Job was a man of spiritual integrity as we saw last week. Not only was Job a godly man, he was the greatest of all the people of the East (Job 1:3). Anybody who has read and pondered over the story of Job would understand why God would say that there is none like him on the earth (Job 1:8). He knew how to keep his wealth in the proper perspective.
God referred to him as My servant (Job 1:8). In and of itself this speaks volumes of the man. A rich man and a godly man in one body seems as about as compatible as oil and water. But Job proves that it is possible because of the singular reason; Job possessed spiritual integrity. This spiritual integrity was about to be put to the test. There were discussions taking place in heaven that would change Job’s life forever. He was about to experience a “new normal.” Let’s pick up where we left off.
Job feared that his children would sin and curse God in their hearts (Job 1:4-5).
Job 1:4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day (possibly a birthday celebration), and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
Job 1:5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer (10) burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts (this is where all spiritual departure begins)." Thus Job did regularly (at the end of every feast time).
There is nothing here indicating Job objected to the celebrations by his kids for this appears to be a familial traditional among his kids. Each had their own house so they were at least young adults.
Job showed spiritual concern for his children as a parent. As a godly father, he served as a priest for his family. He was concerned for the spiritual welfare of his kids for he feared God. Evidence of this is that he went through a ritual after the days of feasting to send for them, sanctify them, and sacrifice for them. He would rise up early and offer 10 burnt sacrifices. He had this fear that his children may have sinned and cursed God in their hearts!
Cursed is one of those key words in chapters 1-2. It is the Hebrew verb barak (H1288) which can mean to curse or to bless depending upon the context. The original sense of the word was to “kneel” and came to mean bending the knee in order to bless or curse. Have you ever heard someone say, “I just got blessed out by so and so!” It probably wasn’t a pleasant experience; literally in this context it means I just got cursed out. Profanity may or may not have been involved; again it will depend on the context. Well, barak has a dual usage right here in our look at Job 1-2. Barak occurs 8 times in Job and 6 of those times in chapters 1-2. Note table below.
Blessed (barak)
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Cursed (barak)
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Job 1:5
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Job 1:10
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Job 1:11
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Job 1:21
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Job 2:5
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Job 2:9
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Ironically, the very thing Job dreaded for his children was the very thing Satan would attempt to get him to do – curse God to His face (Job 1:11; 2:5).
Satan’s Audience before God concerning Job, Part I (Job 1:6-12)
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Satan. This is a title and not a personal name – Lucifer, the Satan would be accurate. It is a masculine noun used 14 times in the first two chapters of the book of Job, meaning an adversary, an accuser. Satan continues even now to be adversarial and accusing the brethren before God day and night; this pointing the finger will continue until he is defeated and loses any more right of access into heaven.
This casting down is still future and will inaugurate the Great Tribulation period on earth (Rev 12:10). Satan is accompanied and escorted by the heavenly angels into the presence of God (see also Job 2:1). Being accompanied by the sons of God, Satan has restricted access and not the run of heaven. His visitation is limited to an audience with Yahweh to bring his accusations against those of the faith back on earth.Whether the saints in heaven are aware of this court appearance is unknown, but this activity goes on continually.
Interestingly, the Church will be raptured with 3.5 earth years remaining for Satan to come before the Lord to accuse those who have come to Christ since the rapture of that great body of believers. Will we get an opportunity to see this accuser of souls in action before the Lord? Curiosity to see the one who has caused so much death, destruction, and misery of soul is compelling, humanly speaking.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down (Rev 12:10).
There is a question about sin in heaven and in God presence. Heb 12:14 is often cited.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Technically, this passage has reference to only humans and says nothing of angels. It could be posed for argument sake that the sons of God and Satan meet at another location other than heaven. The phrase “came to present” is found only here and Job 2:1.
The phrase before the LORD occurs 259 times in NKJV, and the context determines whether it is used in a literal or figurative sense. God is holy indeed (1 Pet 1:16), but the Bible never explicitly states that God cannot be in the presence of sin. It would be impossible to avoid it being omnipresent! God cannot sin nor be tempted to sin. He is holy. How Lucifer, the soul destroyer and a fallen angelic creature is able to go before the presence of God day and night and carry on a dialogue in heaven is a mystery but still a bible fact. Rev 12:10 argues that Satan still has access to God by Divine permission for that day is yet future. It also reveals why he is allowed to appear before God so that he might accuse the followers of Christ. One day he is going to permanently (eternally) be barred from heaven; he is not going to like it for he knows then that his days will be few on earth, such is the time of Jacob’s trouble (3.5 years), a time of unprecedented trouble.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and from on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
This question was not for information (cf. Gen 3:9, Where are you?); for God is omniscient – all knowing and omnipresent – all present, everywhere present. Satan, the father of lies, is unable to lie or hide his motives to Yahweh only to demons and man. He can state accusations and faulty premises before the LORD, but he must speak straightly to Him though void of virtue because of God’s awesome attributes of omniscience and omnipresence demand it of all creatures great and small in His presence.
Satan answer reveals (1) He is not omnipresent; he can only be at one place at any given moment. (2) He is globally active. (3) He is a predator of souls. The Apostle Peter reveals what Satan is up to in 1 Pet 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant (Job 2:3; 42:7-8) Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" (emphasis mine)
This is the second reference to Job’s character. Noteworthy is what God ascribes to Job – There is none like my servant on the earth.
Job 1:9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
Job 1:10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
Satan’s premise is that man fears God because God is good to him. Take everything away and man will curse God. This premise is based upon angelic observation over the thousands of years in the history of man. Satan brought up the hedge or the spiritual defenses protecting all that belonged to Job. Apparently, he was a prized target by Satan but demonic reconnaissance revealed all that was pertaining to him was under divine protection. The LORD already knew Satan and his demons were attracted to Job by His divine favor upon him. Job contended that Job was blessing God because God had made a hedge around him. If he was given opportunity to touch all that he has, and he will surely curse God to His face.
Again, note some things about Satan.
(1) He is aware of those who fear God, and he knew about Job – look at verse 10 again.
(2) V10 suggests that historically, Satan had already been looking for an advantage to get at Job (cf. 1 Pet 5:8).
(3) Satan is not omniscient. We know Job never cursed God.
(4) The reason Satan thinks this way is because based on his endless observations of human behavior he could reason that the odds are in his favor.
(5) Satan is pure evil and void of any compassion toward the human species.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
He is given the opportunity to go after a special human being to whom God referred to as My servant and there is none like him on the earth. Satan was going to take delight in this attack for in his mind he knew man better than the Creator God Himself! Before the day was over, in Satan’s opinion, Job would curse God by the time he was through with him.
Understand this about our enemy; if God gave Satan permission to go 5.0 miles and no further, Satan will not stop at 4.99, and he cannot fudge and go 5.01. Satan is going for the entire all that he has is in your power. The only exclusion was that Satan could not lay a hand on Job and apparently his wife.
Satan reminds me of the aggressive and ferocious Asian tiger mosquito when I lived in the Atlanta area. The only effective insect repellent against it was deet. Unlike the North American mosquito that is noisy in its attack and cloaked by the darkness; the tiger is quiet, smaller and bites throughout the day, not just at night. These tigers left irritating whelps on any exposed skin the size of a dime. By the time you feel the whelp the tiger mosquito had already made good its getaway.
I remember applying deet to my arms before working out in the yard, and I saw a tiger silently bobbing up my arm from the wrist. It reminded me of a sewing machine needle going along a piece of fabric, in this case my skin. The deet prevented it from penetrating my skin. Then it made its way down to the inside of my bicep. It found an opening where deet did not cover the skin. I didn’t feel its bite. Shortly, a whelp came up; I felt it now! I marveled at its persistence and let it take off to bite another day. This was a onetime deal.
Satan is similar to the tiger mosquito: persistent, aggressive, ferocious, and out for blood. Once an opening is found because there is no spiritual deet applied by God, he zero’s in on his prey, without mercy, without compassion, unmoved by the pain and suffering inflicted. Satan is an incorporeal being, but he is a cold-blooded killer.
Here is another example of the sovereignty of God over Satan; even though Satan is the god of this age (2 Cor 4:4), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), and the world is literally in his lap (1 Jn 5:19), he is still a created being and does not possess the attribute of omnipotence – all powerful. Unlike God, He cannot know everything that is going on in any given moment; he is not all knowing (omniscient). But in spite of his limitations in opposition to God, compared to man Satan is vastly superior and extremely dangerous and powerful. Praise to God our Father that greater is the Holy Spirit within us than Satan (1 Jn 4:4). Praise to God that Satan can only touch us according to the parameters of God. God controls and determines the factors of who, what, when, where, why, and how. The LORD monitors this so we will not be overwhelmed (1Cor 10:13,
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.).
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.).
The attacks on Job will come in seven waves!
Attack #1: The Sabeans stole 500 oxen and 500 female donkeys and killed the servants overseeing them (cf. Job 1:3).
Job 1:13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house;
Job 1:14 and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
Job 1:15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"
Attack #2: Lightning killed 7,000 sheep and the servants tending the flocks (cf. Job 1:3).
Job 1:16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"
Attack #3: The Chaldeans stole 3,000 camels, killing their caretakers (cf. Job 1:3).
Job 1:17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"
Attack #4: A great wind collapsed a house where all ten of Job’s children were inside. There were no survivors (Job 1:2)
Job 1:18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,
Job 1:19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground (to worship not collapsing) and worshiped.
Job 1:21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 1:22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
We must never lose sight of worship – the number one command in all of Scripture – to love God with the totality of our being, regardless of the circumstances. We see Job acknowledging and humbling himself before the omnipotent power and awesome majesty of God Almighty even under crushing circumstances. It is the recognition and reverence of God’s person and position. He is God and God alone. Our love and adoration for Him is to take precedent and transcend all that we love and hold dear.
The tearing of the clothing and shaving of the head is a Middle Eastern custom of grieving. The inner turmoil and shock raging through his mind and body had to be overwhelming. But what he did next God already knew for He had declared earlier to Satan – there is none like him on the earth (Job 1:8). It is not what you expected – he fell to the ground and worshiped. The verb means to
“bow down, to prostrate oneself, to crouch, to fall down, to humbly beseech, to do reverence, to worship. The primary meaning of the word is to bow down” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Zodi).
We have no rights or say so on how God works in our lives. We own nothing. Everything belongs to God, our life, our body, our spouse, our kids, our careers, our possessions, our dreams and aspirations, our everything - "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away…” God has every right to do with us as He pleases. Satan’s premise was that man fears God because God is good to him. Take everything away and man will curse God. But he was wrong – In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22).
We praise God no matter the circumstances that head our way – Blessed be the name of the LORD. Satan was expecting Job to curse God but instead he blessed the LORD! This doesn’t mean we are tickled pink over a catastrophic crisis but we recognize that nothing enters our lives without God’s approval. We see this very thing in the scenes in heaven with God and Satan.
Satan’s Audience before God concerning Job, Part II (Job 2:1-6)
Job 2:1 Again 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.
Job 2:2 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
Job 2:3 Then 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, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause." (Emphasis mine)
Job 2:4 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
Job 2:5 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
Satan ratchets up the intensity with his premise in v4: Man will give up everything to save his own skin. Touch his bone and flesh and Job will curse You to Your face.
Again, Satan has witnessed this very thing since the fall of man innumerable times. His premise is statistically viable, but not absolute. Case in point is Job.
Satan didn’t appear to be troubled in the least, no signs of remorse that he killed Job’s children, servants, left many households fatherless, and had stolen or killed all of Job’s livestock. Neither did he admit that he failed or was wrong about his first premise. He only complained that God didn’t allow him to go far enough to prove his point.
Man is selfish. Does man fear God for nothing? You’re good to him. Take family and stuff away and he will curse you.
Job maintained his spiritual integrity and did not sin against God.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."
Again we see that Satan can only go as far as God allows. He can no further regardless of his desire to devour, to destroy. Satan thought he could outwit God and cause God to destroy Job without cause. Satan doesn’t need a cause; our existence alone is reason enough to destroy us. Put God in the mix and the desire to damage and destroy becomes insatiable.
Attack #5: Satan afflicts Job’s skin with painful, festering boils.
Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
Job 2:8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Here were the symptoms of Job’s affliction:
inflamed, ulcerous sores (Job 2:7)
itching (Job 2:8)
degenerative changes in facial skin (Job 2:7; 2:12)
loss of appetite (Job 3:24)
depression (Job 3:24-25)
loss of strength (Job 6:11)
worms in the boils (Job 7:5)
running sores (Job 7:5)
difficulty in breathing (Job 9:18)
darkness under the eyes (Job 16:16)
foul breath (Job 19:17)
loss of weight (Job 19:20; 33:21)
continual pain (Job 30:17)
restlessness (Job 30:27)
blackened skin (Job 30:30)
peeling skin (Job 30:30)
fever (Job 30:30)
itching (Job 2:8)
degenerative changes in facial skin (Job 2:7; 2:12)
loss of appetite (Job 3:24)
depression (Job 3:24-25)
loss of strength (Job 6:11)
worms in the boils (Job 7:5)
running sores (Job 7:5)
difficulty in breathing (Job 9:18)
darkness under the eyes (Job 16:16)
foul breath (Job 19:17)
loss of weight (Job 19:20; 33:21)
continual pain (Job 30:17)
restlessness (Job 30:27)
blackened skin (Job 30:30)
peeling skin (Job 30:30)
fever (Job 30:30)
(BKC on Job 2:7)
Attack #6: Job’s wife cries out for Job to curse God and die.
Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
Job 2:10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
From the depths of her loss, pain, and misery, beguiled by the devastating circumstances she spoke as a foolish woman who knew not the LORD. It was evident that she did not have the spiritual integrity of her husband. No matter how we empathize with this precious woman, she finally broke under the strain of watching the love of her life struggling with his physical infirmity. Her heart was thoroughly broken. In many ways Job's wife shared in the same suffering as her husband, except for being physically afflicted and accused of hypocrisy. In fairness to her I feel this must be borne out. We must never fail to see the depths of her faith in light of all the calamities, but in the final analysis she was wrong to cry out from her emotional pain to her husband to curse God. Little did she know that this was the very thing Satan argued with God that would happen. Sadly, Job was forced to rebuke the love of his life in the midst of his physical and emotional pain.
Satan has no shame; he will use everything at his disposal to get at Job: he incites ungodly men to commit evil (Job 1:15; 17), uses the physical elements (Job 1:16, 19), his wife (Job 2:9) and his self-righteous friends (Job 2:11). So Satan convinced Job’s wife that God was in the wrong. But this blessed woman found mercy with the Father; she gave birth to 10 more children (Job 42:13).
Satan has no shame; he will use everything at his disposal to get at Job: he incites ungodly men to commit evil (Job 1:15; 17), uses the physical elements (Job 1:16, 19), his wife (Job 2:9) and his self-righteous friends (Job 2:11). So Satan convinced Job’s wife that God was in the wrong. But this blessed woman found mercy with the Father; she gave birth to 10 more children (Job 42:13).
What Job spoke to her you will rarely or never hear in Christian circles – shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Satan’s second premise turned out to be false. In all this Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2:10).
Attack #7: Job’s friends came to visit, mourn, and comfort him but ended up accusing him of sin in his life and hypocrisy.
Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.
Job 2:12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven.
Job 2:13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
Job 4:1-2ff Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, (2) If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?
With friends like these who needs enemies! After seven days of refraining to speak; Eliphaz could wait no longer. The theology of all three of Job’s friends was wrong (Job 42:7). Talk about kicking a man when he is down! Self-righteousness has a tendency to do this. But their thinking is not unlike today. They could not see Job’s spiritual integrity (blameless but not flawless, upright, feared God, and avoided evil) for the suffering; the outer explains the inner according to them. This meant only one thing in their minds, Job sinned; what other explanation could there be for such catastrophic circumstances in the life of Job? Their faulty syllogism is as follows.
All suffering is punishment for sin.
Job is suffering.
Therefore, Job had sinned.
In all of these attacks, Job never blamed God (Job 1:22; 2:10). It is crystal clear that Job was not suffering because of sin as his friends believed (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3) but for a greater purpose (Rom 15:4). Job never found out until he got to glory the reason behind this fateful time. Job never cursed God, but he did question God’s wisdom in the matter. He was guilty of thinking that God should act a certain way toward us. We’ve never done that, huh? But his thinking finally aligned with God’s way of thinking.
Job 42:1-6, Then Job answered the LORD. (2) I know, LORD, that you are all-powerful; that you can do everything you want. (3) You ask how I dare question your wisdom when I am so very ignorant. I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know. (4) You told me to listen while you spoke and to try to answer your questions. (5) In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. (6) So I am ashamed of all I have said and repent in dust and ashes.
Then, after Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had before (Job 42:10). There is one more thing I need to mention in the wake of all this double blessing; somewhere on Job’s property are ten graves and the memories of those days when Satan “slipped” through the hedge. Like a tiger mosquito he was there for blood.
One other thing and I don’t want to say too much about it now, but as believers engaged in a great spiritual conflict, our physical and spiritual safety is not found in geographical boundaries, political boundaries, a powerful military presence, an adequate law enforcement, or our own physical and spiritual prowess. It’s within the hedge, folks, where our true protection is found. This is why the Psalmist referred to Yahweh as a refuge, high tower, fortress, and shield. Nothing touches our lives without Divine approval which leads us back to why and to next Sunday, God willing. <><
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| To Part 3 |
