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 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.
Job 2:3 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.
Job 2:4 And
Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will
he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But
put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse
thee to thy face.
It wasn't enough for
Job to lose everything- his wealth, his children, Satan told God that as soon
as God stopped protecting Job from illness, injury and such that Job would
surely no longer be upright, and he'd no longer worship God. Satan wanted to be
able to give Job such physical agony that he could scarcely survive it all.
We KNOW today there
are a lot of illness, diseases, injuries and so on that cause severe pain and
suffering, many of us have suffered through some of these. Some of us live with
chronic pain and illness which makes our lives awful. We know this pain and we
cry out for release from it, for help and our Heavenly Father doesn’t always
allow us to feel better. We don't know why we suffer, why children suffer, why
anyone at all suffers but we do know it's not what God wants for His children.
He doesn’t want it, but He allows it for reasons we can't fully comprehend. We
could guess at why, but we don't know if any of our guesses would be
right. If we equate our
physical/mental/emotional health with our closeness to God, then we'd have to
imagine we are far from being His. The truth is, some of God's chosen suffered
extreme hardship. God's OWN SON suffered and it wasn't because He wasn't close
to God- He was the closest anyone could be. Our lives being fair, our lives being
pain-free or semi-pain-free, our lives being content- are NOT spiritual
temperature gauges for Christ followers. God doesn’t HATE us when He allows our
lives to fall apart. God is a surety and that surety is for ETERNAL LIFE, not
temporary life.
Let's read more of Job….
Job 2:6 And
the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 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.
Job 2:8 And he
took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the
ashes.
Job 2:9 Then
said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and
die.
Job 2:10 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.
AMAZING!
Job 2:11 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.
Job 2:12 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.
Job 2:13 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.
Job 3:1 After
this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Job 3:2 And
Job spake, and said,
Job 3:3 Let
the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is
a man child conceived.
Job 3:4 Let
that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light
shine upon it.
Job 3:5 Let
darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the
blackness of the day terrify it.
Job 3:6 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.
Job 3:7 Lo,
let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
Job 3:8 Let
them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their
mourning.
Job 3:9 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:
Job 3:10
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine
eyes.
Job 3:11 Why
died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of
the belly?
Job 3:12 Why
did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
Job 3:13 For
now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I
been at rest,
Job 3:14 With
kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for
themselves;
Job 3:15 Or
with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
Job 3:16 Or as
an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw
light.
Job 3:17 There
the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
Job 3:18 There
the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
Job 3:19 The
small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
Job 3:20
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in
soul;
Job 3:21 Which
long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid
treasures;
Job 3:22 Which
rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
Job 3:23 Why
is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
Job 3:24 For
my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the
waters.
Job 3:25 For
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid
of is come unto me.
Job 3:26 I was
not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
Job wished he'd
never been born! Agony so intense, Job wished for death to take all his misery
from him.
Job 4:1 Then
Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Job 4:2 If we
assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself
from speaking?
Job 4:3
Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak
hands.
Job 4:4 Thy
words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble
knees.
Job 4:5 But
now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art
troubled.
Job 4:6 Is not
this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
Job 4:7
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the
righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even
as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the
same.
Job 4:9 By the
blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they
consumed.
Job 4:10 The
roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the
young lions, are broken.
Job 4:11 The
old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered
abroad.
Job 4:12 Now a
thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
Job 4:13 In
thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
Job 4:14 Fear
came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
Job 4:15 Then
a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
Job 4:16 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,
Job 4:17 Shall
mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his
maker?
Job 4:18
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with
folly:
Job 4:19 How
much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the
dust, which are crushed before the moth?
Job 4:20 They
are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any
regarding it.
Job 4:21 Doth
not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without
wisdom.
Job 5:1 Call
now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt
thou turn?
Job 5:2 For
wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
Job 5:3 I have
seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Job 5:4 His
children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is
there any to deliver them.
Job 5:5 Whose
harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the
robber swalloweth up their substance.
Job 5:6
Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring
out of the ground;
Job 5:7 Yet
man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
Job 5:8 I
would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
Job 5:9 Which
doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
Job 5:10 Who
giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
Job 5:11 To
set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to
safety.
Job 5:12 He
disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform
their enterprise.
Job 5:13 He
taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is
carried headlong.
Job 5:14 They
meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the
night.
Job 5:15 But
he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the
mighty.
Job 5:16 So
the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Job 5:17
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty:
Job 5:18 For
he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
Job 5:19 He
shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch
thee.
Job 5:20 In
famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the
sword.
Job 5:21 Thou
shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of
destruction when it cometh.
Job 5:22 At
destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the
beasts of the earth.
Job 5:23 For
thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the
field shall be at peace with thee.
Job 5:24 And
thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy
habitation, and shalt not sin.
Job 5:25 Thou
shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass
of the earth.
Job 5:26 Thou
shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his
season.
Job 5:27 Lo
this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy
good.
Job 6:1 But
Job answered and said,
Job 6:2 Oh
that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances
together!
Job 6:3 For
now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are
swallowed up.
Job 6:4 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.
Job 6:5 Doth
the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
Job 6:6 Can
that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the
white of an egg?
Job 6:7 The
things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.
Job 6:8 Oh
that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long
for!
Job 6:9 Even
that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and
cut me off!
Job 6:10 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.
Job 6:11 What
is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong
my life?
Job 6:12 Is my
strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
Job 6:13 Is
not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
Job 6:14 To
him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh
the fear of the Almighty.
Job 6:15 My
brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they
pass away;
Job 6:16 Which
are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
Job 6:17 What
time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their
place.
Job 6:18 The
paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.
Job 6:19 The
troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.
Job 6:20 They
were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were
ashamed.
Job 6:21 For
now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
Job 6:22 Did I
say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
Job 6:23 Or,
Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the
mighty?
Job 6:24 Teach
me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have
erred.
Job 6:25 How
forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
Job 6:26 Do ye
imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are
as wind?
Job 6:27 Yea,
ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
Job 6:28 Now
therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
Job 6:29
Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness
is in it.
Job 6:30 Is
there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?
Job 7:1 Is
there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the
days of an hireling?
Job 7:2 As a
servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the
reward of his work:
Job 7:3 So am
I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to
me.
Job 7:4 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.
Job 7:5 My
flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become
loathsome.
Job 7:6 My
days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
Job 7:7 O
remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
Job 7:8 The
eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and
I am not.
Job 7:9 As the
cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall
come up no more.
Job 7:10 He
shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any
more.
Job 7:11
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.
Job 7:12 Am I
a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
Job 7:13 When
I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
Job 7:14 Then
thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
Job 7:15 So
that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
Job 7:16 I
loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
Job 7:17 What
is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine
heart upon him?
Job 7:18 And
that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
Job 7:19 How
long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my
spittle?
Job 7:20 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?
Job 7:21 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.
More tomorrow by the
grace and mercy of our LORD. May we comprehend only truth in HIM for He is our
almighty GOD.
