"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction and of patience. Behold, 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 5:10-11
Part 4
Yesterday: “Happiness” Versus “God’s Blessing”
“Behold, we count them happy which endure.”
Enduring afflictions for Christ bring blessings to God’s child.
Today: Godly Patience Is Worth the Effort!
“Ye have heard of the patience of Job.”
Job is God’s premier example of what it is to be patient during tremendous times of loss and hardship. Job was known as a very godly man and the richest man in the East. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters whom he loved dearly. One day he received word that the Sabeans and Chaldeans had stolen his livestock, and his sheep were destroyed by an “act of God” in nature. A little while later, another servant came and told him that while his sons and daughters were in their eldest brother’s home eating, a great wind blew in from the wilderness. The house collapsed, killing them all. Job was devastated, within just a few hours, his family was gone, and his sources of income dried up. In a day, he had gone from riches to rags. Job’s response to this terrible news was this,
“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And 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. In all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:20-22).
Imagine that – he lost everything, yet his first response to his tragedy was to get on his face before God and worship Him. Even though Job and the apostle Paul were separated by a couple of millennia, Job still understood the principle that Paul told Timothy.
“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).
The psalmist had this to say about the death of a rich man.
“Be not thou afraid when one is made rich when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him” (Psalm 49:16-17).
The character of Job shows us that the most important person in his life is God. More than family, more than riches, more than the ability to make money, God ruled in Job’s life. Job is not a perfect man, and his humanity came to the surface several times through his book. But time after time, we can see that Job’s heart is in the right place. Even through this extraordinary time of testing, he still loved and trusted his God and kept the faith. Job said,
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I will maintain mine own ways before Him” (Job 13:15).
“But He [God] knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
It is these same qualities that God looks for in His child today.
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
And men, let’s make sure that we are examples of this in our families and churches.
“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience” (Titus 2:2).
“And have seen the end of the Lord.”
Yes, trusting, faithful, patient Job kept believing that the Lord will do what’s best for His glory. And in the end, he was able to see how God worked out all the details.
“The end of the Lord—the end which the Lord gave. If Job had much to “endure,” remember also Job’s happy “end.” Hence, learn, though much tried, to “endure to the end”[1] (JFB).
“The outcome from the Lord God eventually restored Job’s family and fortune (Job 42:10–17)”[2] (FSB).
At the end of the book of Job, we can see his final response to God for the heartbreak in his life. Here is his conclusion.
“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” (Job 42:5-6).
Yes, God graciously gave Job more than he ever had before, including 140 years to live with his family. Job will see the next 4 generations of his family before he dies.
“So Job died, being old and full of days” (Job 42:17).
“That the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
The Lord cares for His own.
“Pitiful, and Tender Mercy”
“pitiful … of tender mercy— … His pity is shown in not laying on the patient endurer more trials than he is able to bear; His mercy, in His giving a happy “end” to the trials [Bengel]” [3] (JFB).
“The point is that God has not forgotten the Christians James is writing to. He cites [Psalm] 103:8 or 111:4, noting God’s compassion and mercy. God is not trying to make life hard for his believers but is instead showing his mercy in assisting them to develop character and put their investments in heaven, where they will last forever”[4] (NBC).
Quote: “Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces”[5] (Matthew Henry).
[1] JFB, Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 493). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. The emphases are theirs.
[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Jas 5:11). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. The emphasis is theirs.
[3] JFB, Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Ibid.
[4] Davids, P. H. (1994). James. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st-century edition (4th ed., pp. 1366–1367). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
[5] Henry’s quote Downloaded: Tuesday, August 3, 2021. From: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/affliction? Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible.