Job Loses His Health
“On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.
“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him—blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job’s Three Friends
Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.
When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air over his head. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.”
Poor Job! Not only is he reeling from the loss of most of his servants and his livestock, but all his children whom he loves dearly have been wiped out in a single catastrophe. Now to make matters even worse, he breaks out in boils all over his body, draining pus from everywhere. The itching from these wounds is maddening, and Job is so desperate for relief that he takes a broken piece of pottery with which to scratch himself. But things are about to get even worse.
Until now, Job’s wife hasn’t said anything; however, now that they have lost nearly all their wealth, plus their children, and Job’s body is now breaking down, Job’s wife advises him to curse God and die. Quite evidently, while Job believes in the One True Living God, his wife does not. Job’s wife probably keeps little teraphim somewhere in her room and pays homage to them, refusing to worship Job’s God. Sick as Job is, he still manages to answer his wife, ““You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?”
Next, three of Job’s friends arrive to comfort him. But by now, Job is in such a miserable state that even his friends barely recognize him. When the friends realize that this wretched sufferer covered with draining sores is their friend, they are so distraught that they weep aloud, tear their robes, and throw dust over their heads. Then the three sit with Job for seven days and seven nights without saying anything. Really, what can these men tell Job? “Cheer up! Everything’s going to be better in the morning?” “I know God will use this for good?” “Don’t worry. Be happy?”
APPLICATION: Many times, we focus only on the bad advice Job’s friends give him later, ignoring their original reaction to Job’s suffering. But these men are genuinely moved; after all, why else would they sit with Job for seven days and seven nights, restraining themselves from giving useless advice?
So far, Job’s friends have done very well; however, now that they have sat with Job for all that time, they feel qualified to begin giving the advice they have withheld up to now. In an earlier age, there was a phrase referring to “Job’s comforters,” indicating people who show up to criticize rather than to encourage. We are about to find out how that phrase originated.
How do we respond when one of our friends suffers a terrible loss? There are many ways of responding to a friend’s loss that are incredibly helpful; unfortunately, there are also many ways to be hurtful in such a situation. One useless sentiment is to tell those grieving to “call me if you need anything.” Deep grief may make it impossible for people to concentrate long enough to know their needs, let alone to have the energy to call someone. Sending in food has long been a tradition in many parts of America; however, there are also many other kinds of assistance that may be equally useful. Picking kids from school and making sure they get to their activities on time, mowing the lawn, doing routine car maintenance for a widow who has never had to handle such duties, doing grocery shopping, baby-sitting – the list of practical help is endless and may vary with a given situation.
One thing that is NOT helpful is to assume that the help you have given somehow qualifies you to start giving advice. Sometimes the best thing you can do with someone who has suffered a great loss is simply to sit with them, just as Job’s friends did in the beginning. But Job’s friends are about to overstep their boundaries, and their bad advice is going to complicate Job’s relationship with God.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be sensitive to friends and loved ones who suffer loss so that we will bless them and not hurt them. Comfort all those who mourn. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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