“… you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (Job 42:8).
After Job repented, God graciously forgave him, restored his reputation, and then sorely rebuked his three friends, saying “you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” God called Job His servant four times in just two verses. This indicates that God still considered him to be His beloved servant, just as He had when Satan first accused Job. Once God forgave Job of his sins, He did not bring them up again, but fully restored him to a position of honor. “True penitents shall find favor with God, and what they have said and done amiss shall no more be mentioned against them,” Henry wrote.
When God called the three counselors to account and to humble themselves before Job, it was as if He were saying, “Though Job is poor and despised, he is my servant notwithstanding, and as dear to me as when he was in prosperity. Though he has his faults, and has appeared to be a man subject to like passions as others, though he has contended with me, has gone about to disannul my judgment, and has darkened counsel by words without knowledge, yet he sees his error and retracts it, and therefore he is my servant Job still.”
While Job found favor in God’s sight, the three counselors received His condemnation—a judgment that could only be deterred through Job’s mediation. The three counselors had wronged God by making prosperity a mark of the true church and affliction a certain indication of God’s wrath. To be cleansed of their sin, they had to go to Job for intercession. “Thus Job became a type of Christ, through whom alone we and our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God,” Henry wrote. ‘ “Go to my servant Job, to my servant Jesus … ‘put your sacrifices into His hand, make use of Him as your Advocate, for Him will I accept, but, out of Him, you must expect to be dealt with according to your folly.’ And, as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those that had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed and died for His persecutors, and ever lives making intercession for the transgressors.”
If you have sinned against God, and the Bible says you have, go to Christ, ask Him to intercede on your behalf. Only His sacrifice and prayers can save you from the judgment of God.
Meditate on Psalm 32 today. Consider God’s forgiveness of your sins generally and of any particular sins. Thank Him for restoring you and for covering you with the righteousness of Christ. If you have not repented of a particular sin, do so. Seek restoration in Christ, humble yourself before God, and receive His forgiveness.
