Job 13:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, you might ask if it was not a significant consolation to know that these tribulations were ordained by God. This thought burdened Job, especially the notion that the righteous God, whom he had strived to please, was now against him. He found no reasonable justification for his trials. But upon discovering the reason, he displayed extraordinary piety. When God questioned him, “Do you believe I created you for any purpose other than to uphold truth?” (Job 40:3), Job responded in astonishment, saying, “I will place my hand over my mouth; I have spoken once, but I will not speak again” (Job 39:34-35), and again proclaimed, “I will place my hand over my mouth; I have spoken once, but I will not speak again” (Job 39:34-35). He further stated, “I had heard of You through the ear; now my eye has seen You. Therefore, I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

Furthermore, I dare assert that this righteous man was at least equal, if not superior, to the apostles themselves. The apostles found strength in their sufferings for Christ, which served as a remedy to sustain them daily. The Lord often reminded them, “for My name’s sake,” and “if they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub” (Matt. 10:25). In contrast, Job found no similar solace—he experienced no miraculous signs or divine grace to uplift his spirit. What is even more striking is that he endured his afflictions having been raised in dignity, not as a fisherman, a tax collector, or in poverty, but as a man of great repute. Like the apostles, Job endured betrayal and rejection from friends, servants, enemies, and those he once counted as allies; yet, he lacked the assurance the apostles had that their sufferings were for God’s glory.

I am also amazed by the three young men who faced the furnace without fear, standing resolutely against the king. They declared, “We will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you have set up” (Dan. 3:18). Their confidence in enduring for God was their ultimate solace. Job, however, was unaware that this constituted both a struggle and a triumph. Had he understood this, he would not have perceived his trials as suffering. When confronted with, “Do you think I created you for any purpose other than to be truthful?” (Job 40:3), consider how he was instantly uplifted by those very words; he humbled himself, reflecting that he thought of nothing as suffering when he contemplated his situation, saying, “Why do I continue to argue, corrected and rebuked by the Lord with such truths, when I am nothing?” (Job 39:34). He reiterated, “I have only heard of You via the ear; now my eyes see You; therefore, I retract and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

May we, who live under the new covenant of grace, aspire to emulate such courage and humility exhibited by that righteous man from before the law and grace, that we may together share in the eternal rewards that are available to us through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs glory and power forever and ever. Amen.