In the distance, he could make out three shadowy figures approaching. "Are they jackals or ostriches this time?" he wondered. He was in a remote area far from the city gates. It was literally a dumping ground, a place of lowliness where his only company was the neighboring wild animals.

After straining to recognize the three figures, Job hung his head again and continued to slowly scratch his boils with a broken piece of scrap pottery. The figures came closer. Clip-clop, clip-clop. The sound grew louder. He looked up again, but this time he understood the three figures to be men. They were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.

The three old cronies had heard of Job’s plight and felt deeply burdened to visit and comfort their friend. But they were not prepared for what they saw.

Job knew he was a hideous site, covered from head to foot with boils, his skin blackened. The pain in his bones gnawed at him constantly, and his flesh continually decayed, never allowing him the rest he craved. He was an emaciated shadow of his former self.

He heard his friends gasp when they saw him. They cried out, weeping for him and ripping their robes. Job hung his head as they wailed. Finally, they stopped, sat with Job, and were silent. And they would stay that way for seven days.

How could this be? Job was once the greatest man in the East, described as blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil. God clearly had His hand on Job, protecting him and blessing his work.

Job lived during the time of the great patriarchs and by some accounts may have been a contemporary of Abraham. His wealth was measured in numbers of livestock and servants, not in gold or silver. He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. His personal inventory impresses even by today’s standards.

The Bible states that Job was the priest to his own household and adored his children. He regularly arose early in the morning to offer sacrifices to God for each of his seven sons and three daughters—just in case they had sinned against God in their hearts. He wanted very much for them to enjoy God’s favor.

Job owned an impeccable reputation and held a position of great honor in his region. He was so revered that when he entered the city square, the elders would stand and young men would hide themselves. No one spoke until Job did.

Despite his great wealth and respect, Job remained compassionate for those not so blessed. In Job 29:11-17, he recalls helping the poor, the widows, the blind, the lame, and the orphans. He judged the wicked for their deeds and comforted the mourners.

Now Job was the one in mourning. Calamity had supplanted prosperity. Repeatedly, disaster struck. Before one messenger finished his report of tragic news, another appeared with news of more heartache. First, his herds of oxen and donkeys were taken. Then his sheep were burned, his servants killed. His camels were carried off just before the last messenger arrived with the worst news: a windstorm had killed all 10 of his children. Then came the figurative salt in his wounds—Job was afflicted with a wretched skin disease that landed him on the ash heap in the dumping ground. He was now ridiculed and despised by the very people he once led.

Job’s visiting friends weren’t much help. After their seven days of silence with Job, they surmised his pitiful situation to be the consequence of sin. Their oversimplified theology was that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked; therefore, Job must be suffering God’s punishment for wrongdoing. They did not understand that God had granted Satan permission to deliver Job his succession of misfortunes.

Nevertheless, Job remained faithful to God despite his decimated life and the rebukes of friends. So incredibly mighty in spirit was Job that in 6:10 he says, "But it is still my consolation, and I rejoice in unsparing pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One."

And in Job 13:15, he states: "Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him."

Out of a whirlwind, God spoke to Job (38:1). The Lord had the final word, not Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar. God restored Job twofold in the end, proving Himself and His promises ever faithful. Those promises remain available for us today as we learn from Job and lean on Jesus:

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:1-5).

—Tim Luke