LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Job's Justice
Have you ever met morally impeccable people? They are people who enjoy great prestige, but if you observe them closely you will perceive in them more than a glimpse of self-righteousness. They could hardly comprehend you because they have never failed. They are almost perfect. You can find them anywhere. If they are Christians, they seem to perfectly embody the high demands of God's law. If they are not, they can show off their equally flawless character. They are very special people!
Indeed, this rare human species also has a faithful exponent in the Bible. His name is Job. If he was a righteous man, why did he have to suffer like this? Was God too harsh on him? In the first chapter of the book of Job we are presented to the pious Job. He offered continuous sacrifices to God for the sins of his children (not for his own, but did Job not sin?). A soul aware of his fragility before God would also have watched over his own condition before God. Job hid in the innermost parts of his heart his self-righteousness that had to emerge and be judged.
If we read chapter 29 we will see that Job's heart had not come to a spiritual knowledge of himself. Job had never exclaimed as Paul: “O wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24, KJV); He had not been examined deeply by the light of God. In this chapter, Job mentions himself more than 40 times, while his thoughts barely turn to God five times. The central point of all his reasoning is the ‘self’.
Thus, it was necessary for the righteous Job to be tested; his self-confidence and pride had to be ripped out. God would not have allowed Job's suffering had it not been considered absolutely necessary.
This is also the case with every son of God. Trials do not exceed God's permission and are always reduced to what the Christian needs for his own good (no more) and to what he can endure. There are more than enough reasons to trust that the Lord's hand will not be heavier than necessary; although, it can certainly be as heavy as we need it to be.
Finally, we know that God Himself dealt directly with Job (chapters 38-41). Job, then, expresses the sighs of a truly repentant heart (see 42:3b-5). What a tremendous change of heart! Recognizing that he is vile and feeling a deep loathing of himself can only occur after having had a vision of God's glory. We now have "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11). There are tears of repentance; there is the pleasant smell of holocausts; there is the embrace, and the restoration. Now Job knows God and knows himself. Everything has been made new to him.
The trial is over and the sweet, peaceful fruit of justice is already savored. God is good, faithful, and wise in the extreme. Everything he does or allows to happen to his beloved servants is fine, perfectly fine.