Job 2 Summary

Job 2 Summary of Verse 1

Heavenly Gathering 2 & Attendees

So we see a second heavenly gathering in the first ten verses of chapter 2. Verse 1 again describes the attendees – which are the same as they were in the first gathering in chapter 1…

KJV 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.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 2a

Heavenly Gathering 2 – God to Satan 1

God again asks Satan the same question he asked at the first gathering in verse 2…

Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan,

[From whence comest thou/Where have you come from]?

Job 2 Summary of Verse 2b

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Satan to God 1

Satan replies the same way he responded in the first gathering at the end of verse 2…

And Satan answered the LORD, and said,

From [going to and fro/roaming about] in the earth, and from walking [up and down/around] in it.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 3

Heavenly Gathering 2 – God to Satan 2

Then God again brings Job to Satan’s attention with a little more detail than he did in the first gathering in verse 3…

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/blameless/pure] and an upright man, one that feareth God, and [escheweth/turning away from] evil?

and still he holdeth fast his integrity, [although/so that] thou [movedst/incited] me against him, to [destroy/ruin] him without cause.

Note there that God just admitted to being moved against Job. The destruction Job experienced was – as God admits – from God’s hand – not ultimately Satan’s.

Job 2 Summary of Verses 4-5

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Satan to God 2

But Satan doesn’t buy that anyone would worship God just because he’s God. Satan certainly doesn’t – at least not voluntarily. So, he has another proposition that he thinks would cause Job to “bless” God in the cursing kind of way in verses 4 and 5…

Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said,

Skin for skin,
[yea/yes], all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now,
and [touch/strike] his bone and his flesh,

and he will [i.e., no doubt…] curse thee to thy face.

It’s one thing to have things outside of yourself taken away. It’s another to have your own body’s wellbeing taken from you. That’s Satan’s plan here for Job to BARAK God to his face.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 6

Heavenly Gathering 2 – God to Satan 3

God again has the last word in verse 6 and authorizes Satan’s plan to go forward. Even then, God sets the parameter that Job is not to be killed…

KJV Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan,

Behold, he is in [thine hand/your power]; [but/only] [save/spare/preserve] his life

Job 2 Summary of Verse 7a

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Result – Introduction

Now, in verse 7 we’re introduced to the results of this second heavenly gathering…

KJV Job 2:7 ¶ So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD,

Job 2 Summary of Verse 7b

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Result 1 – Boils

And from there, Satan gives Job painful open sores all over his body at the end of verse 7…

and [smote/afflicted] Job with [sore boils/a malignant ulcer/open sores] from the sole of his foot unto [his crown/the top of his head].

Job 2 Summary of Verse 8

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Result 2 – Job’s Reaction

So, Job reacts in verse 8 by probably taking up residence in the area’s garbage dump where there would be an abundance of broken pottery and burnt ashes…

Job 2:8 And he took him a [potsherd/shard of broken pottery] to scrape himself withal;

and he sat down among the ashes.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 9

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Result 3 – Wife to Job

Well, this is no way for Job’s wife to live. And so she plays an unwitting role in supporting Satan’s plans for Job in verse 9…

Job 2:9 ¶ Then said his wife unto him,

Dost thou still [retain/hold fast/hold firmly to] thine integrity?

curse God, and die.

Unbelievable – no doubt – for Job to hear this from his previously-godly wife. She – like Satan – wants Job to BARAK God in the bad way.

We take from this the realization that relatives and loved ones of those who are suffering can have just as hard a time – if not harder – than the sufferer himself. They – too – need support in trusting God even when they can’t understand what he’s doing or why.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 10a

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Result 3 – Job to Wife

Well, Job tries to help her see things right in verse 10…

Job 2:10 But he said unto her,

Thou speakest as one of the [foolish/godless] women speaketh.

What? shall we receive good at the hand of God,
and shall we not receive [evil/adversity]?

Not that Job’s wife was actually foolish – but that she was starting to speak like one who is foolish. Job again is commited to taking both good and bad from God.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 10b

Heavenly Gathering 2 – Conclusion

And the divine narrator once again concludes that Job did right thus far at the end of verse 10…

In all this did not Job sin [with his lips/by what he said].

He passed the test yet again.

Job 2 Summary of Verse 11a

Three Friends – Introduction

So, Job’s wife is no help to him. His children are all gone. We discover later in the book that his relatives have all abandoned him at this point. Who’s left to help him trust God through this trial?

Verse 11…

Job 2:11 ¶ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this [evil/adversity] that was come upon him, they came every one from his own [place/country];

Job 2 Summary of Verse 11b

Three Friends – Names & Locations

Here are their names and regions from which they’ve come – middle of verse 11…

Eliphaz the Temanite, and
Bildad the Shuhite, and
Zophar the Naamathite:

Job 2 Summary of Verse 11c

Three Friends – Purpose

Here’s their stated intent and purpose – end of verse 11…

for they had made an appointment together to come
to [mourn/sympathize] with him and
to [comfort/console] him.

Job 2 Summary of Verses 12-13

Three Friends – Initial Response

But it seems like maybe the friends weren’t quite expecting how bad Job’s condition was – based on their initial response in verses 12 and 13…

Job 2:12 [And when/When/But when] they [lifted up their eyes/gazed intently] [afar off/at a distance], and [knew/recognized] him not,

they [lifted up/raised] their voice, and wept;

and they [rent/tore] every one his [mantle/robe],

and [sprinkled/threw] dust [upon/over] their heads toward heaven.

Job 2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights,

[and/yet] none spake a word unto him:

for they saw that his [grief/pain] was very great.

The friends are shocked at Job’s situation. They grieve for their friend. They even sit with him in total silence for seven days because they see how great his pain was.

… But eventually someone has to open his mouth and say something. Ideally, the friends would open their mouths and encourage Job to trust God even when he doesn’t understand God’s ways in his life. But we’ll see that they’re incapable of that at this point.