Job 2 – Mishkan Daviyd

The first part of Job 2 is a repeat of Job 1 with some minor yet important variances. The sons of God and Satan come before God. God asks Satan what is he doing and he provides the same answer. Once again, God asks Satan have you considered my servant Job. Satan takes the opportunity to raise the stakes. Obviously if this is going on, Job has not cursed God. Had Job faltered, Satan would be glorifying himself before God. The text is clear on this issue and the reader should be confident of Job’s righteousness and consistency.

In Job 2, God will allow Satan to go even further. With this, things will get tremendously worse for Job. People are starting to turn on Job. However In all that is occurring, Job maintains his faith and obedience to God.

One thing that is not known is, how long has it been since the original conversation? How long has Job been destitute and childless? For someone that is walking with God to lose all their money and children, although a loss, is something one can deal with. Just because Job lost all his former wealth, it did not mean he was starving or homeless. Job was capable of working again. As for his children, as seen later in the book, Job had faith that he would see them again. For the man of God, his suffering was something he could overcome.

Job 2:1-2

¹Again 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. ²And 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.

The sons of God come to present themselves before God, and once again, Satan tags along. God and Satan converse as before. The question one should be asking is, why would God ask Satan what he is doing? God is all knowing, He is aware of what Satan has been doing. Now it is true that God can choose to not know as in Genesis 18:20-21.

²⁰And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; ²¹I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

For some reason unknown to the reader, God chose not to be aware of the event of Sodom and Gomorrah. As such, He was going down to see what had been occurring. Another example of this is when the Children of Israel were in Egypt, Exodus 2:23-24.

²³And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the Children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. ²⁴And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

The cry came up to God and he remembered the covenant. Not that God forgot, but it seems that God was not precisely monitoring the events in Egypt. One might ask why God would allow this? This falls in the category of Deuteronomy 29:29.

²⁹The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

There is not always an explanation why God would close His eyes to certain events. What is evident is that He can chose to do so. However, in the case of Job, that does not appear to be the case. Possibly God is trying to drive home a point with the reader. The question we should be asking ourselves, are we paying attention to what is transpiring? We know God is paying attention, because of what will be stated later. But what about us? Too often people read the Bible in a literal fashion missing the underlying meaning. We are not to go beyond the word, but the word is speaking to us beyond mere definitions as in the example below.

When Jacob was away from home staying with relatives, Laban asked Jacob in Genesis 29:15.

¹⁵And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

Are we to believe that Laban was honestly concerned with Jacob’s welfare? That Laban wanted to ensure that Jacob was given a fare wage for a fair day’s work? Laban was motivated by money. Remember it was Laban that had Jacob marry Leah first and then Rachel. And how did he do it?

Genesis 29:22

²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

At this feast, there was alcohol flowing. It does not state that, but grape juice and water alone would not be enough to pull the wool over Jacob’s eyes. There were marked differences between Rachel and Leah. Jacob had seven years to study Rachel, Jacob dreamed of his wedding night. The only way Jacob could have missed that it was Leah instead of Rachel was if he was drunk.

Further, we know what type of individual Laban was from Genesis 31:7

⁷And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

Laban was not to be trusted. Laban would manipulate situations to his advantage. So when Laban asked in Genesis 29:15, what should Jacob’s wages be, he was not to be trusted. We need to be able to read out of the word. Laban’s very question seems odd, because Jacob never asked to be paid. So why did Laban bring it up? The answer is obvious. Laban was planning to extract what he could from Jacob in a subtle way.

Now the reason for this discussion is not to prove that Laban was a shyster, but that there are underlying meanings in the Bible as there are in many books. We have to ask ourselves are we going through life reading the word or are we trying to understand the meaning of the words? Words themselves are a small part of communications. Hopefully we are looking for the meaning. And when two people say the same things, it can have two completely different meanings. As with God, when He speaks many times there is an underlying meaning behind His words. We would be negligent to think otherwise.

God asks Satan, not because He does not know; because in this case, God knew Job would not curse Him. If that could have happened, God would not have allowed the situation to go forth. God would not allow Satan to get the best of Him.

God asked Satan so that God’s agenda would go forth. Possibly, God knows that Satan could not resist the temptation to seek a foothold to spoil the plan of God. Throughout time not much has changed for the devil, just those he goes after. He has no new tricks, the old ones work just fine.

Job 2:3

³And 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.

Here is how we know that God was paying attention. His statement concerning Job has not changed except for a few words. God knew that Job did not curse Him.

Again God asks Satan, have you considered Job? As before, God is not offering up Job as a sacrificial compromise nor is God looking for Satan to do His work. God offers up Job, because He is confident that Job would represent Him well. God continues to call Job, “my servant”, because Job serves God well. That is probably the greatest compliment one could receive from God. The fact that God still calls Job a servant is telling us after all the current suffering, Job has continued to serve and walk after God.

Again God stated that there is none like Job. There is not an individual on earth that is perfect, upright, avoids evil and reverences God such as Job. This is even after Satan’s first onslaught against Job. Even after Job has lost all his wealth, his children, his legacy. Additionally God stated that Job held fast his integrity. Job did not fall victim to Satan’s trap. Satan had stated that Job would curse God to His face. Satan was wrong, no such thing occurred. Further God stated that there was no basis for bringing harm against Job.

Think about what is being said here. This is the same as what was stated about Job earlier, when Job was quite wealthy and everything was going well for him. Now that Job is not on top of the world, God still sees Job as the same. Job did not change, Job was steadfast in his approach to God. What did change was Job’s circumstances. Our circumstances should never determine our faith or walk with God. So many today when things are good, act like they are on top of the world. Then when things take a turn for the worse, their attitude takes a turn for the worse. But that is not what we see in Job. There is something to be learned here. We need to be like Job, we cannot let material things, our job, profession, family or anything else define us. We must be consistent in life.

God stated something additional that needs to be emphasized. God stated that Job “holdeth fast his integrity”. God stated this as a good thing. However, throughout history Job has been accused of being prideful for claiming that he maintains his integrity. What we need to consider is that when Job stated this, it is true and it is a good thing. Instead of accusing Job of being prideful, we should understand that it would be wrong for Job to state otherwise. One should not be looking for Job’s sin, they should understand that Job’s suffering is not because he sinned, but because he did not sin. We need to change our perspective on Job and when we do, the wisdom that God is trying to illustrate will open up to us.

It is important at this point, to realize that God does not have an issue with Job. However, many people will come up with all sorts of reasons why these events occurred. God clearly stated “without cause”. Unfortunately, many people have a tendency to believe someone else’s opinion as opposed to God’s opinion. It is almost as if they are unknowingly aligning themselves with Satan.

There are several reasons for this, the worst of all is that many people live experiential lives. The basis for what they believe is based on their own experiences rather than a biblical truth. In the Bible, there are things that are true and there are truths. We must be careful not to confuse the two if we are to understand the meaning of what is written. For example, it is true what Yeshua stated in Matthew 7:21-23.

²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It is true that there are those that cast out devils and prophesied in Yeshua’s name. However, these are not of the truth. Truth means that they kept the word of God, spoke the word of God and did the will of the Father. If they were of the truth, Yeshua would know them. Being healed by one of these named above ”that work iniquity” would provide a misleading experience. One may mistakenly attribute an experience to the working of God. Experience is insufficient to have experienced God in their lives. Not all healings are of God. Experience never should supersede the will of the Father. One must be careful not to basis truth on what they see, truth should be based on God’s standard alone, His Word.

The statements made by God in Job 2:3 should superseded the opinions of others. God stated this, therefore it is truth.

Job 2:4-5

⁴And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. ⁵But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

In Job 2:4, Satan changes his original challenge. Previously, Satan stated that if all Job had was taken away, Job would curse God to his face, Job 1:11. However, that did not occur nor had Job committed any sin worth of his present situation. Job 1:22 stated that Job did not sin nor did he charge God foolishly. As a matter of fact in Job 1:20-21, Job worshipped God and blessed His name. Job did the exact opposite of what Satan had predicted. Up to this point, Job did not commit a sin worthy of his punishment prior to or after the first onslaught by Satan.

The question is, was Satan wrong or was Satan’s goal much different from what is often assumed? Possibly, as stated earlier, Satan may never have actually believed that he could trip-up Job. Possibly, Satan knew that breaking Job was a much more difficult task and not an effective use of his time. Satan may have, from the beginning, only been looking to accomplish collateral damage. In Job’s case, there was extensive collateral damage. To this day, the meaning of the Book of Job is lost among most believers. Instead of seeing Job as a model to follow, many see him as a weak, prideful and complaining individual. This could not be further from the truth. Unfortunately for those that do not take the time to study in depth, Satan has won.

Satan was wrong, Job did not fold under pressure. However, Satan’s assault on Job is far from over. Satan, not wanting to lose this battle, comes back with Job 2:4-5.

Satan changes his challenge slightly. Satan stated that man would do anything to save his life. Satan was looking to break Job or cause more collateral damage. There is some truth to Satan’s line of reasoning. What do most people state when everything else is falling apart, “At least we have our health.” Well in this case, Job was going to quickly deteriorate. Again, we should ask ourselves, did Satan actually believe that Job would stumble or was he looking for collateral damage?

An interesting thought to consider, instead of Satan just bargaining with God; why did Satan just not prove it? It is because Satan was powerless to affect Job unless allowed by God. Job had a hedge of protection around him, because of the way he lived his life. So it was unlikely that Job would stumble. Further Job did not just do good, it was his very character that caused him not to sin. His nature was to follow and worship God.

Job 2:6-8

⁶And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. ⁷So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. ⁸And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

God allowed Satan to do anything up to but not including death. God allowed this because He knew that Job could be trusted not to curse Him. Satan covers Job with boils. Boils may not be the best translation here. Further, it may not indicate the depth of the disease and suffering Job was experiencing. The Hebrew brings out that Job was experiencing inflammation and eruption of the skin. Whatever it was, it had to be extreme by the fact that Job is scraping his skin with a potsherd. Possibly Job was not scraping his skin but was attempting to lance the boils, as would be done today, to limit infection from spreading from the dead or infected skin. Not necessarily trying to make himself feel better, but to prevent infection from spreading as the dead skin decays.

Consider for a moment that Satan inflicted Job with more than just boils. Satan was attempting to wear out Job and cause him to curse God. Boils alone might be insufficient, if it is just a skin irritation. Remember, Satan could do anything up to but not including death. Satan was allowed to execute the most fierce attack on Job’s body. It is highly likely that Satan inflicted Job with a disease on the inside of Job’s body that resulted in boils. Therefore, Satan caused more than the skin to be in pain. Possibly every organ in Job’s body was crying out in pain and the boils would have been the least of Job’s sickness.

We are only halfway through Chapter 2 and there are key things we do not know. Things that could even worsen Job’s experience. When Job lost his wealth, what remained? Did Job have to find a new home? The fact that all his children died, what was the effect of that? Did any of them have children? What about the funerals? One funeral could be devastating for most parents. Best case for Job, it could have been one funeral with ten caskets. And, how long has this been going on?

Time is a factor in suffering, but for the Book of Job time is never directly discussed. There is little in the book to determine time periods. Job could have been suffering for days, months or years at this time. For most, the longer the time, the more it wears on them.

These are just a few of the questions and thoughts for which there are no known answers. From our perspective, they many not account for much. But then again, we are not the one suffering.

Starting with Job 2:9, things are going to change for Job. It is one thing to be afflicted by beings we cannot see. It is quite different when those we know start to provide their opinions and questionable truths. These can really wear on us and take us to our breaking point. When we suffer, many people do not provide compassion, they help to plant fear and doubt. Some can even be outright cruel in their compassion. Many will avoid you, because they do not know what to say. Many times, just being there and listening is comfort enough. Many times not speaking, but being present is all it takes to bring comfort.

Job’s real suffering starts with his wife. Yet, Job responds in a way few of us would. Job 2:9-10.

⁹Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. ¹⁰But 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.

Here it is the lowest point in Job’s life and all his wife can recommend is to curse God and die. With compassion like that, is it any surprise how Job responds? But note what Job’s wife stated,

Dost thou still retain thine integrity?

Even Job’s wife, through all that had happened, acknowledged that Job had maintained his integrity. Remember, it was God who first stated that Job maintained his integrity. Assuming a certain consistency, Job had not sinned, nor spoke a word against God. So prior to anything happening to Job, he was considered perfect. Through all the calamities Job maintained his integrity; therefore, he would more than likely still be considered perfect.

One other thing to note is, why did Job’s wife suggest cursing God? Did someone get to her and whisper in her ear? Was there a force that wanted her to persuade Job to curse God? Often the devil cannot get to us, so he will use those around us to trip us up. One must be ever vigilant to walk in the spirit and not do Satan’s bidding.

Job’s answer to his wife is contrary to what many would do at this juncture. Job had a good life; however, Job’s life was not about what he had. Job’s life was about the God he served. It was Job who will state later in Job 13:15.

¹⁵Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

It was neither wealth nor notoriety that motivated Job. Job had committed himself to serve God regardless of the outcome of his life. To Job, God was the essence of life. It probably explains why he was abundantly blessed and had a secure hedge of protection around him and his family. Unlike many of us, Job retained God in his mind. One should always be asking themselves, what do they retain in their mind? What is their central focus in life? It may explain why so many continuously struggle on the rollercoaster of life. It ought not to be that way.

One would think that Job had suffered enough. He had lost all his children, his wealth was gone, even his wife turned on him. However, the worst was yet to come, Job 2:11-13.

¹¹Now 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. ¹²And 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. ¹³So 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.

Job’s three friends showed up. They are the type of friends many of us have. They are friends in name only. In the end, they provided little comfort for Job. They have answers why Job’s affliction occurred, but provide little relief and more irritation.

There are a few things of interest in the above passage. Job’s friends did not know him. This is almost a play on words. Was it because of the skin condition? Or, possibly it is in reference to the subsequent discussions, when his friends talk to him as a stranger. It appears that they are miles apart on their understanding of God. One should wonder, how long has it been since they even had a discussion? And, what was the nature of their friendship? Again, these are questions for which there are no clear answers.

Another interesting fact is that Job’s friends realized that Job was in great anguish; therefore, they did not speak to him. This makes me wonder, what changed? Here they do not speak to him. Yet by Job 4, his friends start to speak. Were they silent with predisposed ideas, but when Job spoke they believed he was opening a door for them? It is doubtful that they really listened to him. Maybe as friends, they believed that it was their responsibility to correct Job. Possibly, they were speaking among themselves as they traveled and agreed not to speak until Job did. The Book of Job is like so much of the Bible, it leaves one without answers, because these are unimportant questions. If one had needed to know, God would have stated. Alternatively, one is to look for the underlying reason that is contextually correct.

So what we know is at first they did not speak, later they did. So what changed? Deep seated emotions and nature will take over if we do not consciously control them. We may do right at first; however, given enough time nature will take over. Unless there is a force that will change one for the better; that force must be God. Left to our own, we are decrepit and weak at best. Unfortunately, there is always a negative force that will take root unless there is a positive one to overcome it.

Now that we are at the end of Job 2, there are a few points I want to emphasize. First of all, if one wanted to they could read the Book of Job in one sitting. However, as stated before there is no timeline in the book. Job 2:13 states that Job sat with his friends for 7 days, but beyond that there is really no reference to how long the events of Job took place. It is quite possible that Job may have been afflicted for years. And as we get into the conversation with Job and his friends one may assume that it was a conversation with no pauses. However, quite likely there could be long pauses between the time that they were responding to each other’s comments. Honestly, we just do not know. Time does not seem to be of importance.

Secondly in Job 1:8 and 2:3, God tells Satan that there was no one on earth that compared to Job. Job was a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God and avoided evil. Job led a sanctified life. In Job 2:3, God even told Satan that there was no reason to punish Job. In Job 2:10, Job defends the events as a fact of life. Individuals can receive both good and evil from God, but that should not change our worship of God. At this juncture in the Book of Job, if we are honest, we have to wonder how anyone could accuse Job of any wrong doing. Nevertheless, many people have accused Job of wrong doing. God places Job on a level that far exceeds anyone of his time or even those of today.

I want to quickly take a jump to the end of the book, before Job 3. This is to ensure we have the right perspective on Job if we are to clearly understand the Book of Job, Job 42:7-8.

⁷And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. ⁸Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

Twice in Job 42, at the end of the matter, God stated that Job spoke correctly and his friends did not. And then in Job 42:9:

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.

Then when Job prays for his friends, who did not turn out to be such great friends after all, God accepts Job’s prayer.

Here we have it, in Job 1 and 2, God stated that there is none like Job. Job is a perfect and up right man, he reverences God and avoids evil. In Job 42, twice God stated that Job spoke correctly of Him unlike his so-called friends. Job prays for his friends and it turns God’s wrath away from them. Remember the words of James at least 1,500 years later, James 5:16.

¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Possibly, Job has been misjudged by so many. Possibly, Job, in the eyes of God, is considered to be at a level few of us will ever achieve in our lives. Possibly, it is time to regard Job as someone we could learn something from. Personally, I consider Job to be the one afflicted without a sound basis. Yet in the end, there is even a lesson for Job. For all the people who could profit from the Book of Job, only Job is documented to have learned the lesson.

There is more going on to this story than what many suppose. Job like many others in the Bible, represents a character type, and one should be mindful of what Job has to teach us.

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