The Prologue: The Testing Of Job
Job 1-2

Scene I: The Land of Uz

Job 1:1-5

• Job is a very righteous man in the land of Uz. He feared God. (v. 1)
• The description of Job as "blameless" is not meant to imply that he was "sinless."
• Job had many possessions - he was the greatest of all men in the east. (v. 3)
• Keep in mind this inventory of Job's possessions for when we get to the end of the book, it will be very important to compare what Job ends up with, compared to what he started with.
• Notice that Job is both prosperous and pious. Remember that Jesus tells us that it easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet, here, we have an example of a rich man who is also counted as pious. What is the difference? Notice that Job is very concerned about worshiping the Lord, in good times and in bad. I believe that God wants us to be successful and happy, even rich, but not at the expense of letting our material possessions interfere with our worshiping of him. This is the exact thing that Satan will be touching upon later in this chapter.
• We should also note that Job's possessions were no insolation from suffering when pain came. Keep in mind Matthew 6:20-21, which talks about where Jesus tells us to store our treasures.
• In verse 4, the phrase "each one on his day" probably means on his birthday - this means that each of Job's sons had a great party on their birthday.
• Job offered sacrifices on behalf of his children "just in case" they had sinned against God, even unknowingly.
• The theme of "cursing God in one's heart" is a central theme in the book of Job. Job knows that the greatest spiritual stress can come when things are going well.
• Job's offering of sacrifices shows that Job is acting in the capacity of the "family priest," which was customary prior to God giving the Law to Moses, which established a national priesthood.

Scene II: Heaven - The Lord's Presence

Job 1:6-12

• There was a day when the angels assembled before God. Satan was present, too. (v. 6)
• Satan: "one who lies in wait," "adversary" (i.e., in a court of justice), "accuser," "slanderer."
• God asked Satan where he's been. Satan responds that he's been walking around on earth (see also 1 Peter 5:8). (v. 7)
• The Lord brags on Job. (v. 8)
• Satan complains that God has made life too easy for Job and that Job is simply thanking God because his life is so good. He speculates that if Job's earthly possessions were taken away from him, he would curse God. (v. 9-11)
• The Lord gives Satan authority to torture Job and see how Job reacts. (v. 12)
• Notice that it is God, not Satan, who initiates the challenge.
• Notice that Satan leaves quickly.
• Notice that even though Satan is a rebel, he must play within the rules that God creates. I.e., Satan must have permission from God in order to mess with Job.

Scene III: The Land of Uz - Calamity to Job's Property and Posterity

Job 1:13-22

• Remember that Job is unaware of the dialogue that took place between God and Satan. This is where we, as the readers, have an advantage over Job.
• Job receives much bad news, from all directions.
• The Sabeans took Job's oxen and donkeys. (v. 13-15)
• Fire consumed Job's (7,000) sheep (v. 16)
• The Chaldeans took Job's camels. (v. 17)
• One of Job's children's house collapsed, killing all of his children, who were eating there. (v. 18-19)
• This fourth calamity is especially upsetting. Job would have been looking foward to receiving comfort from his children and they are taken away from him.
• Job's immediate response to the calamity is to worship! This is an incredible example for us to follow in the face of bad news. (v. 20-21)
• Shaving of the head and tearing clothes were standard expressions of grief.
• Question: What do you think about the philosophy Job vocalizes in verse 21 - "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away" - do you agree?
• Throughout his calamity, Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (v. 22)
• C. S. Lewis: "Why should the righteous suffer? Why not? They're the only ones who can handle it!"
• Job's response shows that Satan was wrong - man can be righteous apart from material gain. Job passed the test. God was vindicated. (How would you have done?)
• When considering Job's suffering, remember the promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 - God will not allow us to [suffer | be tempted with] more than we can bear.

Scene IV: Heaven - The Lord's Presence Again

Job 2:1-6

• On another day, we have another council in heaven. Once again Satan is present. (v. 1)
• The Hebrew in verse 1 for "present himself before the Lord" is the same Hebrew that is used whenever talking about angels. Remember, Satan is an angel who rebelled.
• This is a good time to review what we've learned about Satan so far in Job: Satan is accountable to God, God knows what's on Satan's mind, Satan is behind evils that curse the earth, Satan is neither omnipresent nor omniscient - he is not on the same level as God, Satan can do nothing without Divine permission.
• The Lord asks Satan where he's been and Satan responds that he's been roaming about the earth. (v. 2)
• The Lord brags on Job again, pointing out that Job maintained his integrity even though Satan had taken so much away from him. (v. 3)
• Satan's response is that it's not such a hard thing to take away a person's possessions, but if you take away their health, they will surely curse God - Satan asks that God change the rules so that Satan might have a better chance of proving God wrong! (v. 4-5)
• Keep in mind that Satan lost the original challenge against God. Also remember that we are being given a viewpoint of Job and his suffering that God does not have. Perhaps there are things going on in our own lives that we don't have insight into?
• Notice that Satan's role is as an accuser. We should be careful to watch how we accuse others. We we see a wrong, it is good to confront the wrongdoer - in private.
• God gives Satan permission to mess with Job some more, this time allowing him to affect Job's health. The restriction is that Satan cannot kill Job. (v. 6)

Scene V: Uz - Calamity to Job's Person

Job 2:7-13

• Satan causes Job to suffer from painful sores. (v. 7)
• As we go through the rest of the book of Job, we will learn more specifics of the pains that Job is suffering. They include: inflamed, ulcerous sores (2:7); itching (2:8); degenerative changes in facial skin (2:7, 12); loss of appetite (3:24); depression (3:24-25); nightmares (7:14); worms in boils (7:5); hardened skin and running sores (7:5); difficulty in breathing (9:18); dark eyelids, failing vision (16:16); foul breath (19:17); rotting teeth (19:20); loss of weeight, anorexia (19:20; 33:21); continual pain (30:17); restlessness (30:27); peeling, blackened skin (30:30); fever (30:30); lasted at least for several months (7:3; 29:2).
• Verse seven is the final appearance for Satan in the book of Job.
• Job sits among the ashes and scraped himself with cut pottery. (v. 8)
• Job's wife comes to Job and suggests that Job curse God and die. (v. 9)
• Linguistic note: the Hebrew in "curse God" is literally "bless God," but is delivered with sarcasm. The translation makes Job's wife sound brutal, but that is probably not at all how it reads in the original. Instead, Job's wife is suggesting that Job seek death as an act of mercy.
• In all of this, the thought of suicide is not even entertained. Job views his life as a gift from God and that his life is God's to take away or not. So, while he may wish for death, Job will not even consider taking his own life.
• Job refuses his wife's suggestion, saying that suffering while having God in your life is better than having a comfortable life without God. (v. 10)
• Job's point in all of this: "We are not here to simply have a good time." Job sees that the purpose of life is found in persuing God, not our own pleasure. Job knows that even in difficult times - times that may seem unbearable, even - life is worth living!
• Job did not sin. God has been vindicated against Satan twice now!
• When Job's three friends heard about what happened to him, they decided to go visit him and comfort him. (v. 11)
• You thought that Job had it rough with all of the physical problems Satan inflicted upon him? Wait until you see what Satan has in store for Job in the form of religious counsolers. Job's spiritual welfare jeopardized more by the conversations he had with his misguided friends than by the tribulations Satan sent his way.
• Job's friends mourned for Job when they first saw him because they could see that he was in great pain. (v. 12)
• This is perhaps the only sensitive act that Job's friends engage in. To simply be with someone and offer your support, not talking, is a tough thing to do. Have you ever spent time helping someone go through a tough time, getting them settled down and restful, only to have someone call or drop by and stir up the situation again. Having "alone time" is a very important part of the healing process. While it's important to have some time to yourself, it's also important to not stay in that state indefinitely. Job's friends wait with Job until he's ready to move on.
• Job's friends approached Job as if it were a funeral: they wailed, they wept, they tore their robes, they threw dust over their heads. And then they sat with him for seven days, which is the amount of time required for a propper funeral.
• For a week, Job's friends just sat with him, without saying anything. This is perhaps the only truly good piece of comfort Job's friends offered him in all his trials. (v. 13)
• Job's friends: "Elephaz the Eloquent" (Bases his arguments on his own observations and human experience: "Job suffers because he has sinned."), "Bildad the Brutal" (Bases his arguments on human tradition: "Job is a hypocrite."), and "Zophar the Zealous" (Bases his arguments on assumptions of human merit versus orthodox dogma: "Job is a wicked man.").
• Job has a fourth friend who will join later. We'll talk about him when we get to Chapter 32. While Job's other friends are chastized by God, Elihu isn't. Perhaps Elihu is an intercessor mor than a judge? While we study the arguments that Job's friends make, it will be important to consider the possibility that Elihu may not be wrong, while the other three are.