Happy Ending!

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Opening Prayer

Father God, it is too easy to be cynical. I ask for a faith to see me through when all is not “calm” and all is not “bright.”

Read JOB 42:1-17

^[1] Then Job replied to the LORD: ^[2] “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ^[3] You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ^[4] “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ ^[5] My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. ^[6] Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” ^[7] After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. ^[8] So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” ^[9] So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer. ^[10] After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. ^[11] All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. ^[12] The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ^[13] And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ^[14] The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ^[15] Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. ^[16] After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ^[17] And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

Meditate

“Focusing on God is the key to resolving conflict constructively. When we remember his mercy and draw on his strength, we invariably see things more clearly and respond to conflict more wisely” (Ken Sande).

Think Further

I like stories with happy endings. This one comes as a surprise, after all that’s gone before. Job’s reply to God does not contain an admission of guilt–there was no need–but he does admit that God has opened his eyes, his mind, to a new and deeper understanding both of God and of himself. It was the difference between having merely heard of a famous person and actually meeting that person in the flesh. Job has met God in a new way. Therefore he repents (6)–he turns away from his old understanding and embraces the living God himself. Then things start to happen.

First on the agenda is to sort out Job’s friends. Twice God vindicates Job with regard to all he has said in agonized response to his friends’ erroneous ideas (7-9). It is the friends who must repent, not Job! Job needs to forgive–and to pray for them. In any church context there will inevitably be times when one member hurts another; sadly this often leads to years of estrangement–which does nothing for the Church’s witness! Recently the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been urging the Church to become “reconciled reconcilers.” True reconciliation means the person hurt must forgive the antagonist, and the person doing the hurting (whether deliberately or not) needs to take responsibility for what they have said or done.

The stage is set for the happy ending. We cannot assume that all our troubles will end in the same way, but we have a blessing that Job could barely glimpse: our kinsman-redeemer has opened the door to the promise of resurrection and eternal life, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev. 21:4). Can we cling to that hope in the tough times?

Apply

Is there someone you need to be reconciled with? How can you make the first move to resolve the situation? Be sure to read Matthew 18.

Closing prayer

Understanding One, I need to take the pain and anger and throw them away. Help me to move forward in my broken relationships. I want be Your servant; I want to learn to forgive.

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