Page 28 - Reading Job to Know God

was to dry up his skin and turn it black. From these and other descriptions,
Bible scholars are almost unanimous in saying that Job had what was
called “black leprosy”. You know what the Bible teaches about leprosy?
You know what leprosy is? How it eats your body away? You have
probably read books about elephantitis. It is that disease where the limbs
swell up. Black leprosy is a combination of elephantitis and leprosy
together. His body was constantly swelling and oozing and filled with
boils, and he was being eaten away at the same time. And so he lost his
health.

He not only lost his possessions, his paycheck, his children, and his
health, but he lost the spiritual support of his life partner. Look at chapter
2, verse 9, Then his wife said to him;

“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
This woman did what Satan accused Job of doing. Satan told God that if
He removed his blessings, Job would curse Him and die. Well, Satan was
describing his wife’s religion, but not Job’s. Job did not do it, but his wife
did. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose Lillian’s (Ed’s wife)
spiritual support. That would be harder than anything I could face. I thank
the Lord so much that God has given me a life companion who is agreed
on the things of God, and we see eye to eye in the ways of the Lord. I just
cannot imagine the suffering that would be caused in my life if I would
lose the support of my life’s companion. That is exactly Job’s fate, and I
am sure this is one of the severest of all of his trials. When those that are
closest to you cave in around you, it is a very, very hard suffering. Turn,
please, to chapter 19, beginning at verse 13. In your mind, just look at the
people that departed from him in this section of verse:
“He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are
completely estranged from me. My relatives have failed, and my
intimate friends have forgotten me. Those who live in my house and my
maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. I call to
my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with my
mouth. My breath is offensive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my
own brothers. Even young children despise; I rise up and they speak
against me. All my associates abhor me, and those I love have turned
against me.
So he lost everything. His brothers, his acquaintances, his relatives, his
intimate friends, his maids, his servants, his wife, the young children in
the neighborhood and all of his former associates. Everybody went
against him. And, in addition to that, he suffered physical attacks.
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