| Christian Life and Doctrine | August 1962 |
Learning to Know God
“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” —Job 42:5,6
MILLIONS of the human race have heard about God. The information they have received concerning him has for the most part been vague and ofttimes contradictory and confusing. Job’s knowledge of God exceeded that which is possessed by the majority. What he knew about God caused him to be his faithful servant. The record is that he was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (ch. 1:1) But even so, in our text he acknowledges that prior to his trying experiences his knowledge of God was limited, that though he had heard of God, a fuller understanding of him came in trial, and when God spoke to him.
At the present time God is revealing himself to his people through the truths of his plan for the redemption and recovery of the human race from sin and death. The doctrines of the divine plan reveal God’s wisdom, justice, love, and power. Through the study of God’s Word we can understand God’s plan more and more clearly, and as we do, our knowledge of him increases, which, in turn, should inspire us to serve him more energetically, and with a greater degree of self-sacrifice.
Experience is also an effective teacher. It was, to a large extent, experience that enabled Job finally to “see” God, or to feel that he was really acquainted with him. The experiences through which the Lord’s people attain to a greater appreciation of God are sometimes bitter, and sometimes sweet. There are times when the Heavenly Father beams upon us with the smile of his love, and at other times he hides his smiling face behind a frowning providence. It is then that faith needs firmly to trust him, come what may.
The Bible record of Job’s experience opens with the Lord’s providences smiling upon him. God had blessed him with a loving wife, “and there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.” Job was rich in other ways, “his substance [margin, or, cattle] also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household [margin, or, husbandry]; so that this man was the greatest of all the men [margin, Heb., sons] of the east.”—Job 1:2,3
Doubtless Job looked upon all these material blessings as evidences of the Lord’s love and protecting care. Sometimes an abundance of material good things tends to turn one away from the Lord, in that there is not the keen sense of needing him as when there is less of this world’s goods in which to trust. But seemingly this had not been so with Job, for we read that he was perfect and upright, that he reverenced God, and shunned evil. For Job, prosperity had not decreased his appreciation of God and his desire to serve him faithfully.
And it should be that way with the Lord’s people at the present time. True, not many of these are rich according to the standards of this world, but many do enjoy material blessings in a modest way. Generally speaking, the followers of the Master today have sufficient nourishing food to eat, and a comfortable home in which to live. The majority also enjoy reasonably good health.
But if we have learned well the lessons of truth, and have consecrated ourselves to do God’s will, we look upon the material blessings of life, not so much from the standpoint of the joy we receive from them, but rather in the light of the responsibilities they impose upon us in connection with the service of the Lord, to whom we have dedicated our lives. To us the most impressive evidences of God’s love will be the work of the Holy Spirit within, quickening us to activity in his service; and then giving us opportunities to serve. It is chiefly in these that we see the smile of the Heavenly Father’s countenance.
Reverses and Trials
AS FOR Job, the Lord permitted Satan to remove one after another of his possessions, his sons and daughters, including finally, his health and his wife, who at this stage even suggested he “curse God, and die.” (chapters 1:6 to 2:10) This situation arose from Satan’s charge that Job was serving God only because God was blessing and protecting him; in other words, that his fidelity to God was based solely on selfishness. This was a serious charge, and by it Satan implied that the only way the great Creator of the universe can be assured that his creatures will obey and serve him is by buying their loyalty with material blessings.
From this standpoint the charge was as much against God as it was against Job. That God allowed Satan to put this vicious charge to the test reveals the Creator’s confidence in the rightness of his ways, and in the heart integrity of those who humbly and faithfully serve him. God did not commission Satan to inflict suffering upon Job, he merely permitted him to do so, and he did this because he knew that good would result from Job’s experience.
We see this same principle in operation in connection with the general permission of evil. The question is often asked as to why God permitted our first parents to be tempted. Why did he not either create them in a way that they would be immune to temptation, or else shield them from temptation? But God knew—even as he did in Job’s case—that he could allow evil to blight his entire human creation, yet finally the people would turn to him in heart loyalty and willing obedience, because through this experience with evil they would come to “see” God and love him to a degree that otherwise would not have been possible.
In Philippians 4:7 the Apostle Paul speaks of “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” This peace which God enjoys is based on the realization of his own ability to prevent anything or anybody in his whole vast universe from getting so far out of bounds as to be able to interfere with the outworking of his plans and purposes. He knew this in the case of Job. He knew the quality of Job’s heart, and he knew that in the end Job would thank him for the experiences through which he was permitted to pass.
When one after another Satan did take away Job’s material blessings—by theft, by fire, and by storm—Job lost his flocks and herds, his home, and his family. Learning about this, Job “fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”—ch. 1:20,21
Here we have evidence that Job did look upon his material blessings as being gifts from God, and humbly and reverently he was willing to give them up if this was the will of God. When calamity came Job “fell down upon the ground, and worshiped.” What a wonderful reaction to the providences of God. Nearly all who know about God and profess to serve him are quick to fly to him in prayer in times of trouble, but it takes great faith and resignation to pray as Job did. Too often prayers which are prompted by distress are petitions for the removal of the difficulties, or for the restoration of the blessings which have been taken away. But not so with Job. His prayer was, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
His Health Also
HIS malicious charge thus far proved wrong, Satan asked for and received permission to take away Job’s health. Then Job became afflicted with a loathsome skin disease described as “sore boils,” which appeared on his body “from the sole of his foot unto his crown.” How he must have suffered! “He took himself a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.” No doubt God suffered with Job in this pitiful situation, but he permitted it because he knew the value there was for Job in this experience.
But the final blow was to come. Job’s wife then forsook him. She said to her husband, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.” Job’s reply to his wife is meaningful. He said, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job’s faith and integrity remained firm even though he had lost everything of a material nature that made life enjoyable, and from the human standpoint, really worthwhile.
Further Pressures
UP TO this point there seems not to have been the slightest inclination on Job’s part to question why God had allowed so much trouble to come upon him. He recognized that God had a right to remove his blessings, since it was God who had given him these blessings. But God permitted a further testing to come upon him through the three “comforters,” who, learning of Job’s adversity, visited him and endeavored to convince him that he was suffering as a punishment for some gross sin he had committed and was trying to keep secret.
First, however, these comforters just sat down upon the ground with Job, and for seven days said nothing. Job was the first to speak, and after seven days of suffering in silence he expressed the wish that he had died when he was a child, or that he had even been a stillborn baby. At this point, suffering mentally and physically, his existence seemed meaningless. However, he did not curse God, as Satan charged he would do.
Then one of his comforters spoke—Eliphaz the Temaniteand said, “Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands … and … the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.” (ch. 4:1-5) Here Eliphaz calls attention to a very common human trait. It is comparatively easy to speak encouraging words to others when they are in trouble, and we should do this; it is a privilege. But when we tell others that the Lord will give them strength to bear their experiences, it is well to remember that he will do the same for us, and we should not become discouraged when trouble comes our way. Eliphaz had a point!
But then Eliphaz laid down the false premise which became the point of controversy in the long discussion between Job and his three comforters, who later were joined by a fourth. He said to Job, “Remember, I pray thee, whoever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.” (vss. 7-9) This was the same as saying to Job that his affliction had come upon him directly from God and as a punishment for sin. This, Job knew, was not true.
But this was not the end of the error presented to Job by Eliphaz. In the same speech he said concerning God, “Behold, he put no trust in his servants; nor in his angels, in whom he put light [margin]: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?” (vss. 18,19) How little did Eliphaz realize that Job was suffering because God did put his trust in him! His speech must have cut Job to the quick, as it were, for it was designed to make him think that the God whom he had served so faithfully in the days of his prosperity really had no confidence in him, and was now quite indifferent to his calamities.
This has always been one of Satan’s methods of discouraging the Lord’s people. But we should not allow ourselves to be influenced by such suggestions. Jesus said that no one could come to him unless drawn by the Father, neither could anyone pluck him out of his hand. (John 6:44;10:28,29) We also have his assurance that those drawn by the Father are accepted by Jesus. This means that both the Father and the Son saw in us that which gave them confidence that, with their help, we could make our calling and election sure. God does not draw into the circle of his fellowship those in whom he does not have confidence; and if we continue to have faith that he is able to cause all our experiences to work together for our good, we can enjoy the peace of God which passeth all human understanding.
Job Corrects His Comforters
AS WE have noted, the basic charge Job’s friends leveled against him was that his suffering was punishment for gross sins he had committed. Job did not yet understand why God was permitting him to suffer so grievously, but he knew that the charge made against him by his friends was wrong. To offset their charges he called their attention to the fact that the wicked often prosper. “The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure,” Job said. (ch. 12:6) And again, “Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.”—ch. 21:7-9
Job had not had the joy of seeing his offspring well established in life because they had all died; yet, as he had observed, this joy is often experienced by the wicked. And for this reason, as he had also noted, the wicked often say, “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?” (vs. 15) Job had appraised the situation correctly, in so far as this present evil world is concerned, even as the Prophet Malachi did later when he wrote, “Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.”—Mal. 3:15
While this truth was known to Job, it did not explain why sudden and dire calamity had befallen him. Today the Lord’s people have an advantage over Job in that God has revealed the meaning of suffering in the Christian life, and it remains only for us to exercise faith in the loving care of our Heavenly Father in order to enjoy peace and tranquility of mind even while passing through severe trials. Paul explained that many of our trials—or “temptations” as the common version states it—are those which are common to all mankind. To this Paul adds the assurance that God will not permit any tests that are too great for us to bear, and that when they do reach the point where we would be crushed by them he provides a way of escape.—I Cor. 10:13
Today we also know that as followers of the Master some of the difficulties we experience are due to the fact that we are his followers; that we suffer for righteousness’ sake, filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. No faithful follower of the Master will ever ask why he suffers. His prayers will be for strength to help him bear his trials, and he will praise the Heavenly Father for the privilege of suffering with Christ that he thereby may prove worthy to live and reign with him.
But Job was in a different position. Actually, of course, God did not permit Job to be crushed by his experience to the extent that he gave up his confidence in his Maker. But Job did not know that this would be true. The severest part of his experience was his lack of knowledge as to why God was permitting him to be weighed down with such a heavy burden of tribulation, and this aspect of his trouble was made worse by his friends, who brought against him all the persuasive power they could muster in their effort to convince him that he was a hypocrite.
But through it all Job’s one concern was to see God’s meaning in his experiences. He said, “Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.” (ch. 23:3-5) Job had not lost his confidence in God. He believed that if he could find his Maker, and explain his situation to him, he would receive a satisfying answer. But in his intense suffering and great sorrow he sensed that he had lost contact with his God. Prayer had lost its meaning.
Would not this also be true with us had we not been given so many assurances that we can always, and with boldness and confidence, approach the throne of heavenly grace and be heard and comforted? How wonderfully we are favored by the knowledge that even our unwilling imperfections do not stand between us and our Heavenly Father, that we can always, through the name of Jesus, enter into his presence in prayer and be heard. But Job was not thus blessed, yet through his faith he maintained his integrity. He did not condemn God!
But Job did try to “find” God, to learn from him the meaning of his great trial. He said, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (ch. 23:8-10) What a wonderful affirmation of confidence in God! Job could not find God in his experiences, but he was sure that God knew all about him. To paraphrase, Job said, “I do not know what God is doing, but he knoweth the way that I take. He is hidden from me, but I am not hidden from him.”
And Job was also confident that God was merely testing his fidelity, his faithfulness. He compared this testing to the refining of gold—“When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” This also is one of the reasons the Lord now permits his people to pass through fiery trials. Peter wrote of the faithful: “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”—I Pet. 1:5-7
Surely we can all enter into the feelings of Job as, in his mind, he reached out in every direction to find the Lord. We can imagine Job asking himself various questions. Could this or that, or something else, be the meaning of what the Lord is allowing to happen to me? But all of his reasoning and considering of ideas did not furnish a satisfying answer. The only definite conclusion he reached was that God was testing him, and realizing this he was determined that he would pass the test, that he would “come forth as gold.” Indeed, Job had such faith that God was doing the right thing that he said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”—Job 13:15
God Speaks
AFTER Job’s three friends ceased their efforts to prove that he was a hypocrite, a younger man—Elihu—spoke. He took the position that Job and his three friends were all wrong in the viewpoints they had expressed. The chief point he makes is that God was so far superior to man; and his wisdom, his power, and his majesty so great that it was not becoming for puny man to criticize him, or attempt to understand his reasons for doing the things which were mysterious to them.
Then God himself “answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare. if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations [margin, Heb., sockets] thereof fastened [margin, Heb., made to sink)? or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”—ch. 38:1-7
The list of questions which God asked Job continues through two chapters of the book. Then God demanded that Job reply, knowing that he had no satisfactory answer to any of the questions; that the questions revealed truths concerning the Creator which were beyond the human mind to understand. God said, “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.” (ch. 40:2) Job had not actually reproved God, nor had he attempted to instruct him, but he had expressed the opinion that it would have been better if he had died as a baby. He also had asked God to let him die until his “wrath” was past. In these respects he was intimating that he knew better than God what would be best for him.
But Job was already beginning to learn the lesson that God was teaching him, so he replied: “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.” (ch. 40:4,5) Job was through expressing opinions. He realized that in his distress, and in his desire to refute the erroneous viewpoint of his friends, he had said things which did not properly honor his God, so now he wanted to continue listening to the One who, in the very nature of things, possessed wisdom and capabilities beyond his own.
And God did continue, not in condemnation of Job, but reminding him further of how limited he was in his understanding. He did this by a series of additional questions designed to help Job realize how great and how wonderful the God of all the earth, the great Creator of the universe, really was. To be reminded of this was good for Job, and it is good for us. Often we hear the expression by those not enlightened by present truth, “Well, if I were God I would do so and so”—such as straightening out the difficulties of the distressed world, or preventing evil persons from inflicting suffering upon others. How unbecoming is such an attitude! Those who express such thoughts reveal that they have little or no understanding of God, and of his glorious plan for the redemption and salvation of the human race from sin and death.
In listening to the many additional questions which God asked him, Job finally got the point, and with great clarity. He said to God, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.” “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”—ch. 42:2,3,5,6
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) Job was pure in heart. He had passed through the fiery trials which God permitted to come upon him, and out of those experiences he had learned to know God, to “see” him, to understand his greatness, his infinite wisdom, his almighty power, his righteous judgment, and his abounding love. While the saints of the Gospel Age, when brought forth in the first resurrection, will enter into the actual presence of God, and see him face to face, they also are privileged to see him even now as Job did; that is, with the eyes of their understanding. They now see him “high and lifted up” as did Isaiah in the wonderful vision given to him.—Isa. 6:1
Job’s Confidence
WHILE Job was passing through his sore trial he gave expression to a great truth which, without doubt, did much to sustain him in his distress—the truth of the resurrection. When it appeared to him that he would be better off dead, and he asked God to let him die, he asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” And then, answering his own question, he said, “All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire unto the work of thine hands.”—Job 14:14,15
From this it is apparent that Job knew he would be raised from the dead. And what a great comfort this hope must have been to him! It would help him to realize that regardless of the. difficulties of the present life there was a future to which he could look forward, and in the belief that then he would understand the meaning of the present. Indeed, he said as much. He said, “Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”—ch. 19:26,27
Job was here expressing his belief that he would be raised from the dead and then he would “see,” or know, God and understand why so much calamity had been permitted to come upon him. Job probably did not realize when he uttered these words that he would “see” God even before he died, and of course his vision of God will be much clearer when he is brought forth from death in the “better resurrection” and takes his place as one of the “princes in all the earth.”—Heb. 11:35; Ps. 45:16
It is true of us also, who are following in the footsteps of Jesus, that the hope of the resurrection makes all of our experiences understandable and worthwhile. Indeed Paul said that if there be no resurrection of the dead we would be of all men most miserable. (I Cor. 15:13-19) But the hope of the resurrection helps to transform bitter experiences into stepping stones to a clearer vision of God and the beauties of his character. It is essential that we attain to a knowledge of God now, and to an intimate acquaintance with him, else we will not be ushered into his presence beyond the veil, for this exalted joy will not be realized by those who in this life have been strangers to God, and God unknown and “unseen” by them.—John 17:3
God lifted the heavy burden of Job’s trial even in this life. He was given back his health and his wealth. The Lord gave him twice as much as he had before, “so the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.” (ch. 42:10-17) The account states that these blessings came to Job after he had prayed for three of his friends, with whom the Lord was angry. They had despitefully used Job, and the Lord declared that they had been wrong; but Job found it in his heart to pray for them, and thus he proved that not only did he now “see” God, but wanted to be like him.
While some of our trials may be unrelated to our association with others, many are not. Ofttimes our severest experiences arise out of misunderstandings with our brethren, or with members of our families, or fellow-workers. How are we reacting to these? Do we realize that after all the Lord is at the helm of our affairs, and that nothing can touch us without his permission? If so, we will not find it difficult to do as Jesus admonished in his Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”—Matt. 5:44,45
To know and to be like God, and worthy to be his children, should be the earnest desire of every true follower of the Master. Let us keep our hearts pure that we may attain to this glorious goal!