From Merriam-Webster:
ep·i·logue: 1 : a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work
What if we never knew what happened to Job after God talked with him? What if, as far as we knew, Job spent the rest of his days as a poor, disease-ridden man, whose spouse encouraged him to “curse God and die”? What would be the take-away from that? Let’s come back to that.
In Job 42:7-9, Job is instructed to intercede for his friends. Evidently, Job has a right relationship with God at this point, to the point where he can present his requests to God without fear. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have sinned by lying about God, and need an intercessor. In Hebrews, Jesus is described as our high priest, intervening before God in our behalf. Could what Job does for his friends be a foreshadowing of how Jesus reconciles us to our Heavenly Father? Plus, the fact that God bothers to tell them to have Job pray for them shows that God desired to have a right relationship with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. These points are underscored in 1 Timothy 2:3-6:
3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
* * *
When I started reading Job, I followed the advice of commentators and tried to put myself in his shoes. The key to this is to not know what’s going to happen. When discussing Job’s story, particularly the wretched things that happened to him, most people quickly follow up with “but God blessed him with twice as much afterward.”
But, what if God hadn’t?
I’ve always imagined it happening fairly quickly after Job’s encounter with God. It’s as if God came up to Job, put his arm around him and said “I know that was a crappy thing that happened to you. Here’s your stuff and your family back, and some more for your troubles.”
Except, it wasn’t that way. Job was penniless. His standing in the community was gone (see chapter 30, verses 1-15). He was left asking “what do I do now?”
It was at this point that his friends and family came around him:
11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver [a] and a gold ring.
Deb and I have experienced this firsthand. Throughout the past wretched 20 months, our family and friends surrounded us, provided for us and were God’s hand and feet. Complete strangers performed incredible acts of charity that still bring tears to our eyes. It wasn’t because of anything we had done to deserve this. God sometimes lavishes on those who are suffering through other people in a way that, no matter how often it happens, it astounds us. Here’s another example from classic cinema:
Next up: Back to Genesis, and the birth of a nation.
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