But when God got through with him, notice what Job 42:10 says, "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job." I found from the original Hebrew that means, "put a stop to all the evil." When God turns captivity, as He did with Job, you never see Satan consuming, destroying, or devouring anything of Job's ever again. The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Also, the Lord gave Job twice as much.
If God had read Webster's definition, He would have brought Job back to his original condition. But God's restoration program is to make better, improve, increase and multiply. Look at Job's original condition. "His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest, or as some other translations say wealthiest, of all the men of the east." (Job 1:3)
That's the original condition. Not bad. The man's living well. He's got it made. And then Satan consumes, destroys, and devours everything. But then God begins His restoration program with Job. And notice, when God restored, He didn't take Job back to original condition. Had He done that, it would violate the very nature of God.
There are a lot of people who would be satisfied to be brought back to original condition. But that's not God's way. God's extravagant. He can't help Himself. Everything He does is big. He's not wasteful, but He's extravagant. God says, "You stole from one of My kids? Then it's time for restoration."
"So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses." (Job 42:12) Job was more blessed in his latter days than in his beginning. Now he has fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, one thousand she asses. Exactly doubled.
"Yeah, but Brother Jerry, it took a lifetime to get it." No, it didn't. Forty-two chapters of Job does not cover his life, it covers nine to twelve months out of Job's life. That's not his whole life in that book. A lot of people read it, and they think, "Oh, dear God, look what this man went through in his lifetime." No, most theologians agree it was between nine and twelve months.
It's the worst nine months you ever read about, but keep reading because it turns out to be the best nine months you ever read about. A man is the wealthiest man in all the East, he loves God, he's in right standing with God, serves God, and then the enemy comes in and destroys everything he has. But when God got through restoring him, he's not just the wealthiest man in the East, there's nobody even close to him, praise God. I like God's way of restoring. It can happen in your life, too, if you'll dare believe it and start declaring it.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Publications
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
