Pastor's Paragraph
Vindicated by God
"And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has'" (Job 42:7).
The vindication of Job was a vindication before his "friends." God called him "My servant" and had him act in the capacity of a priest for the three who had so cruelly slandered him.
We not only need to see what God was able to do with Job, we also need to see the God of Job ourselves.
We learn from Job's example, and this is part of the vindication, that the suffering of the godly always includes a compensation, or a reward. It may not come in this present life. It did in Job's life, and we can be assured that it will eventually come for us. The Bible says so, and that settles it. Job's reward had to come during his lifetime in order to complete the object lesson the Lord was presenting through him.
Life for the believer does not end with his life on earth; it continues on into heaven. All believers have an inheritance reserved in heaven. The Bible tells us in many places that we cannot avoid suffering here on earth. The suffering will not endure forever, though, and we must look beyond it to the rewards God will give for faithfulness. "Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord -- that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful" (James 5:11).
God does not delight in our being afflicted, yet through these afflictions His very gracious purposes are realized. This is what James called "the end intended by the Lord"; the outcome of the Lord's dealings with us includes vindication.
"And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday" (Psalm 37:6).