When suffering comes, the best and hardest thing is to believe that God is good.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is February 3, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called Rock Bottom. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Our readings for today are Genesis 35–36, Mark 6, and Job 2.
Please open your Bibles to Job 2.
One of my favorite biographies is called Cinderella Man, by Jeremy Schaap. The book is about a boxer named James Braddock who was a kind of middling boxer who, like many others, was devastated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which was the beginning of the Great Depression. Like a lot of people, James Braddock lost his savings, his home, and his livelihood. On top of that, he suffered a broken hand in a boxing match that left him unable to box for a living. So, suddenly injured, suddenly poor, and suddenly without a job, James Braddock was a man who seemed to have hit rock bottom.
In our Scripture for Students today, we’re going to see how Job hit a bottom that was rockier that we would have thought possible.
Please follow along with me as I read Job 2:1–10,
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”
4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.
5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”
6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
This is incredibly sad and incredibly fascinating. Let’s step back from the tragedy of the death and devastation in Job’s family for a moment and think about what else we learn here. We’re given a glimpse into heaven and the first several verses of this chapter are almost identical to chapter 1, verses 6–8.
We’re not told anything about how the narrator came to have this information, but somehow he has been made aware that the sons of God—presumably referring to angels and demons—had to show up for a kind of role call. And it is almost like God sets things up, almost like he is picking a fight with Satan. He says to him, look at my servant Job. Have you considered him, that he is blameless and upright? And Satan takes the bait and plunges in. More on that in a moment.
Where we pick up the story, this is actually round 2. If you’ve been following along with the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan, hopefully you read Job 1 yesterday and you saw that there, almost the same thing happened. Satan objected to God’s pleasure in Job by complaining, “Sure he trusts you—you protect him.” If he experiences real loss, he won’t be quite so godly. And God lets Satan have at Job and in a single day, Job loses his oxen, his sheep, his camels—and worst of all—his seven sons and his three daughters.
Job is understandably deeply grieved and saddened by this tragedy but he continues to trust God. Look at 1:21–22.
21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
So now, when Satan appears before God again, God shows off Job’s faith. And Satan isn’t impressed. He basically says, “Let me take away his health and we’ll see if he is still quite so virtuous.” God allows it, Satan does it, and in this chapter, verses 7 and 8, Satan afflicts Job with some kind of “loathsome sores.”
As readers of the story, we should feel the rising tension here. Is Satan right? Will Job crack under the weight of so much loss and suffering? But before we get the answer, there is an added twist. In verse 9, Job’s wife has had enough. She asks Job, why do you continue to trust the God who treats you like this? Just curse him and die.
Job’s response, just like in chapter 1, is incredibly important for us to learn from. Look at Job 2:10,
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job’s reply is a simple but profound expression of faith. He is willing to say, “I believe that God is in control, that God is wise, and that God is good.” And so he recognizes that God may send both good and evil into our lives, but in either case, he is still good and he still has good plans and purposes for us, even if we don’t recognize what they are.
The book of Job is a gift to us because it teaches us how to suffer with faith towards God. If you are listening to this, you are probably young and perhaps you have not suffered much in your life. A theologian named D. A. Carson once wrote, “All you have to do is live long enough and you will suffer.”
We live in a world that is broken and stained by sin, so suffering is inevitable. The book of Job helps us know what to do when it comes. Job’s example of faith prepares us to not lose heart, to not grumble or complain, and to not doubt whether God is for us. Job’s example teaches us to trust that God is working in all things for our good.
The boxer James Braddock eventually enjoyed a comeback and—I don’t want to spoil the book for you—but let’s say things turned out quite well for him. And we’ll read later, we’ll read that Job enjoyed a reversal in his sufferings and eventually experienced great blessing again. That won’t necessarily be the end of the story for everyone, but Job’s story can still help us: even if you aren’t suffering right now, remember Job’s example. Tuck it away so that when suffering comes, you can follow his example and trust God like he did.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!