Today's Meditation
Read Job 2:1-13
One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. 5But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. 9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” 10But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
Yesterday began readings from Job in the Daily Lectionary. Today's reading comes from the second chapter. If you don't know much about Job, it might be helpful to read the first chapter, but here's a quick synopsis.
Job was one of the wealthiest men in the area. He was also a man full of integrity, "blameless and upright" in the eyes of God. He had seven sons and three daughters. As is often the case for children of wealth and prosperity, they partied a lot. Job was concerned that their partying may have led them to sin (in whatever capacity you might imagine). So, Job, concerned for the welfare of his children, rose early in the morning and offered sacrifices to God on their behalf, "It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts."
All of the Heavenly Beings, as well as The Tempter came before the Lord. God was quite proud of Job's adoration and worship and wondered if Satan had witnessed Job's flawless character and devotion to the Lord. The Evil One, in my own paraphrase, said to God, "Yes, but you've protected him. You've blessed him with everything, how could he not love You?" God, again in paraphrase, says, "Then do whatever you want with him, but spare his life." What follows is difficult to image. Everything that Job holds dear is taken from him, his possessions and even all his children. Although Job mourns, he does not blame God for his calamity or charge God with cursing him.
In chapter 2, we find Satan in the presence of God once more. God says to Satan, "Job still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason." Satan returns answer by claiming that a person would break if their own health was compromised. So, again God gives The Evil One permission to do as he pleases, upon which sores developed over Job's entire body. Job scraped the sores from his body day and night and sat among the ashes of his destruction. His wife assaulted him with his blamelessness and even incited him to curse God. Job's (paraphrased) reply, "How can we receive only blessings and give thanks, but not also the bad things that come?"
We end the chapter with Job's best friends coming to comfort and support him. They sit with him among the ashes, mourning and crying with him for seven days, not uttering a word, just being present with him.
The story of Job is one of my favorites in the Bible. Although there is much to learn from Job, concentrate today on the response of Job's friends in the face of Job's great tragedy.
They came from a great distance to be with him. They sat with him. They mourned with him. They did not bother to share words, but simply let their presence with him be a comfort and a support. We often say stupid things in the face of tragedy, relying on cliches and soundbytes that mean nothing.
How can we be a more helpful support to those we love when they are facing difficulties?
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