29 Things Job Taught Me About the Fear of God

Steve Day (2009), Creative Commons

Of course, Job has much to say to help those who suffer. But the book’s main point is more focused: What does it mean to fear the Lord when you suffer?

So how would I answer that question? In the interest of describing a wide range of potential application from this theatrical masterpiece, here are 29 things I’ve learned from the book of Job about the fear of God:

1. It’s more than respectful reverence. It should have a good dose of holy terror (Job 23:14-17).
2. Of course, such terror begins with recognizing God’s hatred of my sin (Job 14:16-17).
3. But the truly terrifying thing about God is not that he crushes sinners indiscriminately, but that he will go to any length to rescue some by destroying their flesh so they can see him face to face (Job 19:25-27).
4. Therefore, God’s work in my life will sometimes make me wish for death (Job 3:20-26, 6:8-10, 7:16).
5. Some people mistakenly think their fear of God, and not God himself, gives them confidence (Job 4:6).
6. Fearing God does not require me to try fixing everyone’s problems. It’s not my job to correct every sin I can see in others (Job 6:14, 21-23).
7. I will rarely understand why God does what he does (Job 9:11-12).
8. The fear of God doesn’t depend on sensing God’s presence or blessing in my life (Job 23:8-13).
9. If I fear God, I will have nothing to hide. I will be open to instruction and exposure (Job 6:24).
10. I must allow God to have his way with me. Whatever the cost (and however terrifying), I will hold fast to him and him alone (Job 13:15).
11. I won’t be surprised when God appears to act unjustly (Job 9:19-24), but I won’t simply put on a happy face (Job 9:27-29) or trust my own righteousness (Job 9:30-31).
12. Fearing God means realizing I can do nothing to help myself. I must have a mediator come between God and me (Job 9:32-33, 16:19). (Spoiler: His name is Jesus – Acts 4:12, 1 John 2:1.)
13. When I fear God, I will know death is inevitable but not unstoppable (Job 16:7-17, 19:26-27).
14. Those who value their traditions more than God will interpret my fear of God as irreverence (Job 15:4-6).
15. Such detractors will get themselves in big trouble if they don’t change (Job 19:28-29, 27:7-23). They’ll learn to fear God whether they like it or not (Job 13:7-12, 42:7-9).
16. When I fear God, I can say, “I don’t know” (Job 26:14).
17. The only court of opinion that matters is God’s (Job 23:2-7).
18. The fear of God will transform me into something truly valuable (Job 23:10).
19. I can’t find the fear of God anywhere on earth. I’ll never be able to look inside and find it in my heart. It must come from God (Job 28:12, 20-21, 23-28).
20. The process of gaining and growing in the fear of God will not be fun (Job 1-2, 38-41), but it will be more than worth it (Job 28:12-19). “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
21. God is always speaking to me (Job 33:13-14): sometimes through words (Job 33:15-18) but usually through pain (Job 33:19-28). Though he speaks not to accuse but to deliver (Job 33:29-33), it still sure hurts a lot.
22. To grow in the fear of God, I need to remember that God has:
    1. The authority to do whatever he wants with me, whenever he wants to do it (Job 36:5-16).
    2. The ability to to do whatever he wants with me, whenever he wants to do it (Job 36:22-37:13).
23. In other words, God is always behind my affliction — not because he’s out to get me, but because he loves me. This is why men fear him (Job 37:14-24).
24. God has all knowledge and power, and I do not (Job 38:1-39:30).
25. I cannot bring evil to an end (Job 40:8-14), but God can (Job 40:19, 41:10-11). He hasn’t yet chosen to do so; thus I can’t predict how he will use deep suffering in my life.
26. I can’t stop God (Job 42:2).
27. I will never understand my suffering (Job 42:3).
28. If I find myself growing bitter toward my suffering, it may be appropriate to hate what I’ve become and turn it around (Job 42:4-6).
29. This God who stands over and above the suffering in my life — and who thus is beyond reproach in any way — chooses to take the blame for what is wrong (Job 42:10). How terrifying and unpredictable is that?

How has the book of Job deepened your fear of God? In the next post on Job, I’ll pull everything together into a comprehensive walkthrough.