Job Chapter 2
Job’s Health Is Destroyed
A. The second act of the heavenly scene
1. (Job 2:1–3) God boasts again over His servant Job
“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. 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. 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.”
a. Again there was a day when the sons of God came: This repeated scene reinforces the reality of a heavenly council. The phrase “sons of God” refers to angelic beings who present themselves before the LORD in an orderly, accountable manner. Satan is again included, not as an equal participant, but as one who must give account. This demonstrates that even fallen angels operate under divine sovereignty and cannot act independently of God’s permission. The text affirms that Satan’s access to God’s presence, though limited and regulated, was still permitted at this stage of redemptive history.
b. And the LORD said unto Satan: The dialogue recorded here was completely unknown to Job at the time of his suffering. If Job was indeed the human author of this book, then this conversation must have been revealed to him later by divine inspiration. This reminds the reader that much of what occurs in the spiritual realm is hidden from human awareness. God often works behind the scenes in ways that His servants do not immediately perceive, yet those unseen realities profoundly shape earthly events.
i. From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it: Satan’s response reflects restless activity and continual movement. He presents himself as actively surveying humanity, not as a faithful steward but as an accuser seeking opportunity to oppose God’s work. As Trapp noted, Satan’s answer carries a tone of arrogant self confidence, boasting in his roaming dominion. This is consistent with the New Testament description of Satan as one who walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, as written in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
c. And still he holdeth fast his integrity: The LORD deliberately emphasizes Job’s continued faithfulness. Despite the catastrophic loss of wealth, servants, and children, Job remains steadfast. The repetition of this divine commendation underscores the complete failure of Satan’s first assault. God’s statement is not merely observational, it is declarative, affirming that Job’s righteousness was genuine and not dependent upon material blessing.
i. He holdeth fast his integrity: The language indicates firmness and resolve. Job did not merely retain integrity in a passive sense, but actively clung to it. His faith had been tested and proven, not weakened. As Smick observed, the idea suggests a strengthened grip, indicating that suffering did not loosen Job’s devotion to God but rather confirmed it.
d. Although thou movedst me against him: This phrase reveals an important theological truth. Satan could not touch Job unless God allowed it. The LORD does not attribute moral evil to Himself, yet He acknowledges His sovereign permission over the trial. God did not directly send the Sabeans, the Chaldeans, the fire, or the wind, yet none of those calamities could occur outside His permissive will. This distinction preserves both God’s holiness and His absolute authority over all events.
e. To destroy him without cause: The statement clarifies that Job’s suffering was not the result of personal sin or hidden wickedness. Neither God nor Satan acted without intention, but Job himself had done nothing to deserve such calamity. This directly refutes the simplistic theology that suffering is always a direct consequence of personal wrongdoing. The book of Job decisively teaches that righteous people may suffer deeply for reasons beyond human understanding.
2. (Job 2:4–6) Satan’s reply
“And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life.”
a. Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life: Satan now shifts his accusation. He argues that Job’s faithfulness is self preserving rather than sincere. According to Satan, Job was willing to endure the loss of possessions and even children as long as his own body remained untouched. The phrase “skin for skin” was a bartering expression in the ancient world, suggesting the exchange of one life covering for another. Satan implies that Job merely traded the lives of others to protect himself.
i. In this accusation, Satan exposes his cynical view of humanity. He believes that self interest ultimately governs all human behavior. While Scripture records examples that give partial credibility to this claim, such as Abraham’s deception in Genesis 12:13, David’s feigned madness in 1 Samuel 21:13, and Peter’s denial of Christ in Luke 22:57, Satan wrongly assumes that no man can truly love God above self preservation.
ii. Trapp insightfully noted that Satan believed Job was willing to part with servants, livestock, and even children in order to save himself whole. This reveals Satan’s inability to comprehend genuine godliness or self sacrificial faith.
b. Touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face: Satan demands a more direct test. He insists that physical suffering will break Job’s resolve. Pain, illness, and bodily affliction are presented as the ultimate weapons against faith. Satan understands that physical agony can distort perception, weaken resolve, and tempt even the faithful toward despair.
i. As Lawson observed, pain has the capacity to overwhelm where loss alone may not. Many who endure tragedy with strength falter when relentless physical suffering is added. Satan’s strategy reveals his belief that faith cannot survive sustained bodily affliction.
ii. Morgan accurately summarized Satan’s perspective by stating that flesh is supreme in his estimation. Satan assumes that the physical realm ultimately governs the spiritual, a fatal miscalculation that underestimates the sustaining power of God’s grace.
c. Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life: God again grants permission, but with a clear and immovable boundary. Satan is allowed to afflict Job physically, but he is forbidden to take Job’s life. This demonstrates that Satan’s power is always limited, never absolute. Even in the midst of intense suffering, God remains fully sovereign, setting precise limits on the adversary’s actions.
This divine restriction reminds the reader that God’s purposes are never threatened by Satan’s activity. The LORD allows the testing of His servant, not to destroy him, but to further reveal the authenticity of his faith and to accomplish a greater redemptive purpose beyond Job’s immediate understanding.
B. Job suffers affliction and shows integrity
1. (Job 2:7–8) Job is smitten with painful and disgusting sores
“So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes.”
a. Smote Job with sore boils: This affliction was deliberately calculated to bring Job to utter despair and to force him into cursing God. The suffering now moves from the external to the intensely personal. Job’s possessions and children had been taken, but now his own body is directly assaulted. The language emphasizes both severity and totality. The boils were sore, meaning intensely painful, and they covered Job completely, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. There was no relief, no unaffected area, no escape from the torment. Satan’s goal was clear, to overwhelm Job through unrelenting physical misery.
i. This passage expands our understanding of Satan’s capabilities under divine permission. Earlier, Satan influenced human attackers and orchestrated natural disasters, as seen in Job 1:14, “And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword.” He also used fire and wind as instruments of destruction in Job 1:16–19. Now, Satan is permitted to afflict Job directly with disease. Scripture elsewhere confirms that Satan may bind people with physical infirmities, as Jesus said concerning the woman bent over for eighteen years in Luke 13:16, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”
ii. The precise medical diagnosis of Job’s condition is debated, yet Scripture provides enough internal evidence to portray a horrifying and debilitating illness. Andersen described it as an acute, spreading skin disease marked by infection, discoloration, peeling, and erupting sores. The cumulative testimony of Job’s own words later in the book confirms this picture.
iii. This affliction echoes the covenant curses described in Deuteronomy 28:27, “The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.” Though Job was a righteous man, his condition resembled the outward appearance of one under divine judgment. This explains why others assumed Job must have sinned grievously. From a human perspective, Job looked cursed, rejected, and abandoned by God, which added a powerful psychological burden to his physical suffering.
iv. When the descriptions scattered throughout the book of Job are taken together, they reveal the extraordinary scope of his suffering. Job endured intense, unrelenting pain, as he testified in Job 30:17, “My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.” His skin darkened and peeled away, according to Job 30:30, “My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.” His sores oozed and reopened continually, as described in Job 7:5, “My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.” He wasted away until bone clung to skin, as stated in Job 19:20, “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” He suffered fever, emotional anguish, sleeplessness, nightmares, offensive breath, labored breathing, dim vision, and profound depression. Even his appearance became so altered that his closest friends did not recognize him, as recorded later in Job 2:12. This misery endured for months, not days, as Job lamented in Job 7:3, “So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.”
b. He took him a potsherd to scrape himself: Job responded to his affliction in the simplest and most desperate way possible. A potsherd, a broken piece of pottery, was all he had to relieve the unbearable itching and to scrape away the oozing sores. This detail underscores Job’s complete fall from dignity and comfort. Once a man of wealth and honor, he now sits scraping his wounds like an outcast.
He then sat down among the ashes, a place of mourning, humiliation, and rejection. This likely refers to the city ash heap or refuse dump, where garbage and waste were burned. Such a location symbolized grief, uncleanness, and abandonment. Job’s position among the ashes visually expressed his inward anguish and social isolation.
i. Poole noted that the scraping served both to relieve itching and to remove the corrupt matter that intensified Job’s pain. There was no medical remedy, no soothing treatment, only crude and painful self care.
ii. Smick observed that, though ashes symbolized mourning, they may also have offered some physical advantage. Ashes could be relatively sterile, making the refuse heap one of the least dangerous places for open sores. Whether intentional or not, this detail again shows Job acting with quiet endurance and practical wisdom even in misery.
Despite the severity of his condition, Job does not curse God here. He does not renounce his faith or accuse God of wrongdoing. His suffering is extreme, his humiliation complete, yet his integrity remains intact.
2. (Job 2:9–10) Job holds his integrity before his wife
“Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”
a. Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die: These words represent one of the sharpest personal trials Job faced. Satan had failed to break Job through loss and disease, so now the temptation comes through the voice of his own wife. Her question carries contempt and disbelief, implying that integrity is useless in the face of such suffering. Her command to curse God and die echoes exactly what Satan had predicted Job would do, revealing that she unknowingly became a mouthpiece for the adversary’s strategy.
Yet some allowance must be made for her condition. She too had lost all ten of her children and the security of wealth and status. She was watching her husband suffer an apparently incurable disease, wasting away in public humiliation. Her words arise from despair rather than calculated malice, though they are nevertheless foolish and spiritually dangerous.
i. The Septuagint expands her speech, portraying a woman overwhelmed by grief, exhaustion, and hopelessness. She describes her wandering, her poverty, and the unbearable sight of Job’s suffering, concluding that death would be preferable to continued misery. While not inspired Scripture, this expansion reflects how ancient readers understood her emotional collapse and desperation.
ii. As Lawson observed, her statement may be interpreted as an attempt at mercy twisted by despair. She believed that if Job cursed God, God would strike him dead and thus release him from suffering. In her mind, death seemed kinder than prolonged agony. This does not excuse her counsel, but it does explain its emotional origin.
iii. Bradley rightly notes the theological implication of her advice. To curse God is to renounce Him as unworthy of trust and obedience. Her words imply that God has failed Job and therefore deserves rejection. This strikes at the very heart of covenant faithfulness.
iv. The phrase “dost thou still retain thine integrity” implies that she herself had abandoned hers. Satan’s objective was to shake Job’s faith, and while he failed completely with Job, he succeeded tragically with Job’s wife. This would have added deep emotional pain to Job’s suffering. The one human source from whom comfort might naturally come instead delivers a taunt and an invitation to despair. As Bradley observed, the rack is turned one final time, and the blow comes from the closest possible human relationship.
v. Smick correctly points out that Job’s wife did not know the divine limitation placed upon Satan. Seeing only relentless suffering, she concluded that there was no hope of recovery and advised what she believed to be the only escape.
b. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh: Job’s reply is firm, restrained, and wise. He does not call his wife a foolish woman, but says she is speaking like one. This distinction matters. Job rebukes her words without condemning her character. He recognizes that grief and despair have driven her to speak without spiritual discernment.
i. Andersen notes that Job does not accuse God of wrongdoing. Where his wife sees injustice, Job sees no moral failure in God’s actions. To Job, the problem is not God’s character, but human misunderstanding.
ii. Mason insightfully observes that Satan often seeks to sow division within marriage during times of trial. Here, strife is introduced where unity should exist. Her ridicule of Job’s faith and his rebuke of her words create emotional distance, compounding the suffering already present. This relational strain may have been among the heaviest burdens Job carried.
c. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?: Job’s response reveals profound theological maturity. He recognizes that all good received from God is undeserved grace. If blessings are accepted gladly, then adversity must also be accepted without accusation. Job does not deny the pain of suffering, but he refuses to interpret it as evidence of God’s injustice.
Job understands that God is sovereign over both prosperity and affliction. This truth is later affirmed elsewhere in Scripture, such as Lamentations 3:38, “Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?” Job’s statement does not attribute moral evil to God, but acknowledges His sovereign control over circumstances, including suffering.
i. Poole rightly asks whether finite creatures have the right to demand uninterrupted blessing from their Creator. Job’s life had been filled with long years of mercy and abundance. He understood that those blessings alone were sufficient to trust God even when suffering came.
d. In all this did not Job sin with his lips: This concluding statement is a remarkable divine commendation. Job did not sin in what he said to God or to his wife. His words remained measured, reverent, and faithful. He neither cursed God nor spoke wrongly about Him.
i. The phrase “in all this” is comprehensive. Up to this point in the narrative, Job had committed no verbal sin whatsoever. This is important theologically because it refutes the idea that Job’s suffering was caused by a so called negative confession. Some claim Job brought calamity upon himself through fear or careless speech, citing Job 1:5 or Job 3:25. However, this inspired assessment makes it clear that Job did not sin with his lips, decisively rejecting that theory.
Job stands as a model of integrity under unimaginable pressure. Though wounded in body, bereaved in heart, and isolated in relationship, he remained faithful in speech and belief.
3. (Job 2:11–13) The consolation of Job’s friends
“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”
a. Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place: This passage introduces Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. These men were not casual acquaintances but established companions who knew Job well enough to be deeply concerned when news of his calamity reached them. Each traveled from his own region, indicating effort, sacrifice, and intentionality. Their response contrasts sharply with the indifference often shown to sufferers, and it demonstrates that Job was a man who had built meaningful relationships long before his trial.
i. They had made an appointment together: This detail shows prior coordination and shared concern. As Andersen observed, these men were already acquainted and deliberately agreed that it would be better to come together rather than individually. Their unity of purpose reveals sincerity and seriousness. At this stage, there is no hint of accusation or suspicion, only solidarity and compassion.
b. To come to mourn with him, and to comfort him: Their intentions were honorable and godly. They did not come to interrogate Job, correct him, or instruct him, but to be present with him. To mourn with him meant to enter into his grief, to acknowledge the depth of his loss. To comfort him meant to bring relief, encouragement, and support. Their initial goal aligns with the biblical principle later expressed in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”
c. And knew him not: Job’s appearance had been so ravaged by disease, suffering, and neglect that his closest friends failed to recognize him at first glance. This detail underscores the extreme physical devastation Job endured. His boils, weight loss, disfigurement, and weakness had erased the outward signs of the strong, dignified man they once knew.
i. As Bradley noted, when they finally perceived that the unrecognizable figure before them was indeed Job, the shock and horror overwhelmed them. What they saw was not merely sickness but a living picture of ruin and sorrow, provoking spontaneous and uncontrollable grief.
d. They lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven: These were traditional expressions of deep mourning in the ancient Near East. Tearing one’s garment symbolized a broken heart and profound loss. Sprinkling dust upon the head was an outward confession of humiliation, mortality, and grief. By performing these acts, Job’s friends publicly identified with his suffering and declared that his pain was worthy of communal mourning.
e. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: This is one of the most moving displays of compassion in the entire book. Job’s friends did not rush to speak. They did not offer platitudes or explanations. They simply sat with him, sharing his posture of humiliation and grief. By sitting on the ground, they symbolically joined him in his affliction.
i. Seven days and seven nights was the customary period of mourning for the dead, as seen in Genesis 50:10, “And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.” It also appears in 1 Samuel 31:13, “And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.” This length of silence suggests that Job was viewed as a man who was as good as dead, not only physically ruined but socially and emotionally buried.
ii. Their silence was appropriate and wise. They recognized that words would be inadequate and possibly harmful in the face of such overwhelming grief. Their presence alone was the comfort. This silence stands in stark contrast to the long speeches that follow, reminding the reader that the friends were at their best when they said nothing.
iii. As Morgan rightly observed, although Job would later suffer deeply from their misguided counsel, their initial actions deserve recognition and respect. They came when others might have stayed away. They wept with Job rather than judging him from a distance. They endured discomfort, time, and emotional pain to remain with him.
They are to be admired because they came to Job in his suffering.
They are to be admired because they openly wept with him.
They are to be admired because they sat in silence with him for seven days.
They are to be admired because they intended good and persisted in their concern.
They are to be admired because they addressed Job directly rather than speaking about him behind his back.
iv. Clarke notes that they initially refrained from reproach because they believed Job’s suffering must have been severe punishment. Even with that assumption, they did not immediately accuse him, showing restraint and a degree of mercy.
v. Bradley’s imagery is fitting as the scene closes. There is silence, heaviness, and stillness, but beneath that calm is gathering tension. The storm has not yet broken. The silence of Job’s friends marks the end of comfort and the beginning of confrontation that will dominate the coming chapters.
