The book of Job ends with a happy ending: Job’s fortunes and family restored. Before that could happen though, Job had to walk through the process of repentance. He had to acknowledge his sin and who God really is, then he had to choose to either accept or reject God. The ending of Job’s story goes beyond his life being restored. The last thing we see of Job’s story is that he continued drawing closer to God and passed that inheritance down to his children.
Mourning and Repentance
Therefore I detest [myself] and repent in dust and ashes.
Job 42:6 CJB
This is repentance. Christian Standard Bible version states it as: I reject my words.
Job’s use of dust and ashes is a sign of mourning. Job is repenting of his words and all that he had assumed of God in mourning. With the revelation of God’s Word, Job saw the true state of his inner-being. He saw the pride and the distance from God. He saw how he had built up assumptions and opinions of God and himself and instead of holding on to them, Job let them go in order to cling to God’s truth.
Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted]. (Matt. 5:4 AMP)
We mourn the things we did in sin and then we turn away from them and embrace the comfort of God’s grace and mercy.
Job recognized the depth of his sin, of how wrong he had become, and it provided a life-changing impact on him. He no longer wanted to be that kind of person. He rejected that person beyond his words, and embraced the new life God had in store for him. In this moment of repentance, Job became unburdened, relieved of that past self so that he could not only embrace the true way of God but could also step into the new life and position God had for him.
When we repent, we must reject our past self. We cannot hold onto it. If we do, it will work to hold us back from all that God has prepared for us. It will work to distance us from God, like a weed in the garden that chokes the life of other plants.
When we mourn for that past self, we grieve for it, not because we miss it but because it is the process of letting go of it. In however quick a succession, we reach that final step, the acceptance that it happened, and then we turn away from it and walk the way that is better.
Job mourned over his actions towards God, then he turned away and stepped into the new position and prosperity God had laid out for him. Had Job held onto any portion of that past self, stuttering on any of the letting go process, he may not have been capable of fully walking in the deeper calling.
Another way of looking at it is that Job repented by burying that past self and rose from the dust and ashes as one who was closer with God.
We experience this in the symbolism of baptism. However, water baptism itself is merely a symbol, a sign, of what we have done spiritually: Lain our past-self to rest and taken up a new way of life closer to God. We are new people refreshed by God’s grace and brought into the comfort of His loving arms that once stretched so wide for us.
I See You
Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. […] I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You.
Job 42:3&5 AMP
At one point, Job only knew God after the flesh. He understood God only according to what his mind could conceive and therefore did not really know God or who He is.
After going through those trials, Job came face to face with God and found that there is so much more to Him than Job had ever thought. Job learned to see God, and himself, not after the way of man but through the way of Truth.
When we come face to face with God, we cannot hide. The lies that have been built up around us are exposed by the light of Truth. When we face Him, we come to know Him in a way that we had been blind to before. We are able to see God not after the way of man or the world, but as He truly is.
It is in that moment when we are faced with either accepting or rejecting God. Either one is a conscious decision. We can no longer hide behind the lies and opinions of others, or even the lies and opinions we have built up ourselves. They crumble before God. What we do in those moments can determine the rest of our life into eternity. Since it is a conscious decision, we cannot lean on the lie that we are ignorant.
The question is: Do we choose to see God as He is? Or do we turn a blind eye to Him, rejecting Him?
Once he repented, Job chased a life after the Spirit. Will we do the same?
A New Calling
Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.
Job 42:8-9 AMP
The carrying out of a sacrifice was a priest’s job. At the time, Job would’ve been considered the head priest for his family, but his three friends were not a part of his family and, after natural order, would not be considered under Job’s covering.
The fact that Job performed the rights of a priest for his friends when they would’ve normally sought to offer a sacrifice at the Tabernacle tent, signifies a spiritual turning that foreshadows that of Christians later.
Job was not the high priest, in fact he wasn’t even a descendant of the priestly tribe, but God anointed him into the priestly order by His Spirit, just as we are anointed and made priests with Jesus as our High Priest.
While we no longer offer sacrifices for repentance, people can still come to us to be led into the Kingdom of God. We offer the spiritual covering of God to them through our prayers and intercessions.
The Aftermath
Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him.
Job 42:11 AMP
We don’t know the hearts of the people who returned to Job after his restoration, but there are a few key things we can take away:
They Broke Bread with Him
The breaking of bread is a sacred act, it is literally an act of sharing life with someone.
Job breaking bread with other people would be a sign of welcoming them back into his life. They came and he offered them hospitality instead of resentment for abandoning him during his time of need. It would have been a sign of forgiveness from him.
We need to be wise about who we let back into our lives, but when people come do we act more like Job or do we act like the older son in the prodigal story? Do we deny anyone forgiveness when they come seeking it or do we freely forgive as we have been forgiven?
They came after he was restored.
They didn’t drop off a casserole while he was sick or in need and that was it. They saw to his wellbeing even after the need.
How many times do we do something for someone in need, but once the need is gone with that person we begin looking for the next person in need and forget about the previous? Yes we are called to care for the poor and the sick or those in need, but they are not merely a checkmark on a To-Do list.
Part of loving people is checking up on the people who are okay.
They Sympathized and Comforted Him
God is the Great Comforter, but He often sends His people to be a comfort to others.
Even though we know that Job’s story ends well, he still had a lot to process. Yes he was close to God, but he still had to rebuild, he still would have had to process his grief over losing his children and everyone who had died.
We can fast-forward and see his prosperity, but actually walking it out would’ve been a long road. We need people to walk the long road with us. We still need people to help and support us. And we need to be there for others who are walking their own long road of recovery and rectification.
An Equal Inheritance
He had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first [daughter] Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
Job 42:13-15 AMP
We don’t often hear much about women like Job’s daughters. Sometimes the daughters aren’t even named in the Bible, so the fact that Job’s story ends with how he provided for them is a big deal. We know more about Job’s second set of daughters than we do about his sons.
Job provided for them beyond a dowry. Job gave his daughters an inheritance and I don’t think it was only a physical one, either. They would’ve grown up hearing the stories of Job’s trials and how he came face to face with God. The fact that they are described as lovely and beautiful is, in my opinion, a credit and description of their spirits more than physical appearances. They could have been lovely of physical features, but their inner being would’ve really set them apart from the other women around them.
Also, each of Job’s daughters were named in honor of God, of how He restored Job and opened his eyes to who God truly is.
Like Job, God provides an inheritance for all of His children, even the ones who seem insignificant by culture or worldly standards. God is faithful and provides for even the lowest of His children. God’s grace and mercy are equal for all who enter into His family through Jesus Christ.
Are you ready to walk the journey?
The road to God isn’t always easy, but it is worth it. It’s not always straight forward, either. Often it has twists and turns that we don’t see coming, but if we continue trusting God, pushing toward Him, He will make it right.
In our journey we may have to face some hard truths about ourselves. Things we don’t like or didn’t see before. Sometimes it’s rough and the issues we are faced with cannot be resolved so easily, but if we continue relying on God, following His truth, and allowing Him to guide us, then we’ll make it to the other side. We’ll make it to the place where our mourning becomes dancing, where joy replaces tears, where comfort covers pain, and love covers sin.
All we have to do is bow down and seek out God.
They say the first step is always the hardest. I’m here to tell you that God is worth it. Your relationship with God is worth it. Come face to face with God and He will never let you down.
Above My Waves 
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