Bible teacher preaches on Job 42, connecting Job's restoration to the hope of resurrection and eternal life
A solo sermon from Tim Capill from the Latimer: Listen channel, working through the final chapter of the book of Job.
Summary
This sermon closes a four-week series on the book of Job, focusing on chapter 42 and the single New Testament reference to Job in James 5. The preacher acknowledges that Job's "happily ever after" ending feels unrelatable to many modern readers whose suffering does not resolve so neatly in this life. Drawing on James 5:11, he argues that Job's story teaches two primary lessons: how to persevere in suffering, and what God's compassion and mercy ultimately look like. He identifies three foundations of Job's perseverance — trust in God's absolute sovereignty, trust in God's wisdom, and honest acknowledgment of one's own sinfulness — and closes by reframing Job's restoration not as a promise of earthly comfort, but as a foretaste of the eternal restoration promised to all who trust in Jesus.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Introduction: The Problem with a Happy Ending
"And they all lived happily ever after." That's what the end of Job feels like, doesn't it, as you read it? And I don't know about you, but I actually find it a little bit annoying. It's like every Disney movie ever, where it's just like, oh, it's all going to end well, and they're all going to live happy. It's like Beauty and the Beast — this monster becomes the prince and it's all wonderful. And I find it annoying because it's almost too good to be true. And that's what this feels like, after a book that so far has been so relatable and real.
We've been working through the book of Job over the last four weeks, and it's a book that is all about suffering — the suffering of this man Job. He was a man who lost everything. He lost all of his wealth. His children were taken from him and died tragically. And then he lost his health. And in his grief, for 42 chapters, we've seen him wrestle with God. Why are you doing this, God? Why would you let this happen? I'm crying out to you, God, and you're not even listening to me. What is going on, God? This is not right. We've seen him wrestle with God. We've seen him fend off his friends — his well-meaning friends who come and offer a bit of advice in his suffering, but they say stupid stuff. And he has to stand up for himself.
As we've read through the book of Job, it is so relatable and it's real, because that is so often our experience, isn't it? Suffering is inevitable in this life. And when it comes, we so often respond like Job. We question God. We don't understand it. What is going on? We can relate to that.
But then God restores Job from his suffering. He's blessed with twice as much as he had before. He has ten new children. He lives a long, happy, full life, and he lives happily ever after. And we're like, really? Because that's not often our experience. Sometimes our suffering in this life doesn't disappear. Sometimes we lose something so precious, or someone so precious, and we never get them back. We know people, don't we, who suffer their whole lives — they die in their suffering. So happily ever after — it's alright for Job. But after a book full of so much that we can relate to, the ending feels unrelatable.
So what's going on? What does it teach us?
James 5: The New Testament Lens on Job
Well, to help us tonight, Tim Capill turns to some verses in the New Testament. The man Job is only mentioned once specifically in the New Testament, in one place, in the book of James. James chapter 5 — let me read you these words.
James says: "Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
Do you see what James is saying? He is telling us to learn from Job. Job teaches us how to persevere in suffering, and Job teaches us about God's compassion and mercy. And so what I want us to do tonight is think about those two things as we consider the end of Job. We're going to think about Job's perseverance — how he persevered in suffering — and we're going to think about God's compassion and mercy.
Job's Perseverance: Three Things He Learned
First then, Job's perseverance. Tim Capill notes we're told to imitate Job and learn from how he persevered. He is an example to us, and so we need to learn from him in his suffering. At the end of the book, there are three things that Job says in response to God speaking to him, which capture the things that he has learned in suffering. There are three things that help Job to persevere. Tim Capill looked at them last week, but wants to come back and press into them a little bit more.
Trusting God's Absolute Sovereignty
The first thing Job learns through suffering is to trust God's absolute sovereignty. Have a look at chapter 42, verse 1. God's sovereignty is his complete and decisive rule over everything. And that's what Job acknowledges. God can do all things. Nothing is impossible for him. And no plans of God's can be thwarted or disrupted. God always does exactly what he plans to do. And therefore, what Job is saying — remarkably — is that even his suffering is part of God's plans and God's purposes for him. And this reality is what has helped Job to persevere.
In fact, Job has said this right through the book. Throughout the 42 chapters, as Job has wrestled with his suffering, he's never doubted that God is the one in control. Remember that it was his response right at the beginning — right at the beginning in chapters 1 and 2 when he lost everything. He goes from riches to rags, and then he says in Job chapter 1, verse 21: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord." Both comfort and calamity come from the hand of God. Job knows God is in control.
Or in chapter 23, Job is still confident that it is God who rules over him, even in his suffering. And so he says, verse 13: "But he — that is God — stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he has in store." You see, Job's trust in God's control over suffering never really wavers. He does question why God would allow him to suffer, but he never doubts that it is God who is in control. And that is what enables him to persevere.
Now, that's really hard to hold on to in suffering, isn't it? When you're going through a really tough time, it is hard to believe this — that God wants this suffering for you. What? That God has planned this suffering for you. Really? That God is in control of the suffering you're going through. And yet that is what Job believed, and that is what God teaches us about himself all through the Bible.
And as hard as that is to believe, I put it to you that it is far better than the alternative. The alternative is that God has lost control. The alternative is that God can't do anything about your suffering — that he's helpless. That if he could, he would, but he can't because he's too weak. That maybe suffering is actually just the result of Satan's work or the power of evil, and that God has no answer to it. That's the alternative. A weak, out-of-control God. Or maybe a cruel God who's just out to hurt you. There is no comfort in that, is there? None.
Well, the God of the Bible is bigger than that. He is in control of suffering and he uses suffering to achieve his good purposes. And the story of Job helps us understand that reality. Remember again the very beginning of the book, where we get a glimpse into the throne room of God — we get a look behind the curtain. Job wrestles with why he's suffering, but as the readers of the book we know why he's suffering, because we've read chapters 1 and 2. Satan in chapters 1 and 2 approaches God. And God says to Satan, "Have you seen, as you've wandered the earth, my servant Job? He's a righteous man. He's blameless. He's upright. He loves me." He's kind of bragging to Satan. And Satan says, "Oh, come on, God. He doesn't love you. He just loves all the stuff you've given him. You've made him wealthy and healthy and you've blessed him with a happy family. Take that away and then he'll curse you." And so God says, "Well, off you go then." And he allows Satan to test Job's faith. Satan is out to destroy the faith of Job. And yet God is out to prove the faith of Job. And God is out to prove that he really is worthy of love and honour more than anything else.
You see, the book helps us to understand that sometimes suffering does come from the hand of Satan. Because that's what happened, right? It came from Satan. Satan is out to destroy our faith. Friends, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for God's people to devour, and he is active in our world today as much as he was in Job's day. Satan does not want you or anyone else to trust God. Satan sees a believer in Jesus and he says to God, "Can I attack him? Can I get her? Can I destroy her faith?" But friends, God is the one who's actually in control. It's one of the key lessons we've learned through the book. We saw it last week as we looked at that terrifying beast, the Leviathan in chapter 41 — a beast that no man can tame, a beast that's a picture of Satan and all of his power and might, but God is more powerful than him. Even Satan is under the command and control of the living God. Even Satan submits to God's sovereign rule.
And so friends, trust God's sovereignty in the face of suffering. There has never been anything in your life in the past, there is nothing in your life right now, and there will be nothing in your life in the future that God is not in control of, that God doesn't bring to you. He's totally in control. He can do all things, and no purpose of his can be thwarted. Job knew that, and that's what helped him persevere.
Trusting God's Wisdom
Secondly, in his suffering, Job learned to trust God's wisdom. In other words, God knows better than us. Have a look at what Job says in verse 3. He says to God: "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." Job admits that he spoke of things he didn't understand. As we've seen, there are times in the midst of suffering that Job doubted God. He questioned God's justice. He doubted God's goodness. He accused God of being silent and not answering him, and he demanded answers from God.
But last week we saw God speak. And God puts Job in his place in this barrage of questions. He says to Job, "What do you know about the running of the world? Did you create the earth? Or the sea? Or the stars? Is that your work, Job? Who are you to question me?" To question God about why he allows suffering, or to think that we can give advice to God about how to run the world or what's good for us — it's a little bit like a five-year-old trying to tell a rocket scientist that his rocket won't fly. And the rocket scientist doesn't go away and think, "Oh yeah, I better redo my numbers." No — he's a five-year-old. He knows nothing. He doesn't know what he's talking about. What do we know about the running of the universe? Nothing. God is God.
And so in suffering there is much we do not understand. We can't get our heads around it. We can't understand how even the worst suffering in the world God could possibly use for good. But he is God and we are not. He has a wisdom that is beyond us.
Job 28: Where Does Wisdom Come From?
One of the key chapters in the book of Job, which Tim Capill notes they haven't had time to really study in any detail, is actually chapter 28. And so he invites the congregation to revisit that chapter. It's right in the middle of Job's final speech to his three friends. If you turn to Job 28 — remember his three miserable comforters? Job silences them with his final speech. And in chapter 28, Job takes his friends on a hunt for wisdom. He's really pointing out the folly of his friends. They think they know why Job is suffering. They've said that he suffered because he deserves it — that he must have sinned and so he suffers. Their view of the world is like a slot machine: you put in good and you get good, you put in bad and you get bad. That's their view. Job says it's foolish.
He asks them in verse 28, where does wisdom come from? And so in verses 1 to 10, Job points out that men have made all sorts of discoveries on earth. We've mined gold and ore and copper and iron. We've cut through rocks and dug shafts, and we're looking for something. But we cannot find it. In verse 7 he says, not even the falcon as it soars through the sky can find what we're looking for. And what is it we can't find? Wisdom.
And so he says in verse 12: "But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?" Or again in verse 20, the same question: "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?" We can't understand why things are the way they are. It doesn't make sense. So where do we find wisdom?
The answer, according to Job — have a look, verse 21: "It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. Destruction and death say, 'Only a rumour of it has reached our ears.' But," verse 23, "God understands the way to it, and he alone knows where it dwells. For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens."
Job knows all through his suffering that in the end it is only God who has real wisdom. And so Job's conclusion in chapter 28, verse 28, is: "The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom. And to shun evil is understanding."
Do you see what he's saying? The way to be wise in your suffering is to trust the wisdom of God. To fear God. That's the beginning of wisdom. We may not know why suffering comes or how God will use it. But God does. Because wisdom belongs to him.
What God Reveals About the Purpose of Suffering
What's amazing is that God doesn't actually just leave us in complete darkness when it comes to suffering. He could have. He didn't have to explain suffering to us at all. He's God. Wisdom belongs to him. But in his kindness, he actually does explain himself — not completely, not specifically in the way we sometimes want it or demand it, but he does actually help us see how suffering can be used for good. And we've seen that in the book of Job.
We're told why Job is suffering, right? It opens the possibility that maybe that's why we suffer as well. Think about what Job's suffering achieved. Because Job suffered, Satan was made out to be a liar and God was glorified. Satan said that Job only loved God because of what God had given him. Satan claimed that God wasn't really worthy of Job's love. Satan wanted to prove that God was not as great as he is. And so the whole of the spiritual realm — God and all of his angels, Satan and all of his demons — they're watching Job suffer, watching to see if God really is of value to Job, waiting to see if Job will curse God. But Job never does. He perseveres. And so his suffering proves to the spiritual realm the infinite worth of the living God. He trusts God. And because of his perseverance, Satan is seen to be a liar — he's humiliated — and God is seen to be worth more than all of the riches and happiness Job once had, as Job continues to trust him. God's glory is displayed in the heavens, and Satan is humbled, because Job suffered.
Friends, could it be that in your suffering, something similar is going on? God is showing the heavenly realms — which we do not see — just how great he is and how strong your faith is, how much you love him because of who he is, that you'd never curse him even in the face of suffering. Could it be that God allows you to suffer so that you might humiliate Satan by the way you suffer? Surely it's possible, isn't it? Because it happened for Job. He had no idea. He's never told what's going on. But God in his wisdom can do things in suffering we've got no idea about.
Or think about how Job's suffering brings encouragement to other people. Here we are, thousands of years later, on the other side of the world — little old New Zealand, a few hundred people — learning from Job. And how many thousands or millions of people have done the same throughout history, learned to trust God in suffering because of Job's testimony and example. Again, Job had no idea. He didn't know we were talking about him tonight. That our comfort would be the result of his suffering.
Friends, have you ever thought about what encouragement you might bring to others as you cling to God in suffering? When you're really in the thick of it and you really feel weighed down, it is hard to think how you might bring encouragement to anyone. You just feel so weak. You've got nothing to give. But how many of us could share stories of how we've been encouraged by the face of others in suffering? And if they brought us encouragement through their suffering, don't you think you might be able to bring some encouragement to others as you suffer and keep trusting God?
I've seen some of you here go through extraordinarily difficult times. I've seen people in this church die after long battles with cancer. I've seen people in this church wrestle with the pain of broken relationships. I've seen people in this church work through the pain and anger that comes as the result of abuse. I've seen people wrestle with mental illness and depression. I've seen people in this church grieve as they bury those they love — parents, siblings, or even children. And through it all, I've seen them still praise God and trust God. And they shun evil. And they fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom. And they have brought encouragement to me and countless others. Their testimony, their example, cries out: God is worth it. He's worth it. Don't stop trusting him. And Job's testimony does the same in ways that he would never have imagined.
Or think about how God used suffering to teach Job. We saw that a few weeks ago. Suffering in the hands of God is like a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon — yes, it causes pain, but it's used to heal, not hurt. And God uses Job's suffering to draw people to himself, to draw even Job to himself, to humble people, to see their need for him. And so Job's suffering humbles him and causes him to delight in God more than ever. Job's faith is refined through his suffering.
And I reckon there'll be lots of people here tonight who can tell the story of how God has done that for you. How maybe you were actually a long way from God, but then God brought suffering into your life and he reduced you to nothing, and you realised you didn't have all the answers and you couldn't fix it, and so you turned to God. And God used your suffering to bring you to himself. Suffering draws us to God, it humbles us, and it points us to the one who is in control.
Do you remember the quote? Christians are like nails — the harder you hit us, the deeper we go. The harder you hit us, the deeper we go in our trust of our sovereign God.
Job's story helps us get a glimpse of what good might actually be brought about by suffering. I don't know the specifics about why anyone in this room is particularly suffering, but it opens our eyes to see that maybe God is doing something amazing beyond what you can imagine — in the heavenly realms, to bring encouragement to people you've never even met, and to refine your faith. And knowing that God was the one who had all wisdom in suffering — that's what enabled Job to persevere. God's wisdom is greater than ours.
Remembering One's Own Sinfulness
So Job learned to trust God's absolute sovereignty. Secondly, Job learned to trust God's wisdom. And then thirdly, Job learned to remember his own sinfulness. Look at what he says back in chapter 42, verse 5 and 6. He says: "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
In light of God's complete control over all things and God's supreme wisdom, Job admits his own failings. Up to this point in the book, Job has been really keen to justify himself, to defend his own righteousness. He knew that his suffering was not the result of his own sin, and he was right — his suffering was not a punishment on him. But as he tried to defend his own righteousness, he crosses a line. He begins to think that he doesn't deserve suffering at all. He's so keen to prove himself righteous that instead he begins to question God's righteousness in allowing him to suffer. And so in chapter 40, God says to Job, verse 8: "Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"
And yet in the end, Job remembers his place. He has seen the living God. He has been questioned by the God of the universe. And so he becomes a broken and changed man. He says, "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I repent."
And friends, that is what happens when you really see God. It's what happened to Isaiah in chapter 6, when God shows up to Isaiah and Isaiah sees God in all of his glory, and Isaiah says he is undone. It's what happened to Peter the apostle, when Jesus showed up and filled his nets with fish, and Peter falls at Jesus' knees and says, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man." That's what happened to the centurion when Jesus came to his house in Luke chapter 7, and he said, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof."
You see, before Job grasped the bigness of God, he thought of himself as a righteous man. But now, as he sees himself more clearly — because he sees who God is — it drives him to repentance. If we don't feel grieved for our sin and deeply unworthy of God's goodness, then we need to pray earnestly that God would show us himself. That God would not just be some doctrine or objective truth that we read about off the pages of the Bible, but that he would be real to us — that he would become to us the most awesome, infinitely holy, dreadful judge, the all-powerful king and supremely wise God that he is. And we would see him so that when we see him, we also see our sin. And we cry out, "I'm not worthy. I don't deserve this."
And friends, if we see God like that, then in the middle of suffering, we would never say, "I don't deserve this." Because the reality is we actually deserve far worse. I know that's a hard thing to say. That's a hard thing to hear. But suffering and pain in this life — it's only a tragic glimpse of the eternal suffering and pain that awaits people who refuse to turn to the living God. And yet it is those who lower themselves and admit their sin to God that God lifts up. Repentance leads to restoration. If not in this life, then in the life to come.
God's Compassion and Mercy: The Restoration of Job
Which leads then, before we finish, to the Lord's mercy and compassion. In James 5, verse 11, we read: "You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
We've seen Job's perseverance — it came from trusting God's sovereignty and God's wisdom and remembering his sin. And because Job persevered, God shows him compassion and mercy in the end. And so in verses 7 to 17, we're told about this great reversal of Job's suffering. Everything he lost is returned to him and multiplied.
A little summary, verse 10: "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." His friends and family who deserted him in suffering — they returned to him in verse 11. In verse 12, Job's wealth is restored and everything he had previously is doubled: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 donkeys. In verses 13 to 15, he's given ten more children — he's now the father of twenty, ten dead children and ten alive. And God's blessing flows from Job forever on to his family, so that in verse 15 we're told even his daughters are given part of his inheritance, which is most unusual for his day. The inheritance went to the sons. But God so abundantly blessed Job that he passes it on to his sons and his daughters. God's generosity is so great that no one is excluded from it.
And so in verse 16: "After this, Job lived 140 years and he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died an old man and full of years."
It really is a kind of happy ever after, isn't it? And yet, in the New Testament, James tells us that it actually speaks of a day that is still to come. Job's restoration is actually only a picture of the restoration of all of God's people on the day when our Lord Jesus returns. Because James said in chapter 5, verse 7: "Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming." And while we wait, learn from Job's perseverance and God's compassion and mercy.
Job's Story as the Story of the World and of Jesus
You see, James connects Job's blessing with the blessing that is promised to all who trust and follow Jesus. Just as any suffering in this life is a tragic glimpse of the eternal suffering to come for those who stand opposed to Jesus, so any pleasure we experience in this life is only a sweet foretaste of the infinite and eternal pleasure that awaits those who trust Jesus. Think about that. You had a little bit of pleasure in this life? It's only a little taster of what is to come — for those who are in the Lord Jesus. Not in this life, but in the life to come. When Jesus returns. When there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more sickness, no more broken relationships, no more abuse, no more poverty, no more tears, no more death. God himself will wipe away the tears of his people. We will be his people, and he will be our God.
You see, the story of Job — it's actually the story of our world. The story of riches turned to rags, and then restored to even greater riches. That was the story of Job, wasn't it? And it is the story of all humanity. For the Bible begins with us living in riches, created by God in a beautiful garden, a world God declared to be very good. There's no suffering, there's no pain. We loved God and he loved us. But we went from riches to rags. Because just like in the story of Job, Satan entered the goodness and he destroyed it. Job passed the test Satan brought his way. But humanity failed. We listened to Satan and not to God, and we lost everything. We were cast out of God's presence, separated from him. That is the story of all humanity since Adam and Eve. Suffering and death and pain became a reality — a world under the curse of sin because of the work of Satan and our human rebellion against God.
And our suffering in this life, in this world, it is a sign that things are wrong. It explains the world we live in. It's a broken world, crying out for things to be put right. So we've gone from riches to rags — creation to rebellion. But God in his compassion and his mercy longs to restore us. God cares about suffering more than you, more than me. And so he enters into our suffering in order to pull us out of it. God promises to restore us to even greater riches than the riches of the garden. An inheritance awaits us which can never perish, spoil, or fade. It's a happy ever after that is even better than the one we can imagine. And it has been brought about for us through the man Jesus.
Just as the story of Job is the story of the world, it is also the story of Jesus. Jesus — the one who was not just the greatest man in the East, but the greatest in the world. Jesus — the one who was perfectly blameless and upright. The one who came from the very throne room of God himself and entered into the darkness of our broken world. And just as Job came under Satan's attack, so did Jesus — tempted for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, tempted to curse God and bow down to the devil. But Jesus, like Job, refused. And yet he lost everything. He willingly suffered so that we might be restored, even to the point of death. And having gone through suffering for us, God raised him up and exalted him — raised him from the dead and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
You see, the story of Job is the story of the world, and it is the story of Jesus. And the Lord's compassion and mercy for us tonight is seen in his promise that anyone who trusts and follows Jesus will one day be raised with him. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, and God will restore them on the day Jesus returns. And the pleasures of heaven will far surpass the momentary sufferings of this world. Now, sufferings will seem like nothing compared to the glories of eternity. There will be a great happily ever after for all who trust in Jesus.
Suffering does not get the last say. Satan does not get the last say. Sin does not get the last say. Jesus does.
And so James chapter 5, verse 11 is a great summary of the book of Job: "As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
So friends, praise God. Trust God. And treasure him above all else — even in the midst of your suffering.