Then thou markest me

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Job 10:14–22, “If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.”

Job thought that the Lord would always punish people who sinned but if he hadn’t sinned then why was the Lord giving him such grief? He was confused and didn’t understand what was happening. His current circumstances were a long way outside his experience or his understanding. Why did the Lord allow Job to survive the birthing process? It would have been much better if he had been stilborn. He asked the Lord to give him a break from all this suffering so that he could enjoy the last part of his life.

Thy hands have made me

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Job 10:8–13, “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.”

Job knew that the Lord God had made him but then the Lord was destroying him as well. He called on the Lord to remember that he made him from the earth but why was the Lord bringing him back to the earth before his time? The Lord fashioned Job and covered him with skin and flesh, joining it all together with bones, ligaments and tendons but Job couldn’t understand why the Lord did all this because he didn’t understand God’s mind.

My soul is weary

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Job 10:1–7, “My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days, That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.”

After and extended period of pain, Job was getting tired of living. He didn’t want to face another day of his agony. He wanted to speak to God and ask God not to punish him so much. Was it good for God to see him suffer so? Was God a man to understand the pain that a suffering man experiences? Deep in his heart, Job knew that he wasn’t guilty of sin but he also believed that, when God chose to do something, nothing could stop God.

Swifter than a runner

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Job 9:25–35, “Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me: Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.”

Job was suffering but knew that his life was slipping away. He felt that they days were going but he wasn't able to achieve much because he was in such pain. He believed that the Lord wouldn’t account him as innocent of sin no matter what he did. How can a man negotiate with God? There aren’t any mediators to try and bring the two parties together so what chance does Job have? He would prefer to come to God without the pain that he was suffering, at that stage, so that he could be more free in his arguments.

The perfect and the wicked

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Job 9:22–24, “This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?”

Job said the Lord allows everyone to die. Both the “good” person and the “evil” person die. If an epidemic comes to the land then both the good and the evil will suffer from the disease. The Lord has handed to world over to the wicked for a time, because the world has substantially reject the Lord. Even the judges on the earth may be partisan in their judgment. When a judge condemns a person to death the condemned person has their face covered to show that this has happened. (See Esther 7: 8)

How much less shall I answer him?

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Job 9:14–21, “How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him? Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge. If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.”

Job continued his argument by saying that he wouldn’t be able to convince God of his case even though he was able to talk with the Lord. He is not as wise or as strong as the Lord and the Lord knew all his attitudes and ambitions so he would struggle to make that case as well.

I know it so of a truth

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Job 9:1–13, “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.”

Job went to the heart of the matter and asked his friends if anyone could really be considered just before God. He looked at God and God’s majesty and asked how a person could actually answer the questions that God might ask. The Lord God placed the mountains where they are, He tells the sun when to rise and when to set. He placed the constellations in the sky so that people on the earth could find their way. No one can actually discover the Lord’s ways. He is in absolute control as the Sovereign Lord and no one can stop Him from exercising Hs will. Even Job’s friends didn’t have the ability to force God to believe in their accusations.

A perfect man

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Job 8:20–22, “Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.”

Bildad refused to give up his point. He just wanted to make Job accept the fact that Job had sinned. He suggested that, as soon as Job confessed, everything would be really good again. This is quite an issue for people who are suffering. They are encouraged to confess sin but if there is no particular sin then is the person to invent some sin to confess? But isn't inventing a sin, sinful?

Whose trust shall be a spider's web

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Job 8:8–19, “For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.”

Bildad continued with his theme. He told Job that nothing happens without a good reason and the Lord was surely punishing Job. He suggested that Job go back in history and ask the ancient people and they would tell Job that he deserved this harsh experience. He would be best just to give up his hope of deliverance from this hardship and just accept that God was punishing him.

Like a strong wind

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Job 8:1–7, “Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression; If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.”

Bildad was getting tired of Job’s attempts to defend himself. He believed that the Lord was punishing Job for some sin that he had committed and wanted Job to admit that he was at fault. He accused Job of just speaking and making wind with his mouth. Today we would call that "blowing hot air". His basic question was, “Is God unjust?” He believed that Job was accusing the Lord of causing this suffering even though Job was innocent. After all, God wouldn’t make an innocent man suffer, would He?

What is man?

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Job 7:17–21, “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.”

During these dialogues, Job speaks both to his friends and to the Lord God. He wonders what any man can show to impress God or why God should be interested in anyone born on the earth. Why does God waste His time by allowing people to suffer. Surely that takes effort that God spend elsewhere? Whey doesn’t the Lord just pardon Job’s and let him die then he would be free from this pain?

My life is wind

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Job 7:7–16, “O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.”

The place of pain is the loneliest place on earth, whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual pain. Job was suffering unexpected pain and he didn’t believe that he had done anything to deserve that pain. Very few people who suffer believe that they deserve to suffer although if we see someone else suffering then we often believe that the other person deserves to suffer. Job had lost hope that he would ever be free from his pain. He wasn’t expecting to be relieved from his pain due to good behaviour. This being so, he decided that he would complain about his pain and let his friends know that he was suffering. He longed to go to bed but then his sleep was troubled by bad dreams.

Spent without hope

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Job 7:1–6, “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.”

Job believed that every person on the earth already has an allotted time span. When the time is up then he will die. Most people believe that they can get some joy and reward from their time on earth just like a hired servant expects to get paid at the end of the day. Job didn’t know how long he would live for but he had lost all hope of ever escaping from his days of pain.

Is there iniquity in my tongue?

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Job 6:22–30, “Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie. Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?”

Job asked his friends if he had been corrupt in any way of if he had dealt with them dishonestly. He wanted to know if he had asked them for money or help of any kind. He told them that if they could prove his wrongdoing then he would keep silent before them. They were accusing him of wrongdoing but they had no evidence to back up their claim. All they were doing was making false accusations.

Pity should be showed from his friend

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Job 6:14–21, “To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid: What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.”

Job believed that everyone should show pity another person who is suffering. However, when someone sees another person suffering the person wants to justify, to himself, the reasons that he isn’t suffering. If I am compassionate to another person who is suffering then, in some way, I accept the fact that I could just as easily be suffering as the other person. If I persuade myself that he deserves to suffer then I feel much better about my own situation and not so bad about his situation.

Oh that I might have my request

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Job 6:8–13, “Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?”

Job really wanted to see God and defend himself. He longed to be able to discover the reason behind his great torment. He wasn’t afraid to die but he didn’t want things to keep going like there were at that time. He kept an open heart and mind before the Lord and wasn’t hiding anything from the Lord so why was this happening?

Is there any taste in the white of an egg?

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Job 6:1–7, “But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.”

Job replied to Eliphaz by telling him that he was suffering so much that he could scarcely describe his pain. Not only was he experiencing physical pain, he was experiencing deep emotional pain as well. It is very hard to be falsely accused of any misdeed and Job knew that he had done nothing to deserve his pain. He was suffering but believed that he was innocent of any crime that deserved this kind of judgment. He knew that there was a reason behind his trials but he wasn’t really sure what it was.

The man whom God correcteth

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Job 5:17–27, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.”

It is important to distinguish between two kinds of attitudes towards God’s actions in a person’s life. One group suggest that God punishes us as a consequence of our actions and every tribulation we face is punishment. However, we read, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.” (Psalm 103:10–13) If the Lord were to deal with us as we deserve, in the immediate context, no one would survive for very long for we all soon be dead. The other attitude is based on Deut 30: 1-10. The Lord deals with His people to bring them to their knees so that they will submit to Him and then enjoy the blessings that come from the abundance of His goodness. Eliphaz belonged to the first school and was encouraging Job to admit his sin and trust the Lord to forgive him. The second attitude was the correct one. Satan wanted to break Job and destroy his faith but the Lord knew that Job would submit to the Lord by the end of this experience and Job would have a much richer and deeper appreciation of the Lord’s love and goodness.

As the sparks fly upwards

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Job 5:6–16, “Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.”

Eliphaz believed that everything in life had a cause and blame could always be apportioned. He was like many people who live today and seek to find blame for problems that occur. Of course, when a person isn’t suffering and they see another person suffering then the person who isn’t suffering feels better if he accuses the other person of wrong doing. Of course, we all live in a world that has been damaged by sin and everybody suffers from the fact that they live in this kind of world. One may suffer and another may not but this doesn’t mean that the person who suffers is any worse than the person who doesn’t. Eliphaz believed that man will naturally head towards trouble unless he commits his way to the Lord. It is the Lord who gives rain to both the good and the bad, in this way those who are having hard times can have hope while those who are having good times can take care.

Wrath killeth the foolish man

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Job 5:1–5, “Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.”

Eliphaz wanted to make Job understand that he was responsible for his own problems. He was quite sure that no one would suffer the way that Job was suffering if he was innocent. Hardship and strife were God’s ways of showing a person that they were wrong. Of course Eliphaz didn’t know the whole story, he didn’t know anything about Satan’s attempts to fool God with his manufactured lie or the fact that the Lord knew that Job trusted Him and would cling to Him in faith even though things were very bad for Job.

More just than God?

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Job 4:12–21, “Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.”

Eliphaz said that he had a special vision from the Lord that frightened him as he slept. He said that a spirit asked him if any man could stand in righteousness before God. Could any man stand before God and be counted as a good man, in his own goodness? The spirit told him that God didn’t trust any man to be righteous and that no man was better than God. Every person would, one day, return to the earth and be recycled. No one, good or bad, will ever escape death so it is foolishness for a man to assume that he is righteous.

Being innocent

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Job 4:7–11, “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.”

Job’s friend tried to persuade him that he deserved to be punished. It is always good for the others when a man or woman of high reputation falls for that allows all the others to blame the fallen person for the problems they are facing instead of taking responsibility for their own wrongs.

Wilt thou be grieved

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Job 4:1–6, “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?”

Even though Job’s friends waited for seven days before they said anything to him, they had come to speak to him. When we someone else suffering there is always a temptation to think that he deserves what he is getting. After all, if such things can happen to good men they maybe it will happen to me. Eliphaz, the first speaker explained to Job that he had helped many other people when they were experiencing difficulties and had told them how to survive the hard times. However, now that he was in trouble and it was time for him to suffer he didn’t seem to have to strength to cope with his own circumstances. He suggested that his fear of trouble really came from himself and not from his outward circumstances.

When they can find the grave

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Job 3:20–26, “Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.”

Job was in agony with the pain of his boils and longed to die so that he could be free of the pain. He was glad when everything was going well but, secretly, wondered if he would see that day when things were not going so well. Now that day had arrived and he really didn’t like it at all.

Why did I not give up the ghost?

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Job 3:11–19, “Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.”

Job continued his complaint and regretted the fact that he was born at all. There may be people, today, who feel that his language is completely unacceptable but he didn’t live in the modern sterile world where everyone is insulated from the basic facts of life and death. Children were born at home, the homes were much smaller and privacy wan’t always guaranteed so Job and his contemporaries would have seen other children being born. He was just recounting things that he and his friends had seen before and everyone knew about.

Cursed his day

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Job 3:1–10, “After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.”

When we suffer we all feel a sense of injustice. No one believes that he deserve to suffer although it is very easy to look at other people and suggest that the other person is getting what he deserves. The best thing we can do if we see a friend suffering is to let the friend talk. Of course, there is always a temptation to make suggestions as to how the other person can improve their ways but this never helps. After the seven days, Job felt the need to speak and curse the fact that he had ever been born. For, if he had never been born, he would not be suffering this way.

Job's three friends

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Job 2:11–13, “Now 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. And 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. So 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.”

When Job’s three friends heard about his problems they agreed together that he needed some comfort and came to visit him. They didn’t recognise Job, at first, because he was so devastated by his diseases. They sat nearby and didn’t say anything for seven days. They understood that, sometimes, people just need the comfort of people close by rather than conversation.

Curse God and die

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Job 2:7–10, “So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But 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.”

As soon as Satan had permission from the Lord, he raced out to attack Job. It is good to note that Satan was not allowed to attack Job without first getting permission. The Lord knows His own people and how much they can bear and He will not allow Satan to take anyone, who believes in the Lord, beyond their breaking point. As long a we, who believe in the Lord, trust Him we will be safe and secure from all Satan’s evil, destructive plans. Job had boils all over his body so his body just became a well of pain. We should note here that the place of extreme pain is the loneliest place on earth. Job sat on the ground and tried to take the pressure out of the boils by breaking them open with shards of pottery and letting the core out. Job’s wife struggled to cope with the situation and encouraged Job just to give up, curse God and die, for that would deliver him from the pain. However, Job believed that the Lord is sovereign on the earth and accepted that the Lord God knew what He was doing. Job remembered that the Sovereign Lord had given him many good things in his life and now he decided that the Sovereign Lord was broadening his experiences.

Skin for skin

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Job 2:1–6, “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. And 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. And 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. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”

Satan was proved to be wrong and the Lord right. However, Satan wasn't willing to admit that he might be wrong so he manufactured another lie about Job. He suggested that Job was only righteous because Job still had his health. However, the Lord knows the end from the beginning and He also knew that Job’s experience would prove to be valuable in Job’s life as well as a good example for anyone else who reads this history. It is good to note that the Lord isn’t cruel and causes one person to suffer for another’s benefit. There is alway good for any individual who trusts in the Lord and obeys Him.

The Lord has taken away

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Job 1:20–22, “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

When Job discovered that he had lost his family and all his wealth he didn’t lose his faith or his respect of the Lord. He accepted that the Lord is sovereign and submitted to his sovereign will.

There was a day

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Job 1:13–19, “And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”

As soon as Satan had permission from the Lord, he went away and took everything that he could from Job. He took his wealth and his family. He wanted to prove to the Lord that he was right and the Lord was wrong. When Satan attacks he does so without any concern for the individual but is only interested in proving his point without any concern for the cost.