Picture the scene. A great leader, a president or a prime minister, enters the council chamber of government. Everybody stands. Nobody speaks. Half-finished sentences die out. All eyes are on this great leader as he takes his seat. Why? Is it because they are frightened of him, as they might be of a dictator? It might be.

But there is another possibility. Sometimes, respect is genuine. It comes because a ruler deserves it. I remember watching the funeral of former British prime minister Winston Churchill when I was a young boy. I was moved as the great cranes in the London docklands dipped their heads before the memorial flypast. Despite his faults, he was a great man. We, the people of Britain, knew we owed our freedom to his courage.

Job was such a great man. And in his greatness, he anticipates a greater man.

Job 29-31 is Job's second and final summing-up speech. The words, ″Job continued his discourse″, introduce this speech, as they did the previous one (chapters 27-28). The speech is divided into three clear parts, corresponding to chapters 29, 30, and 31. In chapter 29, Job reflects on life before the disasters of chapters 1-2. There are at least two surprises about what he valued most in those days.

First, in verses 2-6, what he had treasured and what he now misses is not so much the blessings (the health and the wealth), but the joy of fellowship with God. Job remembers when ″God watched over me″ (v. 2), ″when God's intimate friendship blessed my house″ (v. 4), and ″when the Almighty was still with me″ (v. 5). More than the blessings, it is God he loves.

The second surprise comes in verses 7-25. When Job describes his blessings, his focus is not on his wealth or pleasures. It is on his greatness as a leader who brought blessings to his people. He was treated with great respect (vv. 7-10) because he ″rescued the poor″ (v. 12), looked after the needy (vv. 12-16), punished the oppressor (v. 17), and comforted the mourner (v. 25). In his greatness, Job anticipates a greater King who will walk in fellowship with the Father and bring blessings to His people.

Job naturally expected to live a long and pain-free life (vv. 18-20). But it is not to be. And one of the main points of the book of Job is to understand why this great and righteous man must suffer.