Connect360: Life or Death?

• Lesson 3 in the Connect360 unit “Praise Him in the Storm: When Life Falls Apart” focuses on Job 2:1-10; 3:11, 20-26.

There is a technique in storytelling called repetition and variation. A story or event is told with a slight change or repeated modification in its presentation (e.g., Goldilocks and the Three Bears). Ancient biblical storytellers utilized this method (See 1 Samuel 3:1-14; 2 Kings 1:1-16; 2:1-8), and in Job 2:1-10, the narrator repeated with significant variations what was shared previously in 1:6-22.

The adversary again was present when the “sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord” (2:1). The conversation between Yahweh and the adversary in verses 2-3 was exactly the same as 1:6-8, with one significant difference. In this second encounter, Satan was charged with inciting God to destroy Job for no apparent reason. The verb incite is the same word used in 1 Chronicles 21:1 when Satan spurred David to take a census of Israel, knowing it would anger the Lord.

Yahweh persisted in praising his champion, stating Job won the first battle, and Job’s integrity was unblemished in spite of the adversary’s attack. Satan was not swayed by the Lord, and in fact was ready for a second chance to take on God’s example of piety.

The lies of Satan

The enemy attempted another lie against God’s highest created form: a man will do anything to save his own skin (verse 4). The implication was that Job would not feel the importance of this challenge until his own physical well-being was at stake. Like he has always done, the adversary was trying to change the rules in the middle of the contest so he could achieve a victory. Deceit and underhandedness are tools in the adversary’s toolbox, and he wields them effectively.

Satan asserts people selfishly cares more about their own skin than they do about their family, their possessions or their servants. In other words, Job’s love for God was only out of self-interest. Satan asserted Job would “curse you to your face” if the Lord would but allow Job’s body to actually feel pain (1:5). He essentially was telling God the first encounter wasn’t fair, because God allowed a hedge to remain around Job’s body. Satan intended to affect Job not only in the physical (“flesh”) but also his inner person (“bones”). The enemy sought to attack Job’s body, soul and mind.

Verse 6, while allowing difficulty for Job, offers a great truth for believers today. The enemy only has the power God has allowed and nothing more. As strong as spiritual attacks against us may be, they are not all-powerful. In stating “only spare his life,” the Sovereign King was showing the adversary that evil has its limits. The enemy cannot function independently of God’s authority. Killing Job would actually prove nothing and would benefit neither party.

Based on a lesson by Craig West, a hospice chaplain and bereavement coordinator. To learn more about GC2 Press and the Connect360 Bible study series, or to order materials, click here.