Job XXXI

 Although Job never referred to himself as being blameless and upright, God had, not just once but multiple times. If Job had done something to displease God, rather than fall on the ground and worship, he would have fallen on the ground and repented. Although the book of Job does not detail Job’s inner monologue, there was likely a momentary introspection of whether or not he’d done anything to displease God to such an extent as to have everything shattered and broken around him in one day.

Job knew God well enough to know that He chastens those He loves, not because He wants to see them flinch away in fear or cry out in pain, but to draw them back nearer to Him and remind them that He sees all and He knows all. Job knew that it was neither punishment, reproof, nor correction, so the one act left to him was to worship God.

For his part, the accuser of the brethren remained true to his nature, and rather than admit defeat and acknowledge that Job was a true and faithful man, he doubled down and insisted that the reason Job remained faithful was because his flesh was most important to him, and as long as he was left intact, he would continue to maintain his integrity. Satan’s underlying assumption was that even though he’d wreaked havoc in Job’s life, turning everything into ash and crumbling cinders, his love of self and sense of self-preservation were what kept him faithful and not steadfast love and sincerity of heart.

In reading his attempt to twist things to his advantage and interpret pure intent into being something other than what it was, it’s easy to conclude that Satan could have been the world’s first politician. There is no black and white, just an endless sea of gray. Every noble act has an ulterior motive, every act of worship has a vested interest, and even one such as Job, who was blameless and upright, had to be so for some reason other than a desire to know God.

Job 2:4-6, “So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.’”

If Satan had been right and a man would give all that he has for his life, then we would have no testimonies of martyrs to look back upon and see as heroes of the faith. All would have relented, bowed, and denied the name of Jesus to save their skin; all would have slinked away to lick their wounds and live out their days as those who had been found unworthy of His name. Because he is disloyal, a betrayer, and his nature is steeped in rebellion, Satan cannot fathom the thought that some men love God rather than their own lives, even unto death.

Satan had taken everything from Job but left him untouched as per God’s instruction. Now, upon his return before God, he’s got one more play: touching Job’s flesh. Even now, God sets boundaries, wherein Satan is allowed to touch his bone and flesh but commanded to spare his life.

Just as he had the previous time, Satan takes to this task with gusto, hoping to shake Job’s resolve and hoping that he does not possess the requisite perseverance to endure the next salvo. It is said there’s no worse feeling than outliving a child, and I tend to agree. Job had to bury all ten of his children on the same day, so whether attacking his flesh was worse than what he’d already been through is a matter of opinion, but it was Satan’s last play. There was nothing else he could point to as the reason for Job’s faithfulness, and he went after the one thing in Job’s life that was still intact.

If you’ve ever gone through a trial so severe as to cause you to fall on your face before God and cry out to Him because it was the only thing left to do, and once that trial passes, another comes along that you deem less ferocious than the last, it’s not because the devil’s giving you a breather, or he decided to be a bit nicer, it’s because there’s nothing worse in his bag of tricks that he can throw at you. He’s petty enough to keep trying, to try and cause you pain for pain’s sake, but if his second salvo is less brutal than his opening one, it’s because he tried his best during the first go round, and now he’s just hoping you’ve let down your guard.

Granted for those of the world their bodily health, their flesh is the most important thing of all, and since Satan cannot possess the mind of Christ, he cannot understand how some would lay down their lives for His name’s sake, but what Job had already gone through thus far makes what is to follow seem tame, at least from my perspective. Yes, all that he’d endured was emotional loss, having had his heart hollowed out and the works of his hands brought to ruin. It did occur within the span of a day, while bodily decay is a drawn-out, protracted experience. However, I’m still reticent to believe that having his bones and flesh attacked by Satan impacted him more profoundly than having heard that all of his progeny were no more and all that he’d labored for was gone in a breath.

Ultimately, I guess it matters which side of the coin you land on. Some people are more apt to endure physical pain than emotional, while others endure emotional pain with more aplomb than they would physical pain. Job had to contend with both and with such ferocity as to leave anyone not anchored in God and wholly devoted to Him reeling and despondent.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.