Job 2:1-10

Carmen was adamant. “Job did something wrong to cause these calamities! There’s no way God would allow this to happen otherwise.” The passion in her voice—and frankly, the volume—created a sense of unease in our small group, which quickly fell silent. I reviewed Job’s characteristics. “Carmen,” I said, “let’s look at the text again. Job was blameless, upright, feared God, and shunned evil.” But she remained unconvinced. Carmen interjected and insisted that the text didn’t mention Job’s disobedient actions. She firmly held to her belief that Job had acted against God.

It would be easier to accept Job’s suffering if it resulted from a significant sin. Job’s overwhelming losses would still be challenging to comprehend, but at least we could conclude, “Yes, God takes disobedience very seriously.” However, this viewpoint is absent from Job’s story. Satan argues that Job is righteous because God is good to him. He accuses Job of adhering to prosperity theology—believing that God exists to grant us perfect health and abundant wealth. Who wouldn’t love God when he bestows blessing upon blessing? But take away the blessings, Satan insists, and Job will turn against God in an instant.

But…after losing his wealth and his children, Job did not “sin or charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22). So, Satan came back for Round Two.

Job 2:1
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 

We aren’t informed about how much time passed between Satan’s first attack and when he presented himself to God again. Perhaps Satan allowed Job some time to process everything that had happened. Maybe he believed Job’s initial reaction was due to shock and thought that, in his sorrow, Job would begin questioning God. By the way, I’ve noticed that some Christians respond to loss with an almost spiritual euphoria. They feel God’s presence like never before, surrounded by friends who uplift them in prayer. “I am amazed at how well I am doing,” they say. This supernatural strength may postpone their grief, but ultimately, no one can avoid it. Eventually, you will walk through your dark night of the soul. Remember, Job was a man mourning the loss of ten children and his livelihood. Yet, through immense pain, he held on to God.

The second conversation between God and Satan resembles the first one (Job 1:6-8), but God adds one additional aspect.

Job 2:3
And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.

The word “incite” (suth) reminds us that God did not bring disaster upon Job but allowed it to happen. God is sovereign over all. He permits Satan to operate only within his sovereign will. The conversation between God and Satan is unique to the book of Job, but such interactions occur regularly. The word “incite” appears in 1 Chronicles 21:1, where “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” God allowed Satan to tempt David. David could have resisted, and his adviser, Joab, urged him not to take such action. Nevertheless, David’s pride overtook him, and he gave in to Satan’s temptation. In David’s case, his sin led to severe consequences (1 Chron. 21:7-17). However, Job’s suffering was not due to sin. God told Satan, “You incited me against [Job] to destroy him without reason.” Satan was not finished. He never is (Rev. 12:10). He accused Job of being selfish, claiming that Job cared only about himself.

Job 2:4-6
Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. ⁵ But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” ⁶ And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

Satan wasted no time. He “struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). The “loathsome sores” appear to be the same illness that God inflicted on the Egyptians during the plagues (Ex. 9:8-11). Many commentators attempt to identify the disease but lack conclusive evidence. Scripture details the devastating symptoms: ulcerous sores (2:7), itching (2:8), degeneration of Job’s facial skin (2:7, 12), loss of appetite (3:24), depression (3:24-25), loss of strength (6:11), worm-infested sores (7:5), chronic wounds (7:5), difficulty breathing (9:18), foul odor (19:17), weight loss (19:20, 33:21), chronic pain (30:17), restlessness (30:27), sloughing skin (30:30), and fever (30:30).^[1]

It’s hard to read that list. It’s difficult to fully comprehend the emotional and physical suffering that Job endured. The “greatest of all the people of the east” had been brought low by pain and misery. All he could do was sit among the ashes outside the city, scraping his sores with shards of broken pottery. Still, Job did not turn against God.

Job 2:9-10
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Many people criticize Job’s wife, but I can’t. Her advice to “curse God and die” isn’t helpful, yet it’s understandable. Her heart is broken; she is devastated and confused.  She has just buried ten children. One can only imagine how she mourned by their graves each day, then walked to the garbage dump outside the city to see her husband in severe agony. It must be painful for her to witness this day after day. When I read her counsel to her husband, I think of the words of the great Christian writer C. S. Lewis, as he grieved his wife’s death. He journaled, “Why is [God] so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?”[2] Job’s wife, like Lewis, felt despair and forsaken amid grief’s dark days.

Let’s extend some grace to Job’s wife. Job does just that. He tells her she is speaking like a foolish woman and emphasizes that abandoning God is not an option. Essentially, he encourages her to maintain her faith. God oversees everything—the good and the bad—and his character remains unchanged. “In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.” Even in his suffering, he continued to be the pastor of his family.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 2:1-10
Focus on Satan’s aim to destroy us. We are in a battle. But greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are always fighting from higher ground.

Talking to God
Ask God for his strength and comfort. Let him know how desperately you need him.

Have Questions?
Please ask if you have any questions about today’s reading or teaching. Our team is here to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Simply submit your question below, and we will reply shortly.

For a deeper study of Satan’s work and the believer’s power to resist, check out my six-part sermon series Battle Ready HERE.

Be sure to listen to my conversation with Arie Harel about his mom and dad’s survival of the Holocaust and their differing responses to God. See The Journey with Ron Moore Podcast on your preferred podcast platform.

^[1] I adapted this list from Roy B. Zuck, “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 721.

[2] C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (Harper & Row, 1961), 14.