From Ash to Restoration: Discovering Christ's Redemptive Promise in Job's Suffering
- Emlyn Fonseca
- Jan 20
- 13 min read
A sermon which illustrates from Job's story that suffering can be part of God's greater plan, not merely a consequence of sin.
Believers are encouraged to remain steadfast in trials, trusting in God's sovereignty, the promise of restoration and the hope found in Christ, who offers redemption and renewal to all who believe.
Introduction
Job (meaning hated/ the persecuted) is a blameless and upright man from the land of Uz (Gentile probably from Edom - Lam 4:21) who feared God and turned away from evil. He has a large family and prosperous estate, and it becomes clear that Job is wealthy. The events are more aligned with the timeframe of Abraham and the patriarchal period (approximately 2100–1800 BC). Greatest of all the people of the east. He would offer burnt offerings for his children and consecrate them continually in case they had sinned and cursed God.
Ezekiel 14:14 - even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
East: East from Palestine of those days (Israel). Israel being the centre of the earth.
Regions north of the Arabian desert , land of Kedar (son of Ishmael).
Place where descendants of Abraham through Hagar and Keturah lived.
Jacob fleeing from Esau came to the land of the East – Harran in Mesopotamia.
Solomon’s wisdom was greater than those of the east and Egypt.
Matthew 2 : Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.
People of east were known for wealth, reputation, and wisdom. Job wealth
Wealth | Before | 4 Rapid fire disasters |
Sheep | 7000 | (2) Fire of God fell from heaven and killed all + servants but 1 |
Camels | 3000 | (3) Chaldeans raided, stole camels and killed all servants but 1 |
Oxen Yoke | 500 | (1) Sabeans raided , stole oxen and killed all servants but 1 |
Donkeys (f) | 500 | (1) Sabeans raided, stole donkeys and killed all servants but 1 |
Children | 7 Sons + 3 Daughters | (4) Great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and killed 7 sons and 3 daughters and all servants but 1. |
What’s left Predicament | Job , his wife and 4 servants Family, acquaintances deserted him. LIVING DEATH. GREAT PAIN. Job afflicted with sores and boils from crown of head to soles of his feet. Itching, loss of appetite, insomnia, worm infested flesh, pain, fever, weight loss. Potsherd, ashes and tore his robes. | |
Job reaction | Did not curse God. Did not blame God. He worshipped. Blessed be the name of the Lord. | |
After | Restoration Double . Full of years. | |
Overview Of Book Of Job
The Book of Job has a unique literary form since it includes poetry and prose with different features of drama, epic and law suit. It is one of the most ancient books of the entire Bible. The first and the final part of the book are in prose while the middle part is in poetry.
Chapters 1-2 : The book of Job opens with a curious heavenly courtroom where God is meeting with spiritual beings. Among them is satan, which in Hebrew means “the one opposed/accuser.” God presents Job as an admirable and righteous man. But satan dismisses this, saying that Job only serves God because of his blessings and protection over Job, he is sure that if God stopped treating Job so generously, Job would curse God. God knows that Job’s faithfulness is not based on circumstance, so God allows satan to test Job and inflict suffering on Job’s life, affecting his family, riches, and health. Job lost all his children and was afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job is unaware of this heavenly conversation, so are his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and they all struggled to explain suffering from the perspective of their ignorance – Job’s sin being the cause. (Retribution theology maintains that people suffer in response to their unrighteous actions and are rewarded for their righteous actions.)
Chapters 3-37 : Heated debate between Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. As the friends witness Job’s suffering, they conclude he must be guilty of wrongdoing. This section ends with the reply of a new friend, Elihu. He draws a more complex conclusion about why people might suffer. Elihu says that God may not be punishing them. Maybe God uses suffering for warning or building character. Unlike Job’s other friends, Elihu doesn’t claim to know why Job is suffering. But he is sure of one thing: Job is not qualified to judge God.
Chapters 38-41 : God’s Response to Job. In a surprising turn, God visits Job in a powerful storm (whirlwind) and responds to his prayers.
Chapter 42 : Concludes with a short epilogue, showing how God restores Job’s losses and defends his character to his friends. God says their explanations of justice were inaccurate and clarifies that Job spoke truthfully about him. While Job was wrong to accuse God of injustice, he was right to eventually turn away from his friends’ accusations and trust God.
Gods redemptive plan for mankind revealed
After giving voice to his feeling of hopelessness, Job sifted through the tangle of his thoughts and beliefs. Job pondered : How can a man find God’s approval? How can a man be considered righteous and not guilty before God? Job 9:2
My God is the Creator and has transcendent power – limitless power and wisdom. The transcendence of God also implies a degree of mystery, as finite human minds cannot fully comprehend the infinite nature of God.
He testified, "His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. . . . mighty in strength
Heavens : "[God] alone stretches out the heavens. Trampled the waves of sea" (Job 9:8).
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted" (Job 9:4, 10).
Rom 11:33-34 exclaims, "O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor?"
My Creator (God) exists and cares for me. God is a personal and relational God. He recognises God as creator and possessor of heavens , earth , the author of creation and specifically of mankind. He had the same understanding as the Psalmist who said, I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well (Psalm 139:14). He saw God's care as a reality in his own life and in the bounty evident throughout creation. Mankind: "Your hands shaped me and made me." (10:8) . “You have granted me life and favour[steadfast love], and Your care has preserved my spirit” (10:12) Breath of life : "In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (12:10) , re-affirming the creation of man (Gen 2:7 - then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.)
My Creator is good and perfection is His standard (Unchangeable). His thoughts toward me are good. He is mindful of me. Job 7:17-18 ‘What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, 18 visit him every morning and test him every moment? / Psalms 8:4 . He exclaims confident of this in the midst of despair - Job 23:10 ‘But He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.’
He knows the way that I take : God is so big yet He visits us every morning . Here He observed Job carefully and had not forgotten him. Job 7:17-18
When He has tested me : God had a purpose in the crisis. Bachan for testing and refining metals and examining them to genuineness and purity certification.
I shall come forth : God would one day bring the trial to an end.
I shall come forth as gold : God’s desire was not to punish Job but to bring something good from it all. Like Job , He values us and desires for His Sons and daughters to come forth as pure gold , just like precious metal is put through the fire. My God will complete all that concerns me (He has kept appointed for me). This is for my good.
I (mankind) fall hopelessly short of the Creator's goodness. Job inquires "How can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?/ But how can a man be in the right before God?" (9:2) .
Rom 3:23 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – standard of God,’. Our righteous deeds are like filthy rags or polluted garments (Is 64:6)
Job ponders (9:14-15) How then can I answer Him, And choose my words before Him? For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my Judge. Here he understands that he cannot do it on my own but needs the mercy of his Judge.
My Creator formed a plan to redeem me. He will renew me , He will be my judge , my mediator , my intercessor and my deliverer. Job 9:32-35 “For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator (reprover, arguer, or umpire ) between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.”
Job here keenly felt the distance between himself and God. He longed and waited for his renewal to come. Understanding the distance between himself and God, Job longed for someone to bridge the gap between him and God.
Job cried out for a mediator between himself and God.
Job 17:3 ‘He pleaded, "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?". God will testify for Him to God. God will give a pledge of his innocence to God. Here then is something parallel to what we find in the New Testament doctrine of the Trinity. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."’ 1 John 2:1
What Job longed for is fulfilled in Yeshua. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5)
What are some of the qualifications of this mediator?
The mediator must be accepted by both parties. God & Mankind and able to relate to both parties. (Fully God and fully Man) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage" (Phil. 2:6).
The mediator must be allowed to fully settle the case. Paid in full the wrath of the Father (laid His hand on Jesus at cross of Calvary for sins of mankind and reconciliation and it was paid in full.) Jesus, our Propitiator, absorbed the Father’s wrath against our sins (& whole world) and satisfied it in full, so that “whoever believes in him should not perish” but instead enjoy the Father’s favour forever (John 3:16).
The mediator must have the desire to see a happy settlement and settle differences. Heb 2:9 - namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
When I entrust my life to the Redeemer, I will be rescued by Him. Job declared "Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man, he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend." (16:19-21) Heb 7:25 - Consequently, He (JESUS) is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Job understood this and longed and waited for his renewal to come. Word redeemer is goel"—kinsman. We are reminded of Boaz as kinsman for Naomi – to pay the price as the next of kin, and to buy back the heritage lost.
Not only did Job ascertain the means by which God could rescue him from his plight, but he also expressed firm confidence that God would rescue him, without fail. Job proclaimed: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed (physical death), yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25–27).
I KNOW – full assurance, no doubt. This is the time of deepest despair when his faith is the strongest and he displays firm confidence.
My Redeemer lives! Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus Christ , the ultimate Redeemer who brings salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. We are redeemed with blood , not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold—but with the precious blood of Christ! "He is the Resurrection and the Life”. Great I am , Was and is and Is to come.
The anticipation of future delight – He shall stand on the earth. 2nd coming of King Jesus in power and glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The same Jesus who ascended from Olivet shall so come in like manner as He ascended up into heaven! Every knee, tribe , tongue , nation and ruler will bow to King Jesus.
In my flesh I shall see God : Whole of myself - my flesh, my soul, my body, my spirit shall gaze on God. Job’s experience anticipates the ultimate resurrection of the dead and the renewal of all things through the work of the Messiah Yeshua.
We all have a choice. Like Job we can confess, repent and entrust our lives to the Redeemer (Jesus Christ), and be rescued by Him or reject it and face condemnation. Rom 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. However righteous a person may be, he cannot justify himself to God on his own merit; God yearns for us as a father longs for his child, enough to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, no matter the cost – even at the cost of His only begotten son Jesus.
In last chapter of book of Job, we see that Job confesses his presumption and lack of knowledge. He repents before God. God restores and blesses Him. He is received by his friends and family. He is blessed with 7 sons and 3 daughters . They were a new beginning for Job, while on the other hand they could never be a replacement for the sons and daughters he had lost . Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; Job’s life ended long and blessed. What we see is a restored family, equal heirs, dwelling in peace, receiving beauty for ashes—paralleling believers who become “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”
The striking thing about this part of the story is that the focus shifts from Job’s sons (in Chapter 1) to his daughters. The sons were in the spotlight, holding yearly birthday feasts and inviting their sisters. By the end, however, the attention is mainly on Job’s daughters instead. Names that speak a destiny
Job’s daughters. Beauty from ashes. Job 42:14-15 : The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
Jemimah, a name that evokes the gentle cooing of a turtle-dove/day bright, speaks of the profound peace, divine restoration and the promise of new beginnings that God brings after the storm.
Keziah, like a fragrant and precious spice (Cassia/ cinnamon, Scraped Off, Ended) when the magi brought their gifts to the infant Jesus, they brought gifts of cassia, aloes, and myrrh, all of which were fragrances and incenses that were expensive, rare, and beautiful. Keziah whispers of the sweetness of God’s grace and the delightful aroma of His presence in our lives. May our prayers and lives be a sweet incense before His throne.
Keren-Happuch, meaning a container of eye makeup or adornment(Radiate With Beautified Eyes), a reference to the outward beauty that comes from an inward character, declares that even after devastation, God restores beauty and makes us worthy of honour once again. Their names are not mere labels; they are living symbols of what God lovingly gave back to a broken man who, despite his pain, refused to curse his Maker.
Daughters who represent peace, fragrance, and beauty are the fruits of Job's trials all were granted an inheritance with their brothers - an uncommon practice in ancient culture. Surely, as the text says, there were none so fair in all the land as these. (Romans 5:3-5) tells us that suffering produces fruit for all those who persevere as the evidence of God's love. Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Character produces hope, hope that you are becoming the kind of person you need to be, and hope does not disappoint us. It leaves us confident and sure of our God and of His power poured into our hearts. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18. Lord, thank You that out of my own brokenness You bring beauty, peace, and a fragrant life that is pleasing to You.
Are you currently walking through a challenging season of loss/no sense? Remember Jemimah and the peace of new beginnings God alone offers. Are you longing for a renewed sense of hope? Breathe deeply the fragrant promise of Keziah and God’s sweet grace (Rom 15:13). Do you feel forgotten or unworthy? Let the meaning of Keren-Happuch remind you that God still sees you as valuable, worthy of beauty, and deserving of a rich inheritance in Him through Jesus. You are accepted in the beloved.
Summary
Job's story sets the stage for understanding (Messiah) Christ's birth, suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. If we believe that suffering is always a result of sin, we would misinterpret Christ's crucifixion. Suffering can be a mark of righteousness and a part of God's greater plan. Just as Job's suffering was not a punishment for sin but a test of his righteousness, Christ's suffering on the cross was part of God's redemptive plan for humanity.
Like Job let us be known for our steadfastness and perseverance amongst trials. James 5:11 - Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Righteous people will also suffer in a fallen world. God is sovereign, in control even when we go through chaos we can trust Him and His wisdom in all circumstances. All of us have God’s hedge of protection and whatever comes to us must pass through His hand and permission. We are not all like Job, but we all have Job’s God with his everlasting arms beneath us and what the Lord did for Job He will do for us, not precisely in the same form, but in the same spirit, and with like design. (Spurgeon)
Background
Kainos Church India, Bengaluru led by Ps. Manoj and Lincy Iype is a gathering open to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church is ideally located for believers in the Koramangala, HSR Layout, Agara, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur areas of Bengaluru and our Church Service in English starts at 10am on Sundays.
These notes are from the Sunday Sermon held on 18th January 2026
