Focus: God Schooled Job

Text: Jb.42:5

"I have HEARD of thee by the hearing of the ear: but NOW mine eye SEETH thee."

Jesus once asked His disciples, "What do men say that I the Son of man am?" It turned out that the answers He received were entirely wrong. The people guessed wrongly and speculated from false premises.

The Lord Jesus turned to His own disciples with the same question. "But whom say ye that I am?" Right in that moment Peter received light from the throne of heaven concerning the Lord's true identity. And that goes to buttress the point that only God can reveal Himself to man. Whatever man knows about God outside the scope of divine revelation is entirely speculative and far from reality. Truly, the world lacks the light of divine revelation and the natural man is incapable of spiritual insight.

For Job to arrive at the true knowledge of God, he needed to come under the anvil of God. There was need for him to go through the crucible of God. God initiated him into his own process, so that everything he once knew about God was put to the test. His theology was threatened by certain tragedies of life, which included the demise of his children, the collapse of his business empire and the deterioration of his personal health. In one sweep life came to a halt for him. His wife opted out of the marriage. His friends' theology ran contrary to the true situation of his life. Going by their belief system, Job was suffering for his own sins. The righteous should not suffer in any form or manner, except he sins against God. But we know that is far from the truth.

Job saw his friends as miserable comforters. And God said of three of them, "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath" (Jb.42:7). They had a wrong view of God and of Job, their friend.

God had to school Job, exposing him to the errors of his ways and the deficiency of his theology. Knowledge ABOUT God is cheap and common, but knowledge OF God is costly and scarce. In the end Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Jb.42:5-6). The more you know God, the more things to repent from. Indeed, at some point in the schooling, Job also said, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth" (Jb.40:4). The knowledge of God humbles and enables us to see things in their proper light.

God's school is still currently running, and Peter appeals to us, "But grow…in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2Pet.3:18). You can deepen your peace and joy by deepening your knowledge of Christ. Enroll in Christ's school and be greatly enriched by personal encounters with Him.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter