Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Job 40-42

I wrapped up my first book of the Bible today!  And learned what a Leviathan is! (A crocodile.)  At the end of the book of Job there is an epilogue and good news- it's a happy ending!  There are some unanswered questions, (what happened to Elihu?!) but something tells me I am going to have buckets full of unanswered questions by the end of this year! 

Job is given twice the blessings he had before.  But.  I can't help but think of how this experience must have scarred him.  Maybe physically; definitely emotionally.  He lost his kids.  Sure, he had more kids after this fiasco, but I think any parent who has lost a child would tell you that no amount of good-looking, wonderful kids could replace the one(s) lost.  He was ostracized by people he thought he could count on, his wife was certainly no support ("Curse God and die!"), his servants, whom he, as a godly man probably loved, were murdered.  His life has gone down in history as one of the most miserable ever recorded.

Still.

He found a way to be happy.  Without his faith there is a good chance he never would have bounced back.  The kicker is, we are never really told he is happy again.  But I think it's fair to assume he is. God would never give us this entire story, just for the end to be, "The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former part, but he was miserable for the rest of his life anyway."  Job bounced back.  He was the world's first comeback kid.  That's how this book ends.  Our guy learns once again how to be jovial.  Or Jobial, as it were.