Satan's Second Test

INTRO

The phrase for the book of Job is Promised Redeemer. Some say Job is the oldest book in the Bible, taking place just after the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 and before or during the time of Abraham in Genesis 12. In chapter 1, Job was hit by four devastating disasters. Two of the disasters came from earth; enemies who raided his herds and killed his servants. Two of the disasters came from heaven in the form of a lightning storm and a powerful wind that killed animals, servants, and his children. As a result of the four disasters, he lost everything he possessed—his livestock, his servants, and even his seven sons and three daughters. At the end of Job 1, Job responded to these disasters with these words, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh” (v. 21). Despite his pain and his suffering, Job still recognized God was in charge. MacArthur points out that God allows His children to walk in suffering and pain, sometimes as the result of personal sin, sometimes as the process of discipline for strengthening the individual, sometimes as the opportunity to reveal God’s comfort and grace in our lives, and sometimes it is just unknowable.¹In the courtroom setting of Job 1, Satan was given permission to take away the things Job owned, but he was not allowed to touch or harm Job in any way. Chapter 1 concludes with these words, “Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything” (v. 22). That gives us the transition into chapter 2 where the conversation between God and Satan, about Job, continues, and Job will remain unaware of the battle being fought over him.

TEACHING

Job 2:1–10: Again, the sons of God came before the Lord, and Satan came with them (v. 1). God asked Satan where he had been, and Satan responded just as he had in chapter 1—from roaming and walking on the earth (v. 2). God again brought Satan’s attention to His servant Job and pointed out that Job had retained his integrity, even though he had been attacked by Satan “without just cause” (v. 3). Nelson’s Commentary explains, “‘Without cause’ translates the same Hebrew word Satan used in insinuating that Job did not serve God ‘for nothing.’”²

Job remained the same person he had been, despite what had happened to him in this season of his life. This is really the question for all of us—do we remain the same people we’ve always been when things are good or when we go through a difficult, even disastrous season? Do we find a coping mechanism that we do not want anyone else to know about? Or do we turn to the Lord and worship Him in all things? Satan constantly comes against us to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10) and to take our eyes off God.

Nelson’s Commentary provides these characteristics of Satan. Satan remains accountable to God and he is not all-powerful. He is a created being and does not have the ability to be in more than one place at a time, so he must depend on other fallen angels to help him do his work on earth. Further, Satan cannot read our minds or know our futures. In fact, “Satan can do nothing without God’s permission,”³ and God will not permit us to “be tempted beyond what we can bear”

(1 Corinthians 10:13). In Job 42, God delivered Job because God will always find a way out for us––through the Promised Redeemer.

Satan pushed again, crying out “Skin for skin!” Satan said Job would not keep his integrity if his body was struck down (vv. 4–5). Nelson’s Commentary explains the phrase “Skin for skin” may have come from “the practice of bartering animal skins. . . [or] the phrase is similar to the proverb ‘life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’”⁴God gave His permission again but told Satan he could not take Job’s life (v. 6). Satan left the Lord and infected Job with painful boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet (v. 7). Job sat among the ashes and used a broken pottery shard to scrape the boils (v. 8). Wiersbe points out that the symptoms were horrific: “Severe itching (2:8), insomnia (7:4), running sores and scabs (7:5), nightmares (7:13-14), bad breath (19:17), weight loss (19:20), chills and fever (21:6), diarrhea (30:27), and blackened skin (30:30).”⁵

Wiersbe points out that four different voices were heard in Job 2—3. First was “the voice of the accuser,” to whom, sadly, we give too much credence and power and see ourselves as victims (2:1–8).⁶The second voice was “the voice of the quitter” ⁷(2:9) and belonged to Job’s wife who told him he should curse God and die. Job responded that she spoke foolishly because he could not accept good from God without also accepting the adversity (2:10a). Again, Job did not sin in what he said (2:10b).

Job 2:11–13: The third voice was “the voice of the mourners” (2:11–13) who were Job’s three friends.⁸The friends heard what had happened to Job and came to see him and comfort him (v. 11). From a distance, they barely recognized Job. The friends wept aloud, tore their robes, and threw dust into the air and on their heads in response (v. 12). The friends sat with him for seven days and nights without speaking because Job’s suffering was so intense (v. 13).

The three friends were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Eliphaz was the eldest, his speeches in the book were longer and more mature, and he heard directly from God. Eliphaz was either from Edom or Arabia. Bildad was the second oldest and was possibly related to Shuah, Abraham’s youngest son (Genesis 25:2). Zophar, the youngest of the three, possibly came from the Judean town of Naamah.⁹Constable asked, “How many friends do you have that would travel a long distance to visit you in an illness and sit with you silently for seven days out of respect for your pain?”¹⁰

CLOSING

At this point in the story, the voices of the accuser and the quitter were not good. But the voices of the mourners, Job’s friends, were good. They cared for Job and came to comfort him and care for him. This should be the mentality of the body of Christ—that people’s needs are being met and that people are being cared for. They sat in silence for seven days, just to be there for him. In Job 3, the fourth voice was heard—“the voice of the sufferer.”¹¹It’s okay to voice how we’re feeling when we suffer. And, regardless of the symptoms, God will give us people who will walk through these times with us and who will listen to our voices during the journey.