Page 29 - Job

There is a real suffering that comes with restlessness – tossing and turning
all night long, not being able to sleep. Verse 4 and 5 show that he suffered
all night. I do not know why it is, but it seems like suffering at night is
unusually keen, and it seems to hurt a lot more. Maybe it is because you
are not thinking about other things or there is nothing to interfere with
your thoughts. Expositors are not dead sure what this disease was that Job
had. There is all kind of conjecture. But so many graphic details are
given in the book, like verse 20 of chapter 19. It says that he was escaping
death by the skin of his teeth. He was constantly at death’s door all the
time. In chapter 30:17, it says that he never had a moment’s intermission
from pain. You know, sometime you say, the pain is gone now for ten
minutes, and I have a break. Job did not have a ten minute break; it was
relentless. It buffeted him all the time.
Chapter 30:30, said that on top of everything he also had a high fever
which, of course, weakens you. Then the Bible says that the effect of it
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

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