Job 2, Taking away our belief that we can fix our problem

Job 2:1–6 (RSV)
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. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Whence have you come?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 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 moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.”


• Who took action against Job according to God?
• God takes the blame (see verse 3) -- "although you moved me against him"
• What is God's assessment of Job?
• None like him on earth
• Blameless and upright
• Fears God and turns away from evil
• Holds fast to his integrity
• What is Satan's response?
• Once again cynical
• Assumes Job is very selfish or narcissist and in the end, all that he cares about is his own skin
• Satan boasts that if you touch his skin, he will curse thee to your face
• Once again, God allows Satan to act with one proviso …
• His life must be saved
• Implies that Satan could kill with God's permission


Job 2:7–13 (RSV)
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
9 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 at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from afar, they did not recognize him; and they raised their voices and wept; and they rent their robes and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.


• This last piece of suffering comes directly from Satan (with God's permission)
• This is the last mention of Satan in the book
• Satan is actually a bit player in this story
• Satan is never mentioned by God, Job, the three friends, or Elihu as the cause of suffering
• We tend to be negative toward Job's wife. There are other possibilities.
• I can imagine situations when the person is so sick and tired of hearing the complaining of the sufferer, that the person says the same thing. "Stop believing then" - it will be easier to live with you
• Job's response to his wife is logical, after 7 days it will shift to emotional
• People go through a range of responses to suffering
• It is not always the same. Be careful what you say. It is best to agree gently and just listen
• Observations on Job's three friend's visit
• One, they found the time to spend all week with Job
• Two, they were perfect friends for seven days. They wept with Job
• They did not speak a word to him
• So what goes wrong?
• Nothing really. Job's initial stoicism quickly fades
• They feel compelled to respond the Job's complaints
• They use incorrect theology (Elihu is not criticized)


APPLICATION:
1. Satan is a bit player in the book and ignored
2. Job's friends were great. They took off work for  seven days. They wept and spent time with Job saying nothing. They did everything right … until Job's emotions broke through his stoicism
3. Their theology was human based -- "God blesses the righteous with health and wealth." God curses the wicked. Therefore you must be wicked.