Job 42:10

"And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends" — a beautiful expression of the work of grace. It was not merely that He turned their punishment away when Job prayed, but He turned Job's own captivity when his heart went out on their behalf. Job himself was now consciously set free. Until this moment he had felt like a captive held in a tight grip; but Jehovah turned his captivity when he prayed for his friends. His heart was active in grace; he had seen grace, and now he expressed grace, and this too for the very people who had wounded him most.

So we find that when Job got right about God and himself, he soon got right about his friends, for he learned to pray for them. Yes, he could pray for the "miserable comforters," the "worthless physicians," the very men with whom he had contended so long, so firmly, and so fiercely! "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends."

It must have been an extraordinary scene. Verse 10 shows that the turn in Job's bodily condition and in his fortunes came when he had prayed for his friends, and not before. Here were the three friends, well-dressed gentlemen of the east with their sacrifices; Job, a wasted figure, covered with boils. Yet this poor physical wreck is in touch with God, and able to hold up his hands in gracious and priestly intercession. When had anything like this been seen in the east?

How good it is to see how God connects Job's intercession with his return to prosperity. Earlier, Job had offered burnt offerings for his sons, in case they had cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:5). Now he interceded with a God he had come to know in a new way, One who spoke to him, and whom he had seen.

God blessed Job abundantly, turning his captivity and giving him twice as much as he had before. He did this when Job had prayed for his friends — and not till then... Yet God did not let that tide of earthly blessing roll in upon Job again until he had been deeply changed in spirit and character. When at last he was brought near to God, he acted as a priest in a way that reflected the goodness and kindness of God; then everything outward changed. The boils disappeared, health returned, the ashes were left behind... Job, then, was not a loser but a gainer by God's dealings, even in material things.

But Jehovah also gave Job twice as much as he had before, for the book could not end without a witness to God's goodness even outwardly... But Job only held fast to God because God held fast to Job. That was the real root of the matter. It is grace after all that gives and keeps integrity. But God was not unrighteous to forget Job.

The chapter is the farmer's harvest. The words "Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord" introduce the mention of "the steadfastness of Job" and "the purpose of the Lord." The farmer works in hope, and gets his fruit at harvest. And so Job endured, till at last the one who sowed reaped. (James 5:7-11)