Old Testament # 32
“I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”
Job 1–2; 13; 19; 27; 42
Introduction
Job is such a difficult book to approach and our lesson covers only a few chapters. For the additional material, I have put a link to the Institute manual which has the text of a talk by Keith Meservy at a BYU Sidney B. Sperry Symposium. It’s long, but it does give a lot of insights into this book. I tend to take the Book of Job as a literal, rather than an allegory. Here is Brother Meservy on that:
“Although some scholars have felt that the book is not a true story about a real man, I think the majority of the scholars do. Granted, it is a literary work with a prologue (chs. 1–2) and an epilogue (ch. 42) that were composed in narrative form and a body of the work (3–41) that was composed in Hebrew poetry, but to say that it is a literary composition is not to deny its basis in fact, . . . Ezekiel and James, for example, regarded him as historical and referred to Job among the great individuals known for their faith and prayer power (Ezekiel 14:14, 20; James 5:11). This is significant. There are other reasons for regarding Job as an historical person but, to me, the most decisive criterion in this regard, is the fact that when Joseph Smith and his people were in great distress, and Joseph Smith went to the Lord and said, ‘Oh God, where art thou? Where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place.’ The Lord responded to his appeal for help by saying, ‘my son, peace be to thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high … Thou art not yet as Job;thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgressions, as they did Job’(D&C 121:7–10, emphasis added). . . . The Brethren, also, when they have referred to Job, have regarded him as a real person, for example, John Taylor, Journal of Discourses7:197–198; 18:309–310; 20:305–306; 22:319–320; Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses18:30; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses19:315.” (“Job: ‘Yet Will I Trust in Him,’” pp. 154–55.)
So whether you take it as a literal account of God and Satan dealing with one man, or an allegory, there are lessons to be learned and applied. One thing has struck me as I have prepared for this blogpost and lesson—does this visceral and detailed description of Job’s suffering— physical, emotional, and spiritual—give us some insight into what the Lord suffered in Gethsemane? Here is a vivid description of Job’s physical ailments, quoted by Brother Meservy:
First: We must recognize without knowing exactly what it was that he suffered from physically. From the symptoms, some have said that it appears that he had elephantiasis. Sore boils, one of the symptoms of this disease, had attacked ‘Job’s body, forming large pustules which itched so greatly that a piece of pottery was used to scrape them. Job’s face was so disfigured that his friends could not recognize him. Worms or maggots were bred in the sores (7:5). His breath became so foul and his body emitted such an odor, that even his friends abhorred him (19:17ff), and he sought refuge outside the city on the refuse heap where outcasts and lepers lived. Pain was his constant companion (30:17, 30) as were also terrifying nightmares (7:14).’ (The Westminster Study Edition of the Holy Bible,The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, p. 641, note.)[1]
1. Job is sorely tested. Job 1–2.
There is a reason that someone who comes at you with a rehearsal of all the reasons why you got yourself into whatever mess you are in is ironically called a “Job’s Comforter.” I honestly think that after suffering everything that Satan could throw at him, the worst betrayal would be his so-called friends telling him it was all his fault. Even if it had been, what good would that be to tell him so. And how is that a comfort?
I think that we will run through some of the scriptures that aren’t in the reading to try to delve into Job’s character and look at the trials he went through. Here’s a list if you want to do it ahead of time.
Character
Trials
Job 1:13–17Job 1:18–19Job 2:7; 7:5; 16:16Job 7:4, 13–14Job 2:9; 4:1, 7–8; 11:1–6;19:13–22Job 10:15Job 16:10–11; 30:1, 8–10; Job 19:6–8; 23:3–4;
One thing that his so-called comforters, and even his wife told him to do was rail against God for inflicting him so (but I wonder why the only thing we hear about his wife is negative, after all, she suffered just as much loss as Job did). Are we ever tempted to blame God? Why is it that we have to blame someone, even ourselves for whatever bad things happen? Here is some great advice from Elder Donald L. Hallstrom:
If you feel you have been wronged—by anyone (a family member, a friend, another member of the Church, a Church leader, a business associate) or by anything (the death of a loved one, health problems, a financial reversal, abuse, addictions)—deal with the matter directly and with all the strength you have. “Hold on thy way” (D&C 122:9); giving up is not an option. And, without delay, turn to the Lord. Exercise all of the faith you have in Him. Let Him share your burden. Allow His grace to lighten your load. We are promised that we will “suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38). Never let an earthly circumstance disable you spiritually.[2]
An example of this trust and faith that Job had in the Lord is found in Job 13:15–16. Here is Elder Faust:
We learn much about dealing with suffering from “a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”Satan obtained leave from the Lord to tempt and try Job. Job was rich and had seven sons and three daughters, but his property and children were all destroyed. What effect did this have on Job? Said he, speaking of the Lord, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” and, “He also shall be my salvation.” Job attested, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Job completely trusted the Lord to take care of all of the other concerns. The way to find joy in this life is to resolve, like Job, to endure all for God and His work. By so doing we will receive the infinite, priceless joy of being with our Savior in the eternities.[3]
3. Job finds strength in his personal righteousness and integrity.Job 27:2–6.
What is integrity? Here is a quote from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
Like Job of old, we need to say, “Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.” (Job 27:5.) Though he had lost almost everything he valued—his family, his friends, his health, his wealth—he refused to give up his integrity. In sharp contrast, many today trade away their integrity for a very small price tag. A person who shoplifts for a candy bar, or makeup, or jewelry trades priceless integrity for a meager gain. A person who falsifies a tax return by not reporting income or claiming invalid deductions compromises valued integrity for a pittance of unpaid income tax. One who avoids paying bills promptly for goods or services received exchanges cherished integrity for a perceived temporary advantage. Husbands or wives who are unfaithful to their spouses trade their prized integrity for a fleeting moment of mirth. Integrity is so precious that it is beyond price; it is invaluable.
4. After Job has faithfully endured his trials, the Lord blesses him. Job 42:10–17.
There is, thankfully, an end to all this suffering for Job. But I especially like what Dr. Meservy had to say:
In the fiery furnace, Job had shown not only the Adversary but also himself that the correct knowledge about God and a right relationship with him were of more value than anything he had obtained out of life—including length of days, offspring, friends, and loved ones, even wealth and health. Job’s simple but profound, ‘though he slay me, yet will I trust in him’ becomes then an absolute refutation of every argument of the adversary about why men serve the Lord and shows that the devil either lied or was deluded when he said otherwise. Thus, it is in this, the thirteenth chapter where Job demonstrates how profound his knowledge and faith in God is, and not the nineteenth or forty-second, that for me the high point of the book of Job is reached. In this light President McKay has said that he has always ‘thought that the purpose of the book of Job was to emphasize the fact that the testimony of the spirit—the testimony of the Gospel, is beyond the power of Satan’s temptation or any physical influence’ (Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple Annex in 1963, Deseret News).[4]
I will end with a quote from President Spencer W. Kimball:
If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective. Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified? If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith” (Faith Precedes the Miracle[1975], 97).
Additional Material
Elder Maynes on Integrity
