Now My Eyes See You
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2nd hand knowledge vs. experience- It is one thing to be told how beautiful Devil’s Lake is in the fall. I can show you pictures and tell you all about it. But it just doesn’t do it justice. A picture is worth a thousand words, but the experience of seeing the trees and the lake and the rocks is breathtaking. The same is true of God. And this is the message that Job wishes for us to understand today. Hearing about God second hand is one thing, seeing Him personally through eyes of experience is beautiful and majestic and full off worship.
To Review:
Indictment #1 (Job 38:1-40:2)- Job presumed to have sufficient knowledge of the facts to bring God’s ways and character into question.
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel
By words without knowledge?
Answer #1 (Job 40:3-5)- Job concedes—no rebuttal, no self-defense.
4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?
I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
It was good and right for Job to remain silent. His silence indicated that his heart was in the right place, but Job still has more that he needs to say. And so God bring indictment #2.
Indictment #2 (Job 40:6-41:34)- Job defended his own righteousness at the expense of God’s righteousness
8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?
Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Will you put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Answer #2 (Job 42:1-6)- Job bows before God—full retraction and repentance.
I believe that Job 42:1-6 are pivotal verses in understanding the message of the book of Job. If you don’t get what is going on in Job’s heart in these six verse you miss the entire point of the book.
If you had to summarize the book of Job in one word what would it be? Many people might use the word “suffering.” And it is true that we learn a lot about the righteous person suffering “unjustly.” But I don’t think that is the point of the book of Job. The suffering that God allowed Job to go through was simply the fuel that moved the vehicle, but it was not the final destination. If I had to summarize the book of Job in one word it would be this, “relationship.” At its core, Job is about God and you. It is about how you see God, how you understand Him, how you trust Him. It is about a relationship between a man, or a woman, or a child, and God.
From these six verses we discover something very important about Job- he is not the same man he use to be. He has grown in his faith in some very significant ways. Job has just come face to face with God. With God’s might and insight, with His infinity and His wisdom, with His majesty, and sovereignty, and freedom, and His omnipotence. This is more than enough to humble Job into the dust (as we will see in a moment). But side by side with God’s majesty and awe Job has also seen God’s compassion and His goodness. And it the combination of the majesty of God and the grace of God that has awakened Job’s love for and submission to God in way that Job has never experienced before. Job is not ready for healing, he is ready for repentance and trust, because He has truly seen God.
These six verses are all about growth and relationship with God. If you, believer, desire to grow in your relationship with God as Job did, then two actions are required.
I. If you would respond to God as Job did you must SEE God as Job saw Him.
I. If you would respond to God as Job did you must SEE God as Job saw Him.
How did Job see God?
A. God is Sovereign and Free (42:2)
A. God is Sovereign and Free (42:2)
1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing,
And that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Now I “know”- that which is understood much more deeply, to understand the significance of the thing.
Job’s knows something on a level that he did not previously understand.
And what did Job know?
You God can do every thing.
This may sound like a statement of God’s omnipotence. God you have the strength to do anything. But the second line (in parallel with the first) clarifies Job’s meaning.
And that no thought can be withed from you.
Job is not confessing God’s power, but God’s sovereignty. His ability to do anything He chooses and his freedom to do everything He purposes.
I know that you can do all things (i.e., anything you want); No thought can be withed from you… the idea of this is your thoughts cannot be thwarted, Your purposes impeded, Your decisions hindered.
So what exactly is Job seeing as true about God, in a way that he previously did not understand?
God not only can do anything He chooses; He actually does do anything He chooses. What God purposes or wills God does. He is sovereign and free to make certain His will.
Here Job is telling God that he heard and understood God’s speeches.
Do you remember God’s main point in discussion leviathan?
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?
Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Who has first given anything to Me that I should be obliged to repay him? Everything under the whole heaven is Mine!
This was God’s whole point with leviathan. Earlier on in God’s argument he told Job to put on his majesty and beauty and strength and cast down the wicked and bring judgment on those who deserve it. And oh, by the way why don’t you start with two of my creatures- behemoth and leviathan. Oh, you can’t even handle a mere beast? You don’t have the power and the wisdom and the majesty and the ability to do that? Then what makes you think you can win an argument with their Creator.
Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job God Is Sovereign and Free (Job 42:2)
“Anyone who cannot undertake God’s works has no right to undermine God’s ways. And anyone who trembles at the sight of fierce beasts is unwise in boldly contending with the beasts’ Maker.” That is why Job acknowledges God’s undiluted right and ability to do whatever He purposes or pleases.
Job sees God in a way that he previously could never have seen God, because His theology was bad. His thinking about God was wrong, and so His relationship with God suffered. He even went as far as implying that God was not righteous and just in His treatment of Job. But now, through the experience of suffering, and further revelation from God. Job sees the truth and he understands it at a whole different level, because He not only knows but he has experienced this truth- that God is sovereign and free. But He is also benevolent- He is good- If He cares for small little goats, how much more does He care for me? So, as Job understood God’s grace and love and mercy, Job trusted whole heatedly in God’s will, in God’s sovereignty and freedom.
Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, in 1912, in the span of less than two weeks lost three of the most important people in her life.
Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job God Is Sovereign and Free (Job 42:2)
Kind people, wanting to console, made the usual observation: “It is very hard to see how this can be for the best.” “We are not asked to SEE,” said Amy. “Why need we when we KNOW.” We know—not the answer to the inevitable Why, but the incontestable fact that it is for the best.… Others, with a sigh and a shake of the head, observed that it is difficult for us human beings to escape bitterness, even dumb rage, when such things happen. “It is indeed not only difficult, it is impossible,” Amy wrote. “There is only one way of victory over the bitterness and rage that come naturally to us—To will what God wills brings peace.”
To will what God wills brings peace.
I think of Horatio Spafford, after loosing his daughters in a ship wreck, and receiving that telegram from his wife, “Saved alone” penned these words,
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
“It is well, it is well with my soul”
Here are two people, Amy Carmichael and Horatio Spafford, who saw God as Job saw God in this passage.
“God I know you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
God you are sovereign and you are free, but you are also benevolent and very good and so I trust you.
“To will what God will brings peace.”
“Whatever my lot You have taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.”
God said to Job- “Everything under the whole heaven is mine.” Job now replies, “no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Do you see God that way? Do you trust Him, do you see Him as He has revealed Himself to be- sovereign and free / and at the same time good. Do you trust Him?
Remember Job is still suffering when he says this. We know that in just a few verses God is going to restore Job, but Job had no such knowledge and probably had no such expectation. Notice He is no longer asking the question “Why.” He knows the answer now to the question of “Who” and that is enough. Job sees God and trusts Him even in the darkest of his circumstances.
So what do you do when you loose your job unexpectedly? “To will what God wills brings peace”
What do you do when you loose a loved one?
“To will what God wills brings peace”
What about when a hundred little annoyances interrupt your schedule everyday?
“To will what God wills brings peace.”
Kids, what about when your are so frustrated at school because you think that it is too hard or too unfair and you just feel like screaming?
“To will what God wills brings peace.”
God I know you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Boy if we can get this truth nailed down, and not only know it but apply it in our experiences, just think how your relationship with God would grow?
How do you see God?
B. God is wise and understanding (42:3-5)
B. God is wise and understanding (42:3-5)
3 Who is he that hideth counsel
Without knowledge?
Therefore have I uttered that I understood not;
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
But now mine eye seeth thee.
Here Job seems to be rehearsing the earlier scenes of God’s whirlwind confrontation in his mind. He is finally getting his mind wrapped around what God said to him.
The idea of v.3 is You asked me God, “Who is he that hides counsel without knowledge?” Truly, I have spoken what I did not understand, things utterly beyond me of which I had no idea.”
Here Job is not confessing his ignorance, otherwise we would all have to stop and confess ourselves, rather he is confessing speaking in ignorance. The authority of our opinions does not exceed our knowledge of the facts. So Job is agreeing with God. I did not understand, your ways and your thoughts are higher than my own. They are utterly beyond me. Job had implied that God had treated him unjustly and unfairly in his circumstances. God’s answer was that Job didn’t have all the facts. And now Job agrees with God. Job finally sees God as the all wise and understanding creator of the universe. God alone has the wisdom to order the stars and the planets. These things are utterly beyond Job, He has no idea. But God does. He stops asking why did you do this to me God, because he now knows who. God has all wisdom, and if God can do all that then Job can trust Him to manage His life as well.
In Job’s first answer to God he remained silent. His heart was in his throat and his foot was in his mouth. But now, Job is ready to say what needs to be said. And he begs permission to speak.
42:4a- Hear I beg you, and I will speak...
Again Job repeats, reflectively, God’s words,
“I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me!”
God you demanded of me that I speak. I wasn’t ready then, I am now.
And what does Job say?
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
But now mine eye seeth thee.
Previously all I had was secondhand knowledge of who you were God, and it was flawed. I had flawed view of how you were. But now my eye sees You!
Job did just mean that he got to see the whirlwind, but that he had experienced God first hand and he now understands God in a way he never had. His very thinking about who God is has changed! God I used to think about you this way, and that was wrong, but now you have revealed yourself to me and corrected the way I know you, I understand you, the way I see you. And because of that I can trust you like I never could before. I am closer to you than I ever have been before. I am able to worship you like I never have before. I see you God. I see your majesty, and your power, and your might. I also see your benevolence, and your goodness, and you grace, and your compassion. Now my eyes see you. My relationship with you has grown in leaps and bounds.
Believer how do you see God? Do you think rightly about our God. Do you think about Him the way he deserves? We have something that Job never had- the completed revelation of God’s Word. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. He has not told us everything about Himself. How could an infinite God do that? But He has told us enough. How do you see God? Sadly, many people in our world see God, they think about God in an unworthy manner.
Prosperity gospel- God is someone I can force to bless me with everything my heart desires.
Illustration: Women “minister” with multicolored hair- “All we need to know if that God is a god of love”
She did not see God clearly.
“The church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking worshiping men.” Tozer
“A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing our troubles. It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.” Tozer
“For this reason the most significant fact about man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives about God to be like.” Tozer
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
But now mine eye seeth thee.
How do you see God?
Why did Job struggle so much with the way he saw and understood God? Lack of revelation, lack of truth.
Why do we struggle with the way we see God? Could it be that there is a lack of revelation in our life? Could it be that we have been a bit lazy in our attempt to really know who God is through His word. And not just know facts about Him, but to understand the significance of those facts for out lives. What sins and doubts are you struggling with right now? I would challenge you to trace those failures in your life back to failures in your thinking about God.
If you would grow in your relationship with God, as Job did, the first you must SEE God clearly, just like Job.
II. If you would respond to God as Job did you must SUBMIT to God as Job did.
II. If you would respond to God as Job did you must SUBMIT to God as Job did.
How did Job submit to God?
A. Job retracted all his charges
A. Job retracted all his charges
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
In dust and ashes.
The verb abhor “despise” has no object. You will see in the KJV that the word myself is in italics meaning that it was not in the original but it was supplied by the translators. Most translations supply the word “myself” to give Job’s repentance a feeling of self-denial.
The word abhor means “refuse or reject” and the object could be Job, but it seems like based on the immediate context and the larger context of the court case, that Job is bringing the closure to the legal battle that began with Job’s challenge and culminated with God’s answer.
Job has just rehearsed God’s indictments and changed his mind. So I think here the idea is not that Job abhorred himself, but his rash and foolish words. The idea is “Therefore I retract my words.” Job is recanting, he is withdrawing all charges, dropping the case. He is agreeing with God- confess your sins, faithful and just to forgive you...
But that is not all that Job did.
B. Job repented in dust and ashes
B. Job repented in dust and ashes
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
In dust and ashes.
He repents in dust and ashes.
There is no request coupled with Job’s repentance and submission. He didn’t say, “I’ll repent if you make my life better.” True repentance strikes no bargains and poses no suggestions. Remember Job is still suffering at this point. He doesn’t know the end of the story like we do. And he doesn’t expect it. All he knows is that now that he sees God clearly, he must submit, and repent in dust and ashes.
Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job Chapter 18: Bowing before God (Job 42:1–6)
Any stranger to that dust has not yet seen God for Who He is, however much he may know about Him
How many of you have had those times when you are so overwhelmed with who God is and how small you are, that they only appropriate response you have is to fall on your face before God?
In repentance Job finds resolution and peace. Nothing has changed in Job’s situation, yet Job is now content. The peace and rest that have been alluding Job the entire book, he finally finds when he rests in God.
Job does not say, “Ah, at last I finally understand! But rather God, finally I repent.” Job is not repenting of any sin that would have caused his suffering- that would undermine the premise of the entire book. Instead Job is repenting of calling into question God’s character and God’s ways.
Some might object! “You’re telling me that God afflicted Job with all this suffering, without cause (as God Himself admitted), and JOB is the one who has to apologize?”
If this is your reaction, you still have not gotten the point of Job.
If you are unable or unwilling to trust God, then this outcome will never satisfy you. But those that see God clearly have come in time to recognize it is better to trust God than to attempt to claim the rights of God.
Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job “Now Mine Eye Seeth Thee”: An Afterthought
We understand ourselves best and deepest not when we peer within but when we gaze on God and come to see Him more fully as He is. And we can see God as He is only if and when He reveals Himself to us.
Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job “Now Mine Eye Seeth Thee”: An Afterthought
The degree to which we will respond as Job did depends upon the degree to which we see and submit to what Job saw.
How about you? Are you willing to submit to God today? It is one thing to agree that God is sovereign and that God is all knowing. It is another thing to submit to the will that God has for your life.
Kids, why is it so hard sometimes to do what your parents tell you to do? You don’t want to submit. You think you know a better way. You don’t trust your parents.
Whatever the problem is that you are having with your mom and dad…it is a bigger problem that you realize. The bigger issue is you are unwilling to submit to God. If you are ever going to have peace in your home, peace in your relationship with your parents, peace in you heart about your circumstances, peace in your heart with God. You must submit. See God for Who He really is and spend some time in the dust. When is the last time you got down into the dust (see Pastor says it is OK for you to spend time in the dust). When is the last time you were so overcome with the truth of who God is, that you fell to your knees and asked God to forgive you? You repented in dust and ashes. Only in repentance will you find peace.
Adults. What in your life do you need to submit to?
What are you angry about?
What are you heartbroken over?
What makes you frustrated day in and day out?
What makes you complain?
What makes you dis-satisfied?
Maybe you need to see God for who He really is and spend some time in the dust as well.
If you desire to grow in your relationship with God then you must see God for who He really is, and you must submit to Him, regardless of the circumstances He allows in your life.
This is the lesson that Job had to learn. And these were the actions that Job needed to take in order to grow in his relationship with God. Imagine how much closer we could be to God if we did the same.