Page 157 - Job

us in Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31 and Luke 13:30 “But many that are
first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”
Or in Luke 9:24,
“For whoever chooses to save his lower life will lose his higher life, but
whoever gives up his lower life for my sake will save his higher life.”

That is the truth of God. God will often increase your capacity for
spiritual blessing through suffering and affliction. Over and over again the
Bible demonstrates how God brings us to emptiness in order to increase
our fullness. That is what Naomi said. She said, “I went away full, but
God has brought me back empty.” And then through that emptiness she
became the relative of the one who would marry Boaz and bring Christ
and redemption to the world. That is the message of Job. You are only
one verse into the Book and it says:

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that
man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from
evil.”

That was God’s estimate of him. Chapter 1, verse 8. God addresses Satan
and says,

“Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning
away from evil.”

That is how he started! King James says, “Job was perfect.” And at the
end, you see this same man, the perfect man, verse 7 “I retract, I repent
in dust and ashes.” Perfect men need repentance! Do not think that we
cannot find a deeper capacity and a greater fullness.
Sometime we are tempted to kick at the providence of God in the days of
famine and drought. When God brings barrenness into our life allowing
affliction and suffering. We forget that God is bringing us through
emptiness to fullness, enlarged blessing for the sufferer. Some have
pointed out, by comparing Job 1:3 with 42:10 and 12,
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job after he prayed for his
friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had two fold.”

Now look at verse 12,

“The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and
he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and

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