Jesus and Job 7

7:1-2 Jesus confronted with unbelief from the disciples and crowd asked, “How long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?” Matt. 17:17; Mark 9:19. In a sense Jesus was like a hired man counting his days (Isa. 16:14; 21:16).

 7:5 While Job suffered horribly in his flesh, Jesus’ flesh was beaten in scourging and suffered the horrors of crucifixion. 

 7:9 Jesus did go down into Hades and come up. Hades is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheol. Jesus went down to Hades but was not abandoned there (Acts 2:27, 31) and He was brought up (or ascended as Acts 2:34 uses the same Greek word for the ascension and the LXX uses in Job 7:9). Through his death and resurrection, Jesus gives firm hope to all who put their trust in Him of victory over death (I Cor. 15:50-58; II Tim. 1:10). 

 7:11, 13 The Hebrew word translated complain is the same word translated considered in Isa. 53:8. As for His generation, who considered (complained). Job spoke in bitterness, but the Suffering Servant did not complain (Isa. 53:6). 

 7:18 Jesus was tested and tempted when He came to earth (Matt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13).

 7:19 Isa. 50:4-11 is a servant song that ultimately finds fulfillment in Jesus. While it seems like God will not let Job swallow his spit, men could not let God alone but spit in His face (Matt. 26:67; Mk. 14:65) in preparation for His crucifixion. 

 7:20-21 What sin have we committed to cause Christ to have to die for me? Gal. 2:20. Job longs for God’s forgiveness and that forgiveness is given through Jesus. Would God rather punish and destroy or forgive and carry away man’s guilt? The answer to this is found in the cross of Jesus. God forgives sin in Jesus in a way that is right (Rom. 3:21-26). God cannot simply say that sin is not so bad because that is not true. But God punishes sin in a way that opens up salvation for the sinner. 

 7:21 God seeks to save us in and through Jesus- Luke 19:10.

 Jesus is the answer to Psalm 8 and Job 7.

God is so big that He built the world with His fingers (Ps.8:3) and His hands (Ps. 8:6). This enormous God became a man in the person of Jesus (John 1:1, 14). He subjected Himself to shame, abuse, and even murder in the cross. He was tempted and tried (Job 7:18; Matt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13). He was spit upon (Job 7:19; Isa.50:6; Matt. 26:67). He defeated death and Hades by the resurrection. He gave hope to all who put their trust and hope in Him (John 11:25).

Job’s sufferings and pain should help us to stand in awe of what Jesus willingly endured for us. 

 Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8:4-6 and applies the words to Jesus in Heb. 2:9. Notice how the text picks up on the words of the Psalm and applies them to Jesus. Some form of the word “subject” or “subjection” is used in Heb. 2:5 to introduce the quotation, and three times in Heb. 2:8 after the word is quoted from Psalm 8. Heb. 2:7 quotes Psalm 8 in saying, “You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels” and Heb; 2:9 applies it to Jesus being made a little lower than the angels by the suffering of death.  Heb. 2:7 quotes Psalm 8 in “You have crowned him with glory and honor” and Heb. 2:9 applies those words and to Jesus. As Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, He also brings many sons to glory- Heb. 2:10. 

6:1-13 Job gives a defense of Himself

Several writers on Job say that the various speakers say little about the previous speech or speakers. A strong point of Habel’s commentary is that he points out connections between the various speakers. First, there are several vocabulary connections between Eliphaz in Job 4-5 and Job’s speech in Job 6. The word ‘anguish’ in 6:2 is the same word translated ‘anger’ in 5:2. The word ‘hope’ in 6:8 was used by Eliphaz in 4:6; 5:16. The word ‘crush’ in 6:9 was used in 4:19; 5:4. ‘Fear’ in 6:14, 21 is from the same root at 4:6. The word ‘perish’ in 4:7, 9,11, 20 is used by Job in 6:18. Second, it may be that 6:1-7 is a specific response to Eliphaz in 5:1-7 where he spoke of the foolish man and Job’s words in 6:8-13 are a response to 4:2-6 that Eliphaz uttered about Job’s hope.

6:14-23 Job expresses his disappointment with his friends.

The friend’s behavior was exemplary in Job 2:11-13. They came from distances, they wept over Job’s condition, and they sat with him in silence. Now, Job feels betrayed by them. 

6:14 For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend- There are three words in the Hebrew text that lead to the translation here. The word kindness is the word hesed. The word usually describes God’s love for man and loyalty to His people (Deut. 7:9; Neh. 1:5; Ps. 25:10). It also describes man’s love for one another (I Sam. 18:1; 20:14-16; Prov. 17:17; 18:24; Hos. 4:1) and in a couple of cases man’s love for God (Jer. 2:2). He speaks of his relationship with these three as being a relationship among friends and one in which he could expect lovingkindness. 

 So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty- Job uses the term Shaddai as Eliphaz did in Job 5:17. This verse is translated differently in various versions. The NIV has the that the man’s friends should stick by him even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. The NAB and NEB have similar translations. This translation line up with Biblical teaching (Deut. 13:6-11; I Sam. 2:29; Matt. 10:34-37). While the idea of the NIV does not fit Bible teaching does not necessarily mean that Job did not say it. Remember he too said some things that he should not say. However, it does make up think about other possibilities. Other translations have the idea that man should be encouraged that he might not forsake the fear of God (NASB).  Some translations convey the idea that the friend who withholds encouragement forsakes the fear of God (ESV, RSV, JB). I John 4:7-8. 

Eliphaz wants to know why Job’s fear of God does not sustain him in his trial in Job 4:6. Job here wants to know why Eliphaz, and his friends do not encourage him more because of their fear of God.

5:17 Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves- Ps. 94:12; Prov. 3:11-12; 23:12, 23; Heb. 12:5-11; Rev. 3:19. How happy in 5:17 is the word translated blessed in Ps. 1:1. 

 5:18 For He inflicts pain, and gives relief- Deut. 32:39; I Sam. 2:6; Isa.19:22; 30:26; Hos. 6:1.  Job 1:21; 2:10 Each of the speakers understood the sovereignty of God in the affairs of the world. 

 He wounds, and His hands also heal- The friends never resort to Satan as the answer for human suffering. 

 5:19 From six troubles He will deliver you- The closest way to parallel a number is to give the next highest number. 

 Even in seven evil will not touch you- Ps. 91:10. This is a passage like Job 2:10 where the evil refers not to sin but to calamity.

 5:20 In famine He will redeem you from death- Ps. 34:23; 49:8,16; 55:19; 69:19; 71:23; 119:134. The word redeem in Psalm 49:7, 7, 15. Ps. 49:15 and Ps. 103:4 speak of God redeeming the life, or soul, of the Psalmist from Sheol, the pit, or the grave.

 5:21 You will hidden from the scourge of the tongue- For the tongue as a weapon- Ps. 52:2,4; 64:3. Vicious words can destroy the one they are spoken against, and undo the one who speaks them as well (Prov. 10:8, 14; 13:3; 18:7).

Neither will you be afraid of violence when it comes- Ps. 91:5-6. God can protect His servants even in the midst of a severe judgment (II Peter 2:4-9). 

 5:22 You will laugh at famine and violence- The verb laugh is used in Ps. 2:4; 37:13; 59:8 to speak of God’s reaction to the wrongdoer.

Neither will you be afraid of the wild beasts- Lev. 26:4-5; Ps. 91:13; Ezek. 34:25; Hos. 2:18-20

 5:23 For you will be in league with the stones of the field- Isa. 5:2; II Sam. 3:19-25 stones present difficulties for an otherwise fruitful field or vineyard.  

 5:24 You will know that your tent is secure- contrast this with 4:21. Compare this with 21:7. The word secure is actually the word peace which is used as a verb in 5:23.

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss- Job lost his wealth in 1:13-17. Job will say that it is the children of the wicked that are safe and secure in Job 21:8-10.

The word generally translated sin is used at the end of vs. 24. Sin is the idea of missing the mark (Judges 20:16) and the proper idea behind it is experiencing loss. 

5:25 You will know also that your descendants will be many- These two lines are in stark contrast to 5:4-5. They are also contrary to Job’s experiences as Job lost his children in 1:18-19. 

And your offspring as the grass of the earth- Isa. 53:10; Job 42:16; Ps. 37:16. This will ultimately be true of Job (42:13-15).

 5:26 You will come to the grave in full vigor- Premature death is considered a great disaster (Job 22:16).

 Are the statements of Job 5:17-27 promising too much? Notice how many things said in Job 5:17-27 sound like Psalm 91 and other Psalms

Job 5:19 God will deliver him from all troubles; Ps. 34:19 Many are afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all

Job 5:19 evil will not touch you; Ps. 91:10 No evil will befall you

Job 5:22, 23 not be afraid of wild beasts, beasts of field at peace; Ps. 91:13 tread upon lion, cobra, young lion, serpent

Job 5:24 your tent is secure/ Ps. 91:10 no plague near your tent

Job 5:26 long life Ps. 91:16

5:8-16 The doxology of Eliphaz

There are similar doxologies in Job 9:4-12 and 12:13-25.

5:8 But as for me, I would seek God- (Amos 5:4, 6) The Hebrew text actually says but I seek God.  

Is seeking God in this passage to inquire of the LORD as the word sometimes means in Gen. 25:22; Ex. 18:15; I Kings 14:5; 22:8; II Kings 1:3, 6,16; II Kings 22:18; II Chron. 32:31; Ezek. 14:7; 20:1. 

 5:9 Who does great and unsearchable things- 9:10; Ps. 136:4. God’s glory is beyond our ability to search or understand (Job 9:10; 11:7; 36:26; Isa. 40:28). Bildad will use the same word for searched in Job 8:8 in which he will say that former generations have searched out this problem of suffering and come to the same conclusions where he and his friends arrived. 

 5:10 He gives rain on the earth- Ancient people would have attributed the rain to the blessings of their God or gods. Modern man tends to view rain as a natural phenomenon and just as illustration of how the world works. The Bible does not attribute rain to Baal (the contest between Baal and Yahweh in I Kings 17-18). The Bible does not make rain simply a natural law that God built into the world. The Bible speaks of it as a blessing from God’s hand, both in Job 36:27-28; 38:25-26. God sending rain on the just and unjust is a continual illustration of him doing good to those who are His enemies in Matt. 5:45.

5:11 So that He sets on high those who are lowly- The word translated lowly, shakal, is translated humble in Prov. 16:19; 29:23. God often dramatically reverses a person’s situation (I Sam. 2:7-8; Ps. 113:5-8; 147:6; Luke 1:46-56). God exalts the lowly (Matt. 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14).

 5:12 He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd- God used the counsel of Hushai to thwart (same word translated frustrates here) the good counsel of Ahithophel (II Sam. 17:14).This word shrewd can be used in a positive sense (Prov. 1:4; 8:5; 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 15:5; 19:25; 22:3; 27:12) or in a negative one (Gen. 3:1; Job 5:12; 15:5).

 5:13 He captures the wise by their own shrewdness- The idea is the wise man falling in his own trap he has set for others- Job 18:7-10; 36:8-10; Ps. 7:15; 35:7-8; 57:6; Prov. 26:27; 28:10; Esther 7:10.

 This verse is quoted by Paul in I Cor. 3:19 and introduced by the wording “For it is written." Does the fact that I Cor. 3:19 shows us that Eliphaz spoke truth demand that he used these words in a proper way? His words are truth, but he seems to place Job among the shrewd who will be brought down.

 5:14 By day they meet with darkness- Job 12:24-25; Deut.28:29; Isa.  59:10. 

And grope at noon as in the night- In the brightest times of the day they will encounter complete darkness (Amos 8:9).

 5:15 But He saves from the sword of the mouth- For the tongue as a weapon- Ps. 52:2,4; 64:3; Isa. 54:17; Jer. 18:18; Ps. 12:3-5; 31:21; James 3:5-6.

 5:16 So the helpless has hope- 8:13; 11:18; 14:7; Jer. 31:17; Ezek. 37:11; Prov. 19:8; Ruth 1:12; Lam.3:29 The fact that God does these things is a reason for help for the broken. God will catch the world’s expectations by surprise. 

And unrighteousness must shut its mouth- Ps.107:42. 

 Is Eliphaz placing Job among those who are lowly who will be lifted up or among those who are shrewd who will be brought down? The fact that he emphasizes more about the shrewd who are brought down (vs. 12-14) suggests to me that this is Eliphaz’s emphasis here. 

4:1-6 Introduction to Eliphaz’ first speech to Job

4:7-11 Eliphaz: We reap what we sow

4:12-16 Eliphaz’ dream vision

 4:17-21 The content of the vision

What is wrong with what Eliphaz says?

The statements of Job 4:7-8 seem to be the basis of the argument of Eliphaz against Job. The idea that we reap what we sow is a fundamental Biblical truth uttered often in Scripture (Hos. 8:7; 10:12; Prov. 11:18; 22:8; Gal. 6:7-9).  Matt. 26:52 makes the same point as a general principle Why is Eliphaz stating the same truths as Jesus and inspired writers and yet something seems wrong with his comment? How does these other statements about reaping what we sow differ from his statement in 4:8? 

How does Psalm 37 fit into this argument? The heading of Psalm 37 mentions it as a psalm of David. Psalm 37:25 says, “I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.” He appeals to his experiences as Eliphaz did. David makes the same kind of observation that Eliphaz does in Job 4:8. Psalm 37:25 asserts the same type of thing that Eliphaz and Job’s other friends argue. Job’s friends believe that his intense suffering must be because he has done something terribly wrong to deserve it. The reader knows on the basis of the prologue of Job that this is not true, and that Job is not suffering because of his sin (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). How did they misinterpret Scripture and Job’s experience?

 Passages like Psalm 37 were not given for the purpose of stating that the life of the righteous is always easy and the life of the wicked will always be hard. The intent was to 

stress that righteousness is the path of blessing and wickedness is the road to disaster. The world of Psalm 37 was a world (like ours) where the wicked often prospered (vss. 1, 7-8, 35) and the righteous were often their main targets of hatred (vss. 12, 14, 32).  One sometimes had to choose between being righteous and having little and being wicked and having much (vs. 16). The righteous were sometimes “hurled headlong” (vs. 24) and faced troubles (vs. 39). As already mentioned in the paragraph the righteous experienced the hatred and opposition of the wicked. Yet In spite of appearances of the moment, the Psalm stresses that the wicked would be cut off (vs. 9, 22, 28, 34, 38) and the righteous would inherit the land (vs.9, 11, 22, 29, 34). The prosperity of the wicked though it may be real at the moment was going to be short lived (vs. 1-2, 10, 20, 35-38). The purpose of the writer is to show that the ultimate path to blessing is righteousness, and that wickedness and evil is going to fail regardless of how attractive it will look in the short term.  Psalm 37 was not given for the purpose of helping us to distinguish the righteous from the wicked. Psalm 37:25 is not a statement that everyone who finds themselves in financial need is giving clear evidence of their sin. That is not the purpose of Psalm 37. Job’s friends use the same kind of statement as Psalm 37:25 but for the purpose of saying that Job has sinned. 

The Bible is God’s message, God’s word (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21). However, in the Bible there are speakers that say things that are incorrect or particularly designed to deceive. For example, the words of the serpent, the devil in Gen. 3:4-5; Matt. 4:1-11. The words of false prophets are recorded in I Kings 22:9-12 or Jer. 28:1-4 and false accusations against John and Jesus are recorded in Matt. 11:18-19 and Luke 7:33-34. When the Bible reports something happening it is true but there are those in its pages who do not speak on God’s behalf. 

 Job is the most difficult book of the Bible to determine whether the spokesman is from God or not. In the epilogue the LORD says that Eliphaz and his two friends have not spoken of Him what is right (Job 42:7). The LORD plainly says it, these men do not speak for Him. Does that mean that everything they say is wrong? In Job 5:13 Eliphaz says, “He captures the wise by their shrewdness.” Paul quotes these words in I Cor. 3:19 and introduces them with “For it is written.” The only time that Job is specifically quoted in the New Testament it is the words of Eliphaz. Obviously, not everything that Eliphaz and his friends said was wrong. On the other hand, Job was said to speak of God what was right in Job 42:7. While Job spoke what was right, does that mean that all he spoke was correct? The LORD said that Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2) and Job repeats these words confessing his sin of speaking of the things “which I did not understand” in 42:3. After this confession, he retracts and repents in 42:6. Clearly, Job says things that are not right. Also, how do we take the words of Elihu? Elihu is not mentioned at all by God at the end of the book. Does that mean that he said nothing different from the friends or does it mean that God approves of his words? The question is how do we know what the various speakers say that is from God and what is not? These factors make Job an extremely difficult book. 

3:13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet- When Job lays down he gets no rest (7:4). Job’s point “not that death is so wonderful, but that life has become intolerable. Wilson. Again, the term Sheol is not used in the passage but that is clearly the idea. 

I would have been asleep then I would have been at rest- Rest is a great blessing of God tied with receiving the land of promise Ex. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; 12:10; 25:19; Josh. 1:13, 15; 21:44; 22:4; 23:1; II Sam. 7:1, 11; I Kings 5:4. This  word translated rest will also be used in 3:17, 26. Job believes the same kind of rest associated with the promised land is available in Sheol. Here “Job does not hope that death will rectify the injustice of his undeserved sufferings. It will be enough that it ends them” Anderson, 106.

This roll call of Sheol includes the powerful, kings, counsellors of the earth, princes and great men (14-15, 19). It also includes the weak and powerless like infants, stillborn children, the weary, and the slaves, the small (16, 19). This list also has those who are ungodly like the wicked and prisoners (17-18). All together are united in Sheol. Death and Sheol are great equalizers for all kinds of people (Eccl. 9:2-6). Job speaks of Sheol as a place of rest (13, 17), ease (18), and freedom (19). How much of Job’s words here can be trusted? When the LORD speaks, He will ask Job how much does he really know about these things he speaks about with such authority (38:16-18)?" Smick, 891.

Job’s view of Sheol is not consistent throughout the book. For example, the words of Job 10:18-22 and 17:13-16 are much gloomier than the picture in 3:11-19. Job uses at least three of the five terms used in 3:4-6 to describe darkness in speaking of Sheol in Job 10:21-22. Other passages of the OT do not portray Sheol or death in the positive terms seen here (Ps. 6:5; 30:9; 88:11-13; 115:17; Isa. 38:18). In Ecclesiastes in particular it is death itself that renders life’s pursuits vanity (Eccl. 2:12-17, 18-23; 9:5, 10)    It is probably best to see Job’s positive view of life after death in 3:11-19 not as representing his final word on Sheol, but as a manifestation of his state of mind at that time. Anything looks better to Job than his present condition. 

3:21 Who long for death, but it does not come- The word long for is used for longing or waiting on God in Ps. 33:20; Isa. 8:17; 30:18; 64:4 and of God’s longing to be gracious in Isa. 30:18. God longs to be gracious to those who are longing for Him. The longing for God is most common object of such longing in the biblical account. However, here the object of longing is death and that thought appears only here in the Bible. 

3:26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet- The word for at ease was used in 3:18 and is used later in Job 12:6. In 12:6 the destroyers and those who provoke God are at ease but Job has none. 

The word quiet was used in 3:13. Here Job has no quiet in contrast to what he envisioned for those who are in Sheol- 3:13.

 I have no rest, for trouble comes- The word for rest was used in 3:13, 17. The point is the same as that made above about the word quiet. While Job has no rest, those who are in Sheol do in 3:13, 17. The word trouble in vs. 26 is the same word translated raging in vs. 17. Interestingly, in vs. 17 the word is said to characterize the wicked. Job raging is not from his wickedness but from his depth of pain. 

Job 3 

3:1-10 Job curses the day of his birth

Job pours out his grief and pain in a bold and dramatic way. It does not seem to be that Job is specifically addressing anyone specifically in Job 3:1-10. The fact there are so many psalms of lament show how common this is for the people of God. Job’s frustrations throughout the book cannot be blamed solely on his friend’s words because he speaks before they speak. One writer described Job 3 as “one of the most depressing chapters in the Bible” (Alden, 71). However, those who are presently experiencing this kind of pain may identify with and find great comfort in these words. Psalm 88 is filled with darkness. It is a psalm of lament that has no ending of praise and hope. The final word of the Hebrew text and most translations of Psalm 88 is the word darkness. I have found that preaching that psalm has led many people to come out and say seriously, “That was encouraging.”

Job’s longing to have never been born is similar to the request of Elijah (I Kings 19:4) and Jonah (Jonah 4:3) for the LORD to take their life. They knew life was in God’s hands and they asked him to take their life and they did not take matters into their own hands. There is a difference between Elijah and Jonah, however. Elijah is broken because his ministry as a prophet has been rejected. Jonah is discouraged because the Ninevites have responded to his message and repented and been spared by God. Jonah wanted the LORD to take his life because the wrong people listened and obeyed his preaching. 

Jeremiah 20:14-18 Jeremiah had the difficult task of speaking for God and giving an unpopular message to a wicked people.[1] There are several similarities between Jer. 20:14-18 and Job 3. Both deals with cursing the day of one’s birth (Job 3:1, 8; Jer. 20:14). They both mention the announcement of a male child (Job 3:3; Jer. 20:15). Blocking the womb is described in both (Job 3:11; Jer. 20:17). Both use the same Hebrew word trouble (Job 3:10; Jer. 20:18). The hyperbole of Jeremiah 20:14-18 is even more stunning than Job 3:1-10. He asks that the LORD bring judgment upon the man who announced the happy news to his father that he had a son. Jeremiah asks that the judgment against him be like the judgment that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah (20:16; Gen. 19:25-26). He curses the man because he did not kill him before his birth (20:17).  Clearly, the innocent man who brought the news to Jeremiah’s father of his birth should not have literally taken Jeremiah’s life in the womb. The text is speaking in using the most extreme exaggeration and overemphasis to say that he wishes he was never born. The words of Matt. 26:24 that it would have been better for Judas if he had never been born do not emphasize his stress in life but the horror of his judgment after death.  

While we would be worried about anyone near us who uttered the words of Job 3:1-10 or Jer. 20:14-18, the text does seem to show that thoughts like these and expressing these thoughts may be part of the life of some of God’s faithful servants. When we feel completely broken, these passages affirm that many who have sought to follow God have felt the same way. These passages may give us guides for words we can use if we face similar circumstances. They neither curse God nor take His name in vain (Ex. 23:7; Lev. 24:10-16). They do not curse their parents (Ex. 20:12; 21:14). They do vent their frustration that they were born at all. While their efforts to write themselves out of history are not logical, they are understandable. Job and Jeremiah give full expression to their desires within certain limits and boundaries that they will not pass.

 What roles do God and Satan play in Job’s suffering and suffering throughout Scriptures?

Satan appears in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-6, 7. His hand in suffering is particularly emphasized in Job 1:12 and 2:6, 7. Satan’s hand in suffering is stressed in several New Testament passages as well. In Luke 13:16 the woman Jesus heals in the synagogues is one “whom Satan has bound for eighteen years.” In Acts 10:38 Jesus went about doing good and “healing all who were oppressed of the devil.” II Cor. 12:7 describes Paul’s thorn in the flesh as a “messenger of Satan.” In Jesus’ letter to the church of Smyrna he says that “the devil is about to cast some of you into prison” (Rev. 2:10). Each of these passages speak of Satan, the devil playing a significant role in human suffering. There are certainly other passages that tie Satan to temptation, sin, and spiritual suffering, but now we are focusing on physical suffering. 

These truths from the book of Job about God’s hand in human suffering are consistent with the rest of Scripture. 

Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

I Samuel 2:6-7 “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.”

Isaiah 30:26 “The LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.”

Isaiah 45:7 “The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.”

Jer. 32:42 “Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.”

Lam. 3:37-38 “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the LORD has commanded it? Is in not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?”

Amos 3:6 “If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?”

Heb. 12:1-11 The hostility followers of Jesus experienced from sinners in 12:1-4 seems to be the same as the discipline of the LORD in 12:5-11. 

There are several events in which both God and Satan are said to be active. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1).  The devil is trying to get Jesus to sin and undo God’s entire plan of salvation. God using to the same event to qualify Jesus as the perfect high priest (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:14-16). While Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan, it was given to keep Paul from exalting himself (II Cor. 12:7-10). Obviously, keeping Paul from becoming proud was not Satan’s purpose but it was God’s purpose. While Satan entered Judas to entice him to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3; John 13:2, 27), all the things that happened around the crucifixion were to fulfill the will of God (Acts 2:23; 3:13-15; 4:27-28; 13:27). While Satan and God were both involved in these events, in none of these cases are God and Satan acting together. Satan is seeking to cause man to curse God. But God is working in the same events to seek to teach man things he would not have learned otherwise (Ps. 119:67, 71, 75). God is seeking to help man see Him more clearly than previously (Job 42:5-6).  God is working to save man from sin. The message of the Bible is that nothing happens to us that is not ultimately controlled by the knowledge, love, wisdom, and power of our God of all comfort (II Cor. 1:3). The test of Job was ultimately a step in the utter defeat of Satan and not Job.

Job 2

2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD- The scene in 2:1-6 is a repetition of the scene produced in 1:6-12. Just as parallelism can drive home the point in poetry, prose often stresses its point by repeating the narrative (Gen. 24:1-27;24:28-49). 2:1 is a verbatim repetition from 1:6 except 2:1 adds the three Hebrew words that end the sentence translated to present himself before the LORD. 

2:3 And he still holds fast his integrity- The verse from this point on adds to the words of 1:8. This verb holds fast is a common verb and means be strong or strengthen (Josh.1:6, 7, 9; Job 4:3) or seize (Gen. 19:16). Job held fast to his integrity as some hold fast to deceit- Jer. 8:5. This word will be used also in Job in 2:9; 4:3; 8:15,20; 18:9 and 27:6. In Job 27:6 Job declares I hold fast to my righteousness. 

 The picture of the divine council does not eliminate the picture of an omniscient God (Psalm 139:1-6; Isa. 40:13-14).

2:4  What does skin for skin mean? Much has been written to answer this question, but few good answers have been provided. The meaning seems to be something along the lines that even if a person loses their possessions, children, and all else, that the person will respond differently when the suffering is his and his death is imminent. I think the meaning of the phrase is largely derived by the next line that all that a man has he will give for his life. 

2:7 Deut. 28:35 speaks of boils from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. The phrase from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head is also used of Absalom in II Sam. 14:25. In II Sam. 14:25 there was no blemish on Absalom from his foot to his head. Job’s case is the opposite of Absalom’s attractiveness. 

2:9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’

These are the only words we have from Job’s wife. Job does make a reference to her in Job 19:17 saying that his breath is offensive to her. Job 19:13-20 demonstrates Job’s deep sense of alienation from those who we would expect to be closest to him. Job’s wife uses the same phrase that the LORD used in speaking of Job in Job 2:3 you hold fast your integrity. God used this to praise Job, but Job’s wife uses the phrase in criticism of Job. In The Testament of Job she sells her hair to buy bread for Job and herself. Does she believe the sin of cursing God will be punished by God with Job’s instant death?

2:10 ‘Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ The word adversity is also used in the next verse in 2:7, 10, 11. Some versions translate the Hebrew term ra’ by the English word evil. Evil can be moral evil (1:1, 8; 2:3) or it can refer to a calamity or disaster (2:10, 11; 42:11). “Out of about 640 occurrences of the word ra’ (which ranges in meaning from a ‘nasty’ taste to full moral evil) there are 275 instances where ‘trouble’ or ‘calamity’ is the meaning”[1] God is sovereign over good and bad (Deut. 32:39; Job 1:21). God is not responsible for moral evil (Hab. 1:13; Jas. 1:13), but His hand is involved in adversity (Isa. 45:7; Lam. 3:37-38; Amos 3:6). The translation adversity or calamity is better than the translation evil in this verse. 

[1] J.A. Motyer, Isaiah, 359.