King Jesus/Yeshua in the Book of Job
The Wisdom of God and the Suffering of Man
To me, the book of Job is one of the most challenging narratives found in all of Scripture. In our humanness and limited understanding, the depth of the storyline is difficult to reconcile. Job endures unimaginable loss—our worst fears became his reality. Yet somehow, through his suffering, a greater story unfolds. Beneath the grief and unanswered questions, we see a thread of redemption woven throughout his story. Job’s story is not merely about suffering; it is about hope. It points us beyond itself to the ultimate Redeemer, Jesus Christ. And in many ways, Job’s story is our story, too.
Let’s review the story of Job so we can discover the truths peeking out from these troubling pages.
Job’s Story: A Man of Integrity Tested
Chapter 1:
Job is introduced as a blameless and upright man of God who feared God and turned from evil. He was such that when Satan, the adversary, approached God’s throne, the Lord mentioned His servant Job. Satan contends before God that Job is only righteous and blameless because God has blessed him so incredibly. He suggests that if everything were taken from him, Job would curse God. In this conversation, God permits Satan to test Job by putting all that Job has in his power but not to lay a hand on Job himself. The rest of the first chapter of Job is one tragedy after another, where, on three separate occasions, Job loses his livestock, his servants, and all seven of his sons and daughters. Amid such devastation, Job tore his clothes, shaved his head, and worshiped God.
“And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.’” (Job 1:21).
Job’s response is stunning—he mourns, but he also worships. From this, we learn a powerful lesson: trials and losses are not always signs of God’s displeasure but opportunities to strengthen our faith. It is a falsehood to believe only the wicked suffer. Rather, it is when we experience profound loss or suffering; this is where our faith is tested. Do we believe God is good? Is our faith truly in Him or what He gives to us? When all else fails, do we stand upon what we know to be true about God, and can we trust that in the end, He WILL make all things new and restore all things?
Chapter 2:
Unfortunately, our friend Job’s circumstances have not yet improved. When Satan next approaches God, God again mentions the faith of His servant Job and says, “Still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause” (2:3). But the accuser, Satan, presses further. He suggests Job would not hold to his faith if he did not have his health. He incited God once again, this time saying, “Stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” (2:5). And as before, God permits Satan to attack Job’s health, yet commands Satan to spare his life. After being struck with painful boils by the hand of the adversary, even Job’s wife told him to “curse God and die,” yet “in all this, Job did not sin with his lips” (2:10).
The False Counsel of Friends: Misunderstanding God’s Ways
Chapters 3-25:
The greatest bulk of the book of Job is the dialogue between Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job cries out in devastation, cursing the day of his birth, and his friends quickly conclude Job has sinned and has brought this judgment upon himself. Their shallow theology attempts to explain Job’s suffering away—perhaps in hopes of denying the possibility of such a fate for themselves. Throughout all these accusations and generalizations, Job maintains his innocence and continues to proclaim his faith in God: ”Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” in 13:15; and again in 19:25: “For I know that my Redeemer lives; And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know; That in my flesh I shall see God…”
And there it is—Job’s faith reaches beyond his suffering to something greater. He doesn’t just cling to hope; he proclaims a coming Redeemer. His story isn’t just about personal suffering—it’s about the grand, redemptive plan of God. Jesus, the Redeemer, lives! This is a foreshadowing of the hope of the resurrection of Jesus that will bring redemption to all mankind. This life and its wins or losses is not the end of the story. From Job’s standpoint, Jesus is coming, and He will make all things new. From our standpoint, Jesus has come - He conquered death, hell, and the grave. He is coming back, and He will make all things new!
Chapters 26-31:
Job addresses his friends one final time, defending his innocence again before God. He acknowledges that he never imagined he would experience such devastation (29:18-25). Yet, he acknowledges God’s sovereignty and the fact mankind cannot fathom His ways: “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (26:14). He ends his discourse by again proclaiming he lived a life of uprightness, and sought to serve God and honor Him by serving others all his days.
Most of us live with a similar expectation as Job had in his own life before this trial: if we follow God and obey Him, all will go right with us. And while that is true in the context of God’s greater plan, we are not guaranteed a life of ease on this side of eternity. When we commit to following Jesus, we take up our cross and choose to join Him in His sufferings.
Chapters 32-37:
At this point in the story, a new voice enters: Elihu, a younger man who has been silently listening. Until now, Job’s friends have spoken from their flawed understanding, but Elihu takes a different approach. He is passionate, even indignant, and eager to defend God’s justice. And while much of what he says is true, compassion is far from his lips. Elihu speaks with authority but without empathy, preaching the truth as though suffering is unbeknownst to him. His approach to Job reminds us knowledge without love falls short (1 Corinthians 8:1), and true wisdom, as seen in Christ, is always accompanied by humility and compassion.
God Speaks: The Greatness of Our Creator and the Frailty of Man
Chapters 38-41:
God now addresses Job and his friends from out of a whirlwind. He speaks to Job of His omnipotence and greatness: ”Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” (38:4). In 40:2, God says, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?…” Job answers God in reverence, simply acknowledging God’s sovereignty and his own frailty: “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” (40:4-5). God’s address to Job continues and speaks to his humble state - in stark contrast with God’s greatness and might; Job is merely human. (40:6-14).
In this discourse with Job, God references man’s tendency to forget “from whence we came” and carry a higher view of our merit than is truly ours to hold. While deeply beloved, we are flawed and wretched, in need of a savior. That which is true of Job is also true of us today: we are powerless to save ourselves. “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6). Job’s needs and our needs are the same: We need Jesus to redeem all the brokenness in our hearts and restore us to right fellowship with God.
The Greater Story: Job’s Redemption and Ours
Chapter 42:
Job responds to God with repentance: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You…” (42:2). God then vindicates Job before his friends, rebuking them for their judgments and haughtiness. “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” (42:7). After Job’s friends offered burnt offerings in front of Job for their sins and Job prayed for them, the Lord “restored Job’s losses…twice as much as he had before.” (42:10). In the end, the Lord “blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (42:12a) - in fact, God doubled his earthly possessions. Job lived to the age of 140, “old and full of days.” (42:17).
Just like any good movie or storyline, the end of Job’s life is one of redemption. He has endured immense suffering, is restored to a life of blessing, and “lives happily ever after” as it goes. But the even more true redemption story is the one behind the scenes. Job learns through the events of his life he is living for a greater end. I imagine he carried into his later years the understanding that this life is merely a glimpse and foreshadowing of the goodness and the life that will come in eternity, the full redemption we will receive in Christ. Job was restored with twice what he had lost, but for all of us in Christ, the promise is even greater. We receive eternal life, a redemption that far surpasses earthly blessings (Matthew 19:28-30). While God’s goodness was tangibly shown to him, he learned that this side of eternity is where we learn to love and trust our Creator in all things. I would expect Job to know this as well as anyone who ever lived.
Trusting Jesus, Our Redeemer, in Every Season
Job’s story isn’t just about suffering and restoration. It points us to Jesus. Through Job, we see that God's wisdom is infinitely higher than ours, His presence is more desirable than answers, and His redemption is sweeter than we could ever imagine this side of heaven. Job declared in faith, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” and now we, living in light of the cross, know exactly who that Redeemer is.
The question is, will we trust Him? Will we yield to His sovereignty without demanding answers about His ways?
Like Job, as believers, we often expect following God will lead to an easy life. Yet Jesus’ invitation to His followers is quite clear: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Suffering will come, but through Jesus, suffering is not the end of the story—redemption is. This reminds me of a lyric line of a song by artist Lauren Daigle: “If it’s not good, then it’s not over.” Just as Job was restored, we too will be fully restored in Christ when He returns to make all things new.
When trials come to test us, will we trust that God is good—even when life is not? Will we believe, like Job, that our Redeemer lives?
May we, like Job, fix our eyes on the One who holds eternity in His hands, resting in the promise that no suffering is wasted, no pain is unseen, and no story—yours included—is beyond the reach of redemption.
