September 22, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Saturation Point

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Opening Prayer

Eternal Creator, you are president of the universe and executive director of this world’s affairs, I trust in You.

Read Job 2:1-13

[1] On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. [2] And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” [3] Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” [4] “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. [5] But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” [6] The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” [7] So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. [8] Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. [9] His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” [10] He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. [11] When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. [12] When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. [13] Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

Think about the trust involved in your relationship with God.

Sometimes I find watching the news to be overwhelming; trying to enter into the suffering of people in areas of war crimes, famine, weather disasters, homelessness, multiple bereavement and horrific physical injury is just too much to bear. These things happen, however, and often they happen to the innocent, so well personified by Job.

It is another day, and the divine council meeting begins much as usual. So far God has won the argument, but the satan is not satisfied. He takes it a step further, suggesting that Job has not yet really been tested! Boils were seen as a divine curse (Deut. 28:35). Not only was Job’s debilitating disease a physical torment; to anyone around it would also have symbolized God’s wrath. His symptoms could fit various diseases, possibly involving constant itching (he was scraping himself). On top of everything else, things were about as bad as they could get. Sitting in ashes was an expression of intense grief. Was his wife’s reaction a genuine desire to shorten her husband’s misery and end his pain? A silent woman behind the scenes, she too must have suffered terribly! It is important to remember that Job’s friends were real friends who earnestly wanted to help him. Their week of silence shows the depth of their sorrow and shock; it also mirrors rites usually reserved for the dead (Gen. 50:10).

When bad things get worse, is it possible to avoid sinning in the way we respond (10)? Many readers will know from experience the agony of life-threatening illness in themselves or in someone they love. The Hebrew verb for “accept” (10) “describes an active, positive participation in what God decrees, not mere passive reception” (John E. Hartley). Is that not a challenge for us? It is helpful to remember that God remains in control, setting boundaries to what happens in our lives (6).

Apply

Are you able to sit with a suffering friend in silence, rather than voicing platitudes? Why or why not?

Closing prayer

Lord, I admit to being a talker rather than a listener. I need the Holy Spirit to quiet my tongue and open my heart to others.

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