Mourning into Dancing

As Job grieved due to his losses, his friend Eliphaz spoke of a vision he had in the night. A scary spirit had made the hair on his body stand up, and his bones to shake. It spoke to him. It was from this spirit’s word that the trajectory of Job’s three friends got off on a wrong foot. This spirit led them to believe that Job was suffering for some crime he had committed against God. Their misinterpretation of Job’s suffering added greatly to his grief, and severely tested his faith in God.

Eliphaz: “Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair on my body stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence; then I heard a voice saying: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” “Remember now, whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?” [1]

Job was a type of the coming Messiah Jesus. His losses came not because of any crime before God on his part. The Lord had said of Job, “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil.” Job was suffering from a satanic attack against him. “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” The suffering of Christ was also an attack from Satan. [2]

Yes, a Righteous One has suffered unjustly. “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” [3]

The sufferings of Christ were due to His love for us sinners.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” [4]

Job received a double blessing from the hand of God after his trial was over. He also had peace with God once again. This too is a foreshadowing of Christ, because after Christ’s death on the cross, after being momentarily forsaken by His Father for our sakes… Christ resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is enthroned in glory at the right hand of His Father. [5]

This is wonderful news for us! As we trust in Christ, we who are subject to death, shall also resurrect and enjoy eternal blessings with God forevermore. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [6]

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” [7]

[1] Job 4:12-17; 4:7
[2] Job 2:3, 7; Luke 22:3, 53
[3] 1 Peter 3:17-18
[4] Romans 5:6-10
[5] Job 42:12-17; 1 Peter 3:22
[6] Romans 6:23
[7] Psalm 30:11