Page 158 - Job

1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters.”
Anyway, God promised to double all of Job’s blessings. He started out
with 7,000 sheep. He ended up with 14,000. He started out with 3,000
camel; he ended up with 6,000. He started out with 500 yoke of oxen; he
ended up with 1,000. He started out with 500 female donkeys and ended
up with 1,000. But he started out with 10 children – 7 boys and 3 girls –
chapter 1, verse 2, and he ends up with 10 children – 7 boys and 3 girls.
That is verse 13. And yet, the Bible says in verse 10 that “The Lord
increased all twofold.” How is that explained?

I believe it is easily explained. You see, when he lost his 7,000 sheep and
his 3,000 camel and his 500 yoke of oxen and his 500 female donkeys, he
lost them forever. They were animals, not created in the image of God.
They died and went into the ground, and that was the end of them. But
when his sons and daughters died he did not lose them. They are not like
animals, who die and then are annihilated. They live on in the Lord. And
so, in fact, God really did double his children. He started out with ten and
he ended up with twenty. Ten were alive on the earth; ten were alive in
heaven. He did not really lose the sons and daughters, he now shared them
with his God. So this is the first great result of the outcome of God’s
dealings; Large spiritual blessings for the sufferer.
Let me state what I believe to be the second result of the outcome of
God’s dealings. I believe it can be summarized in these words. Enlarged
blessing through the sufferer. Not only for the sufferer, but now through
the sufferer.
Let me try to get the setting of these verses before you. Job had seen the
Lord by faith. He wisely retracted his foolish speech. He had challenged
God. Before, Job said, if my adversary brings a charge against me, I will
take that charge and put it upon my shoulders. I will embrace it. I will put
it as a crown upon my head. I am fully able to refute it. That is what Job
said before. He said, if God would come and stand up like a man and we
could argue this thing out, he said, I would fill my mouth with arguments.
I would stand like a prince before Him. I would argue my case. But now,
his hand is tightly over his lips. He refuses to speak. His head is bowed
low, and he is covered with ashes and dust.

Now God speaks in verse 7. I do not know how to interpret that little
word, “after”. “It came about after the LORD had spoken these words
to Job.” I do not know if it was immediately after or sometime later.
But after Job had his eyes opened to the Lord through affliction, the Lord
spoke verses 7-10 to Eliphaz, and the other miserable comforters.

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