King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, January 05, 2026
Chapters: Job 1-3
Message: Job: Satan Afflicts Job
Hello My Friend,
Before we learn about Abraham, and to show us that there were others who faithfully worshiped God, we take a pause from our reading of Genesis to look at the life of Job. As we begin the reading of Job we learn that Satan must get permission from God to afflict His people. We also learn that while we do not understand all suffering, we have hope of rest on the other side, [Job 3:17-19 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.]
The Book of Job is the eighteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and the oldest book, it contains forty-two chapters, and was written to all believers. The timeline is around the time of the Abrahamic Covenant, and the events recorded cover a period of about one year. The writer is unknown, but is likely Job and was written around 1520 BC. The purpose of the book is to explain the reasons behind the righteous suffering. What we are to learn from the book is that God has a purpose behind all suffering that we are faced with, and knows the way that we take, [But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. – Job 23:10]
Job was a descendant of Shem, he lived in the land of Uz, which is the same region connected to Abraham’s extended family. In those days, towns were often named after the patriarch who founded or led them, so this fits the biblical pattern. Job had great faith in God, feared Him, and obeyed him to the best of his knowledge, and this was during a time when there was no written word.
[Job 1:1-3 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.]
In other words, Job was very wealthy and was well known not only for his wealth but his faith in God as well. In fact, every night he would offer up sacrifices for his children, [Job 1:4-5 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.]
While Job enjoyed the harmony and comfort of his children, his understanding of the human heart made him deeply concerned for their spiritual well‑being. He sent for them and sanctified them, meaning urged them to examine themselves, confess their sins, and seek God’s forgiveness. And as one who trusted in God’s acceptance through sacrifices, he offered a burnt offering for each of them. In this, we see Job’s genuine care for their souls, his awareness of humanity’s sinful condition, and his complete dependence on God’s mercy through the means God had appointed. And for that reason he won the favor of God as He took notice, but someone else was watching Job, it was Satan.
[Job 1:6-9 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?]
People often wonder why the devil is allowed to go up to heaven, but heaven has three levels, this was not the third heaven in which God and the angels resided, it was likely the gate of the second level known as paradise, because Satan, who was an angel at one time, was cast out of when he attempted to overthrow God, [Isaiah 14:12-14 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.]
God, often uses Satan to send judgment on the wicked, but He also uses him to prove His people, not in the sense that He does not know their heart, but to prove to Satan that His faithful cannot be moved. Satan, was certain that if Job lost everything he had that he would curse God so comes out and says the only reason why Job is faithful to Him is because of his wealth.
[Job 1:10-12 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.]
You see, there really are quite a few people who are faithful to God as long as they are prosperous, but start taking things away and they will turn on Him, and this is what Satan is accusing Job of. God knew Job, and therefore, allowed Satan to test him by taking everything away from him, and he did not hesitate.
[Job 1:14-16 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.]
Do you see how Satan made it look like it came from God by sending fire down from the heavens? While God can definitely bring fire down from heaven, this is actually made to look like God was to blame. Satan, is like that with all of us, if he can get us to doubt God by thinking that something wicked came from Him, then he has done his job. And just in case taking away his substance did not do the trick, he took things further by taking away his children as well, all ten of them were killed in one night.
[Job 1:17-19 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.]
Now, I do not know about you, but if this were me I would literally be on my knees begging God for forgiveness. There is something about the faithful Christian whenever they go through what I call Job moments that gives the opposite affect of what the world and Satan expect, it draws them closer to God rather than further away. And this is exactly how Job reacted.
[Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.]
It is easy to blame God for bad things that happen to us, especially when we realize that He allows Satan to afflict us, and this is where a lot of people do walk away from God. However, true and faithful believers come to understand that we bring nothing into this world when we are born and certainly take nothing out of it when we die. These were all natural evils that Job was afflicted with, but Satan’s evil plot to take away everything that Job owned did not cause him to curse God. Satan, meets up with God a second time.
[Job 2:1-3 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. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.]
God, was referring to his using the natural forces of nature against him not to destroy him, rather his happiness for no reason. God, is the giver and taker of life, but Satan will always be the destroyer, but he can only destroy what God allows. God, did allow Satan to afflict Job’s health, but not kill him.
[Job 2:4-7,9-10 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.]
God allowed Satan to afflict his body this time, and he was not subtle about it, Job ended up covered in boils from head to toe, he was in so itchy and in so much pain that he used a piece of pottery from a broken pot to scratch them, and covered himself in ashes, We do not like affliction, but it is affliction that actually keeps us perfect and upright. And you can always tell who your true friends are when you are being afflicted without cause. If you think that Satan was done, he was not, if he could not get Job to curse God, he was going to put words in his friends heads.
[Job 2:11-13 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.]
We know that everything that we go through has a reason and purpose, but sometimes it is a little too hard to swallow and this is where the true test comes. Job’s wife was not heartless, she was in pain, grieving and mourning the loss of her children, and everything they possessed. From the sound of it, this was not her talking either, Satan was in her head. Job, reminded her that we cannot only trust God when things are good, we must trust Him at all times. We are not promised a life that has no more pain after we are saved, but we are promised that there will come a day when we will never be in pain ever again, [Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]
Job, just laid there for a week in silence, some of his friends sitting there with him in mourning for him. Did you ever watch someone deteriorate as they start to give up on life? Their appearance goes downhill rather quickly. I believe they thought that he was about to die, but at this point the best thing they did was keep quiet
[Job 3:1-4,7-8 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2 And Job spake, and said, 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. 8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.]
Job was a unique foreshadowing of Christ, whose deepest sufferings—both in Gethsemane and on the cross—were inward agonies intensified by the assaults of Satan in that hour of darkness. In a similar way, Job’s inward trials help explain the shift we see in his conduct: from quiet submission to God’s will in the beginning, to the impatience and anguish that emerge as his suffering continues. And now comes the self pity of wondering why he was even born.
[Job 3:11-13,17-19,25-26 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? 13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. 25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.]
Job did not understand what was happening to him, but he did know this: there is a far better place than the one he was suffering in—a place untouched by evil. And when we think about the little ones who never had the chance to be born or experience life here, it breaks our hearts. Yet we also remember that we do not know what God may have been sparing them from when He kept them safely with Himself, [2 Samuel 12:22-23 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.]
We can certainly understand affliction when we have done something wrong, as far as knowingly committing sin, but when we have been walking perfect and upright it is quite troubling, especially when one thing after another happens. And we have heard it all before, “Everything happens for a reason.”, but as we are sitting there trying to contemplate the reason that is not very comforting. While we may never understand why, the more important thing is not to ask God why, but to trust that God will use it for good, and always remember that His thoughts of us are precious, [Psalms 139:16-17 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!]
Today’s Prayer: God, Those of us who acknowledge that You are God, who are perfect and upright through our faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, know that everything is in Your hands. We are blessed with something much more than wealth upon our faith, we are given eternal life for our soul. Now, we know that Satan has no power over our soul, and can only afflict us with Your permission. Lord, Lead us and guide us, glorify us, fill us with Your power, mercy, and grace to endure every bit of evil that Satan afflicts us with. Let us not question why, rather trust that everything is under Your control, and that You will bless us through the suffering. Give us Your help to endure and when we are afraid, be our courage to keep going. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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