Job 42:7 - Meaning and Application

Job, in his speeches, had complained strongly about the harsh words and hard treatment of his friends. He had appealed to God as Judge between them, and he thought it was unfair that God did not decide the case right away. While God was questioning Job out of the whirlwind, it might have seemed that Job was the only one at fault, and that the case would surely go against him. But here, to our surprise, we find the opposite. God gives the final ruling in Job’s favor. So we should not judge too soon. People who are truly righteous before God may still have their righteousness hidden for a time by great suffering, by severe criticism from others, by their own weaknesses and foolish emotions, by the sharp rebukes of God’s word and conscience, and by deep sorrow under God’s discipline. Yet in the right time, all these clouds will pass, and God will bring their righteousness out like the light and their vindication like the noon day (Psalm 37:6).

God cleared Job’s righteousness here because Job, like an honest man, held to it and would not let it go. We now see judgment given against Job’s three friends in the dispute between them and Job. Elihu is not condemned here, because he set himself apart from the others in the debate and acted, not as a party, but as a fair-minded moderator. And moderation will receive God’s praise, whether it receives praise from people or not. In this judgment, Job is honored and his three friends are humbled.

As we read their arguments, we could not clearly tell who was right, so we dared not decide between them. We thought there was some truth on both sides, but we could not separate them with confidence. We would not have wanted to give the final ruling ourselves, because we might have judged wrongly. But it is good that judgment belongs to the Lord, and we know his judgment is always true. We will leave the matter with him and stand by his decision.

In the judgment here, Job is greatly honored and comes away with dignity. He was only one man against three. He was like a beggar standing against three princes, yet with God on his side he did not need to fear the outcome, even if thousands were against him. Notice when God stood up for him. After the Lord had spoken these words to Job (Job 42:7), after he had convinced and humbled him and brought him to repent of what he had said wrongly, then God approved what Job had said well, comforted him, and gave him honor. Not before that. We are not ready for God’s approval until we judge and condemn ourselves. Then God pleads our cause too, for he who wounds us will also heal us, and he who strikes us will bind us up. The Holy Spirit first convicts, then comforts (John 16:8). This is the order in which we should expect God’s favor. We must first be humbled under his rebuke.

After God had caused grief by speaking to Job, he returned and showed compassion, according to his great mercy. He will not keep arguing forever, but will deal with us gently and limit the weight of his anger. Now that Job had humbled himself, God exalted him. True repentant people will find favor with God, and what they have said or done wrong will no longer be used against them. God is pleased with us when we come to hate our own sin.

Notice also how God stood up for Job. It is taken for granted that all Job’s sins are forgiven. If God honors him here, then surely he has also justified him, that is, declared him right before God. Job had often said, with strong confidence, that God would clear him in the end, and that hope was not put to shame.

God calls him again and again “my servant Job,” four times in two verses. He seems to delight in calling him that, just as he did before Job’s troubles (Job 1:8). It is as if God says, “Have you considered my servant Job? Though he is poor and despised, he is still my servant, just as dear to me as when he prospered. Though he has faults, and has shown himself to be weak like other people, though he has argued with me and spoken wrongly at times, he has now seen his error and turned from it. So he is still my servant Job.” If we keep holding fast to our duty and loyalty to God, as Job did, then even if we lose the comfort and public honor of that relation for a while, we will have it restored in the end, as Job did. The devil tried to prove Job was a hypocrite, and his three friends judged him as a wicked man. But God will own those he accepts, and he will not allow them to be crushed by the malice of hell or of people. If God says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” it matters little who says otherwise.

God also says that Job had spoken of him what was right, better than his opponents had. Job had given a truer picture of God’s providence, that is, God’s wise rule over the world, than they had. They had dishonored God by treating prosperity as proof of true faith and suffering as sure proof of God’s anger. Job had done God right by insisting that God’s love or hatred should be judged by what is in a person, not by what happens around them (Ecclesiastes 9:1). Those do the most justice to God and his providence who look more to the rewards and punishments of the life to come than to those of this life, and who use that future truth to help explain present troubles. Job had looked more to the future judgment and the future state than his friends had, and for that reason he spoke of God more rightly than they did.

Even though Job had said some wrong things, including some bold things about God, he is still praised for what he said well. We should not reject what is true and good just because it is mixed with human weakness. We should also not fail to give proper praise where it is due. Job was right and his friends were wrong, yet he was in pain and they were comfortable. That shows plainly that we cannot judge people or their ideas by their outward condition. Only God, who sees the heart, can judge rightly.

God also guarantees that Job, despite all the wrong his friends had done to him, is such a good man, and so humble, gentle, and forgiving, that he will gladly pray for them and use his influence with heaven on their behalf. “My servant Job will pray for you,” God says. “I know he will. I have forgiven him, and he has the comfort of that forgiveness, so he will forgive you.” God also appoints Job to act as the priest for this group and promises to accept him and his mediation, that is, his act of standing between them and God on their behalf. “Bring your sacrifices to my servant Job, for I will accept him.” Those whom God cleanses from sin, he makes into kings and priests for himself. True repentant people do not only find favor when they ask for mercy for themselves, but are also accepted when they plead for others.

It was a great honor for God to appoint Job to offer sacrifice for his friends, just as Job had once done for his own children (Job 1:5). This was a hopeful sign that Job would be restored to prosperity again, and it was also a real step toward that restoration, because he was brought back to the role of priestly intercessor. In this way Job became a picture of Christ, through whom alone we and our spiritual sacrifices are accepted by God, see (1 Peter 2:5).

“Go to my servant Job, to my servant Jesus,” as it were, the one from whom God had hidden his face for a time. “Put your sacrifices into his hand, use him as your Advocate, and through him I will accept you. Outside of him, you must expect to be dealt with according to your folly.” As Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those who had hurt him deeply, so Christ prayed and died for his persecutors, and still lives to intercede for sinners.

Job’s friends were greatly humbled and left with shame. They were good men and belonged to God, so he would not let them stay in their error any more than he let Job stay in his. After humbling Job through the voice from the whirlwind, God took another path to humble the friends. Job, who was dearest to him, was rebuked first, and the others in turn.

When they heard Job being addressed, they may have comforted themselves by thinking they were right and Job was at fault. But God soon dealt with them and showed them the opposite. In most arguments there is something wrong on both sides, either in the case itself or in the way it is handled, if not both. It is right that both sides should be corrected and shown their mistakes. God speaks first to Eliphaz, not only because he was older, but because he had led the attack on Job.

God plainly tells them that they had not spoken of him what was right, as Job had. They had judged and condemned Job on a false assumption. They had pictured God as an enemy fighting against Job, when in truth he was only testing him as a friend. That was not right. People do not speak well of God when they turn his fatherly discipline of his children into legal punishment, or when they cut them off from his favor because of suffering. It is dangerous to judge wrongly and harshly about the spiritual and eternal state of others. We may end up condemning those whom God has accepted, and that is a great offense to him. It wrongs his little ones, and he counts the wrong done to them as done to himself.

He also tells them plainly that he is angry with them: “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends.” God is very angry with those who despise and insult their brothers, who boast over them, and who judge them harshly because of their troubles or weaknesses. Even though these men were wise and good, God was angry when they spoke wrongly, and he let them know it.

Then he requires a sacrifice to make atonement, that is, to cover their wrong before God. Each man must bring seven bulls and seven rams as burnt offerings. Before the law of Moses, it seems that all sacrifices, even those meant for atonement, were completely burned, and that is why they were called burnt offerings. They had thought they spoke wonderfully and that God owed them thanks for defending his cause. Instead, he tells them that he is displeased with them and requires a sacrifice, or else he will deal with them according to their folly. God is often displeased with what we are proud of and sees serious fault in what we think was done well.

God also orders them to go to Job and ask him to offer their sacrifices and pray for them, or else they will not be accepted. By this, God meant, first, to humble them and bring them low. They thought they alone were heaven’s favorites and that Job had no standing there. But God shows them that Job had better standing with him than they did, and that he was more likely to be accepted. The time may come when those who despise and criticize God’s people will have to seek their favor, and then they will learn that God has loved them (Revelation 3:9). The foolish virgins will beg oil from the wise.

Second, God meant to force them to make peace with Job as the condition of making peace with himself. If your brother has something against you, as Job had much against them, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift. Before we can expect forgiveness from God, we must make what is right for the wrong we have done, as far as the nature of the matter requires. See how fully God stood up for his servant Job and took his side. God would not be reconciled to those who had offended Job until they had first asked Job’s pardon and Job was reconciled to them.

Job and his friends had disagreed over many things, and they had spoken sharply to one another. Now they were to become friends. To bring that about, they were not told to argue again and try to settle everything by debate, which could go on forever. Instead, they had to agree in sacrifice and prayer. They had to unite in devotion and affection, even where they could not agree in judgment. Those who differ over lesser matters are still one in Christ, the great sacrifice, and they meet at the same throne of grace. Therefore they should love one another and bear with one another.

Once more, notice this: when God was angry with Job’s friends, he himself showed them how to make peace with him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our side, but reconciliation begins on his.

Job’s friends submitted to this judgment, as Job 42:9 says. They were good men, and as soon as they understood the Lord’s will, they did what he commanded, quickly and without arguing, though it went against their flesh and blood to seek favor from the man they had condemned. Those who want to be reconciled to God must carefully use the means he has appointed. Peace with God can be found only in his way and on his terms, and those terms will never seem too hard to anyone who truly values the blessing. Such a person will be glad to receive peace on any terms, even humbling ones.

Job’s friends had all joined in accusing Job, and now they all joined in asking his pardon. Those who have sinned together should repent together. Those who call on God, as both Job and his friends had often done, must be ready to accept his decision, whether it pleases them or not. And those who sincerely obey God’s commands need not doubt his favor. The Lord also accepted Job on their behalf. It does not say only that he accepted them, though that is implied, but that he accepted Job for them, just as he has made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6; Matthew 3:17).

Job did not hold his friends’ failure against them, even after God had spoken in his favor and they had been forced to submit to him. Since God had graciously been reconciled to Job, Job was then able to be reconciled to his friends, and after that God accepted him. This is what we should aim for in all our prayers and service, to be accepted by the Lord. That should be our highest goal, not to win praise from people, but to please God.