In our study of Job chapter two, we will look at how, when the devil cannot directly shake your faith, he will try the indirect attack by using others.
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Another day came when the sons of God came to serve ADONAI, and among them came the Adversary to serve ADONAI. ADONAI asked the Adversary, "Where are you coming from?" The Adversary answered ADONAI, "From roaming through the earth, wandering here and there."
Once again, we see that everything in all of creation is under the direct supervision and control of God. This is the second time that the angels and Satan have appeared before God and it begins in the same manner as the first. It reminds me of the old saying "speak when spoken to" and Satan speaks to God but only after he is asked a question.
ADONAI asked the Adversary, "Did you notice my servant Iyov, that there's no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil, and that he still holds on to his integrity, even though you provoked me against him to destroy him for no reason?"
The conversation continues as God points out that, once again, Satan was wrong in his assessment of Job. The devil had accused God of bribing Job to worship Him but, even as he lost all of his wealth and family, he still worshiped the Lord. We are reminded that Satan does not know everything as he clearly did not know what was in the heart of Job.
The Adversary answered ADONAI, "Skin for skin! A person will give up everything he has to save his life. But if you reach out your hand and touch his flesh and bone, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!" ADONAI said to the Adversary, "Here! He is in your hands, except that you are to spare his life."
Satan still refuses to accept the fact that Job worships God for who He is and not what He has given to the man. Now, the devil knows that Job has a strong faith but he does not know its depth. Satan's next scheme is to attack the man's health in the hope that he will abandon his faith. As we see again, the devil is really trying to insult God but it is not working and you can almost feel the anger rising in Satan.
Then the Adversary went out from the presence of ADONAI and struck Iyov down with horrible infected sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. He took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself and sat down in the pile of ashes.
The devil did not waste any time but went quickly and gave Job painful sores over his entire body. It must have itched or burned so bad that he used a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself in hopes of finding a little bit of relief. To be sure, Job was in a pretty bad place and he was mourning but, still, he did not curse God and, once again, Satan was disappointed. This is the last of the direct attacks of Satan on Job and his faith stood the test.
His wife asked him, "Why do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God, and die!" But he answered her, "You're talking like a low-class woman! Are we to receive the good at God's hands but reject the bad?" In all this Iyov did not say one sinful word.
Now, we see the first indirect attack on Job's faith and it comes from the one person that was closest to him. Even his wife did not believe that he had not sinned and brought this on himself. We see that she believed in God as she told her husband to curse Him and provoke Him into killing her man. She did not know that it was the work of the devil and she had no idea that she was being used as a tool to make her husband stumble in his faith. This reminds us that, when faced with these indirect attacks of the devil, we should not get angry with the people that he is using or hold a grudge against them because they may not even be aware of it. With his answer, he acknowledges that it is happening because it is the will of God but does not say that God is wrong for allowing it to happen. This reaction shows true humility as he accepts the things that were happening to him even though he does not know why God is allowing them to take place.
Now when Iyov's three friends heard of all the calamities that had overwhelmed him, they all came. Each came from his own home - Elifaz from Teiman, Bildad from Shuach and Tzofar from Na'amah. They had agreed to meet together in order to come and offer him sympathy and comfort.
Now, we are briefly introduced to three of Job's friends and it was not the same at that time as it is today. In our era of hundreds of friends connected by the internet, it seems that the term "friend" has been cheapened to the point where it doesn't mean much. It was not that way during Job's time and these friends must have cared deeply about what had happened to Job as they traveled a good ways to see him. Eliphaz would have been a grandson of Abraham from the line of Esau and we are reminded that, through that line, came the Amalekites. The Amalekites were a nation of people that hated God and His people as they opposed the Israelites on their march from Egypt to the Promised Land. Bildad was from the line of Shuah which was the youngest son of Abraham by Keturah. We are reminded that Abraham had married Keturah after the death of Sarah (see Genesis 25:1). Zophar was a grandson of Abraham's brother Nahor.
When they saw him from a distance, they couldn't even recognize him. They wept aloud, tore their coats and threw dust over their heads toward heaven. Then they sat down with him on the ground. For seven days and seven nights, no one spoke a word to him; because they saw how much he was suffering.
These friends arrived and were speechless at the sight of their friend and simply sat and mourned with him in silence for seven days. They would have last saw their friend living in wealth and health and now they were probably in shock at the appearance of the man before them. This all seems good but we must remember that the devil has not given up with his schemes of indirect attack. Even though he had failed with the use of Job's wife, he is going to turn up the heat through these three friends.
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