Perseverance from the Life of Job

A study on perseverance by Dr. Judith R. Coats

Two themes become evident as we study the book of Job with the topic of perseverance in mind: (1) God is the main character, and He is asking Job, “Am I enough?” (2) We should be very cautious in our judgment of others; we do not know all of God’s purposes in others’ lives.

Let’s take a bird’s eye look at the book of Job before we launch into the study. What is a narrative? A story. The story of Job provides probably the best example for a study on perseverance. What does the word perseverance mean? “Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose . . . especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement” (dictionary.com).

“The book of Job is Narrative History. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that Job himself wrote it. It is possible that Job is the oldest of any book of the Bible, written approximately 2100-1800 B.C. Key personalities of this book include God, Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the Buzite. In Job, we see a man whom God allows to be directly attacked by Satan. He is an example of faithfulness as he loses everything important to him yet remains faithful to God. Its purpose is to illustrate God’s sovereignty and faithfulness during a time of great suffering [emphasis mine].

•    In chapters 1-3, God tests Job’s faithfulness through allowing Satan to attack him. God told Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him” (1:12). Through Job’s trials, all is lost including his health, his wife even tells him to curse God and commit suicide, but he remains strong and faithful, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” (1:22).
•    From chapters 4-37, Job’s friends give him plenty of bad advice, in rounds of discussion. They mistakenly blame his sufferings on his personal sins rather than God testing and growing Job. One of them was half-correct in that God wanted to humble him, but this was only a part of God’s test. [Basically, his friends push the false narrative that God blesses us when we are sinless and punishes us when we are sinful.  This is the earliest example of a kind of “prosperity gospel.”]
•    In chapters 38-42, God speaks to Job and restores him. God knows that Job has received incorrect guidance from his friends, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” God fittingly declares that humans do not know everything. Then He humbles Job by asking a series of questions that could never be answered by anyone other than Almighty God; for example, “Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.” God then brings him to an understanding that believers don’t always know what God is doing in their lives.

In the end, Job answers God by saying, ‘I have declared that which I did not understand.’ God then blessed Job with twice as much as he had before his trials began.”  The previous summary is by Jay Smith of http://biblehub.com/summary/job/1.htm

Interesting fact to keep in mind.  Job was probably one of the 10 richest men in the Bible.  His net worth in the beginning of the book was approximately twenty million, eight hundred thousand dollars.  His net worth at the end of the book was forty-one million, six hundred thousand.  http://loverealm.org/top-10-richest-biblical-figures-part-1/

Let’s remember that Job had no Bible, no local church, no fellow elders or pastor—simply faith in his God whom Job knew. The story takes place just after the flood.

SO HOW DOES JOB DEMONSTRATE PERSEVERANCE THROUGHOUT THE STORY?

First thought: Job persevered in his relationship with God.

(1.) We learn that Job had a consistent walk with God while everything in his life was normal and enjoyable: 1:1 “There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.” Job 1:8; Job 42:10-17 (God restored the fortunes of Job as he is humbled through his experience.)

(2.) We learn that Job had a consistent walk with God when EVERYTHING fell apart. In my relationship with God, I must remember that He is sovereign—He sees the beginning and the end; I must respond to His sovereignty with worship of Him instead of doubt, bitterness, or anger: (Job 1:20-22)  ²⁰ Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. ²¹ He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” ²² In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. Job 2:10; 23:10; 31:28-40 (Job’s final appeal).

(3.) We learn that Job had a knowledge of God when he was bombarded with accusations, lousy counsel, and jealousy from “friends.” Job 4-37; 9:4; 13:18; 19:25-27; 23:13; 26:8-14; 42:7-9 (God rebukes Job’s “friends” and accepts Job’s prayer of contrition over his pride. God calls the counsel of his friends foolishness.)

(4.) We learn that Job had moments of doubting God in the midst of the loss of everything and during a time when his body was devastated by boils.  Job 3 (lamenting); 6:4; 7:20, 21; 10:1-3; 10:9; 23:1-7; 23:8-10; 23:15-17; Chapter 29; 30:19-23

(5.) We learn that the book of Job is not about Job.  It is about God.  God is asking Job the question and all of us the question: “Am I enough?” Job 2:3; 12:9, 10; 28:18-20, 24, 25; 30:10-11; 38:1-40:1 (God reminds Job of truth in some amazing poetry.)

(6.) We also learn that Job is humbled by God, and he then takes another spiritual step. Job 40:4, 5; How could Job have questioned God? Chapters 40 and 41. Job 42: 1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘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. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had hear of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

(7.) As I persevere, like Job, in my relationship with God, I must not stray from the heart of the Gospel: We deserve Hell every day, but God in His grace took our sin to give us His righteousness by no merit of our own: II Corinthians 5:21; Job 13:15. This is the Great Exchange.

 Second Thought: Job persevered in his relationship with Family

(1.) We learn, ironically, that Job offered sacrifices for his family faithfully—for all of them.  Job was not only concerned for his spiritual walk, but he also had great concern for the spiritual lives of his family.  Job 1:5

(2.) We learn of the steadfast perseverance of Job despite the loss of all of his children in one day. Job 1:20 “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord.’”

(3.) We learn that he had the strength to rebuke his wife when she wanted him to give up on God and kill himself: “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job 2:9

(4.) We learn in Job’s perseverance that he was abandoned by all of his family.  We do not know where his wife went, but she is absent as well.  We learn that he was utterly alone in his trial.  Job 19:13-19 “He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me. . . . My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. . . .and those whom I loved have turned against me.”

(5.) We learn that Job was gracious at the end of the story when he became a millionaire once again, and all of the family came back around.  Job 42:11 “Then came to him all of his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.”

Third Thought: Job persevered in his relationship with Friends

 (1.) We learn that perseverance becomes difficult when foolish friends wear us down. Job 2:13 (The friends did their best work when they said nothing because they saw that his suffering was great.); 5:7 (Not encouraging—man is born to trouble); 6:24, 25 (Job cries out their words may sound upright, but their reproof is ill-founded.); 11:20 (Zophar basically calls Job wicked.); 19:2 (Job was worn down and broken in pieces from their words.)

(2.) We learn that Job persevered in his knowledge of God despite being bombarded with false biblical counsel that was cloaked in pride and superiority. Job 5:27 (Eliphaz basically admonishes Job to get right with God—“Hear, and know it for your good.”); 8:4, 5 (Bildad says that Job should plead for mercy for the transgressions of his family.); 11:1-6 (Zophar basically mocks Job saying that Job is probably receiving less than his guilt deserves.); 13:12 (Job describes the friends’ counsel as “maxims . . . of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.”); 15:1-6 (Eliphaz accuses Job severely—“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I.); Elihu is probably the worst example in 36:2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.”

(3.) We learn for today that FB chatter and banter is probably the worst way to discuss truth. Job 12:2 (Job is beginning to be sarcastic here because he realizes that his friends are spewing foolishness.  Job says, “Wisdom will die with you.”); 15:9 (Eliphaz boasts, “What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?  FB chatter is mostly a spewing of opinions.); 21: 27 (Job reasons with his friends that even the wicked prosper, thus trying to blow apart their argument.); Elihu in his youthful indiscretion blurts out anger, Job 32 (What is interesting is that Elihu keeps referring to expressing his opinion—big mistake.) In Elihu’s youthful babbling, he mocks Job in 34:7-9.

(4.) We learn from Job’s persevering in conversation with “friends” that some people claim to know God but completely miss the mark. Job 2:11 (Wanted to show him sympathy and comfort but they showed neither); 5:8, 9 (Instructing Job that he should have sought God); 17:4 (Job pleads for friends who have closed their hearts to knowledge.); 20:29 (Zophar tells Job that because he is wicked, this tragedy is his portion from God.); 21:34 (Job informs the friends that they comfort him with empty nothings and falsehood.); Elihu completely misjudged Job in chapters 32-37.  He is young, but he certainly did not use discretion in his speech.  He was very wrong regarding Job.

(5.) We learn from God in Job’s persevering with his friends that this was God’s plan to begin with. Job 4:6 (Questioning Job’s fear of God); 4:17 (The irony here is that Job WAS right with God); 8:20 (Bildad judges that God will not “reject” a blameless man, but what he does not realize is that God was proving a blameless man.);  15:20 (Eliphaz assumes that only the wicked suffer.); 19:5,6 (Job admits that God has put him in the wrong and closed his net around him.); 20:23 (Zophar concludes that this is God’s burning anger.)

(6.) We learn that Job’s willingness to go back and forth with his friends contributed to his doubts and pride. Job 12:4 (He realizes that he is a laughingstock to his friends—why do people seem to enjoy it when others suffer?); 13:2 (Job expresses “I am not inferior to you.”); 13:3 (Job desires an audience with God to argue his case.) 30:10, 11 (God has humbled Job); 31:34 (Job admits that he had some fear of man.)

(7.) We learn from Job’s perseverance with his “friends” that if people judge us so quickly after knowing us so well that they were not friends to begin with, or they were not I Corinthians 13 kind of friends. Job 4:5; Job 4:8 (Suggesting Job had secret sin); 8:6 (Bildad suggests that if Job were pure and upright, all would be well.); 18:21 (Bildad went so far as to imply Job did not know God.); 20:5 (Zophar goes so far as to call Job wicked and godless.); 22:5 (Eliphaz blurts out, “Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities.”) Elihu ends up saying, “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight” Job 34:35.

(8.) In the end, God asks Job to sacrifice for his friends.  Job obeys despite having been judged so harshly and so falsely. Job 19:14 (Despite the fact that “my close friends have forgotten me.”); 19:19 (“All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.)

(9.) We learn from Job’s perseverance that his knowledge of God sustained him throughout the discourse. Job 26 (Job defends God with his knowledge of God.)

(10.) We also learn that persevering with godly friends means that we probably should listen more than we speak unless we really do offer comfort, compassion, and sympathy—but still share truth.

(11.) In the end, God expresses his anger toward Job’s “friends.”  They totally blew it.  He asked Job to sacrifice for them lest God’s wrath fall on them for their folly.   Job prayed for his friends, displaying once again his perseverance in love and humility and graciousness.  They most likely did not have a walk with God, but they simply spewed their foolishness to use Job as a whipping post.

Fourth Thought: Job persevered in his relationship with God while experiencing great trials.

(1.) We learn that the very first thing Job did when tragedy beyond comprehension struck his life was to worship God. Satan said to God, “But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” Job 1:11.  How did Job respond? “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all of this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Job 1:20-22

(2). We learn that Job even persevered when God gave Satan permission to take away Job’s health.  Job 2:4-6 “Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life’” Job 2:4-6. The Bible says, “In all of this Job did not sin with his lips” Job 2:10.

(3.) We learn that Job was able to verbalize during his perseverance what he was thinking. He was fearful at times and admits it.  He also mourns the day of his birth.  He does not blame God, and the Bible tells us that he did not sin with his lips.  But he was able to verbalize his grief without sinning.  Job chapter 3; 7:3-6, 16

(4.)  We learn that Job reminds us in his perseverance that “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). We cannot believe that we will be absent from tribulation because Jesus reminds us of this truth as well.  But Jesus has overcome the world. Job 14:1,2

(5.) We learn that Job acknowledges that God is at work in his life. Job 6:4, 8, 9; 12:9; 13:15; 19:6

(6.) At some point, Job does, in his pride, begin to question God.  He is human. Job 9:17, 18, 27, 28; chapter 10

(7.) We learn that Job acknowledged that he was as ease in life.  Perhaps he is realizing that he took God for granted. Job 16:7-17. Verse 12 says that Job was at ease when God broke him apart.

(8.) We learn that Job fights through a broken spirit. Job 17:1,2; 19:20; 30: 26-31

(9.) Amidst the trial, Job perseveres in his knowledge of God. Job 26

(10.) We learn that Job expresses the fact that the righteous and the evil suffer.  The purposes of God are not always clear to us. Job 31:1-8

(11.) I think the greatest lesson we learn is that Job sums up the experience when he says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” Job 42:5, 6. We learn through trials.  We should be counting them, in light of God’s purposes, all joy.  “I see you; You are enough.”