7/5 Job 42:10

¹⁰ And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

The LORD rebuked Job's three friends, the ones Job called "miserable comforters." They had been certain that Job had committed some secret sin for which God was punishing him. Instead of comforting Job, in their ignorance they judged Job guilty and deserving of what he endured. God judged Job's friends as guilty. That reminds us of the saying of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, " For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged'" (Matthew 7:2). Sometimes we mean well but offer the wrong counsel.

The LORD told the three friends that they should offer a sacrifice for their sins and ask Job to pray for them. The tables were turned. They obeyed, and when poor sick Job prayed for them, God restored Job's fortunes. In fact, he ended up with twice his former possessions. He even had seven sons and three daughters and lived to see his great-great-grandchildren.

As long as you have breath, never give up hope. Job became a priest to his friends and was surely a more humble and compassionate man. His fortunes being restored were a small thing compared to his newly deepened relationship with God. In the time of his testing, he sometimes dared to think of restoration (Job 14:14), but he wouldn't have imagined how blessed he would actually become.

Consider: Have you prayed for friends who have misunderstood what you are going through? Just taking our eyes off our own troubles to pray for others is a blessing in itself!