by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n
There are many different opinions about the point of the Book of Job. Some say that it proves that man will serve God for nothing. Others posit that it is about the incomprehensible nature of suffering. Personally, I am partial to the explanation provided in James 5:11.<\/p>\n
According to the inspired author, Job’s story proves two related points. First, those who endure are blessed. Second, the outcome of the Lord’s dealings is that He is compassionate and merciful.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, both of these conclusions come from the back half of the frame tale in Job 42, not from the poetic discussion that makes up the bulk of the book. Job spends chapter after chapter questioning the justice of God, but ultimately his life reveals God’s mercy.<\/p>\n
I think this mercy appears in two main ways. First, God does not merely restore Job’s possessions. He gives him twice as much.<\/p>\nSecond, God deals patiently with Job’s complaints. If one of our prayer leaders addressed God in the way that Job does, we would be shocked. I doubt the brother would ever be asked to lead a public prayer again! However, God endorses Job’s words even though he is mistaken and admits as much.
\nIndeed, an even more shocking example of undeserved suffering proves exactly the same point as Job’s suffering. Job was righteous, but Jesus was sinless. Job suffered from circumstance, but Jesus suffered from human envy and malice. Job lost his possessions and his health, but Jesus lost His life. If we didn’t know how the story turned out, this would seem like the strongest possible proof of God’s callousness and unfairness.\n
Of course, it proves the opposite. The One who humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross was highly exalted and given the name that is above every name. What’s more, His selfless sacrifice enabled God to offer mercy and compassion to everyone. God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts, and He is able to reveal His compassion in a situation where we think it is impossible.<\/p>\n
This gives me great hope, and it should give great hope to every Christian who is suffering. I do think that Job shows that human suffering is mysterious and incomprehensible. Job and his friends couldn’t figure out what was going on, and neither can we.<\/p>\n
However, if we endure despite not getting it, we can be certain of what the outcome will be. Once again, God will prove Himself to be compassionate and merciful.<\/p>\n
I don’t know what this will mean for me. Maybe it will be revealed in God’s personal dealings with me somehow. Maybe my suffering will reveal His mercy and compassion to others. Maybe both will be true. Maybe it’s something else that I haven’t even thought of yet.<\/p>\n
In short, I don’t know how any of this will glorify God’s mercy and compassion, but I am certain that it will. That is the outcome of His dealings with all His people, especially those who endure suffering. If you are one of those people, take heart. You might not get it. You might not be able to imagine what God could possibly be doing in your life. If you cling to Him, though, the day will surely come when you look back and marvel at how your suffering revealed His compassion and mercy.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Matthew W. Bassford There are many different opinions about the point of the Book of Job. Some say that it proves that man will serve God for nothing. Others posit that it is about the incomprehensible nature of suffering. Personally, I am partial to the explanation provided in James 5:11. According to the inspired…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[752,182],"class_list":["post-60876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-job","tag-suffering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10942,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":0},"title":"The Book of Job","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Job 1:6-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If someone asked you what the book of Job was about, how would you answer? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book tells the story of a man who loses everything \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He suffers greatly and wrestles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86181,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sweeping-judgments\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":1},"title":"Sweeping Judgments","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer I am sometimes reminded how hurtful judgments and the words used to express them can be. I have been guilty of being deaf to the problems of others. We all have a right to our convictions and a right to express those convictions, but when we make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95885,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-merciful\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":2},"title":"The Merciful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy\" (Matthew 5:7 NKJV). Obtaining mercy from God is a great blessing, but God intends to give\u00a0it only to those who believe it is worth giving to others. If we do not become merciful in our character, then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-elihu-tell-job-that-his-suffering-was-a-chastisement-from-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":3},"title":"Why did Elihu tell Job that his suffering was a chastisement from God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Job 33:19 Elihu tells Job that his pain and suffering are a chastisement from God. What did Job do to cause God to put this sickness upon him to start with? Thank you. Answer: Elihu scolds Job for complaining that God has caused him to suffer without explaining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23295,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-long-did-job-suffer\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":4},"title":"How long did Job suffer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: During our midweek services the question was asked; \"How long did Job suffer?\" According to Job 2:13, it lasted for 7 days and 7 nights.\u00a0 But then I read Job 7:3 and the implication is months. What are your thoughts? Answer: We don't know. Job 7:3 says, \"So I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32795,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-plea-for-a-daysman\/","url_meta":{"origin":60876,"position":5},"title":"The Plea for a Daysman","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jarrod M. Jacobs Job chapter nine records one of the speeches Job made when defending himself against Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. This speech in chapter nine is somewhat different from the others. Job does not spend much of his speech responding directly to Bildad and what he said in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60876\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}