Surprise

7 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. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. 10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

Job 42:7-11 NLT

For context the story of Job can be broken down in 3 divisions:

  • Job's distress (Chapters 1-3)

  • Job's defense (Chapters 4-37)

  • Job's deliverance (Chapters 38-42)

Job was the richest person in his region and in chapters 1 and 2 Job loses everything (children, livestock, and health) for no fault of his own. In fact the book of Job starts off, "There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. (Job 1:1)" And yet he spent chapters 4-37 trying to defend his integrity against his "friends," who were trying to wrongly convince Job that he must have done something wrong for this to have happened to him. Through it all Job remained faithful to the Lord, God made Job's friends apologize, and in obedience to the Lord Job prayed for his friends; who had given him much difficulty during his time of sorrow. 

What happens next? The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, restoring his fortunes and providing more children. Job didn't pray for his friends so that he could be blessed, but Job prayed in obedience and God blessed him. The kind of funny part about this is that once his fortune was restored, family members and friends who had abandoned him showed up to console and bring gifts. 

My main takeaway is that it is God who provides far more abundantly than I can ask or think. My job is just to remain faithful with much or little (although I prefer much). 

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