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Job

CHAPTER 2

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

Again there is the conversation between our Creator and Saviour with our "Accuser."
Satan was kicked out of heaven because of his sin of pride. That's why pride is called the "chief sin." When a person is focused on self, he cannot worship God.
God reminds Satan here, that if a man is focused on God, he will not be moved even by tragedy from his faith.

4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

Satan's answer to God is that the man will turn away from God if he is given physical illness.
God allowed Satan to test Job in this way. But again, God is the One Who places the limitations. Satan is not allowed to take the "life" of the man. That is God's responsibility alone.
In 2Corinthians 12:7, Paul alludes to an illness he received. That illness, Paul says, was a "thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."
There is no doubt that sin, and the resultant illnesses of life, have come about by Satan's temptation of man. He is indeed angry because he has been kicked out of heaven, and God intends to exalt man even ABOVE Satan's former estate!!
Remember, when you are tempted to doubt God, that it is a thought from Satan. He is trying to move your focus from God to self.
Job, was not moved in that direction. Instead, he even thought LESS of himself. Instead of using "healing potions," he scraped the boils and sores. Instead of lying in a bed to ease his pain, he lay in ashes.
This man was so filled with God's spirit that he couldn't focus on self; his ONE TRUE LOVE was God!

9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

As Satan used Eve in the garden, so he uses Job's wife to tempt Job.
Satan will try and use the closest thing or person to us in order to cause us to stray from God.
Evidently Job's wife had always proven to be wiser than most. His remark about her becoming as one of the "foolish" women indicates this.
It is foolishness to think that God, our Creator, can not give us what HE desires, above what we thing.
Note that last statement in verse 10. Job would not allow himself to receive anger toward God.

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Now here, three men are introduced to the story. They are supposed to be Job's "friends."
Several very "in-depth" discussions will take place in the story between Job and these three men.
These men are very wise in worldly matters as we shall see by their conversations.
One cannot help but notice their ancestry. Eliphaz and Zophar are descendents of Essau, Abraham's grandson. And Bildad is a "Shuhite" - or descendent of Abraham's son, by Keturah whom he married after Sarah's death.
There is no doubt that these three were sincere in their concern for Job. They wept, and showed that they were in anquish for his situation by throwing dust on their heads and rending their mantle.
The situation was so astonishing to them that they did not even speak for seven days. Many times, a visit from a friend can be very encouraging without even a word being spoken.
As for these men, while we cannot doubt their sincerity, we shall see that they were bent on convincing Job that his own personal sin against God was the cause of his affliction. Indeed their conversation shall show that they believe he has lost faith. They will try to prove a "faith by works" theology.
But there is a fourth man, not mentioned at this time. He is younger, and thus not allowed to speak until after the elders have spoken.
We shall hear from him quite a different theological perspective.

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