The book of Job

[christophernyc]

I believe that Job's trial was at least in part brought on by himself. He was self righteous, and made sure that people knew about it. He also lived in fear of losing what he had. He trusted himself rather than trusting the mercy and grace of God. He did not know God, by his own admission.

Does God accuse Job of self-righteousness? Can you share with us the verse that states that? In the Bible I read it says that God says the opposite about Job.

Job made sure people knew about his "self righteousness"? Job is trying to defend himself against his friends **false** accusations. That's the context. That's his motive. He's not just out there flagrantly bragging about his character to puff himself up.

Also, in the Bible you read, does it have verse 13:25 where Job declares "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him"? Some of your statements here appear as a contradiction to what is written in the text.

Maybe review the book again?

 

[ZNP]

Does God accuse Job of self-righteousness? Can you share with us the verse that states that? In the Bible I read it says that God says the opposite about Job.

Job made sure people knew about his "self righteousness"? Job is trying to defend himself against his friends **false** accusations. That's the context. That's his motive. He's not just out there flagrantly bragging about his character to puff himself up.

Also, in the Bible you read, does it have verse 13:25 where Job declares "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him"? Some of your statements here appear as a contradiction to what is written in the text.

Maybe review the book again?

The verses that I shared from Luke Jesus does not accuse that Pharisee of lying, nor does he say that anything he said was not true.

The accusation of self righteousness is when God asks him "do you have a voice like God and do you have an arm like God". Job's response is to say he will shut his mouth and not speak anymore. Job had been arguing that God was not righteous because of the things that were happening to him. Why? Why would it be OK for those things to happen to others but not to Job? Did Job ever claim God was unrighteous because other people got sick? Because other people had catastrophes happen to them? Because other people lost their business and family members?

Key Aspects of Job’s Complaint:

• Accusations of Injustice: Job argues that he is righteous, yet God treats him as an enemy and denies him a fair trial.
• Protest of Suffering: He believes his suffering is undeserved, calling it a violent, irrational attack by God.
• Doubt in Divine Fairness: Job questions if it is beneficial to be righteous if God crushes the innocent anyway.

 

[ZNP]

Key Aspects of Job’s Complaint:

• Accusations of Injustice: Job argues that he is righteous, yet God treats him as an enemy and denies him a fair trial.
• Protest of Suffering: He believes his suffering is undeserved, calling it a violent, irrational attack by God.
• Doubt in Divine Fairness: Job questions if it is beneficial to be righteous if God crushes the innocent anyway.

Consider this from God's point of view with the 20/20 view that what God wants is Jesus Christ, He is the prototype of what man can and should be.

Did Jesus get a fair trial? From man's point of view no, but from God's point of view Jesus got the exact same trial that the lamb of God during the Passover gets. In that trial you examine the lamb to see if it is without blemsh, in that case it is judged to be good to be sacrificed.

Is Jesus' suffering undeserved? From man's point of view yes. But from God's point of view all the sickness in this world is going to be healed by Jesus' stripes and by His wounds. This is how he is able to produce the cure to our sick condition.

Is it beneficial for Jesus to be righteous if it simply means He will go to the cross and be crushed? From God's point of view yes. Jesus even said that it was beneficial to us that He dies on the cross because if He does He will resurrect from the dead and only then can we get the Spirit poured out on us.

All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to purpose. In Acts Paul is in a ship heading to Rome that shipwrecks, they have to swim ashore and then he is bitten by a deadly viper. Is that suffering undeserved? How is this beneficial to Paul who has given his whole life to serve the Lord? Well it demonstrates to the entire community that he is a man of God which then causes him to be brought to people who are sick and to pray for them and that in turn leads to a complete reversal in his situation so that when he does go to Rome everyone in that ship owes their life to Paul.

 

[homwardbound]

You did not acknowledge whether there was a second test or not. If you do recognize that there was a second test you would also recognize that God did say that Job was perfect and upright after the second test, nor did God say Job retained his integrity.

Elihu condemned the three friends because they did not have an answer for Job's dilemma.
God condemned the three friends because they did not have an answer for Job's dilemma.

God said to the three friends that they did not say what was right as Job had done. You have to realized that Job did not say what was right until he confessed himself to be a sinner. That is when Job put on God's righteousness and was born again. Elihu states this in chapter 33 when he said job was heading for the pit.

Job 33:27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. (Remember when Job said, (I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.) (Job 42:5)

Job also said, Job 42:6 "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Cont.-

thank you, we are seeing on Father's view, all have sinned admit that to god and be saved by God and never think you are righteous, only Father God is. Even Jesus said only his Father is good om there different Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Like
Love it, thank you Father I need you, I trust you to lead
Thanks friend

 

[GWH]

The Bible says God cannot lie. If my words are truth and when I speak I speak things into being then it would be impossible for me to lie because the things I speak would be truth and would be spoken into reality.

In order to lie you must be disconnected from the creator so that what you speak does not come into being.

Yes, but the Bible also says God is omnipotent.
My question was intended to help you harmonize those teachings
rather than accidentally imply God is robotic or less free than humans.
My answer indicates the reason God is worthy of praise for choosing to be righteous: loving and truthful.
It also indicates the reason the covenant was necessary in order to provide humanity salvation for sins such as lying and hatred.

 

[ZNP]

Yes, but the Bible also says God is omnipotent.
My question was intended to help you harmonize those teachings
rather than accidentally imply God is robotic or less free than humans.
My answer indicates the reason God is worthy of praise for choosing to be righteous: loving and truthful.
It also indicates the reason the covenant was necessary in order to provide humanity salvation for sins such as lying and hatred.

God is not robotic, often truth is stranger than fiction. God can change His mind, He can repent, and He can give us seemingly contradictory prophesies that both are fulfilled. Omnipotent means God can add the wow factor to what He has said and do the seemingly impossible.

 

[christophernyc]

The verses that I shared from Luke Jesus does not accuse that Pharisee of lying, nor does he say that anything he said was not true.

The accusation of self righteousness is when God asks him "do you have a voice like God and do you have an arm like God". Job's response is to say he will shut his mouth and not speak anymore. Job had been arguing that God was not righteous because of the things that were happening to him. Why? Why would it be OK for those things to happen to others but not to Job? Did Job ever claim God was unrighteous because other people got sick? Because other people had catastrophes happen to them? Because other people lost their business and family members?

Key Aspects of Job’s Complaint:

• Accusations of Injustice: Job argues that he is righteous, yet God treats him as an enemy and denies him a fair trial.
• Protest of Suffering: He believes his suffering is undeserved, calling it a violent, irrational attack by God.
• Doubt in Divine Fairness: Job questions if it is beneficial to be righteous if God crushes the innocent anyway.

Again, it appears if we approach this story and make it first and foremost about ourselves and our situations, then we are doing ourselves a tremendous disservice. The interpretation that follows this myopia will also suffer, too, it seems.

Remember, the challenge posed by satan is that Job would curse God to His face if he were to suffer. In the end this **never** happens. Job maintains his faith through his trial. (By the way, this is largely what the book of James is about in the NT where Job is also referenced.)

The text is quite clear in chapter 2. God explicitly acknowledges the ordeals that befell Job were "without cause". So, yes, God allowed Job to suffer in ways he did not deserve. There is no getting around this blatant fact. It's quite clear that some refuse to accept the terms of the story and insist on inventing new ones and forcefully injecting them into the narrative.

Let me ask you: if someone is unwilling to accept that God let blameless Job suffer without cause, how is someone able to accept that God let His blameless Only Begotten Son suffer when He had not done anything wrong? Job was innocent, and yet he was punished. Jesus was innocent, and yet He was punished.

As for the parable in the Gospel of Luke, I see the parallel that is trying to be drawn there. However, the context is abundantly different. Again, the **reason** Job talks about his character and works are because his friends are raking him over the coals, accusing him of having sinned to incur his suffering. We already know from the beginning this is not true -- and Job is trying to reason with them to prove to them they are wrong. What happens? In the end, God shows up and affirms what Job has said is right and his friends are rebuked by God for being wrong.

The Pharisee in the parable is parading himself in the temple and looking down on others for no good reason. He is not suffering, nor is he being challenged by anyone in any way. If you want to make Job a Pharisee, that's up to you, but as someone else pointed out here **with Scripture verses to support it** Job is repeatedly turning **to** God, asking to be shown his sin, and begging God to forgive him. Um...that is not a Pharisee. Not even close.

 

[ZNP]

Again, it appears if we approach this story and make it first and foremost about ourselves and our situations, then we are doing ourselves a tremendous disservice. The interpretation that follows this myopia will also suffer, too, it seems.

Remember, the challenge posed by satan is that Job would curse God to His face if he were to suffer. In the end this **never** happens. Job maintains his faith through his trial. (By the way, this is largely what the book of James is about in the NT where Job is also referenced.)

The text is quite clear in chapter 2. God explicitly acknowledges the ordeals that befell Job were "without cause". So, yes, God allowed Job to suffer in ways he did not deserve. There is no getting around this blatant fact. It's quite clear that some refuse to accept the terms of the story and insist on inventing new ones and forcefully injecting them into the narrative.

Let me ask you: if someone is unwilling to accept that God let blameless Job suffer without cause, how is someone able to accept that God let His blameless Only Begotten Son suffer when He had not done anything wrong? Job was innocent, and yet he was punished. Jesus was innocent, and yet He was punished.

As for the parable in the Gospel of Luke, I see the parallel that is trying to be drawn there. However, the context is abundantly different. Again, the **reason** Job talks about his character and works are because his friends are raking him over the coals, accusing him of having sinned to incur his suffering. We already know from the beginning this is not true -- and Job is trying to reason with them to prove to them they are wrong. What happens? In the end, God shows up and affirms what Job has said is right and his friends are rebuked by God for being wrong.

The Pharisee in the parable is parading himself in the temple and looking down on others for no good reason. He is not suffering, nor is he being challenged by anyone in any way. If you want to make Job a Pharisee, that's up to you, but as someone else pointed out here **with Scripture verses to support it** Job is repeatedly turning **to** God, asking to be shown his sin, and begging God to forgive him. Um...that is not a Pharisee. Not even close.

This does not respond to anything I said and the question you ask is answered in my earlier post, so this conversation is now a waste of my time. Instead of ignoring what I have said if you want to have a real conversation you will read what I said and consider that before responding.

 

[christophernyc]

Consider this from God's point of view with the 20/20 view that what God wants is Jesus Christ, He is the prototype of what man can and should be.

Did Jesus get a fair trial? From man's point of view no, but from God's point of view Jesus got the exact same trial that the lamb of God during the Passover gets. In that trial you examine the lamb to see if it is without blemsh, in that case it is judged to be good to be sacrificed.

Is Jesus' suffering undeserved? From man's point of view yes. But from God's point of view all the sickness in this world is going to be healed by Jesus' stripes and by His wounds. This is how he is able to produce the cure to our sick condition.

Is it beneficial for Jesus to be righteous if it simply means He will go to the cross and be crushed? From God's point of view yes. Jesus even said that it was beneficial to us that He dies on the cross because if He does He will resurrect from the dead and only then can we get the Spirit poured out on us.

All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to purpose. In Acts Paul is in a ship heading to Rome that shipwrecks, they have to swim ashore and then he is bitten by a deadly viper. Is that suffering undeserved? How is this beneficial to Paul who has given his whole life to serve the Lord? Well it demonstrates to the entire community that he is a man of God which then causes him to be brought to people who are sick and to pray for them and that in turn leads to a complete reversal in his situation so that when he does go to Rome everyone in that ship owes their life to Paul.

I agree with so much of what you have laid out here in this post. Yes, in human terms, the suffering of Jesus, was unfair. It was "without cause". However, I would add that His suffering was obviously not without **purpose**. What the enemy does for evil, God uses for good. (See Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers who hated him, as just one example.)

What may be needed here is to not blur the lines. Was it unjust for Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery? Of course. But if you read Psalm 105 it says it was God sending Joseph ahead to spare Israel from future famine.

You already point out Jesus suffering was unjust, however, God clearly had a greater **purpose** in it.

For Job, his suffering was "without cause" as God says, and Job is blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. Still, Job suffered **as if** he had sinned. The question then is for what **purpose**?

One offering to this question is to look at the outcome. The challenge was Job would curse God to His face if he suffered. Job never does anything of the sort. In the end God affirms Job, restores him, and blesses him again. One purpose is that satan was proven wrong. He was utterly and completely wrong in his estimation about Job. But more than that, Job's faithfulness serves to prove that God's relationship with His creation is not transactional. Job's faithfulness proves this. Job was in relationship with God for the relationship, not because God gave him stuff.

That should be an encouragement to all believers and a witness to unbelievers about man's relationship with God. It seems God allowed Job to suffer his ordeal to prove just that, among other things.

 

[GWH]

I agree with so much of what you have laid out here in this post. Yes, in human terms, the suffering of Jesus, was unfair. It was "without cause". However, I would add that His suffering was obviously not without **purpose**. What the enemy does for evil, God uses for good. (See Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers who hated him, as just one example.)

What may be needed here is to not blur the lines. Was it unjust for Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery? Of course. But if you read Psalm 105 it says it was God sending Joseph ahead to spare Israel from future famine.

You already point out Jesus suffering was unjust, however, God clearly had a greater **purpose** in it.

For Job, his suffering was "without cause" as God says, and Job is blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. Still, Job suffered **as if** he had sinned. The question then is for what **purpose**?

One offering to this question is to look at the outcome. The challenge was Job would curse God to His face if he suffered. Job never does anything of the sort. In the end God affirms Job, restores him, and blesses him again. One purpose is that satan was proven wrong. He was utterly and completely wrong in his estimation about Job. But more than that, Job's faithfulness serves to prove that God's relationship with His creation is not transactional. Job's faithfulness proves this. Job was in relationship with God for the relationship, not because God gave him stuff.

That should be an encouragement to all believers and a witness to unbelievers about man's relationship with God. It seems God allowed Job to suffer his ordeal to prove just that, among other things.

I agree that the prosperity gospel is wrong,
but hoping for heaven is right per John 3:16, Rom. 8:22-25, etc.

 

[Gideon300]

Does God accuse Job of self-righteousness? Can you share with us the verse
Job made sure people knew about his "self righteousness"? Job is trying to defend himself against his friends **false** accusations. That's the context. That's his motive. He's not just out there flagrantly bragging about his character to puff himself up.

Also, in the Bible you read, does it have verse 13:25 where Job declares "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him"? Some of your statements here appear as a contradiction to what is written in the text.

Maybe review the book again?

You mean Job 13:15. Job states that he will argue his case to God personally, even at the risk of his own life. That's pretty bold! God did not answer any of Job's complaints. I'd summarise God's rebuke as, "Job, I'm God and you are not". Job's complaint was "without knowledge."

Job was commended for his patience in suffering (James 5:11). From the human perspective, Job was as good as it gets. However, Job's righteousness falls short of the glory of God. When Job heard God's response, Job said something like, "I'll just shut up now".

 

[reneweddaybyday]

The accusation of self righteousness is when God asks him "do you have a voice like God and do you have an arm like God". Job's response is to say he will shut his mouth and not speak anymore.

The reason Job said he would no longer speak was because God was no longer distancing Himself from Job. Job endured the attack from satan without the close relationship he had developed with God. God had turned His face from Job because satan had claimed the only reason Job reverenced God was because God had His hedge around Job and God had blessed Job (Job 1:10). Finally, in chapter 38, God spoke to Job ... He was no longer remote and distant. We do not know how long Job endured, all we know is that it was more than a few days ... was it weeks? ... months?

Earlier Job said:

Job 31:35-36

35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

Job, as well as Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, believed Job was being punished by God. That is why in vs 35, Job indicated he desired an answer from the Almighty, wishing that a book had been written that he could read and understand. We have the extremely blessed benefit of Scripture to read and meditate upon, and keep in our hearts and minds as we go through trials and afflictions. Job had only his close relationship with God and Job felt he had been abandoned.

The fact that Job was under attack from satan was not known to Job or the others. We understand because Scripture tells us (Job 1:12; 2:6-7) and very little was known about satan prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ ... He exposed satan and his workings. We have the advantage of knowing exactly what occurred in satan's attack on Job ... a testing in which God declared ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath (Job 42:7).

Job had been arguing that God was not righteous because of the things that were happening to him. Why? Why would it be OK for those things to happen to others but not to Job?

Job wanted to know what he (Job) had done ... what sin had he committed ... so that he could repent and have the relationship between himself and God restored. Job wanted to get right with God ... that was his only desire ... get right with God so he could have that close relationship back. But God had to stay distant ... God allowed satan free reign with one exception ... but save his life (Job 2:6).

Did Job ever claim God was unrighteous because other people got sick? Because other people had catastrophes happen to them? Because other people lost their business and family members?

In chapter 9, Job said:

Job 9:20-22 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

And again, we must understand that Job did not know he was under attack from satan ... none of what Job suffered was from God. satan's ministry is to steal, kill, destroy. God gives life, blessing, love ... exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20) ... that is what Job longed to have back in his life.

.

 

[tttallison]

yes ... salvation has always been by grace through faith ... from days of Adam to now and into the future.





agree ... the only way we can overcome and stand fast against the wiles of the devil is by remaining in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are lured from our abode in Him, we are unable in and of ourselves to withstand against the onslaught of our adversary.

God does not send us out into the world alone. He equips us, stands with us, leads us through the muck and mire of our present day. We are never left alone to face the adversary ... however, if we are drawn away from God and follow our own devices, we will fail. And when we turn to God after we realize we have stumbled, God is always there. He lifts us up, cleanses us, heals us. We learn to trust Him and follow Him.

In Job's day and time, Job looked forward to his coming Redeemer.

Job 19:25-27

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.





My understanding is that Job's friends believed that Job had sinned and he needed to repent. They believed Job was being punished by God for a sin Job had committed and for which Job needed to repent. Some folks in our day and time believe the same thing ... that once a person is born again, he or she will no longer have any problems and if a born again believer goes through hard times, that is due to God punishing them for something they have done ... a sin for which they need to confess.

However, that is not always the case. While it is true God will chasten His children and we are grieved when we are chastened, it is also true that satan walks about as a roaring lion seeking to devour and, in that case, the grievous times we go through have nothing to do with any sin committed ... that's just satan being satan.

In the case of Job, he had not sinned and neither Job nor his friends knew or understood that Job was under attack from satan.

I believe Job walked in close fellowship with God prior to the attack by satan. While under attack, God had removed His hedge from Job (Job 1:9-12). In other words, God had distanced Himself from Job and Job no longer felt the presence of God in his life and this was very troubling to Job. Job sought after God as he wanted that close relationship restored:

Job 23:3, 8-12

3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

...

8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Even though Job felt distanced from God, Job held fast to God's promises, esteeming His Word more precious than food. Job's faith was deeply rooted in God and His promises.

I do not believe Job was puffed up in self-righteousness. I believe Job examined himself and sought any reason for this distancing by God. Some comments from Job which show he was not puffed up. Job was a humble man ... a believer who esteemed his relationship with God as something he did not want to live without:

Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

Job 7:20-21 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be

Job 9:20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Job 9:32-34 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me

Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

Job 10:15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction

There are many, many more verses where Job asks God to show him where he had sinned so he could repent and have his fellowship with God restored.


There is so much more to Job than we allow. Here is what God says about Job in Ezekiel 14:

Ezekiel 14:13-14 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

Job 14:18-20 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

In our day and time we should carefully study the book of Job and learn that we are to endure every situation we find ourselves in this life ... in good times, seek God and bask in His presence in our lives ... in not good times, seek God and know that if we stand firm in faith, withstand the onslaught of the adversary, hold to the promises in God's Word, know that eventually the adversary will flee from us, and also know that when we are going through trying times, God is at work within us to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us (1 Peter 5:10). We may not realize all God is working in us because we are so focused on what is going on around us ... but God is faithful and we know that He works in us just as He tells us in 1 Peter 5:10.

.

I don't believe a person will ever get the book right unless they recognize that Job had two tests, and that while Job passed the first test with flying colors he failed the second test.

 

[reneweddaybyday]

I don't believe a person will ever get the book right unless they recognize that Job had two tests, and that while Job passed the first test with flying colors he failed the second test.

at the very least ... do you agree that Job was under attack by satan?

.

 

[tttallison]

Yes, I would agree that Job was under attack by Satan, but it was by permission of God.

 

[tttallison]

Satan's argument was that Job would not bless God. Job blessed God after the first test, but Job did not bless God after the second test. Also, God did not support Job's uprightness, nor his perfectness, nor his integrity after the second test. God's next words to Job are who is this that speaks without knowledge?

 

[tttallison]

THE TWO TESTS OF JOB​

Job had two tests. In the reading of the first and second chapters of Job we are caught up with the anguish and torment of Job, and in the process we are blinded to the actual results of the two tests.

The first thing that should come to your observation is the process of the presentation of these two tests. They are virtually word for word in the presentation between the first test and the second test. What would one obvious reason be for the two presentations being almost identical? One obvious reason would be that we might take note of that, which is different between the two tests.

PRSENTATION OF THE TWO TESTS​

First Test Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

Second Test Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them, to present himself before the Lord.

In the first test Satan appears to have been a casual observer, while in the second test you might assume Satan was commanded to be there.

First Test Job 1:7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Second Test Job 2:2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

First Test Job 1:8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Second Test Job 2:3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

The difference is the first test has already taken place, and Job has passed. Two other things should be noted here. 1. That God did the moving, or is responsible for Job’s tribulation. 2. That Satan’s cause was unjust, Job passed. It does not mention God’s cause for allowing the test.

continued--

 

[tttallison]

continued--

First Test Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hand, and his substance is increased in the land.

Second Test Job 2:4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

The difference is that the first test has taken place. The new test does not involve possessions, but Job himself.

First Test Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Second Test Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

The difference here is that Satan gives his new reason why Job will fail.

First Test Job 1:12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Second Test Job 2:6-7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; but save his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord,--.

God’s presentation of the two tests is unique in that every word that could be duplicated was, from one test compared to the other test. It is the results of the two tests that will be presented next, and the obvious differences stand out.

Continued--

 

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Continued--

RESULTS OF THE TWO TESTS

First Test Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Second Test Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. (Notice that Job does not bless God. This was what Satan had said, that Job would "not bless" [lo-barak] God to his face.)


After the second test Job sat down and said nothing. The worshipping and blessing of God is missing. When Job finally said something it was in reply to his wife’s question, in which Job replied with a question, “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

We no longer hear God praising Job, saying Job is perfect and upright and retaining his integrity.

First Test Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job is exonerated.)

Second Test Job 2:10 ---In all this did not Job sin with his lips. (In this second test Job has not sinned with his lips, but what about his heart. Remember when Job was speaking of his sons, and said, they may have cursed God in their hearts. What about Job's heart?

 

[reneweddaybyday]

Second Test Job 2:10 ---In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

In Job 1, satan was restricted from attacking Job's person. satan killed Job's children and utterly wasted all Job had. This occurred in one day.

In Job 2, satan was allowed physical access to Job, but was stayed from killing him.

The physical attack on Job went on for many days ... possibly months ... and did not end until chapter 38 when God spoke to Job.

Throughout his suffering, Job claimed he would trust God for God is his salvation (Job 13:15-16) ... Job looked to God in heaven and cried tears to Him (Job 16:19-20) ... Job looked to his Redeemer in hope, knowing he would see Him (Job 19:25-27).

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