Job 2
Heaven turns heat up on Job
Heaven’s council reconvenes
1One day the LORD's council of spirit beings met with him in heaven. The Accuser [1] came with them. 2The LORD asked the Accuser, “Where have you been?” The Accuser said, “Here and there, all over the earth.”3The LORD said, “By any chance did you come across Job? He’s faithful to me, and one of a kind. No one on earth is better at telling evil to get lost. You asked me to destroy everything he owned, and for no good reason. Still, it didn’t shake his integrity. This guy is solid.”
4The Accuser said, “But you didn’t let me hurt him. 5Hit him where it hurts most. Beat that bag of skin and bones. Then he'll look you in the face and teach you how to cuss.”
God gives go to woe
6The LORD told the Accuser, “Have it your way. Do what you want, but don't kill him.” 7So the Accuser left the meeting with the LORD. He peppered Job’s skin with oozing sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.8Job sat outside in a pile of ashes [2] and scratched himself with a broken piece of pottery. 9His wife came out to him and asked, “Why are you hanging on to whatever it is you see in God? End this. Cuss God out and let him put you out of your misery.”
10Job said, “Talk like that is why people call women foolish. Do you really think we should tell God to keep the happy times coming but to keep the painful days to himself?” Despite everything that happened, Job didn't say a bad thing about God.
Job’s friends and critics
11Three of Job's friends came to comfort him when they heard what had happened. The men were:12When they finally arrived and began approaching him, they didn't recognize him. They burst out crying and tore their robes as they stood there. Then they filled their hands with dust and threw it in the air to rain down on their heads and clothes.
13They sat with him in raw silence for a full week. Seven days and seven nights they didn't say a word. They could see he was in terrible pain.
Footnotes
The Hebrew word for “Accuser” is satan. But many scholars insist this guy isn’t “The Satan” remarkably enough because the writer always calls him “the satan,” as in “the prosecutor.” He shows up in the story as a member of God’s heavenly council of top spirit beings—angels who work for God and report to him.
People in ancient times often expressed deep grief by cutting off their hair, wearing torn clothes, and sprinkling themselves in a spray of dust or ashes. But sitting in a pile of ashes takes grief to new and creative heights.
Teman was a major city in Edom, in what is now the country of Jordan. Teman is named after Esau’s grandson. The writer may have intended readers to conclude that all three men lived near each other. But that’s uncertain.
Shuah’s location is unknown. But Shuah was the name of one of the six sons Abraham had with his concubine, a secondary wife, Keturah (Genesis 25:1; 1 Chronicles 1:31). Guesses place this town as far north as the Euphrates River on Turkey’s southern border, and as far south as Sheba, a town in Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. But maintaining friendship from hundreds of miles away was close to impossible in ancient times. So it looks like the writer thought of all four men as neighbors from nearby towns.
Naamah’s location is unknown.
Discussion Questions
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