Allowing no time for Job to recover, satan again challenged God. “You are still protecting your boy. You have not proven Job loves You for You. Besides, a person has not really been tested until he has stood in jeopardy. Let him feel some pain, and he will curse You.”
Satan wanted to win this contest of wills. The Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah – and now Job. Satan’s power to inflict death had been shown, but his power to turn a human will was faltering.
Although there is no direct reference to satan after 2:7, his fingerprints and footprints are seen throughout the rest of Job.
Satan’s attack took the form of painful boils. A boil is a burning sore (as in Exodus 9:9-11). Called elephantiasis, this disease causes limbs to swell, making them look like jointless extensions resembling the leg of an elephant. Job’s body was covered, head to toe, with painful boils. Add aching bones and fever (30:17, 30). Then cook until distress sets in and voilá — maybe Job will curse God.
Health is a gift beyond price. People overwork themselves, destroying their health to amass money. Years later, they invest vast sums to re-gaining only a measure of health. Bad deal.
With her husband vulnerable, Mrs. Job became essential to Job’s spiritual and emotional survival. Those we trust to hold our best interest at heart are the most influential in our lives. We are vulnerable to them. We assume they will give us wise counsel.
Of all the words Mrs. Job ever spoke, only 12 are saved in the English Bible: “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” Could satan have said it any better?
Having enlisted the Chaldeans and the Sabeans on his side, Mrs. Job was easy. Clearly satan now controlled her thinking. If Job listened to his wife, satan would win the bet. Sometimes a smart husband listens to his wife; others times it is most unwise to listen to one’s mate.
Job took up residence on an ash pile as he scraped his itching, oozing skin. But his faith remained unshaken. He rebuked his foolish wife saying, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” The text says that Job did not sin in any of his words. What a magnificent compliment from the Almighty! James says that if a person controls his tongue “…the same is a perfect man” (3:2). In spite of pain, Job retained control over his thoughts, emotions and words. Oh, to be like him!
Round Two, based on Job 2, is day 5 from Eight Days with Job
Other Posts in this Series:
Job: Spiritual Sushi (Eight Days with Job, #1)
Balance (Eight Days with Job, #2)
The Bet (Eight Days with Job, #3)
Lessons from Job 1 (Eight Days with Job, #4)
A Few Good Men (Eight Days with Job, #6)
Eliphaz and His Demonic Dream Revelation (Eight Days with Job, #7)
Satanic Terrorism (Eight Days with Job, #8)
Thank you for these thoughts Keith. They are needed during these hard days.
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