Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Scripture Reading   Job 1:1, 2:1-13, 3:1, Robert Alter translation

A man there was in the land of Uz— Job his name. And the man was blameless and upright and feared God and shunned evil . . .

And one day, the sons of God came to stand in attendance before YHWH, and the Adversary, too, came among them to stand in attendance before YHWH. And YHWH said to the Adversary, “From whence do you come?”

And the Adversary answered YHWH and said, “From roaming the earth and walking about in it.”

And YHWH said to the Adversary, “Have you paid heed to My servant Job, for there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil and still clings to his innocence, and you incited Me against him to destroy him for nothing.”

And the Adversary answered YHWH and said, “Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life. Yet, reach out, pray, Your hand and strike his bone and his flesh. Will he not curse You to your face?”

And YHWH said to the Adversary, “Here he is in your hands. Only preserve his life.” And the Adversary went out from before YHWH’s presence. And he struck Job with a grievous burning rash from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he was sitting among the ashes.  And his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your innocence?  Curse God and die.”

And he said to her, “You speak as one of those base women would speak.  Shall we accept the good from God, too, and evil we shall not accept?”

With all this, Job did not offend with his lips.

And Job’s three companions heard of all this harm that had come upon him, and they came . . . to grieve with him and to comfort him . . . And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that the pain was very great.

Afterward, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.