Wisdom Books Job

Knowing God Better

Discover Jesus as: Promised Redeemer Job 41-42 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 393 of 730
Downloads

Lesson

Watch on YouTube

Audio Only

Teaching Notes

INTRO

I’m so excited this lesson is the last lesson from the Book of Job. The Book of Job can be hard. Job can even make Leviticus seem easy. Remember that in chapters 38—41, the Lord speaks and tells Job He’d had enough of him (and his friends) complaining and whining. Job heard God’s response, and it made him want to hide. Job 42 gives Job’s response to God’s words. Despite his whining and complaining, Job stuck it out and kept his eyes on the Lord.

TEACHING

Job 42:1–6: In the first six verses, Job passes judgment on himself. MacArthur states, Job “still did not know why he suffered so profoundly, but he quit complaining, questioning, and challenging God’s wisdom and justice.”1 Job exclaimed that he knew no plans of God could be thwarted and that he had talked about things he knew nothing about (vv. 1-3) (Job 38:2-3).

Job understood God had rebuked him for his pride (v. 4), and he recognized “God’s judicial authority to demand answers from His own accuser, Job.”2 Job realized he had been in the wrong. MacArthur states, “At last, Job said he understood God whom he had seen with the eyes of faith. He had never grasped the greatness, majesty, sovereignty, and independence of God so well as he did at that moment”3 (v. 5). In verse 6, Job repents of his guilt before God. Job covers himself in ashes, showing that he was broken and repenting.4 Charles Spurgeon said, “The door of repentance opens into the hall of joy.”5 Remember Job was still diseased and had still lost everything when he repented. The only thing that changed was Job’s heart. Satan had been proven wrong in the charges he brought against Job and in believing he could destroy someone’s true faith in God.6

Job 42:7-9: This begins another section of God speaking. God addresses Eliphaz and the other friends because they too had misspoken about Him, but His servant Job had not (v. 7). MacArthur points out that God rebuked them “for those misrepresentations and arrogance. This does not mean everything they said was incorrect, but they had made wrong statements about the character and works of God, and also had raised erroneous allegations against Job.”7 God then gave them the opportunity to seek forgiveness through Job by sacrificing seven bulls and seven rams (v. 8). This did not include Elihu. They did as they were told, and Job prayed for them (v. 9a). “And the Lord accepted Job’s prayer” (v. 9b). Job served as the mediator between his friends and God and is an incredible example of what the gospel calls us to do. This also shows a massive shift in the friends’ theology about who God is. God restored them all because of His goodness and mercy.

Job 42:10-17: The Lord then restores Job’s prosperity by doubling everything Job once had (v. 10). After Job’s restoration, all his family and friends who had shunned him before returned to his house with sympathy, money, and gold as a “restoration fund.”8 (v. 11). God blesses Job with 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys (v. 12). Each of these numbers reflects a doubling of what Job originally possessed. Job was also given the same number of children as he had before (v. 13). The names he gave his daughters show how he responded to this blessing: Jemimah means “daylight”, Keziah means “sweet smelling”, and Keren-happuch “describes a beautiful color that women used to paint their eyelids”9 (v. 14). Job was so pleased with the gift of his daughters that he gave them a share of the inheritance their brothers received, something that by Jewish law only happened when there were no brothers to receive the inheritance (v. 15).

Job was seventy years old when he was first struck down with disease, and he lived another 140 years after his restoration10 (v. 16). MacArthur explains Job died in prosperity, and his days were counted as a blessing”11 (v. 17).

CLOSING

MacArthur identifies these characteristics of Job as a husband:

  1. Job modeled godliness for his wife (1:1).
  2. Job was the spiritual leader in his home (1:5).
  3. Job lovingly corrected his wife’s wrong response to the disasters that befell them (2:10).
  4. Job was [his wife’s] example in how to suffer righteously by trusting in God (2:10).
  5. Job did not hold his wife’s wrong response against her—they later started a new family all over again (42:13-14).”12

Job took on the role as the spiritual leader of his family. He stepped up to the role when there was no one else who could do it. Job became an example of what it meant to trust in God during adversity. In reflecting on the end of the book of Job, Wiersbe wrote: “This chapter assures us that no matter what happens to us, God always writes the last chapter. Therefore, we don’t have to be afraid. We can trust God to do what is right, no matter how painful our situation might be.”13

Wiersbe states that the greatest blessing Job received through this journey was “knowing God better and understanding His working in a deeper way.”14 Constable states that the takeaway from the book of Job is that “we do not need to know why [something happens] if we know the Lord.”15 Job had hope, despite it all.

  1. John MacArthur, John MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), p. 593.

  2. MacArthur, p. 593.

  3. MacArthur, p. 593.

  4. MacArthur, p. 593.

  5. Charles Spurgeon; quoted in William W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2004), p. 81.

  6. MacArthur, p. 593.

  7. MacArthur, p. 593.

  8. William W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2004), p. 82.

  9. MacArthur, p. 594.

  10. Wiersbe, p. 82.

  11. MacArthur, p. 594.

  12. MacArthur, p. 594.

  13. Wiersbe, p. 82.

  14. Wiersbe, p. 82.

  15. Thomas Constable, Dr. Constable’s Bible Study Notes: Job (Sonic Light, http://planobiblechapel.org/soniclight/, 2017), p. 148.

Questions

  1. In Job 41, God talks to Job about Leviathan. From the description given, do you think this could be describing Satan? Why or why not?
  2. Do you think Job 41:34 supports the idea of this chapter being about Satan? Pride is a sin and the downfall for many. Where else in Scripture is pride an issue? (Genesis 3:4-6; Proverbs 6:16-17; Ezekiel 28:17)
  3. God showed Job’s friends mercy through Job’s prayers for them. Do you think the friends learned a valuable lesson that day? Have you ever misspoken of the Lord and had to go back and say you were sorry?
  4. In your opinion, could Job 42:12-17 be a result of the promise the Lord gave in Joel 2:25-27 to restore? Why or why not?
  5. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Job 41—42 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Job 42:6, 10

“Therefore, I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes. After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his previous possessions.”

After the Lord spoke to Job about His strength and majesty over creation, He gave Job a chance to respond. At last, Job completely humbled himself, acknowledged God’s greatness, and stated, “God could do anything and no plan of His could be thwarted.” Job repented of his prideful words when he realized he had spoken about things he did not understand. The Lord accepted Job’s prayer of repentance for himself and later on behalf of his three friends as well. After Job prayed, the Lord restored his prosperity and restored his relationships with his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances. The Lord blessed the sub- sequent part of Job’s life even more than the first.

Repent and restore. may take a lifetime for a father to repent of wrongdoing toward a son, but when repentance occurs, the Lord promises restoration. A husband and wife may endure an entire weekend without speaking to each other because of a misunderstanding. But the moment they repent before the Lord and one another, restoration begins. Repentance reveals a humbled heart. Humble yourself, repent to God and to others, and you will be restored. The Lord promises this over and over and over. What are you waiting for? Ask the Lord to reveal any areas in your life that need repentance. If He reveals an area, repent with a broken and contrite heart, ask the Lord for forgiveness, and you will be restored! Today, take a minute to seek the Lord and repent. His mercies are new each morning, and He promises healing and restoration.

“Therefore, I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes. After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored

his prosperity and doubled his previous possessions.”

— Job 42:6, 10

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • 2 Chronicles 7:14 — “And My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
  • Hosea 6:1 — “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, and He will heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds.”
  • 1 Peter 5:10 — “Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little.”