God Is Greater Than Man: A Mystical Interpretation of Job

The book of Job is one of the most widely misunderstood books in the Bible. Bible scholars attempt to use Job to answer the question of why God allows mankind to suffer. But the book of Job is not about mankind. It’s about how God creates and increases the revelation of Himself in the lives of His people. These passages from 1st Peter summarize the entire book of Job: 3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 ¶ In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter says that the trials and testings God puts us through are to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. A deeper revelation of the Lord comes to our hearts as a result of God's dealings. This is because His dealings are designed to tear down the old, Adamic nature and replace it with His own. A greater revelation of the Lord is always the result of the death experience He orchestrates in our lives. This is exactly what happens to Job. Notice the similarity of Job’s cry in chapter 23 with the passages in 1st Peter: 8 ¶ "Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. 10 "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. To come forth as gold is indicative of bearing the Lord’s nature. Gold in the Scriptures always symbolizes the nature of God. Peter tells us that God has given us great and precious promises that we might become partakers of the divine nature (2nd Pet. 1:4). The book of Job gives the pattern by which God creates in us a greater capacity for Himself to dwell. Anyone who has ever experienced the fiery trials and dealings of the Lord will be able to identify the pattern we are going to examine in Job.