Scripture Reading: Job 42:1-6; 40:10-14; Col. 2:2b; Eph. 3:4
As we study the book of Job, we need to realize that to understand this book, we need the entire Bible. Therefore, in this life-study of Job, my principle has been to study Job in relation to the divine revelation in the Bible as a whole. We need to keep this in mind as we consider in this message the central point of God's appearing to Job.
After all the speaking of Job, his three friends, and Elihu, we have God's appearing to Job with the divine unveilings (38:4—41:34). This is followed by a word concerning Job's gaining God in his personal experience and his abhorring of himself (42:1-6). I am concerned that, by paying attention to so many other things, you may not see the central point of God's appearing to Job. This central point concerns what God intended to do to Job by His appearing to him.
God appeared to Job in order to help him to realize that God is unlimited, unsearchable, and untraceable. God asked Job many questions about the universe and about the animals to impress him with the fact that He is unlimited. God seemed to be saying to him, "Job, you actually do not know who I am. You do not realize that I am unlimited. Also, you cannot imagine what I intend to give you. Job, I intend to give you Myself, making Myself your enjoyment so that you can became a part of Me. I am not satisfied that you have your own integrity, perfection, and uprightness. I want you to have Me. My intention is to give you nothing other than Myself."
To understand God's intention in His appearing to Job, we need the entire Bible, especially the New Testament. For God to give Himself to Job was not a simple matter. This involved a long process beginning with Christ's incarnation and including His human living, His all-inclusive death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension. Because Job was in the primitive stage of the divine revelation, God could not have spoken to him about all these things. It would have been impossible for Job to understand them. All these matters were clearly defined and recorded in the New Testament two thousand years later. Even today, many believers do not have the proper understanding of these things.
As an illustration of our difficulty in understanding the divine things, let us consider the case of Nicodemus in John 3. The Lord Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (v. 3). Not understanding this, Nicodemus replied, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" (v. 4). What a terrible misunderstanding! The Lord Jesus went on to speak to Nicodemus about being born of water and the Spirit, telling him that "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (v. 6). Nicodemus then asked, "How can these things be?" (v. 9). Eventually, the Lord Jesus said to him, "If I told you of the things on earth and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you of the things in heaven?" (v. 12). Regeneration, being born anew, concerns the divine life, yet it takes place on earth. If Nicodemus could not understand something that takes place on earth, how could he understand the things that take place in heaven?
Chapter three of John speaks not only about regeneration but also about the increase of Christ (v. 30). All the regenerated people will become the increase of Christ, and the increase of Christ is His bride (v. 29). In John 3 two crucial words are "bride" and "increase." We need to see that as Christians we are Christ's increase. However, many of today's believers have no understanding concerning this.
In John 14 the Lord Jesus, on the night He was to be betrayed, took the opportunity to speak to His disciples certain matters concerning the Divine Trinity, who would produce the bride as the increase of Christ. In John 16 the Lord told His disciples that although He had yet many things to say to them, at that time they could not bear them (v. 12). Later, after Christ had passed through death and had entered into resurrection to become the firstborn Son of God and the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of reality would come to guide the disciples into all the reality (v. 13). On the evening of the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to them, and "He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit" (20:22). However, not even at that time was the divine revelation given in full. There was still the need for Christ to ascend and to pour out Himself as the Spirit upon His disciples to make them the church, as recorded in the first part of Acts. But not even then was the complete revelation given. Later, Paul was raised up by God, and to him was given the full revelation concerning the mystery of God, which is Christ (Col. 2:2b), and the mystery of Christ, which is the church (Eph. 3:4). The church is the issue of the Triune God to be the organism of the Triune God. This organism is the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is the new man. Eventually, all this will consummate in the New Jerusalem, the corporate expression of the Triune God for eternity in the new heaven and new earth. All these things — beginning with the incarnation of the Triune God and consummating with the New Jerusalem — were on God's heart when He appeared to Job.
Instead of speaking to Job regarding these things that were on His heart, God asked him about other things, including himself. For instance, in 40:10-14 He said to him, "Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency,/And array yourself with honor and splendor./Pour forth the overflowings of your anger,/And look upon everyone who is proud, and abase him./Look upon everyone who is proud; bring him down;/And tread down the wicked where they stand./Hide them in the dust together;/Bind their faces in the hidden place./Then even I will praise you,/That your own right hand can save you." Here God was asking Job if he had any majesty, excellency, honor, and splendor. God's intention was to cause Job to realize that he had nothing and that he was nothing.
Job did not know God's purpose in dealing with him, and God had no way to tell him about this. Not knowing about the councils held in the heavens concerning him, Job was enjoying his life on earth. Then, suddenly, he lost his possessions and his children. This was the stripping away of Job's possessions. Following this, there was an attack upon Job's body, and this led, through his daily sufferings, to the gradual consuming of Job himself. As we read the record in this book, we can see that layer after layer was peeled away from Job. This peeling away was the consuming. Job was consumed to such an extent that he became skin and bone.
Job did not know what was going on. He questioned God, but there was no answer. Eventually God came in to show Himself to Job. In His appearing, God seemed to be saying to Job, "Now here I am. Job, you must realize that I am unlimited, unsearchable, and untraceable. Look at Me — I am the One with majesty, excellency, honor, and splendor. Do you think that your small mind can search Me out or trace Me out? Do you still intend to litigate against Me, to take Me to court? You do not know what I intend to do with you. You do not know what I will give you. Job, My intention is to reduce you to nothing, yet to maintain your existence so that I may have a time to impart Myself into you. Job, I intend to give You Myself."
This was the central point of God's appearing to Job, but Job did not understand it. I believe, however, that Job will be with us in the New Jerusalem. I also believe that when we see him, we and he may rejoice. Then he may say, "Brothers, now I am just as clear as you are concerning God's intention. Let us all be at peace and praise the Lord!"
