Q: Job's
enduring trials resulted in God's blessing him double in
everything but his family. Why was his family omitted
from this tally?
A: This
includes an interesting observation which reveals a
special blessing to each of us.
Background
Job was a wealthy person, and an inventory of his
holdings is provided at the beginning of the book:
And there were born unto him seven sons and three
daughters. His substance also was 7,000 sheep, 3,000
camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 she asses, and a very
great household; so that this man was the greatest of
all the men of the east. - Job 1:2, 3
The drama of the book derives from a challenge by
Satan of Job's faithfulness (a series of conversations
that Job was not privy to!). The bulk of the narrative
deals with the extensive dialogs with Job's advisors.
(With friends like these, you don't need enemies!)
God Himself finally intervenes with His science quiz
and declarations of Chapters 38-41. After Job endured
the loss of his wealth, his family, and his health - and
the dubious counsels of his three "friends" - God
ultimately restored to him double:
So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more
than his beginning: for he [then] had 14,000 sheep,
6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 she asses.
He had also seven sons and three daughters.
-Job 42:12, 13
We can't help but notice that while God doubled his
inventory of goods, He only restored seven sons and
three daughters, equivalent to what he had at the
beginning.
A Comforting Insight
I believe the lesson here is that he hadn't
really lost the original children in the first place!
The first seven sons and three daughters are waiting for
him in heaven. We have a tendency to overlook this.
This insight has been a great comfort to Nan and me
since we lost our firstborn son a couple of years ago.
(Chip was 39 years old and had a stroke while jogging
one Saturday afternoon. With no prior medical history,
it came as quite a shock to the family.)
Donald Grey Barnhouse described believers as:
A group of displaced persons, uprooted from their
natural home, and on their way to an extraterrestrial
destination, not of this planet, neither in its roots
nor in its ideals.
We all suffer from a myopia regarding this present
life: it is but a prelude to the larger reality we enjoy
in Christ. We are simply foreigners just passing
through.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18
Our ultimate inheritance will be full of pleasant
surprises!
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