When God and Job were talking, Job acknowledged several things. This daily devotional looks at how Job acknowledged God’s greatness, his ignorance, and his humility.
Nuggets
- Job acknowledged God’s superiority and greatness, including His plans for us.
- Job acknowledged that we don’t know as much as we think we do.
- Job acknowledged his need to repent.
Devotions in the Job: The Ultimate Test of Character series
When we last left Job, he and God were having a discussion. In this devotion, we are going to finish looking at their discussion.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Acknowledging God’s Greatness
“Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42: 1-2 CSB)
Job acknowledged God’s superiority and greatness, including His plans for us.
Job did some things right when he addressed God. We talked before about the first thing out of God’s mouth when He started the one-on-one that Job requested was questions about where-were-you-in-creation?
Job learned his lesson. He acknowledged God’s greatness. Woodrow did say that he did do this all along. He wrote, “Throughout his speeches Job had frequently asserted the majesty of God. But now he has a new view of it, which turns awe into reverence and fear into adoration.”
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Think of what God showed Job.
- Majesty
- Glory
- Wisdom
- Holiness
Job didn’t see it from a human perspective. He saw it from the perspective Hod showed Him.
Wow!
Maybe Job didn’t consider God had a plan for His life before. Now, he knew God did.
God has a plan for all our lives, and He will work His plan.
This whole section on God’s response to Job shows us the power and glory of God. The Christian Observer wrote that it shows us His attribute of perfection.
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That produces strong case for our repentance. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to changing ourselves through obedience so that we no longer do the wrong things.
Acknowledging His Ignorance
“You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?’ Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me’” (Job 42: 3-4 CSB)
Job acknowledged that we don’t know as much as we think we do.
Job admitted that he didn’t know everything in the past. He may have thought he did, but he realized he didn’t.
Burrell contended that Job and his friends were working on two false assumptions. The first was that we could know all there is to know about God. The second was that we did.
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We can go two ways when we find out we don’t know as much as we think we do. We can react badly. Or we can open up and learn.
Orr brought up a good point. We don’t know where God had gotten his knowledge of God previously.
Think about it. Sitting in the pew learning about God is great. Hearing He is going to be with us during the trials sounds like it is going to be fantastic.
Having God in the car when we almost get in an accident is better. God providing the money when we don’t know where it is coming from is priceless. Holding on to God’s hand when we feel like our health is slipping out the door is comforting.
That, my friend, is knowing God. We don’t know God until we go through the trials.
Acknowledging His Humility before God
“I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes” (Job 42: 5-6 CSB)
Job acknowledged his need to repent.
Think back to when this all started. For the first 31 chapters, all Job wanted was for others to realize that he hadn’t sinned. He wanted justification. Woodrow said that Job wanted to lay the responsibility at God’s feet and blame “… the strangeness and the mystery of His ways.”
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Ooo, baby. Don’t we do that? “Well, I don’t know why I am having seizure. I am sure it is all part of His plan. He must have a reason, though it is beyond me. He works in mysterious ways. Maybe I will find out. Maybe I won’t. It is all on Him.”
Remember when Job was a broken record when the friends were biting on him? Basically, all Job was saying was, “I don’t know why. I want to know why.”
After Chapter 31, Job started to condemn himself.
Job realized he had sinned. Orr wrote, “He had, further, confessed his sinfulness in the sight of God; for, though he vindicated his character against the unjust suspicions of his fellow creatures, he knew that his righteousness extended not to his Creator.”
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Job realized that he was biting on God for the trials. He was holding God responsible for the bad stuff and was impatient with Him to get it over!
God never told Job the why part. And Job was OK with that. He had grown in his trials.
Burrell said that Job got a side benefit of a new state of heart. He said that “Job goes beyond humility to repentance.”
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Orr made a great comment. He said, at the end of everything, Job wouldn’t have changed anything.
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Every trial that God has us go through is going to do its job. That job is to bring us closer to God — give us a clearer understanding of Who He is.
When we are humbled, God can show us our sin. Even when we think we haven’t sinned, we usually have.
Yeah, that is hard being shown where we have broken God’s laws and commandments. But we need to know, so we can repent. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to changing ourselves through obedience so that we no longer do the wrong things.
I love this quote. Vaughan wrote, “But repentance is not the necessity of some; it is the necessity of all. Repentance is not an act, but a state; not a feeling, but a disposition; not a thought, but a mind. Repentance is too real a grace to live in the ideal.”
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I think, sometimes, we think repentance is a once-and-done act. Well, the act itself is.
What it brings isn’t. I think the best I can describe it is a condition, but I am not sure I really like that.
Making the Connections
God wanted an inward change. True, God renewed Job’s joy. He was also able to be of service to his friends.
More importantly, Job received greater knowledge of God, an increased relationship with Him, and a greater understanding of himself. We all need this to grow in our relationships with God.
Taylor pointed out that this was typical of all Old Testament individuals. Had to be. It is in the nature of the way God revealed Himself to the Israelites.
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Jesus didn’t come until the New Testament. God could give the promise of a Savior, but He couldn’t say a Savior had appeared until Jesus was born. Then, it switched to a He-was-here belief.
But look at it this way. Our faith was going from a there-is-a-God to I-need-to-live-for-and-obey-God. It was heading to being built on inward character.
Burrell argued that, after the trials, Job had a greater appreciation of God. He wrote, “Every revelation of God to our hearts has for its contents, above the fact of God’s existence, the facts of His character. God is never shown to us except with His attributes. This new knowledge came to Job because he suffered.”
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The big why? God is merciful. God’s mercy is an act of sovereign will that produces an unexpected and undeserved response from God as He responds in love to our needs.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
God loves us so much He forgives us for disobeying Him when we genuinely repent. That includes turning away from our sin.
How Do We Apply This?
Dickinson wrote, “The primary object of the Book of Job is to prove and illustrate the glory and force of a pure, unselfish religion. Job was reconciled to his sufferings, not by argument, but by a direct revelation of the character of God.”
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Job started out blameless. He ended up complaining against God. Dickinson said he was somewhat vindictive.
- As we seek God, prepare to be humbled and become conscience of our sin.
- We need to understand God’s purity, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, power, wisdom, and love from His perspective. Girdlestone said we really don’t have a clue.
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We must put our faith and trust in God regardless of what comes — prosperity or trials. We must be content with wherever our Sanctification Road takes us.
We do that by submitting. We give everything over to God and say it is His to orchestrate. Then we praise Him for whatever He brings our way.
Father God. You are great! You are knowledgeable, and we are not. We humbly come to You, repenting of our sins and asking Your forgiveness. Amen.
What do you think?
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