2:3-13
Lets touch where we went left off last week.
Vs 3
Again, Satan presents before God. Again, God calls Job blameless and upright – at the end of the verse God is specific to say that Job still holds fast to his integrity although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.
V4
“Satan answers the Lord saying SKIN FOR SKIN, yes all that a man has he will give for his life.” NASV
New Living Translation (©2007)
Satan replied to the LORD, "Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life
V5 “However, put forth you’re your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh;
he will curse You to Your face.”
See… Satan doesn’t give up easily.
Satan is once again making accusation against Job. He is very convincing saying every man has a price. He is going to give in, He is going to turn against you God.
The way Satan looks at this he has lost all of his material possessions as well as family,
-he can raise another family
-start another business
-he is saying he still has his health and strength Let me just touch his body and take away his health and you will soon hear him curse you to your face
TRIALS OR TEMPTATIONS
The words “trial” and “temptation” both come from the same Greek word peirasmos. The Greek word is translated “temptation”
Trials can become opportunities for growth of character and spiritual maturity but trials can also become temptations when we willingly disobey God and fall into sin, then blame God for enticing us.
TRIALS ARE OPPORTUNITIES
Trials are opportunities to help us prove that our faith is genuine; they enable us to experience God in a way beyond intellectual apprehension; and they also afford an avenue for sharing testimonies with others.
2. He has faith in God
the Hebrew word that stands behind the Greek word “trials” (peirasmos) is nasah, which means to prove the quality or worth of someone or something through adversity.”
Every time the child of God is tested he is given an opportunity to prove he has faith in God.
A Christian who is victorious over trials proves that he does not only have objective faith, that is, he believes Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, it also proves that he has learned subjective faith – he puts his trust or dependence on God to overcome trials.
Without trials, there is no opportunity of demonstrating this.
Job had no idea what was goin on the heavenlies, that Satan and God were speaking of him.
Trials are An opportunity to experience God
In overcoming trials, we are offered the opportunity to experience God as the only One who can be depended upon.
For apart from God, we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5).
A Christian can know many things but intellectual knowledge is different from experiential knowledge. Knowing about God is different from knowing God. To be able to experience God is a treasure that has no substitute.
James Verse 5 gives the key to overcoming trials: the wisdom that comes from God. Nystrom rightly comments, “Wisdom is allied to understanding God’s purposes and plan and indicates a determination to live accordingly. With wisdom we perceive that what the world calls misfortune, whatever its source, is an opportunity for God to bring about His purpose.”4 Seeking after and then gaining this wisdom is another priceless experience in the Christian’s journey of going through trials.
An opportunity to have testimony
Endurance and perfection result from persevering through trials. This is not perfection according to some standard common to popular culture, but according to Christ’s standards. After overcoming trials, we can then have a testimony to share.
TRIALS: A VICTORY
Having classified the situation as a “trial” means that the Christian has overcome the situation and is now a victor. Yet at the same time he recognizes that without God, he can not do anything. Trials have afforded the opportunity to depend on the Lord and He has shown that He can see us through, testifying to the truth that “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Phil. 4: 13).
Job don’t know at this point what he can possibly get from this, but God does. God is going to be glorified Jobs testimony is still shared today, he obtains victory, and shows he has genuine faith.
Personal application:
*In times of trial and testing, our first question cannot be- how can I get out of this but, what can I get out of this.
In your trial what can you get out of this?
Vs 6 – So the Lord said to Satan, Behold he is in your power only spare his life”
Vs 7 Then Satan went out form the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head
Satan afflicted Job with a disease we cant identify
Verse 7 tells us boils from head to toe, verse 8 goes on to talk about persistant itching as well as degenerative changes in facial skin, disfiguration
vs 8- And he to a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting amoung the ashes.
Throughout the book here is a summary of what Job suffered:
Inflamed ulcerous sores, persistant itching, degenerative changes to facial skin disfiguration, loss of appetite (2:12), fears and depression(3:25), sores that burst open scab over crack and ooze(7:5); difficulty breathing (9:18) a darkening of the eyelid (16:16); foul breath (19:17); weight loss (19:20 + 33:21); continual excruciating pain (30:27); high fever with chills discoloring of skin anxiety and diarrhea (30;30) delirium sleeplessness (7:3;29:2)
All of this lasted for months. Job was the king of misery.. All of this resulted in Jobs being rejected, isolated, and relocated.
Verse 8 mentions Job sitting amoungst the ashes, this is talking about the place of the city where the trash is burnt.. The dump. Jobs appearance was so bad that he went outside the city and sat on an ash heap. The cities lead citizen now living in poverty and shame.
Complete confusion, isolation, unbearable pain and no hope for change.
Finally it starts getting to the Mrs…she is at the end of her rope so she comes to him and asks (read verse 9)
Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Thinking back to where we started God said to Satan, Job still holds fast to his integrity.verse 3
She uses Satans line ‘curse God’.verse 5
Satan can even use your spouse to get his way. Satans sitting hoping he will just say it.
Matthew 16:22-23 and Acts 21:10-14
*satan can work thru people dear to us”
Jobs wife has presented him with temptation
Temptation to turn away from God was so strong to Job because the trust is there and He loves her. Think about yourself in a situation with a spouse, how hard would it be to turn that down.
In the old testament – Adam listened to Even.. and Abraham listened to Sarah’
She is wrong, but in all fairness lets put ourself in her shoes.
- She has just lost all 10 of her children
- All of their wealth – gone she had lived in a high level of financial security and satisfaction and lifestyle
- Once she was the leading lady- she was honorable she had moments of public acknowledgment.. its gone
- Now to top it off she has lost her companion no more romance, no conversations.. nothing and all hope is lost.
- Rather than watch her husband in pain and shame she would rather him just go on and be with The Father. She is thinking if he would curse God maybe God would take him out of his pain and misery
Jobs wife thought she had it all figured out but if he followed her council it would’ve made things worse.
How often in life when we are down do we find ourselves faced with temptation?
Temptation for what seems an easy way out.
When your down and out how hard is it to avoid what seems like an out?
When life is difficult its easy to give up
This is a cross road for Job, would he choose the right or the left?
{ Faith is Living Without Scheming
{ Obeying God in Spite of Feelings, Circumstances or consequences
{ Knowing that He is work out His perfect plan
2 things Job would not give up on:
1 His faith in God
2 His integrity
That’s exactly what his wife wanted him to do. Even if God didn’t permit the evil to come into his life Job would not rebel against God by taking matters into his own hands.
Job was going to trust God and even will argue with him and not waste his sufferings or his opportunity to recieve what God had for him.
When life is difficult how easy is it to give up?
-Giving up is the worst thing we can do
Think about Christopher Colombus, if he would’ve turned back, no one would’ve blamed him. But, nobody would remember him either.
Now we look at Jobs response to the temptation the outlet his wife is offering
In times of adversity we are weakened. We are in a weakened condition we lose our objectivitiy and stability. Our discernments are skewed, our determination lags, we become vunerable.
We become afraid and don’t understand ourselves. We entertain thoughts that we would usually never consider.
As a wife, and as a friend we need to offer clear perspective wisdom and spiritual strength. As a wife we can help our husbands find their way back.
Never suggest to compromise ones integrity even if it provides temporary relief. When someone is weak and fragile its very easy for them to take in words that offer relief.
Read verse 10
“But he said to her, “you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and no accept adversity?” “ In all this Job didn’t sin with his lips”
1.What an excellent defeat of temptation, he tells her what she is saying is foolishness. He puts it back in her court in essence what he is saying is do you think its okay to just take from God all the good things and then forsake Him when the bad stuff happens”
==Job didn’t sin in all of this
How easy would it have been to give into the temptation, take the easy way out.
This statement from Job shows his righteousness, his commitment, HIS INTEGRITY.
Job wasn’t a one sided person. Can you say that about yourself today?
We cannot just believe God, trust God walk with God, in good times. And in the bad turn to foolishness and forsake Him.
When we enter in trials, its easy to say that we wont forsake God but when you are in the midst of trial you are looking for an outlet, a fix, a bandaid so to speak. Sometimes in Gods plan, just as it is with Job this is a test, and perserverance is key.
Verse 11,12,13
Jobs three friends come from a pretty far distance, as they have heard of his troubles. Planned to go and visit him, and did. They were coming to comfort him. Its good to have a support system when we are hurting.
“a friend loveth at all times a brother is born for adversity”
They raise their voices – this is an expression of sorrow as well as the tearing of the robe.. they are grieving with him.
-casting of dust on high is also an outward sign of immense sorrow throwing it up is a cry out to heaven.. they lifted their voices..
After studing who these friends were, Elipaz was one of Esaus sons
Bildad was a son of Abraham
Job in his prosperity had made friends with them, yet they continued their friendship with him in his adversity. In Job 19:14 it will tell us that most had forsaken him.
1. They were kind to him they visited him to share in his grief
{Read James 1:27} “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep onself unstained by the world”
If done in good principle would be recompensated {Matt 25:36-37)”Naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visted me; I was in prision, and you came to me then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, our thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison, and come to you? The king will answer and say to them ‘truly I say to u to the extent you did it to one of these brothers of mine even the least of them you did it to me’
By visting our friends that are hurting we may aide them in improving their situation we encourage them¸some good word spoken may help ease their discomfort.
We also look upon them and are made wise and receive instruction for our own life sake.
Jobs friends didn’t come out of curiosity but to mourn with him
{Psalm 41:6-8} “And when he comes to see me he speaks falsehood his heart gathers wickness to himself when he goes outside he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they divise my hurt, saying a wicked thing is poured out upon him when he lies down he will not rise up again’
-they came on their own accord, they weren’t sent
-they made an appointment to come
-they came together with one reason a unanimous goal
Then they see he is so disfigured and disformed, they wept aloud. They sat with him wordless, for the circumstance Job is in what could they say to make the situation easier to bear?
They sat with him for 7 days silent. They humbled themselves in the same uneasy posture as Job.
Sometimes, our friends don’t need our advice, they just need our company.
We should be friends, devoted friends staying and offering godly wisdom not out of the wrong ill intentions.
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