Job’s Story of His Past

Sol he fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is tried by that which he praiseth.”” — Prov. xxvii. 21, m.

“Job again took up his parable, and said, Oh that I were as in the months of old.”” — Chap. xxix. I, 2.

OB now reverts to his own experience, having solemnly, and finally, affirmed his determination to continue in his integrity, and emphatically refused to take the position

urged upon him by his friends. Having silenced them, he now gives himself up to the luxury of dwelling upon the happy past, the while he contrasts the bitterness of the present with those ‘‘ months of old”’.

As Job takes up his “‘ parable” and tells his story, he draws a vivid portrait of his inner and outer life, as a man who walked in fellowship with God.

Unconsciously he also reveals the reason why Jehovah should have placed him in the crucible.

Job’s very first words show that there was a further stage of surrender to God he had yet to learn. He had without hesitation bowed to the will of God, when blow upon blow came upon him at the beginning of his great trial, but during his prolonged suffering, when emptied from vessel to vessel of pain and testing, it did not occur to him that to let his mind dwell upon past experiences, and crave their return, was not a full abandonment to God, and an entire acceptance of His will.

A writer deeply taught in the ways of God, has truly said that it needs a very thorough surrender to the will of God, for any soul in the furnace of trial, never to look back with regret upon the past, nor forward with any wish for the future, and yet it is easy to see that such regrets or desires are not consistent with a true and complete abandonment of our whole being to God.

The Adversary knows this, hence his persistent endeavour to occupy our minds with what we once were, and, apparently, are not now; or what we ought to be and seem not to be at the moment! Comparing ourselves with ourselves is a fatal hindrance to present rest in the will of God.

“O that I were as in the months of old,’ cries Job as he thinks of past experience. He says little of the outward prosperity, and the loss of property and home, for his heart was not centred upon the abundance of the things which he possessed, but he dwells mainly upon his fellowship with God, and his life of service for others.

Job’s walk in the light of God

“Oh that I were... as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shined above my head, and by His light I walked through darkness.’’ — Chap. xxix. 2, 3, m.

Job’s heart integrity is to be seen at every point of his story. In dwelling upon his past experience and his loss of all, he does not speak first even of his children, but grieves most about the cloud that has apparently come over his fellowship with God. His memory goes back to the days when he had the assurance that the Lord was watching over him, guarding and guiding every step of his life. He remembers how he walked as though a lamp was shining above, or upon, his head, and it mattered not what deep darkness was around him, for by the light of God he saw the path, and was able to walk with Him right through the darkness.

“Oh that those blessed days were mine again,”’ was the yearning longing of Job’s heart. He believed that Jehovah was with him as of yore, but he was troubled at this new aspect of His dealings. Oh the pain of walking through darkness with no illumination upon the path; no certainty of being led by His light through the darkness that surrounded him now.

Job was suffering, as all suffer, when being led by the Spirit out of the path of illumination into the walk of pure faith in the Faithful One. He did not know how much he had relied upon the light of God, rather than upon God Himself; how he had walked almost by sight when the path was so illuminated, and not by faith alone.

Job’s friendship with God “Oh that I were... as I was in the days of my youth when the secret (friendship, R.V. margin) of God was upon my tabernacle.” — Chap. xxix. 4,5, AV.

Job knew what he had lost, but he did not yet realize all that he was to gain. His language plainly shows his position. God was watching over him; the lamp of God was shining upon him; His light shone upon his path. Job was to lose all this for a deeper and more intimate knowledge of God Himself, only possible to a faith that rests on the character of God alone.

The R.V. text reads, ‘‘ as I was in the ripeness of my days”’. It is evident that Job regarded his past experience as the ripest stage of his spiritual life, but he was mistaken; later on his vision would be clearer, and he would see the days of rich ripe fruitfulness yet before him.

The time of youth, both in nature and in grace, is very beautiful. In the spiritual life it is lovely in fervour and freshness of love, but it has its crudities; its impulsiveness; its partiality; its assumption of knowledge and its one-sided vision. Beauty in fervour, devotion, energy, and life, but it is the beauty of possibility, not fulfilment; the beauty of a flower that may come to ripened fruit when the petals fall.

In the days to come Job will look back upon his past with grateful remembrance of the joy and bright light that then shone upon his path, but he will see greater beauty in the matured faith that walks with God in calm and quiet trust, and the loveliness of the chastened spirit which can rest confidently in His wise and gentle workings in the world around, knowing that all things are being wrought after the counsel of His own blessed. will.

But Job does not now see all this, for his heart is dwelling upon the past, ‘‘ when the friendship of God was upon my tent’, he sadly says. Ah, Job did not know that Jehovah was never more his friend than now! The Lord never watched over His servant more closely than while he was in the crucible, for He does not withdraw His eyes from the fining-pot when the precious gold of His redeemed is being refined by fire.

It is now that Job refers to his children, and we see how truly he had held them for God! ‘“‘ When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were about me,’’ is his only reference to the sad memory of the past.

Job’s resources in God.

“My steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil! ’ — Chap. xxix. 5, 6.

Job remembers what boundless resources he had had in his Almighty Friend, Who smoothed all his steps for him, as if they had been ‘‘ washed with butter’’, and Who caused the hard rocks of difficulty in his path to pour out for him, as it were, “rivers of oil”’. In fact he had rejoiced in meeting every stumbling-block in the road, for each one became a fresh occasion of blessing in his life.

Jjob’s reputation in the world

“When I went forth ... unto the city... the young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged rose up... the princes refrained talking ... the voice of the nobles was hushed.’” —

Chap. xxix. 7-10.

Job’s reputation as a man of God was noised abroad, and he draws a vivid picture of the way in which he was looked up to by old and young, and by all classes of society.

The young feared him, and ‘“‘ hid themselves ’’, perhaps under the impression that he would not understand or sympathize with them, or that one who lived so near to God would see them through and through — only to criticize or condemn! The aged stood up as a mark of respect, and even the princes and nobles ceased their talking when he drew near, so as to listen the more readily if he had aught to say.

It is a great honour thus to be respected on account of a close walk with God. Unconsciously the reverence is really given to Jehovah. In all cases as with Job, character carries weight, and ‘‘ a man’s gift [of the Holy Ghost] maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men ’’, but if so be that those who thus honour the servant of God “‘ glory in men”, and attach the power to the man himself, the Lord, Who is a jealous God, must needs withdraw that soul from the eyes of others, or — as in the case of Job — place him in such a furnace of trial as to make it evident that he has nought but that which he has received from God; that he himself possesseth no good thing.

Job’s life of service ‘““When the ear heard me, then it blessed me... because I delivered the poor that cried, the fatherless also.... The blessing

of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the

widow’s heart to sing for joy.”” — Chap. xxix. 11-13.

In striking language Job describes the joyous service for others which is the spontaneous outcome of a life lived in close fellowship with God. When he went forth to the city, there were those who called down the blessing of God upon him as they heard his voice, and every eye that saw him bare witness to the grace and power of God upon him, and loved him for his life of unselfish toil. This man of God was the resort of all who were in trouble. He had the wisdom which came from above, which is first ‘‘ pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy... without partiality, without hypocrisy’. He genuinely gave himself to the service of all who appealed to him. The poor; the fatherless; him that was ready to perish; and the widow; all found him a ready helper, and none appealed to him in vain.

Job’s sketch of his life reaches its supremest beauty at this point. Next to the joy of satisfying the heart of Christ, there is no joy on earth so sweet as that which comes from ministering to those who are “ready to perish ’’, and causing the lonely heart of the widow to sing for joy.

Job looked back upon the time of privileged service with a great longing to be entrusted with it again — but who would come to him now, an outcast upon the dunghill?

Job’s equipment for service

“JT put on righteousness, and it clothed itself with me: my justice

Was as... ..a diadem., J. was eyes, 10 the, blind...¥.° 5 feetuaseaemito

the lame... a father to the needy... I brake the great teeth of

the unrighteous, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.”” — Chap. xxix.

14-17, m.

Remembering that Job’s acceptance before God was based upon the sacrifices he had learnt to offer to Him, we may well expect to see the same righteousness of life and character as now we find in those who realize that the Lord Christ, ‘‘ Who knew no sin [was| made sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’?.

“* Righteousness clothed itself with me,” is the expression that Job uses to describe the force of his life, and it shows that he was truly endued with power from on high.

The clothing of the Holy Ghost that came upon the disciples at Pentecost could be well described in the same language. Did not the righteousness of God, manifested in the power of the Spirit, clothe itself with Peter and unveil and judge the sin in Ananias and Sapphira?

Even so was Job an instrument in the hand of God in his day. Clad with righteousness as a coat of mail for the battle with sin; his justice, or impartial judgment in controversy, was as a diadem of beauty upon his head, so that he was as “eyes to the blind’’, in clearing their vision and showing them the way to God. He was “‘ feet to the lame ’’, in strengthening them to walk in the paths of righteousness and truth. He was pitiful and tender with the needy, dealing with them with a father’s patience and long-suffering love; sparing no trouble in sifting and searching out every cause that came before him, so that he might act worthy of God (v. 16). He was fearless in the battle for the right, and regardless of consequences in rebuking the wicked; delivering the captives, and plucking them out of the very teeth of the ungodly.

Job’s mistaken confidence

‘* Then I said, I shall die in my nest... multiply my days as the

phoenix.” — Chap. xxix. 18, m.

Job may well have thought that he had reached the summit of the spiritual life in the experience he describes, and has once before referred to as the ‘‘ ripeness of his days |”

It is thought that Job was about one hundred years old at the time of his great trial, and no glimpses are given of his early years; but it is clear that such fellowship with God; such knowledge of his resources in Him; such ripened judgment and fearless courage in the service of others, could only have been the result of years of obedient walking before the Lord of Hosts.

The powerful service that he describes could not have been his time of spiritual babyhood, and yet it was not the “‘ ripeness of his days’? as he imagines.

Job now confesses his mistaken confidence. He had said to himself as he looked around, “‘ J shall die in my nest!”” He saw before him ‘“‘ days multiplied as the sand’, for his life would be renewed like the phoenix.

He knew that his inner life was deeply rooted in God and, as it were, opened to the living waters. The dew of the Spirit was silently resting upon him continually, and keeping him like a tree evergreen, and untouched by drought (v. 19).

Moreover his ‘“‘ glory’” — does he mean the continual presence of God ? — was fresh and new in him, and he was constantly being re-equipped by the power of God for the conflict with sin, and the powers of darkness. His ‘“‘ bow”

instead of being weakened by use, was actually “‘ changed” (A.V.m.) and renewed whilst in his hand (v. 20).

Job’s gift of utterance “‘ Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence for my

counsel.” — Chap. xxix. 21.

Job was not only clothed with the righteousness of God, for the warfare with sin and the forces of darkness, but he was given in marked degree what the Apostle called in Pentecostal days, the “‘ gift of utterance”’.

Job’s description of this might have been written in the days of Paul. The power to command a hearing; the intense stlence so peculiarly accompanying utterance in the Spirit (v. 21); the conviction of the Spirit that subdues opposition; the dew-like power of the Spirit-given word (v. 22); the thirst aroused, and the expectancy of the hearers; the receptivity of heart, the whole being opened wide as for “‘ the latter rain”’ (v. 23); the faith created by the Spirit in the God-given authority of the messenger, so that, as Job says, “‘ If I laughed on them, they believed it not’?; and the light of God that shone through the countenance of the speaker (v. 24), as with Stephen before the counsel in Jerusalem.

All this cannot be said of human eloquence, and it shows that Job was truly a prophet of God in his time.

Job’s pedestal “I sat... sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army.”’ — Chap. xxix. 25. Job concludes the description of his past experience and his power in service, with the significant words — “‘ J... sat as chief!” He compares himself to a king in the midst of his

army. ‘There was none higher than he! By the obedience of the people to the words of his mouth, he practically chose out their way, and they looked up to him and trusted him, for they knew they could rely upon him in every time of need.

No more solemn trust can be given to any one than the gift to sway hearts by speech. Such a position of power as described by Job is perilous for any man, and the faithful Scripture records have not hesitated to unveil the perils, as well as the privileges, of honoured servants of God.

Moses’ failure with~his lips; Eli’s lax dealing with his sons; David’s sin through neglecting to guard his eyes;

Jeremiah’s fainting of spirit in the stress of service; all these things are written for our admonition.

The language of Job’s description of his days of spiritual power shows that he was not indifferent to the position in which he was placed, both by the manifest favour of God upon him, and by the estimation of the people to whom he was sent of the Lord.

The Adversary’s challenge to Jehovah had been well timed. He had considered Job to some purpose, and saw him to be in the most perilous position a human being could occupy — one of which Paul, in later days, knew well the danger, when he said that he had given to him the stake in the flesh, lest through the greatness of the revelations he might become exalted, and finally lose his crown.

On the other hand Job’s description of his experience and life strikingly confirm the words of Jehovah before the council of heaven, and show that his sufferings were not the consequences of transgression or disobedience, but by the will of God, for the development of a faith which is only possible in a soul who knows the fulness of the Spirit, and is being led into a walk of faith more precious to God than gold that perisheth — a faith that will be found unto glory and honour at the Lord’s appearing.

In the New Testament, the ripened grain of wheat falling into the ground to die that it may bring forth much fruit; the conformity to the death of Christ that follows the knowledge of identification with Him on Calvary’s Cross; and, in Paul’s own experience, the sentence of death upon all that he was in himself that he might rely only upon the resurrection power of God, correspond to this stage in Job’s history.

Job, Chapter xxx.