SATAN IS AN UNGODLY ACCUSER – ROUND #2 – 2:1-8:
Having failed in that initial mission, Satan goes for round two. Let’s read the second conversation between Satan and God; 2:1-6.
The conversation is almost identical but notice God’s assessment of Satan’s first effort: “He still holds fast his integrity although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan, you failed! That’s God’s message to the adversary. “You failed!” God knew Job better than Satan did.
Satan has a second proposal. “Affect the man’s health,” the adversary says, “and he’ll curse you.” Every man has a price right? At some point, every man and woman will curse God – all Satan has to do is squeeze the vice tighter. That’s his implication. How true is it? That’s a question only you and I can answer.
As earlier, God gives the adversary some freedom but He also limits Satan’s power: “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” God keeps Satan limited so that he cannot tempt us beyond what we are able to bear. That is a promise from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
Satan, then, goes as far as God’s leash will allow him to go, 2:7-8. We do not have the time to point out other references to this physical condition that Satan gave Job. We do not know what it is, but people could not stand to be around Job. They could not look at him. His breath stunk. He was all alone, except for his wife.
SATAN HITS JOB CLOSEST TO HOME – 2:9-10:
In these first two chapters, Satan concludes his attack against Job by influencing Job’s wife who basically sides with the adversary.
Mrs. Job was hurting as much as Job, at least from the perspective of having lost all her children. She simply did not believe that Job was gaining anything by maintaining his innocence! “Accept God’s punishment, die, and get it over with.” Mrs. Job believed that doctrine that if you are suffering, it’s God’s punishment for your sin.
I believe Job also believed that doctrine. But now the facts have hit close to home and Job cannot see that he has sinned so that he deserves this type of punishment. Please observe once again the observation of the author about the character of Job in 2:10: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”
Whatever else we can say about Job or hear from his mouth, in these first two chapters, we have had five statements about Job’s righteousness and two of those statements have come out of the mouth of God!
Job maintains his integrity through the following series of speeches and dialogues between him and his four friends. They accuse Job of receiving what he deserves. Job responds by arguing that he doesn’t deserve what he’s receiving. But, Job never turns his back on God! That is an important point to make.
GOD’S FINAL VERDICT OF JOB – 42:7-9:
God shows up on the scene in chapter 38 and gives four chapters of speeches. Job repents of his thoughts about God (42:6).
But let’s see what God has to say about Job, 42:7-9. God was not pleased with the theology of Job’s friends. Their theology was wrong and wrongly applied in Job’s case. God tells Eliphaz that the friends needed to take their animal sacrifices and go to Job and have Job pray for them. Otherwise, God would treat them as their folly deserves! Observe that God says, “You have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”
The friends take their sacrifices to Job; he prays for them and notice the last statement of verse 9: “the Lord accepted Job.”
We need to live so that our behavior will reflect our beliefs. That is a life of integrity. If our beliefs are based on proper theology, then God will be pleased with our behavior.
Paul Holland