In the final chapter of the book of Job, the Lord turned His attention to Job’s three friends. They were wrong to accuse Job of having unconfessed sin in his life. They had spoken incorrectly about God’s reasons for Job’s loss and pain, and the Lord was angry about their misrepresentation of Him (v. 7).

God demonstrated grace to them by having them offer sacrifices and having Job pray for them (v. 8). What is of note here is that “the LORD accepted Job’s prayer” (v. 9). It doesn’t mention that He accepted their sacrifices. This reaffirms Job as a man of integrity. After all the criticism and lack of compassion he received from these men, he was still willing to pray for their welfare.

The Lord blessed Job and more than restored all that he had lost. He lived for another 140 years and was able to see several generations of children. As we sat with Job we felt his pain, his loss, his heartache, and his frustration. Yet through it all, he continued to seek God for his answers. Because of his great faith, his epitaph is very similar to two other patriarchs of faith, Abraham (Gen. 25:8) and Isaac (Gen. 35:29).

Through Job’s debate with his friends, we discovered that he understood something about the need for an Arbitrator (9:32–35), an Advocate and Intercessor (16:19–22), a Redeemer (19:25), the certainty of the Resurrection (19:26-27), and what it meant to walk with God (29:2–6).

Because we sat with Job through the pain, we rejoice with him in his restoration! Job was not perfect, but he continually sought God. He’s an example of someone who trusted God, although he didn’t understand the reason for his unfavorable circumstances. May we also trust God when the direction of our faith journey takes an unexpected turn.

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