring and provides the right perspective on the Book of Job. As stated earlier, I do not believe that what I have written is the definitive source on the Book of Job. I just hope that what I have written does justice for Job, and helps others to obtain a clear picture of what has occurred, and in some ways continues to this day.
One must remember how this got started. It was not Satan challenging God. It was God asking Satan a simply question, Job 1:8A.
8AAnd the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
God was the one that initiated the conversation. Satan knew of Job, but did not touch him. We know this, because of what Satan stated in Job 1:9.
9Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Even Satan considered Job a God-fearing man.
The question that hardly ever seems to be asked, but needs to be answered to clearly to understand the Book of Job is, why did God bring up Job in the first place?
If one believes that God was showing off to Satan, that makes God out to be no better than a child who shows off their birthday presents to get attention. That answer is wrong.
God stated about Job in Job 1:8B
8Athat there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
God spoke highly of Job and Satan somewhat agreed with this assessment. However, Satan would like others to think that Job feared God for selfish reasons. That, in itself, would question how God evaluates people. One cannot gain favor from God for selfish reasons. One must be willing to sacrifice all in order to receive the highest of praise from God. Job was such an individual.
Satan stated that Job feared God for a specific reason, Job 1:10.
10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
God had placed a hedge around Job so that Satan could not touch him. Satan knew that this prevented him from touching Job in the slightest. This is why Satan did not consider Job. Satan knew of him, but saw no opportunity because Job was protected. One should consider that Satan really did not believe that Job feared God for selfish reasons. The odds are he knew exactly who Job was and why there was a hedge. One cannot know for sure what Satan knew, but what is known is Satan’s character. Satan is cunning and will use truth as he deems appropriate to serve his purposes. Satan is no fool. He may have done foolish things, like challenge God, but he is no fool. He was simply prideful and could not get control of himself.
God offered up Job for a specific reason, a reason often overlooked. Consider that the Book of Job was really not about Job, it was about us. God knew that Job would not sin. If Job had sinned, it would mean that God did not know the outcome prior to the events occurring. Further, consider that Satan knew that Job would not curse God either. Satan, better than anyone else, knew God and he knew that God would not propose something where He would be proven wrong.
The book is about us because it is about the attitudes of the people at that time and those to follow. Most people align with other than Job. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu represent the various attitudes of people through the ages. They range from people who know nothing and just repeat what they hear to those that appear to know it all. There are those that would like one to think that they are quite loving, but they are extremely judgmental. Others that would rather get praises from man than from God. These four speak of some of the most misleading doctrines preached from the pulpits today. Doctrines similar to prosperity teaching and positive confession. Doctrines that make God look like an idol. At times, they place God far from the affairs of man.
God was not wrong about Job and Satan knew this. Satan was not trying to make Job stumble, he wanted others to stumble. In that, he succeeded and will continue to succeed until God returns. Why would God allow this to happen? For two reasons. It provides many lessons for eternity. Lessons many failed to learn because they believe the detractors rather than God. Second, it was a picture of Messiah. Just as the hedge was removed from Job, it was removed from Messiah. This is clear in the final week of Messiah’s life when Satan got close enough to Yeshua to almost kill him in the garden of Gethsemane. And just like Job suffered for no sin of his own, so did Messiah. These are just a few of the lessons in the book of Job.
At this point one might ask, if it happened to Job, can it happen to me? If I am as righteous as Job, will I suffer to the extent that Job did? The answer to these questions, is a resounding “no”! The book of Job was never about Job’s suffering, it is about life in God. God wanted this book written as a lesson to every generation that followed. God had been waiting for a man like Job, so that these events could be orchestrated. This book only needed to be experienced once and then to be taught to every generation that followed. More than likely, the events of this book occurred after the flood and were preserved for every generation. We need to take the lessons of Job to heart. There will never be another book as encompassing as the Book of Job.
As with all books in the Hebrew Scriptures, Job was more than a story, Hebrews 10:1A.
1AFor the law having a shadow of good things to come,
The book of Job is a picture of God’s plan for mankind, truly a shadow of good things to come. One might call it God’s executive summary of the Bible.
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