As we have seen elsewhere in this issue of The Christian, Job lived a long time ago, probably more than 3,000 years ago. Yet in the book of James, which was written at least 1,500 years after Job lived, James refers to “the patience of Job” (James 5:1111Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:11)). The book of James was written to the 12 tribes of Israel and takes into account that while some of them were clearly saved, yet others were not. It seems that all those addressed had at least professed faith in Christ, but some had done no more than that; they were mere professors, without new life in Christ.
Apparently the nation of Israel did not always like to hear about Job, as he was evidently a Gentile and not part of Israel. Although they did recognize the book of Job as being part of the inspired writings of the Old Testament, yet they did not like to think of a Gentile as being so good in God’s sight that God Himself could say of him, “There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man” (Job 1:88And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8)).
The Series of Trials
As we look a little at Job’s history, his patience is indeed admirable. We can scarcely conceive of a series of trials in our life that would even remotely resemble what Job endured. First of all, the Lord allowed all his property—all his wealth—to be taken away in one day. His oxen and donkeys were stolen by the Sabeans, lightning destroyed his sheep, and the Chaldeans took away all his camels. More than this, all of his ten children were killed in one day, probably from what would today be called a tornado. Yet in all this Job did not lose his patience or his trust in God. At the end of all this, he continued to justify and worship God, and he said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:2121And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21)).
The Testing of the Three Friends
But something else did cause Job to lose his patience. It was how his three friends treated him, essentially calling him a hypocrite, and telling him that all this calamity was God’s judgment on him for wrongdoing. They were wrong, of course, but their accusations broke Job, and he lost his patience with them. More than this, he even became impatient with God and ventured to find fault with God’s ways with him. He stoutly maintained his uprightness, so that Elihu eventually had to rebuke him by saying, “Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?” (Job 35:22Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? (Job 35:2)). As the result of Elihu’s words and later the words of God Himself, Job was able to see clearly. But the man whose patience was his strong point finally lost his patience. All his integrity, uprightness, abhorring of evil, and fear of God were the result of God’s grace, yet Job took credit for it himself. As a result, under enough pressure from his three friends, he failed in that very thing. In a similar way, although for different reasons, Abraham failed in his faith and Moses failed in his meekness, because they were occupied with themselves instead of trusting and honoring the Lord. What the Lord has given us in His sovereign grace can be lived out practically only with that same grace.
The Patience of the Lord Jesus
Now let us turn to another whose patience was tried in a far worse way than Job’s. We are, of course, referring to our Lord Jesus Christ. In the world of his day, Job was a wealthy man, honored and respected before all his trials came upon him, but the Son of God, who came into this world as a man, was rejected right from the very beginning. He was born into the poorest of circumstances, and all through the years of His life on earth He was the poorest of men. He was constantly insulted, despised, and given no honor or respect, except from a few. He often depended on the charity of others, particularly women, for His everyday needs.
Oh yes, many would come to Him for healing, for food, and to listen to “the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth” (Luke 4:2222And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? (Luke 4:22)). But they would not recognize Him for who He was. The Jewish leaders accused Him of being “born of fornication,” and on the same occasion called Him a Samaritan, as well as saying that He was possessed of a demon (John 8:41,4841Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. (John 8:41)
48Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48)).
Later, when He faced the cross, those who had benefited from His power to heal and to feed them were persuaded to demand that He be crucified. His own followers forsook Him, one denied Him with oaths and curses, and another betrayed Him. Finally, He bore the judgment of God for sin all alone, never uttering a word of resistance or impatience. Was there ever One like Him, to exhibit patience that never failed? No amount of rejection, false accusation, or suffering caused anything to come out of Him except the divine perfection that was there. Here was One in whom was no sin, who did no sin, and who knew no sin. Every trial to which He was subjected only showed the absolute excellency of His Person.
We may admire the character of Job as a man and what God’s grace had worked in him, as to his patience in all of his trials and sufferings. Yet even a man like this, when put alongside our Lord Jesus Christ, proves to be a failure. Job’s patience is mentioned in the book of James as an example for us, and the prophets are mentioned too, without giving their names, as those who suffered in patience. But the One whose patience was like no other man should always be before us, causing our hearts to bow down before Him in wonder, praise and worship.
W. J. Prost