Study Desk

"Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.

He fills his hands with lightning bolts and hurls each at its target.

The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.

Listen carefully to the thunder of God's voice as it rolls from his mouth.

It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.

Then comes the roaring of the thunder— the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain it when he speaks.

God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We can't even imagine the greatness of his power.

Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power.

He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.

The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.

He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.

Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?

Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like his?

So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has."

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!

Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.

In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren.