"The Lord restored the fortunes of Jobwhen he prayed
for his friends..." Job 42:10a
Wow. Job's friends had given him bad advice. They were convinced Job was hiding sin and not honoring God. In their minds this was the only reason why all these tragedies had happened to him.
Then the Lord stepped in... I can't even imagine how mighty and terrifying that must have been.
Was Elihu, all proud of himself, in the middle of his rebuke to Job, mid-sentence, when in a mighty thundering voice and brilliant light, the Lord showed up, because He had had enough?
The Lord speaks of His own greatness and the things He has done as creator. When He has finished talking to Job, He turns to Job's "friends" cowering in the corner. What was going through their minds? How terrified they must have been! And what does the Lord do? He tells them to repent and ask for Job to accept their burnt offerings as a sign of their repentance and devotion to God.
They chose to obey... but I'm sure they were wondering if Job would accept? He had no reason to according to the wisdom of the world... but Job had just had an encounter with the Living God.
I think it's important to note that God had not told Job He would restore him. In chapter 42:6, the last we had seen of Job was him repenting in the dust and ashes.
There was Job. His tear-stained face in the dirt, his body, covered with sores, laying prostrate before the Mighty Lord. Timidly Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, (note: the Bible does not say if Elihu was there) approach. Job feebly stands, his whole nature crushed, his mind racing and in awe of just being in the presence of the creator of the universe.
What did Job's friends say? No words are recorded, but that they obeyed the Lord, offered up a burnt offering, and the Lord accepted Job's prayers.
I imagine, as job mustered the last of his strength to stand there and pray, his friends were kneeling in grief at his feet. Job prayed for his accusers, his mockers, those who had lost faith in him. As Job continued and asked the Lord to forgive them and accept their offering, his strength began to build, with each breath his skin began to heal, wounds vanished, health returned. As Job finished his prayer and his friends raised up their eyes to behold their friend, all were struck speechless, in awe of the redemption of the Lord displayed for all to see.
Job was healed, restored, and strong.
And I'm sure the love in his eyes spoke louder than anything that could be said with words.
"... and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold...
the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning." Job 42:10b; 12a
