This is Part 11 of a 12-Part Series on Grief, Trauma, and Mental Health
Disclaimer: I have no training or background in the field of mental health. The thoughts expressed in this series should, in no way, be taken as professional mental health advice or a substitute for it; they are merely observations and insights that I have gleaned from reading, studying, and praying about these passages in scripture.
Throughout the 39 chapters "in between", it seemed as if Job had suffered so many losses that it would be impossible for God to restore them. It seemed impossible, but "with God, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)
But before God restores Job's losses, He has to set the record straight about a couple of things.
In Job 17:3, Job had cried out to God, "You must defend my innocence, Oh God, since no one else will stand up for me!" People had been talking about Job behind his back, and his 3 friends, in particular, had said some really hurtful things about him - especially in regards to his walk with God. God is sometimes referred to in scripture as "The Advocate" (as in He will "advocate" for you or defend you). If you have ever been falsely accused of something, slandered, and/or betrayed by those who claimed to be your friends, rest assured that, at some point in time, God will set the record straight!
The very first thing God does in Chapter 42 is He affirms Job and corrects Job's friends:
"After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has." - Job 42:7
God wasn't angry or upset with Job; He was angry and upset with Job's friends! Why? Because their religious and spiritual beliefs - their doctrine - were misrepresenting God and misleading people. God seems to take misrepresenting Him to other people pretty personally and seriously - probably because it has a tendency to cause people who might otherwise seek God to turn away from Him instead. In this particular case, Job's friends were adhering too tightly to the principles of prosperity theology, to the point that they were denying reality. There is a big difference between honest and sincere faith in spite of the circumstances and being in denial of, and/or oblivious to, the world around you. In addition, they were adhering so strongly to their misunderstood doctrine that it had caused additional pain, suffering, and trauma for Job, and God not only called them out on it, but He required them to go to Job and make it right.
The next thing God did was He instructed Job to pray for his 3 friends; to intercede for them on their behalf. There was a point in time when this may have seemed difficult, or even impossible, for Job to do. In Job 17:5 and Job 19:28-29, when Job is at the peak of his pain and suffering, Job expresses the desire for God to hold his friends and acquaintances accountable for the things they had said and done. But after some time has passed (roughly 25 more chapters!) and Job has had an encounter with God, he appears to comply pretty quickly and willingly with God's request. God was going to treat Job's friends with a grace and compassion that they didn't deserve, but He wanted the request to come from Job. Forgiveness is a key part of the Christian faith, and while it can be very hard to do at times, it has a tendency to open doors that no man (or even Satan!) can shut.
"When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!" Job 42:10 (emphasis mine)
We have no idea how God restored Job's fortunes, we just know He did. My guess is that He did it in such a way that it would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that He was the One who did it. I would imagine there would have been many people who might have easily attributed Job's success during the first part of his life to his hard work and integrity, but my guess is that the way in which God restored Job's fortunes - doubling everything he had before - left no doubt in anyone's mind that it couldn't have been possible without God orchestrating it.
Beyond forgiveness, though, there was reconciliation; Job invited his former friends to eat with him at his home. Contrary to what you might think, this wasn't necessarily a "celebration", though; his friends and family "consoled him" and "comforted him", and they brought gifts for him, even though, at this point, he had already regained all of his wealth and then some.
Job was once again a very wealthy man, and yet he still grieved. Grief and trauma are a strange thing; you can be fine one minute and feel like you have fully healed, and then suddenly, something can trigger those feelings of trauma or loss, and you can need some time to grieve again.
Job's health and wealth had been restored, but Job had lost many people he loved, and people can never really be "replaced". In the same way that the Bible distinguishes between material possessions and health at the beginning of the Book of Job, it also makes the distinction between material possessions and people at the end of Job.
At some point, Job and his wife were able to heal enough to have more children, and the Lord, not coincidentally, blessed them with 10 more children - 7 boys and 3 girls.
I have heard people say that the lesson in Job is that "the Lord gives, the Lord takes away, and the Lord restores." I would agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, and I even debated about using "and the Lord restores" (or something to that effect) as the title for this post. However, an Author doesn't write a 42-chapter book with 39 chapters on grief, suffering, and undeserved loss if His main point is that "God is the Great Restorer" (even though He is!). As I stated in the very first post in this series:
"No one wants to talk about the 39 chapters in between, and yet, they are the most important part of the story; the entire reason it was written! And if you focus on only 1, 2, and 42, you will arrive at the very conclusions that the 39 chapters in between were intended to refute."
Just because God eventually restores it doesn't make the loss of it any less painful ... especially when you are still in the midst of it! And this Author fully knew and understood that. There is no time limit on grief; it takes as long as it takes to work through it. I think it's actually quite comforting to know that God doesn't make light of our pain, suffering, and loss; He devoted 39 out of 42 chapters to Job's grief, and He will devote as many chapters as necessary to yours as well.
© I Lift My Voice, 2023
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