Did you read that too quickly? The end of verse 9? Mark it.

“The LORD accepted.” And then, “The LORD restored.” End of verse ten, “The LORD increased.” start of verse twelve, “The LORD blessed.” Those are words of grace—statements of divine favor. Due to the fallout of our ruthless society, you and I are being programmed to rush by words of grace and blessing and to speed on to words that are negative. We never hear : “Now, tomorrow night we’ll report only good news.” Instead, it’s “Stay tuned if you believe that report was bad ; in a second we will have a full expos.”.

I mean, even the weatherman foresees “partly cloudy.” He never claims, “Mainly sunny tomorrow.” it is often a twenty % chance of rain. He never asserts, “There’s an eighty percent likelihood of sunshine.” And similarly, he is sometimes wrong ( talk about job security ).

You have not forgotten that Job cursed the day he was born, have you? Or that he resented the fact he did not die when he was placed on his ma’s breast? He was also the person that expounded, “I am not at ease. I’m not quiet.” to explain, “I resent what has happened.” that is the same Job who is splendidly sanctified at the end of the book.