Job: An Encounter with God

I ponder.  A lot.  And I have pondered the book of Job for a long time.  I have never completely understood it.  So this time, as I read through it, I asked God to please reveal to me what I have been missing about this book.  A couple of days ago, as I finished reading, one verse popped off of the page at me.  Job 42:5 says, "I have heard of  thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees thee;  Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

I think there is more to the book of Job then God proving to Satan that Job would not curse God even if all of his blessings were taken away.  I believe God was using this opportunity to have a personal encounter with Job.  Here Satan was roaming around the Earth, looking to kick up hell somewhere, and God said, "have you considered Job?"  It doesn't make sense to me that the God of this universe would really need to have a challenge with Satan to prove a point.  God is more powerful than Satan.  God knows this.  Satan knows this.  End of the contest.  I believe God was up to something else, bigger than a dare.  I am not saying that God did not use this to prove His power.  He was proving and showing His power, not only to Satan, but also to Job.

Job was upright, blameless, and feared God.  He revered Him.  Job lived a life of obedience to God's law because he desired to honor Him.  God picked Job, because He knew and understood Job's nature and his integrity.  I believe God also picked Job, because He wanted to come face to face with Job.  He wanted to reveal Himself to Job in a very personal way.

The first part of Job 42:5 says, " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear".  Job knew of God because he  had heard about Him.  Through hearing, Job had believed.  He made a choice to walk away from sin and live in accordance to the law of God.  The second part of the verse says, "but now my eye sees thee." Something changes in Job's relationship to God.  The tragedies in Job's life, resulted in Job crying out to God . . . on a very personal level.  God had been one to be revered and worshiped, but now God had brought Himself face to face with Job.  Job never cursed God, but he did question God.  He appealed to God and begged for relief.  The doors were wide open for God to speak directly into Job's heart and his mind.

Romans 10:10 says,"for with the heart man believes,resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."  Job had believed in his heart which resulted in a life of righteousness.  When Job confessed he found salvation and a personal relationship with God.

Isn't that what God does for us too?  He allows opportunities in our lives so that He can have a personal encounter with us.  He desires to be more then worshiped from afar.  Jesus desires to be intimate with us.  He desires to show us who He is.  He desires a relationship.