When Storms Come

A Christian Look at Job

Dow

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781498272247
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Tom Dow asserts that Job does not go through his trials to somehow improve him. He is being tried by Satan, who seeks to break Job's and God's trust in one another. When that trust survives the worst that Satan and insensitive friends can do, both Job and God are vindicated. When Storms Come shows how the book of Job can be related to New Testament teaching, and how it can be a great help to people experiencing suffering and stress. It also serves as a resource for people ministering to those going through the storms of life.

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Before the Storms: Job Introduced and Praised

Job Introduced as a Man Who Pleased God

We naturally want to know something of the man Job—what can we say about him? Are there any clues to his personality and character? Of course we know what the author of the book thought of him: “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). We know, too, what the Lord said about him: “My servant—there is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). It seems as though God wanted to praise his servant to Satan; it was the Lord who initiated the conversation about Job. God spoke in glowing terms of his man. “See, there is my servant. See what a man he is! A good man, and a godly man! Behold, my servant!” God was pleased with Job. God praised his servant. We might even say that God bragged about his man. Mason comments:

This verse leaves no doubt that Job really was a “blameless and upright” man and that such was not simply the subjective opinion of the book’s author. Job’s righteousness was a divinely attested fact, and from the very beginning it is the Lord Himself—not Job or any other human being—who sets out to justify this man and to establish his innocence. Moreover, this is not a defensive reaction on the Lord’s part, but an offensive initiative. It is the Lord who issues the first challenge, the first taunt, by aggressively boasting to Satan about Job. Thus the unimpeachable righteousness of Job is the very core of the book, the linchpin upon which the entire plot hangs. God’s praise for His servant is so open and lavish, and His backing so unqualified, that if at any point in the ensuing struggle we are tempted to question the integrity of Job’s faith (as his friends do, relentlessly), it will not really be Job we are questioning, but the Lord.1

When we stop to think about it, it is rather amazing that we have a book in the Bible that begins with God praising a human being. After all, the Bible is a book that directs mortals to praise the Lord, and the pages of Scripture contain the doctrine of the sinfulness and depravity of humanity. The dignity of the human person is a dogma that the evangelical wing of Christianity has shied away from, and rightly so in proportion to the extent to which that view has softened the concept of the lostness of people and the necessity of divine grace in human redemption. Nevertheless, it needs to be pointed out that there are examples in the Scriptures of people with whom the Lord was pleased. Daniel was called “greatly beloved,” David was “a man after God’s own heart,” and God praised Job.

Job’s Character Revealed in the Words of God

The idea that God can be pleased with a mere human, that a person’s godly goodness can bring delight to the heart of the Heavenly Father, need not be foreign to us. We may be true to our belief in original sin and to our conviction that the Scriptures teach no doctrine of sinless perfection and still pray, “Lord, help me to follow Job’s example. Help me to live by your grace as your servant so that you may be proud of me. Be pleased with my heart’s love for you. Be pleased with my life of service. May the mission statement of my life be that of the Lord Jesus himself, ‘I always do that which pleases him’ (John 8:29). And may there be times when I hear the echo of those words uttered at Jesus’ baptism, ‘This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.’”

It might be noted at this point that Job is described as being “the richest man in the east.” Can a rich man please the Lord? Apparently the answer is yes, if the story of Job is to be believed. We will see how Job used his wealth in unselfish ways as we explore later chapters in which he describes his character for us. It is enough here to note that God was pleased with Job, not in spite of his wealth or because of his wealth, but because of the kind of man he was. In the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus said to his disciples, “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven!” In fact, Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into heaven. The puzzled disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus’ famous answer followed: “With man this is impossible. But with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:24–25). It is possible for rich people to get to heaven. It is possible for rich people—as in Job’s case very rich people—to live lives that are pleasing in the sight of God. There are those who believe possessions can only be hindrances to a true understanding of God, and they must be abandoned or taken away, their possessor stripped to the point of utter need if real relationship with the divine is to be achieved.2 The book of Job says that this is not necessarily the case.

Job’s Character Revealed by his Lifestyle

Other than what is supplied to us in these testimonials, does the book offer any additional information about Job’s character? Yes, for first we have the account in the first chapter of his concern as a father and as a priest of his home. He cared for his family and prayed regularly and earnestly for his children and for their spiritual welfare.

His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. (Job 1:4–5)

Job sets a fine example of faithful, prayerful, concerned parenthood, having established, as a regular custom, a definite time of prayer and intercession for his children. What an inspiration for us who are parents to be intercessors for our loved ones!

Job’s Character Revealed in the Words of his Friends

Then, too, we have the commendation of his friends. In the fourth chapter, before the severe criticisms directed against his friend begin, Eliphaz speaks of Job’s ability to counsel and to bring encouragement to those who needed it. Job’s words were powerful in lifting up feeble hands and weak knees! “Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees” (Job 4:3–4).

We may be tempted to believe that “words are cheap,” and that what we have to say to people, especially suffering people, is of little practical value. Children are taught to respond to verbal abuse by repeating the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Not so. Words have a great deal of power—they can be very effective weapons or very useful construction tools. Verbal abuse may be as painful and as damaging as physical abuse. Words may wound, cut, and damage those who receive them. The scars from a word beating can last a long time! On the other hand, words can soothe, comfort, heal, and minister great refreshment. This is speech therapy of a different sort, but genuine therapy nevertheless.

Job used his tongue to bless people; his words acted as a buttress and support for people who might otherwise have stumbled had he not spoken to them. Considering Job’s example, we take to heart the words of Frances Ridley Havergal, “Take my voice and let me sing always, only for my King; take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.”

Job’s Character Revealed in his Own Words: Chapter 29—Reading the End of the Story First

If we read on late in the book, we discover more information about Job, and this information comes to us from the man himself. In chapters 29 and 31 especially, Job becomes very personal in his discussion with his friends and with the Lord. He talks about himself and he talks about his character. “This is the kind of man I have been,” he says in these passages. “If you want to know what kind of person I am, I will tell you.” And he does tell us.

In chapter 29 Job is longingly looking back upon his life before all the troubles befell him. We might entitle the passage, “Oh, for the good old days!” Listen to his sad plea for a happier time, and observe the character of the man revealed in it. Job has lost everything—family, possessions, honor, reputation; even his health has suffered severe deterioration. Seated in deep grief upon the ash heap of suffering, he speaks bravely in his own defense.

How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me, when my path was drenched with cream, and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil. (Job 29:2–6)

The first and most important thing Job remembers and longs for is the friendship of the Lord. The lamp of the Lord shining on his head, the light of the Lord leading through the darkness, the intimate friendship of the Lord blessing him and his family—these things meant more to Job than anything else, and he longed fervently for their return. In his golden days, Job was first and foremost a man who walked with God.

Listen to Job as he tells in this chapter of the honor and respect he used to have, because of the large-hearted man he was, and still claims to be:

When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet. The chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help and the fatherless who had none to assist him. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth. (Job 29:7–17)

The picture that comes through in these verses is that of a man who is just, kind and genuinely good-hearted, not afraid to get involved in someone else’s troubles, if he felt that person was being wronged and he could use his influence to defend the wronged one and drive off the wrongdoer.

The autobiographical material in chapter 31 adds even more to our understanding and appreciation of Job. Each verse in this chapter deserves to be studied carefully. Here is revealed a man of purity, honesty, equity, fairness, and compassion. Job is a man who was unselfish, considerate, generous, hospitable, and loyal to family and friends. Above all, he was a godly man, living his life in the realization of the existence and omnipresence of Almighty God, before whom he lived, and to whom he was answerable.

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. For what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step? (Job 31:1–4)

Job professes to be a man of inward purity. He has not been guilty of lust. The mention of a girl suggests a reference to his early life, before marriage. Job deliberately determined, like Daniel, not to defile himself. His rationale was the fact of God’s omnipresence. God’s eye was upon him; to consider fornication would be to sin before God’s very eyes, and this would be to court disaster and judgment. The ethics of this good man derive from his absolute assurance of the existence and all-seeing presence of the Righteous God.

If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit—let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless. (Job 31:5–6)

Job professes to be a man of inward truthfulness. He speaks of not walking in falsehood, as though honesty and veracity are his daily habit as he passes through life. Double-tongued deceit has never been his practice; Job indicates that it has been his lifestyle to be sincere and transparent, and he calls on God, who knows the heart, to witness his truthfulness.

If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, then may others eat what I have s...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Before the Storms: Job Introduced and Praised
• Chapter 2: The Storms Break: God’s Servant Tried and Trusted
• Chapter 3: During the Storms: Reactions of Job—A Person Like Us
• Chapter 4: During the Storms: Reactions of Job—The Person of Faith
• Chapter 5: During the Storms: The Reactions of the Miserable Comforters
• Chapter 6: The Storms End in a Storm: The Words of Elihu and the Word of the Lord to His Servant
• Chapter 7: After the Storms: God’s Servant Rewarded
• Conclusion
• Bibliography