Job

I know my Redeemer liveth! 

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Welcome to another episode of the Receivers Podcast. This week we're back in Logan, so there's no need for hushed tones or um yeah, or anything else. We can just get into it and talk and chat about Job. So Job is considered to be poetry in the Hebrew Bible, and it's pretty much the most well-known for us as something that's very sad. But Job is very interesting because it actually is confronting one of the age-old questions of humanity, which is why do bad things happen to good people? And it's interesting to see that even the ancient people were grappling with this. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why? Why do these things happen? And it's interesting because, and the Come Follow Me even points this out, which is that we don't really get the answer to why. Really, instead, we get the answer who, as in who God is, and what he has done, and what he knows. And as we learn about God, and as Job learns about God, his questions actually don't go answered for why this happened. But instead, he just begins to trust in the Lord more. And that's a very interesting place to end up because I think a lot of times we think the the gospel and and our questions will get answered. The why will get answered, but we don't get that here. And so, um, and before we get into that, we need to remind ourselves as well that Job is a poetry book. Let's talk about poetry in the Hebrew Bible. Poetry in Hebrew, Hebrew poetry is different than modern poetry. It doesn't really rhyme, it's not necessarily short, as we can see from this long book of Job. And what it means when we say poetry would be more to say, like, that it's it's telling a deeper story through specific themes, through plays on words, a lot of puns in Hebrew poetry, a lot of puns, a lot of repetition, um, a lot of chiasms. Now, if you don't remember what a chiasm is, that's fine. Let's talk about it. We don't really have them as much in Job, but we will as we go through. And so let's talk about what a chiasm is. A chiasm is where you have a list of things that are happening, maybe a list of um a list of words that are used, or a list of specific um kind of themes that are found, and then in the middle something is mentioned, and then the specific things will things will happen backwards. So for example, you could say, like, let's actually give an example um of one chiasm or one Hebrew poetry that is found in the book of Alma. When he is talking about it, in Alma 30, Alma 36, we get a great example of chiasm. My son, give aid to the words, keep the commandments, remember the captivity, they were in bondage. Trust in the Lord, I was born of God. My limbs were paralyzed, I feared being in the presence of God. And then in verse 17, he's harrowed up by the memory of his sins, then he remembered Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and he cried, Jesus Christ, Son of God, harrowed up in the memory of his sins, then pain is mentioned, then the presence of God is mentioned again, then limbs, then born of God, then knowledge of God is mentioned, then trust, deliverance, keeping the commandments and word. Now that's a very quick way to describe what's happening, but that's an example of what Hebrew poetry does. It doesn't rhyme necessarily, um, like we would think of it. It doesn't necessarily always use flowerly ling flowerly flowery flowerly language, but it it but it can. Um it uses a lot more abstracts or metaphors, just like we would think when we're thinking of poetry. But again, it also is used to tell a greater story. That's what we're gonna get into. We're gonna get into um the Psalms, we're gonna get into Job, we're gonna get into Proverbs, and all of these things are considered poetry, not because they rhyme or because they're short, like we would maybe think of poems today, but because they use more metaphoric language in order to tell a point of the story, and they don't necessarily need to be historical. Now, does that mean that they are not historical? Not necessarily. The ancients at least treated Job like a historical point. In fact, Ezekiel brings up Daniel, he brings up Job, and he brings up um gosh, trying to find the other one that he brings up. Um Job, Daniel, yeah, so sorry, just Job and Daniel, um, as great examples of people who endured hard things. And so they're using Job as a real historical source. They're thinking that. In fact, we also get it um in um other parts of the New Testament. And so it's in the Epistle of James, showing his exemplary endurance. And so we get these things that Job is mentioned and is used historically. And again, is he you right? They're they're thinking of him as a real person, or at least using his story to show him as a figure. Um, and again, historical figures are maybe a little bit different for us than they would back then. They're not necessarily worried if Job lived exactly where it says that he lived, or even if, honestly, if he was a real person, they're more worried about what is the lesson that Job tells and what is he an example of. And we can see that even within the Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph Smith is crying at Liberty Jail, oh God, where art thou? I have uh, you know, and where is the pavilion that hideth thy thy face from me, right? God says to him, You are not like Job, your friends have not forsaken you. And we will see what that means as we go through. But God there is there using Job. Again, is God saying that Job is a real person? He could be. He could be using it because Job was a real person, but he's also using it for a specific purpose. He's saying, look at this figure and what it means. Um, and he endured suffering just like you can. And so, again, it's more about the purpose than it is about the exact 100% historical accuracy of it, as it is the case with most scriptures. Um, but especially we can see. So Job is believed, um, it's it's debated on when Job takes place. It could take place and could be written at the time of the exile, um, when people are when they're learning more about people who are not in Israel. But I tend to think, and many LDS scholars do, and other scholars as well, think that Job takes place actually way earlier, actually at the time of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he's thought to be actually in the land of Edom, which would be a little bit to the east and to the south of Jerusalem, in Uz. And um, why do we think that is taking place? Just because actually at this time in the ancient Near East, there was a lot of change. In fact, much literature has been written about the fact that 1200 BCE was a time of immense change for the ancient Near East. There were a lot of earthquakes. This is when people were coming in, known as the Sea People, and destroying lands. There seems to be a lot of momental, uh momentous things happening, and there's a lot of literature being written in Egypt, in um Mesopotamia, in Ugaritic texts, in Babylonian texts at this time about suffering and about what does suffering mean? What is the purpose of suffering now? Why would gods allow this to happen? There's a lot of literature that discusses these points happening now. So that's why people also point to this time. And that's why I think so too, is because there's a lot of contemporary uh contemporary texts coming from that time that are very, very similar to Job. And in fact, Job uses some of the same themes, even some of the same phrases to discuss why would gods allow bad things to happen to people and what to do when there's immense suffering and hardship in the world. That is why Job is so relatable to us today, because we see such suffering in the world. Yes, we are way more blessed and privileged than a lot of people have been in history, but we see immense suffering, and a lot of times it's unfair. And that happens in our own lives, in the lives of people around us. We see it on the news, we see all these things, and it's like, okay, why is this happening? And a lot of times this causes people to move away from God. A just God would not allow these things to happen, therefore, God does not exist. But the ancient people never went there. Why? Because they knew that God existed. God was such a part of their culture that it was never, okay, God, you don't exist because these happened, but rather why? Why are these things happening? And this is what the question that they are grappling with. And we all go through these things in time, right? So we have Job, and Job's name in Hebrew can mean basically the sufferer, um, or one who is hidden. Um it means persecuted, hated, afflicted, mostly probably hated or afflicted. So again, did he have this name at the beginning? Or was he given this name as people saw him and heard of his story? Or again, is he just a figure who is proving a point? Is he a literary figure? Hard to know. One of my professors at BYU, Dr. Carrie Muhlstein, um presented the fact that, again, whether or not Job is a historical figure or not, he tends to think that he is, the entire book of Job can be seen and viewed as actually a play. In that we have characters that are playing very specific roles. If you read it, it could read very well as a play. Um in and that you have things that are repeated, in that you have people who are playing very stereotypical or rather um one role throughout the whole thing. You could see, like, okay, and then this is happening, and then this is happening. And so I want you to think of as you're going through, is reading Job like a play. And the play being presented for you is to show why do bad things happen to bad people. Sorry, why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? And that is what the point of Job is. And so, again, in verse 1, chapter 1, we learn that Job was, you know, there's a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. The man was blameless and upright. Um, in the King James Version it says perfect, um, but in Hebrew, this is again kind of going back to everything and the Septuagint, all these things. It really means um complete or healed or whole. Um, and so he was he was upright and just. He was blameless, meaning he didn't have any sin that these things should happen to him. Um, does not mean that he never committed a sin, but it's just saying, it's emphasizing the whole point of this book, which is going to be it's not Job's sins that cause these things to happen. So there was born to him seven sons and three daughters. These are interesting numbers. Again, get back to the poetry bit of it. Seven sons and three daughters both point to this idea of completion or perfection. Basically, he had a perfect family. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, right? All of these things. He had a lot of property. He was plentiful. Um, you know, um, he would he would rise early. He was, he was, he was so righteous that he was doing preventative things, which is like he was doing sacrifices just in case his children sinned and he was taking care of them. You know, like he was like, I don't know what my children are doing. Looks like they're doing everything right, but maybe they won't. And so maybe they'll curse God and they will be punished. So I need to make sure that everything will be careful, right? Uh, not even that they'll be punished, but just like I need to make sure that everybody is at the right point with God. He is extra righteous, right? This is what Job always did. He was being good all of the time. And then, um, so Job is doing his perfect, right? But then we get the story of heavenly beings kind of coming together in a council with God. And it talks about the Satan, is what is used, but actually the word Satan, it's not capitalized, and it could just be referring to somebody known as the accuser, who again is playing this role in the story, in this play, to kind of set off what's happening. And he's he's playing the devil's advocate a little bit, which is a funny thing because it's you know the name Satan, but in order to be like, okay, is Job actually righteous, or is he just doing this because you've blessed him so much? And again, so it's not a theological point to be like, this is the devil. We don't know. It it what it's doing is it's playing a literary role, this accuser, this Satan character, because that's what Satan means, right? This adversary, this accuser, who is seeing God, who is in his counsel. So that makes us really feel like, okay, maybe he's not actually Satan, right? But he's just more playing this role where he's like, okay, is Job like the Lord brags about Job. He's like, Look at Job, look how great he is. And the accuser's like, Yeah, but that's because you've given him everything. Take it away. Right? And we so we have to remember that this is this is a literary tool. This is not suggesting that Satan convinces God to do things or that Satan is more powerful than God. Um, but again, this is more of a literary tool. And in fact, could is probably not referring to the Satan as in the devil, as in the fallen angel, as in Lucifer, but is rather, again, somebody playing a specific role in the story to bring to pass what's happening. Right? Um, does uh then the Lord, the accuser answered the Lord, does Job fear the Lord for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him in his house and all that he has? Like you've blessed him. And so the Lord says, you know what, you can cause these bad things to happen to the Lord, to Job. And, you know, he's in your power, but I'm going to limit your power also. And that's what's interesting too, which is again, if we take this metaphorically to be understood as the devil, we could be like, see, and we can see the eternal truth, which is that the Lord limits Satan's power. Satan does not have power in and of itself, but only uh the Lord is more powerful than him and will always be more powerful than him, and can only do the things that the Lord, you know, has given him I don't want to say given him jurisdiction of, but he can only do certain things within certain powers, and the Lord is always more powerful. So then Job loses his children and his popper property, right? Um he loses everything. And then in verse 22, we get right, but but what does Job do? He literally loses everything all of a sudden, all at the same time. Again, pretty dramatic, but again, we're just telling the story. He just loses everything. Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell onto the ground and worshipped. This is a form of repentance or sorrow. This shows immense sorrow, sadness, mourning in the Hebrew culture. He said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job responds and does not blame the Lord for these things. He does not say, Lord, how could you have done this to me? Instead, he says, You know what? Such is the will of the Lord. I mean, just such immense faith and trust and humility. And in verse 22, and all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. Job has not sinned, and yet these bad things have happened to him. And then again, we're we're okay, that happened. Now we're back. We're we're we're we're cutting cut to the scene, right? We're back to the scene of the heavenly council. And he's like, see, look what I've done. Job, you know, you you did all these things, and Job is still righteous. And the accuser says, Yeah, but that's because you didn't attack him. Now attack him and his health. And he says, Okay, go ahead. And he gets very bad. Um source on his foot to the crown of his head. He took a pot shirt with which to scrape himself. Oh my gosh, that sounds so immensely painful. He literally has to take a pot shirt to just scratch them because it's so itchy. They're so painful. He sat in the ashes, right? Which means mourning. He's just, he's just devastated. Um and then his wife said, Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God and die. So not only, you know, he has his wife, and his wife's just like, Listen, dude, it's time to be done. Just, you know, curse God. Even though it's interesting, every time it says curse here in the Hebrew, it says bless. And people think that this is because it's just such a sin to curse God that it didn't even want to say it. But it's kind of like, you know that it's saying bless, but it's really meaning curse. And but he said to her, You speak as any foolish woman would speak, shall we receive good from God and not receive evil? Meaning we have to accept what the Lord gives us. Just such a great example of faith. In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. Okay, so Job has not sinned. And then his three friends come from all sides, basically surrounding him. They don't even recognize him when they see him because he's just so devastated. I mean, he's bald, he's covered in sores. Um, and but when they did see him, they raised their voices and wept around. They tore their robes and threw dust upon in the air upon their heads. So they also mourn with Job. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. And I've seen Dave Butler, and I've also seen my own um professors be like, look at how great these men are, that they are not cursing. So they don't they don't speak to Job. They don't be like, hey, everything's gonna be okay. Sometimes when we're mourning with people and sitting, we just need to sit with them and actually not say anything. We just need to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort by just sitting with them, just being with them. And if they choose to speak, then we speak. If they don't, we're just showing, we're just showing up and showing that we're there. But then the problem is that they open their mouths. But that's getting into it a little bit later. And so then Job starts cursing things, but he never curses God. He starts wondering why this happened to him and and complaining out loud, which is interesting because it will continually say, Job did not sin in this. So it is not a sin to wonder why these things are happening. It is not a sin to question why life is hard and why we've gone through these experiences, and to sometimes lament that it's even happening, right? Like he's he's saying, let the stars in the heaven be dark. He's in full depression right now. Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb, and expire? Why were the knees to receive me or breasts for me to suck? Like, why am I even alive if I'm going through this immense struggle? Also, why me? Why did I survive? Right? Why is light given to the one in misery and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it does not come? So why do people sometimes, people who are so sad and wish for death, they don't die, and people who are happy, you know? Why do some people who why do good things happen to people who are sad or who haven't deserved it, right? Why is light given to one who cannot see the way whom God has fenced in? For my sighing comes like my bread, and my groanings were poured out like water. I'm so sad. He's pouring out, right? Just like Hannah did, just like we talked about. I'm I I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest, but trouble comes. That's verse 26. It's just, he's so sad, and he doesn't know why. But he hasn't sinned. But then his friends come and they suggest to him you know what, Job, the reason this is actually happening to you is because you have sinned. Um, and because people are inherently evil and bad and have gone away from God, and that's what's happening. Um, that God was punishing you for your sins. But we've learned in this, we know, we know as readers and as people who've read the story, no, we Job hasn't sinned. There's nothing wrong here. Right? And so they're like, your guilt deserves punishment. That's what's happening here. And Job is kind of like, I don't think so, guys. So he responds. He comes back. It's sort of this back and forth where they're suggesting their things, and Job kind of is like, No, I really don't think that's the case. He says, No doubt you are the people in wisdom will die with you. I have understanding as well as you do. I'm not inferior to you. Who does not know such thing as this? I am a laughing stock to my friends. I who called upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, I am a laughing stock. Now my friends aren't even with me. And that's where the Joseph Smith story comes into being is that God is saying, Listen, Job was sad and had many bad things happen to him. And then his friends also weren't supporting him and were basically saying, Yeah, you deserve this. And he's saying, Hey, Joseph, I know things are really bad right now, but your friends haven't betrayed you. They know that you are being unjustly treated. Right? But Job is even, right, and he laments this. He's like, and then he laments even more that, like, not only have bad things happened to him that's good, but good things happen to people who are bad. Right? Like the tents of the robbers are the peace, those who provoke God are secure, who bring their God in their hands. Like he's saying, like bad things are good things are happening to bad people, but if you ask the animals and the birds of the air, they will teach you in the plants. They'll teach you that the hand of the Lord has done this, that in his hand is the life of every human, of every living thing, and the breath of every human being. With God are wisdom and strength. He has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, no one can rebuild. With him are strength and wisdom. The deceived and deceiver hill hids. He leads counsels away stripped and makes fools of judges. He looses the band the sash of kings and binds a wastecloth on their loins. So again, what does Job keep responding with to all of these things, to all of these temptations, to all of these hardships? He goes, Hey, I know this is with the Lord. I don't understand it. I kind of wish I was not here anymore, but I do know that this is with the Lord. Right? Like I know that this is with the Lord. Um, I'm not inferior. Look, my eye has seen all this, my my ear has heard and understand it. What you know, I also know I'm not inferior to you, right? It kind of seems like his friends are judging him, and he's kind of pushing back and being like, hey, I'm not, you're not better than me because these things happen to me, right? Will you plead your case? Will be God. Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Right? Like, can you deceive him? He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality. Like, let me have silence and I will speak. I will take my flesh and my teeth and put my life in my hand. If he will kill me, I have no hope. This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. So he's saying, one day we will all be judged by God and you will see, right? I know that I will be vindicated. Who is there that will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. He's saying, basically, you have no response to me. You guys are not right in this. Only God is right in his judgment because he's all knowing. And he says, but he's but he still has two questions in verse 20 of chapter 13. He says, Make me known my transgression and my sin. Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy? He's praying to God. He's saying, Hey God, why did these things happen? Is it because I sinned? Right? Like, let me know what happened and why this did this. Like, and also don't hide your face from me. You're gone away. And that's also the hard thing, is he feels like he's been left alone by God. And it's interesting because so did Jesus Christ on the cross. He felt like the Lord had been hiding, you know, and so did Joseph Smith, right? Well, Lord, why do you cover your face from me? And the Lord responds, right? He he then goes into this beautiful poetry of right, of of what it means. Like, there's hope in the tree. If it was cut down, it will shoot up again. He's talking about, like, okay, there's renewal, but mortals die and are laid low. Humans expire, and where are they? Mortals die, will they live again? All of my days of service, I would wait until my arision should come. You would call and I would answer for you. He's like, if you would tell me that like renewal in life would happen just like it does in the nature that I see, then I would be okay, but I don't know. Is resurrection real? Do these things actually happen? Right? Like he's saying he's he's wondering all these things that really happen to us. All of these questions happen to us when we have really bad things happening to us. We say and we say, hey, the things that you told me, are they really real? Do you really have power? I mean, the trees die, but they come back. Will I come back? Lord, answer me. He has questions for the Lord. And all of this, Job asks the Lord questions 122 times. He asks a hundred, about 122 questions to the Lord. And yet again, he still is praying. He still is praying, and he still bears his testimony even as he's asking these questions. He still bears his testimony. And that I think is honestly true faith is to say, hey, I have these questions and I don't understand this, but this is what I do know. This is what I know to be true. And we get this in verse 19. We get one of the most beautiful things in which he says, you know, the Lord, my enemy, right, has walled up my way, he's stripped my glory from me, he breaks me down on every side, he's kindled my wrath against me, my relatives, my close friends have failed me, people have forgotten me, my bones cling on to my skin and to my flesh, right? Like he's just like, I'm sick, I have nothing. And he says, Oh, that my words were written down, oh, that they were described in a book, oh, that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever, for I know that my redeemer or my vindicator lives. I know that my redeemer, right? My Goel, as we talked about with Ruth, the person who, when unjust things are taken away from me, or if I lose my property, even justly, I will be redeemed. I will get it back because of this person. I know that my redeemer lives. That's where this, you know, what sweet this sentence gives. He lives to fill me with his love, to bless me, to return things, to lead me to home. He lives and he's there for me. No matter what, every bad thing has happened, right? I know that he lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God. He is bearing testimony of the resurrection. He's using very similar language here to what um Adam does in the book of Moses. And you wonder, okay, is one calling upon the other? Do they know of each other? Um, those two works, right? He's saying, I and my I shall behold and not another. He says, I know that all these things will happen, but I know that I will be resurrected. I know that everything will come back to me because I trust in the Lord. And now this is interesting because this is similar phrases that he is used in Mesopotamian text, that their God lives. That no matter what happens, their God still lives. And that's what Job is saying. Hey, no matter what happens, my Redeemer lives. Not just the God, not Baal, not the Lord, but my Redeemer, right? God, as my Redeemer lives. Just one of the most beautiful testimonies that there really can ever be. And then we get to chapters 21 to 22, and we get the wicked often go unpunished. That's basically what Job is saying here, right? Um, and Eliaphaz says, like, your wickedness is pretty great. But he gives him some good advice. And again, is Job's wickedness great? Not really. Again, there's nothing really that says here that Job is being wicked. It's his friends. Some people read this and they're like, Job is a complainer. He's a rebel because he wants to speak to God and he's complaining against God. And there might be some elements to that, but I don't think so because God never condemns Job. He answers him, and we'll see what his answer is, but he never condemns him. Right? But LEF has, even as he's giving some pretty poor reasons for why this is happening, he does give good advice. And I think that's sometimes what we can take as we're humble, as Job has been, but we can say, okay, when people give us bad advice, which inevitably or or bad reasons for why things are happening, they can still give us good advice. He says, agree with God and be at peace. Restrieve instructions from his mouth, and lay up your words in his heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be destroyed. If you remove unrighteousness from your tents, if you treat gold like dust, and if the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and will lift up your face to him. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. He will deliver even those who are guilty, they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands. So he's saying, Hey, repent. And again, does Job really need to repent? No. But I but Eliaphaz has given us some really great wisdom here. Those are really good things for us who are guilty in some things, and other things we're not. But it's like, hey, make sure you're good with God, and he will hear you, he will save you. Then we get Job replies and says, you know what? My complaint is very bitter. I'm, I'm, I'm anger. If I go forward, he's not, he's not there. Backward, I cannot perceive him. He might be there, but I don't know where he is. And how many times have we felt that in life where it's like, hey, I know people are telling me these wonderful things or giving me great advice, but guess what? I can't feel God. Right? I my foot has kept his, I've kept his way, I've not turned aside. Right? Like, I'm I'm in dread of him. I'm scared that when he comes for when he comes, but I also like, I'm I, yeah, I don't know exactly what's going to happen. He also says that he knows that he will be tried as silver and will come out on top and as gold, and he will, right? Well, he knows the way that I will take. When he's tested me, I shall come out like gold. So even in the middle of like, I can't find him, but I know that as he's putting me through these things, like, I'll come out as gold. So it's interesting that Job is living in this state of like testimony and questions, which I think we all live our life mostly in. But as he prays and he says, Lord, I just want to talk to you. The Lord comes. The Lord comes to Job. He answers him. And instead of answering him, he answers him by showing up, but he doesn't really answer any of his questions. The Lord instead poses questions to Job. He poses around 66 questions to Job. Right? 122. Job receives 66 questions in return. And he says, Hey Job, answer me this. Who is it that darkens counsel by the words without knowledge? Where were you and I laid the foundation of the earth? Who determinates measurements? Surely you know. Right? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? He's asking him questions that Job does not know the answer to. But guess who does? God. Can you send forth lightning so that they may go? Can you hunt the prey for the lion? Do you know when the mountain give boat goat gives birth? Do you know these answers to these questions? And at this time? Nobody did, right? He's answering them impossible questions and he's saying, I know this. Trust in me. That's the overall message. Is like, hey, I was there when the foundations of the world were made. When the stars, when the heavenly stars sang together and all heavenly beings shouted for joy. By the way, we were also there, but he can remember it. And he was the reason that we all rejoiced. Saying, hey, guess what? I was there, I remember it. I know these things. Put your trust in me. I know these things are hard. Just put your trust in me. And this is really hard. Because sometimes we don't receive the why. Sometimes we don't receive the why of these things, of of why bad things are happening to us, or why good things are happening to people who maybe don't deserve it. But we know that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father do. Can we put our trust in them? Sometimes they'll tell us the answer. We'll probably know the answer farther ahead, but we shouldn't put our faith in the answer. We should put our faith in Jesus Christ. And Job responds and says, See, I am of small account. What shall I answer to you? I will not answer, right? And I can't answer, right? He's humbled and satisfied. Job says, I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is it that hides counsel without judgment? Right? Here and I will speak. I have heard you in the answering of me ear, and now my eyes see you. By the way, he sees God, which is pretty rare in life. And he says, Therefore I despise myself. I despise, I'm I'm sad, sorry I did this, and I repent in dust and ashes. I'm I'm sorry, right? And not that he sinned, but he he regrets the fact that he even was questioning God and he says, I'm sorry, you're right. And this is just a lesson to each and every one of us, which is we need to trust in the Lord. And we may not all sometimes we get answers for why things happen. Sometimes we don't. But as we put our trust in the Lord and have faith in him versus faith in outcome, or even faith in answers, we will be humbled and we will be great and we will be blessed. Because at the end of this story, and in the end, Job literally receives double what he had in the beginning. He gets his his his double portion, right? He becomes a uh birthright son. He gets double what he ever had after he went through this hardship. And I don't know when that double portion will come for each of us. I don't know. Most of those things I think will come in heaven. I think they come in this life as we wait and we are patient. But I know as we get to heaven, we will see how great the blessings were and expound. Um just a quick story before we end. Uh this past week I was able to go to my first area on my mission where there were literally maybe well, we actually only had one member, and she wasn't even a member, one person we were teaching come every week to church. Then it was just me, my companion, and two senior missionaries. So we had five people we would meet in an apartment building. And then I went back this week, it's only been five years later, and there was at least 30 people there, if not more, who had came to church, actually in a building that the church has rented. And as I thought there, I thought, this is what heaven is. I didn't do anything, by the way, to make that happen. Um, I just did my best, but the Lord did it. And it's I was like, there are so many people here. I cannot believe it. And that's what I think heaven is gonna be like. That is what our blessings are gonna be like. I really cannot believe how great our blessings are and will be. I know that as we have faith and put our trust in the Lord, that we will one day realize that those hardships will lead to gold, will lead to something magical, will lead to our double portions, not because of us, but because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And I see these things in the name of Jesus Christ.