Sacred Suffering - a Study on the Book of JobSample

Though tragedy after tragedy befell Job, God’s servant did not bow to Satan. He trusted in God’s sovereignty and muttered words of worship: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21b) Satan took everything from Job, but Job remained faithful.

In today’s reading, we are again transported into the heavenly realm where Satan asks God if he can afflict Job in a different way. Satan asserts that if Job is struck physically, he will finally curse God. Again, God grants his request. Through Satan’s testing of Job, God will prove that He is worthy of worship in all circumstances.

Satan inflicted Job with terrible boils that covered Job from head to toe. Job could only find temporary relief by scraping his skin with a piece of pottery. Even his own wife encouraged him to “curse God and die.” But Job refused.

Job said to his wife, “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” (Job 2:10). Even in great suffering, Job did not sin. In the rest of the book of Job, we witness Job’s struggle to reconcile the goodness of God with his suffering. Yet Job 2:10 tells us that Satan lost the challenge. Job did not dishonor God.

Today, we may ask, “Where is Jesus in the middle of such pain?” Skin diseases like Job’s were seen as a sign of sure rebellion from God. Like a scarlet letter, the boils were a shame-evoking symbol of disobedience. Yet throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus not only conversing with those who have such diseases but also reaching out His hand to touch them (Matthew 8:3). Jesus drew near to the outcast. Likely, these people had not been touched by another person for months, if not years. But Jesus restored their worth by healing their bodies and their spirits.

Today, even at our lowest points, Jesus does not stiff-arm us away; He draws near. Though Job did not know the redemption God would bring through Jesus, Job knew God. Job clung to God’s faithfulness in the pain and unknown—faithfulness proven to us in Jesus.

Reflect and Respond question

Though we are not formally given an answer, why do you think God allowed Satan to test Job?