The Integrity Job Held Fast Made Satan Ashamed and Disgraced and Flee in Panic
What was God doing when Job underwent these sufferings? God was searching, watching, and also waiting for the result. When God was searching and watching, how did he feel? Of course, his heart ached bitterly. Did God regret allowing satan to tempt Job because his heart ached? The answer is: No. Because he was sure that Job was perfect and upright and feared God and shunned evil, and he just gave satan a chance to confirm Job’s righteousness before him and also gave satan a chance to expose its evil and meanness, and even more gave Job an opportunity to testify his righteousness and his fearing God and shunning evil to the world, to satan, and to all God’s followers. Didn’t the ultimate result prove that God’s evaluation of Job was completely accurate? In fact, hadn’t Job overcome satan? Here is the most classical word of Job, which is the evidence of Job overcoming satan. He said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither.” This was Job’s attitude of obeying God. And then he said, “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” These words of Job proved that God searches hearts and minds and God can see man’s heart, and proved that God’s commendation was not wrong and that the man commended by God was a righteous one. The word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” was the testimony Job bore for God. It was this common word that made satan frightened and ashamed and disgraced and flee in panic, and even more caused satan to be at its wits’ end. It was also this word of Job that made satan feel the wonderfulness and power of Jehovah God’s deeds, also made satan see the transcendent charm of a man who had God’s way rule in his heart, and even more made satan see the powerful life force that a small man displayed for the sake of holding fast the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” In the first contest, satan was defeated like this. Although it “increased knowledge,” it did not intend to let Job go. Its malicious nature did not change because of this, and it intended to continue its attack against Job. Then it came to God again….
Next, let’s read the scriptures about Job undergoing the second temptation.
3. Satan Tempted Job the Second Time (suffering from sore boils all over)
1) God’s Word
(Job 2:3) And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? and still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.
(Job 2:6) And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life.
2) Satan’s Word
(Job 2:4-5) And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.
3) How Job Treated the Trial
(Job 2:9-10) Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die. But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. 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.
(Job 3:3) Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Job Treasured God’s Way More Than Anything Else
The scripture records the conversation between God and satan this way: And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3) In this conversation, God again asked satan the same question. This question shows us that Jehovah God made a positive evaluation of Job’s behavior and living out in the first trial, which was the same as he made before Job was tempted by satan. That is to say, before the temptation, Job was a perfect man in God’s eyes, so God guarded him and his family and also blessed him; he was a man worthy of God’s blessings in God’s eyes. After the temptation, Job did not sin with his lips because of the loss of his possessions and sons and daughters, but instead he still extolled the name of Jehovah. His actual behavior made God applaud him and give him a full mark. That was because in Job’s eyes, of all his possessions and his sons and daughters, none could cause him to forsake God for their sake. That is to say, God’s place in his heart could not be replaced by any of his possessions or his sons and daughters. In the course of Job undergoing the first temptation, God saw that he treasured God and the way of “fearing God and shunning evil” more than anything else; that trial just gave him an experience of receiving blessings from Jehovah God and again being deprived of all his possessions and his sons and daughters by Jehovah God.
To Job, it was a real experience to cleanse his heart, a baptism of life to enrich his human life, and even more a good feast to test his obedience and fear of God. That temptation reduced Job from a rich man to a penniless man, and it also made him undergo satan’s affliction upon man. He did not hate satan because of his pennilessness, but through satan’s abominable acts he saw satan’s ugliness and meanness and saw its hostility and rebellion against God. So he was even more stirred to forever hold fast the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” He took a vow: He would never forsake God and depart from God’s way because of any external factors such as possessions, sons or daughters, or relatives, nor would he be a slave to satan, to possessions, or to anyone; other than Jehovah God, no one could be his Lord and his God. This was Job’s heart’s voice. On the other side of the temptation, Job also gained something. That is, what he gained in the trial that came from God was quite rich.
In the past decades of his life, Job saw the deeds of Jehovah and received blessings from Jehovah God. These blessings made him feel very uneasy and also greatly indebted, because he thought he did not do anything for God and yet received such great blessings and enjoyed so much grace from God. So, he often prayed in his heart and hoped that he could repay God and also that he could have an opportunity to testify God’s deeds and God’s greatness and that God could test his obedience and even more purify his faith until his obedience and faith were approved by God. And the coming of the trial at that time, Job thought, was God’s answer to his prayers. He treasured such an opportunity very much. So he did not at all dare to take it lightly, because his greatest wish in his life could be realized. The coming of this opportunity meant that his obedience and fear of God could be tested and also purified, and even more meant that he could have the opportunity of receiving God’s commendation and thus he could come nearer to God. Job had such faith and pursuit, so that he could be more perfect and more clear about God’s will in this trial; at the same time he thanked God all the more for his blessings and grace, extolled God’s deeds in his heart all the more, and feared God, looked up to God, and thirsted for God’s loveliness, greatness, and holiness all the more. Although Job at that time was still a man who “feared God and shunned evil” in God’s eyes, as far as what he experienced and tasted was concerned, he already made a great progress and leap in his faith and knowledge: His faith increased, his obedience had its foothold, and his fear of God had a further progress. Although this trial renewed Job’s heart and life, he was not satisfied with it and did not thus slow his pace to go forward. He counted his gains in this trial and examined his deficiencies and defects. At the same time, he also prayed in silence and waited for the coming of the next trial, because he expected that his faith and obedience and his fear of God could be sublimated in another trial from God.
God searches man’s every act and move and man’s mind and thoughts. Job’s thoughts came up to the ears of Jehovah God and God listened to his prayer. Thus, another trial from God came to Job as he expected.
Job Truly Experienced God’s Care for Man in His Agony
After Jehovah God asked satan the question, satan was secretly delighted, because it knew that it would be allowed again to attack the perfect man in God’s eyes, and that was so rare a chance for it. It wanted to take the chance to crush Job’s faith completely and cause him to lose faith in God and thus no longer fear God or extol the name of Jehovah, so that it could have the chance to fool Job in its clutches anytime and anywhere. Although satan concealed its evil intention in a watertight way, it could not restrain its malicious nature. The fact could be seen in its answer to Jehovah God. The scripture records as follows: And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. (Job 2:4-5) Such words of satan make one have a substantive knowledge and impression of its maliciousness. After hearing satan’s fallacy, all those who love the truth and hate evil, I believe, will hate its meanness and shamelessness all the more and feel loathing and disgust at the fallacy and heresy released by it, and at the same time will offer a deep prayer and wish for Job, praying that the upright man can be perfect, wishing that he who fears God and shuns evil can forever overcome satan’s temptation and live in the light and in God’s guidance and blessings, and also wishing that Job’s righteous deeds can forever urge and encourage everyone who pursues the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” Although satan’s malicious intention in its remarks was obvious to all, God consented to its “request” very easily, but on one condition: he is in your hand; but save his life. (Job 2:6) Because this time satan demanded to put forth its hand on Job’s bone and flesh, God said “but save his life.” This word means that Job’s flesh was delivered to satan, but it must save his life and was not allowed to take away his life, and except for this, satan could treat Job in any way and by any means.
After receiving God’s permission, satan came to Job in a flurry. It stretched out its hands to hurt his skin and caused him to be covered with sore boils, and Job felt the pain on his skin. He extolled the wonderfulness and holiness of Jehovah God. Seeing that, satan was even more rampant. As it felt the delight of afflicting man, it stretched out its hands to scratch Job’s flesh and caused his sore boils to fester. Immediately, Job felt an extreme ache and agony in his fleshly body. So he could not help kneading the skin and flesh of his whole body with his hands, as if that could relieve the impact of the pain of his flesh on his heart. Aware that God was watching him beside him, he tried his best to become strong and then bent over and knelt down: You search man’s heart and observe man’s misery. Why are you mindful of man’s weakness? Blessed be the name of the LORD. Seeing that Job did not curse the name of Jehovah God though he ached unbearably, satan hurriedly stretched out its hands to hurt Job’s bones, even wishing to tear him to pieces. Instantly, Job felt the pain he had never felt, as if his skin and flesh were being torn from his bones, and as if his bones were being crushed bit by bit. The ache as if his heart were pierced by countless arrows made him feel worse than death…. And he was at the end of what he could bear…. He wanted to yell and wanted to tear at his skin and flesh to relieve his pain, but he restrained himself from yelling and did not tear at his skin and flesh, because he did not want satan to see his weakness. Then he bent over and knelt down again. But at that time, he did not feel the presence of Jehovah God. He knew that Jehovah God was often in front of him, behind him, and on his left or right, yet he never watched his painful look but hid his face and concealed himself when he was in pain, for the meaning of God’s creating man was not to let man suffer. At that time, Job shed tears; he fought back his physical pain, but could no longer restrain his thankfulness for God: Man cannot withstand a blow, and man is weak and feeble, immature and ignorant. Why should you show your care and pity in such a way? Although you smite me, you yourself suffer. How can man be worthy of your care and concern? Job’s prayer came up to God’s ears. God kept silent and just watched quietly…. Satan exhausted its means but did not achieve its ends, so it retreated silently. However, God’s trial for Job did not come to an end on that account, because God’s great power revealed in Job was not made public yet. So Job’s story did not end with the retreat of satan. More wonderful episodes continued to be shown as different characters appeared.
Job’s Another Manifestation of Fearing God and Shunning Evil Is Extolling God’s Name in Everything
When Job, though suffering all satan’s tortures, did not curse the name of Jehovah God, his wife first stood out and acted the visible satan to attack Job. The text is like this: Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die. (Job 2:9) This is the word that satan said by acting as a man, and it carried attack, accusation, seduction, temptation, and slander. Failing in attacking Job’s flesh, satan came to directly attack Job’s integrity, attempting to, through this, make Job give up his integrity and curse God and not live on. And through this word, it also attempted to lure Job: If he curses the name of Jehovah, he will not have to undergo all the sufferings and can be free from the physical pain. Facing his wife’s counsel, Job rebuked this way: You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? (Job 2:10) This word was the knowledge Job had had for a long time, and it was only that the realness of Job’s knowledge was proved then.
When his wife tried to persuade him: “Curse God, and die,” her meaning was: as your God has treated you this way, why don’t you curse him? Why are you still living? Your God treats you so unfairly, but you still keep saying, blessed be the name of the LORD. Why does he let you receive calamities since you extol his name? Curse God’s name now and follow him no more. Then your calamities will be gone. At that time, the testimony God wanted to see in Job was borne again. The testimony cannot be borne by ordinary people and cannot be found in any other story of the Bible. But before Job said those words, God had already seen it. God just wanted to use this opportunity to let Job prove to the world that God was right. Facing his wife’s counsel, Job not only did not give up his integrity or curse God, but on the contrary he said to his wife: shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Does the word carry weight or not? Here, there is only one fact that can prove the word is weighty. Its weight lies in that it is what God commended in his heart, is what God wanted, is the word God wanted to hear, and is the result that God expected to see. And it is also the quintessence of Job’s testimony. Job’s “being perfect and upright and fearing God and shunning evil” was proved here. Job’s preciousness lies in that when he was tempted and covered with sore boils, when he was most distressed, and when his wife and his relatives all tried to persuade him, he could still say such a word. That is, he thought in his heart that no matter what kind of temptations and what great tribulations and sufferings came to him, even if death came, he would not reject God or abandon the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” It can be seen that God’s place in his heart was most important and that God was his only One in his heart. Thus, we can see such evaluation of him in the scriptures: In all this did not Job sin with his lips. He not only did not sin with his lips, but also did not complain against God in his heart. He did not say anything to grieve God’s heart or do anything to offend God. He extolled God’s name not only with his mouth but also in his heart. His heart accorded with his mouth. This was the real Job God saw, and it was the very reason why God treasured Job.
Man’s Various Misunderstandings of Job
The sufferings Job underwent were not made by the angels sent by God or made by God with his own hand, but made personally by satan—God’s enemy, so it is evident how grievously Job suffered. But at that point, Job fully expressed his knowledge of God in his heart at ordinary times and his principles of doing things and his attitude toward God at ordinary times, which were true. If Job said the word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” before he encountered the temptation or before God tried him, you would say that Job was very hypocritical and that he certainly extolled Jehovah’s name as God bestowed so much property to him. If before the trials Job said the word “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”, you would say that Job liked to talk big, that he did not curse God’s name only because he often received blessings from God’s hand, and that he would surely curse God’s name if he received calamities from God. But when Job was in a situation which no one wanted to be in, or to see, or to encounter, which everyone was afraid to encounter, and which God could not even bear to see, Job could still hold fast his integrity: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Facing Job’s behavior at that time, those who like to talk in a high-sounding way and like to speak letters and doctrines all cover their mouths, those who extol God’s name on their lips but never accept trials from God are condemned by the integrity Job held fast, and those who never believe that “man can hold fast God’s ways” are judged because of Job’s testimony. Facing Job’s behavior in the trial and the words he said, some people feel perplexed, some feel jealous, some feel doubtful, and some even show an indifferent attitude and sneer at Job’s testimony, because they not only see the sufferings Job underwent in the trials and see the words he said, but even more see the human “weakness” manifested in him when he encountered the trials. This “weakness” is their so-called imperfectness in Job’s perfectness, and the “weakness” also becomes the flaw of “the perfect man in God’s eyes.” That is to say, because people all think that a perfect man is an ideal man, a man without flaws or stains, and such a man has no weaknesses or painful sense, no sad or sorrowful moods, and no hatred or outward extreme actions, most of them do not think that Job is a real perfect man. This is because many of his actions in the trials cannot be “approved” by people. For example, when Job lost his property and his sons and daughters, he did not wail bitterly on that account as people imagine. His “gaffe” makes people think that he was very cold-blooded, because he had no tears and no affections. This is the first “bad impression” Job gave people. The series of his actions that followed are even more incomprehensible to people: “Rent his mantle” is interpreted as irreverence to God, and “shaved his head” is mistaken as a blasphemy and contradiction against God. Except for Job’s word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD,” people have not found any righteousness in him that was commended by God. So, most people’s evaluation of Job remains within puzzlement, misunderstanding, doubt, condemnation, and doctrinal approval, and no one can truly understand or comprehend the word from the mouth of Jehovah God “Job is a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil.”
Based on the above impression of Job, people have a further doubt about Job’s righteousness, because Job’s doings and his behavior recorded in the scriptures are not so earth-shaking and soul-stirring as to move one to tears, as they imagine. Job not only did not have any “magnificent feat,” but instead he “took him a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes.” The scene shocks the world again and makes the world doubt Job’s righteousness and even take a denying attitude toward it, because Job, while scraping himself, did not pray to God or make promises to God, much less weep or wail. At this point, people see nothing but Job’s weakness, so even if they hear Job’s word “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”, they still remain completely unmoved or come to no agreement, and still cannot see Job’s righteousness from his word. The general impression Job gave people while undergoing the suffering of the trials is that he was neither humble nor haughty. People cannot see the story behind his actions that happened in his innermost being or see his fear of God in his heart and his principle of holding fast the way of “shunning evil.” His neither being humble nor haughty makes people think that his perfectness and uprightness are merely an empty talk and his fear of God is merely a legend, but the “weakness” he expressed outwardly gives people a deep impression and makes them have a “completely new view” or even a “new understanding” of the perfect and upright man as defined by God. When Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth, the “completely new view” and the “new understanding” I speak of were proved here.
Although the suffering Job underwent was beyond anyone’s imagination and realization, he did not say any word of “great disobedience” but only used his own way to relieve his physical pain. He said such a word as the text records: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. (Job 3:3) Perhaps no one has taken it as a very important word, or perhaps some people have paid heed to it. In your eyes, is there any sense of resisting God in this word? Is there any intention of complaining against God in it? I know many of you have critical views of this word Job said, thinking that since Job was perfect and upright, he should not have any manifestations of weakness and sadness, but instead he should “positively” face any attack from satan and even welcome satan’s temptations with smiles, and with any suffering satan brought to his flesh, he should have no response to it and should not express any of his inner feelings, and should even ask God to let these trials come more fiercely. Such are what a real upright and unyielding man who “fears God and shuns evil” should show and have. In great agony, Job only cursed the day of his birth but did not complain against God, much less have any intention of resisting God. This is much easier said than done, because from ancient times to the present no one else has undergone the same temptations as Job’s, and no one else has undergone the same experience as Job’s. Why is it that no one else has undergone the same temptations as Job’s? Because in God’s eyes no one else can undertake such a responsibility and such a commission and can do what Job could do, much less can anyone else be like Job who only cursed the day of his birth and did not curse God’s name but still extolled the name of Jehovah God when encountering such sufferings. Isn’t it that which no one else can do? Aren’t we praising Job’s conduct now when we talk about Job’s stories? With a righteous man, a man who could bear such testimony for God and who could cause satan to flee in panic and make no more accusations before God, can’t we praise him? Is your standard of requirement higher than God’s? Will you act better than Job when encountering trials? Even God has commended him, so what doubt do you have?
Job Cursed the Day of His Birth Because He Did Not Want God to Grieve for Him
I often say that God looks at a person’s heart, while men look at a person’s appearance, and that God knows a person’s substance through searching his heart, while men define a person’s substance through watching his appearance. When Job opened his mouth to curse the day of his birth, all spiritual men, including his three friends, were shocked by such conduct of his. Man is from God, and he ought to thank God for the life and flesh God bestows, including the day of his birth, and should not curse them. This is what ordinary people can understand and think. To any follower of God, this understanding is sacred and inviolable and is the truth that can never be changed. However, Job “broke the convention”—cursed the day of his birth. In ordinary people’s eyes, such conduct of his broke in the forbidden zone, which not only cannot be understood or pitied by people, but also cannot be forgiven by God. At the same time, more people cast doubt on Job’s “righteousness,” because Job seemed to “indulge himself” due to God’s favor to him, so that he even dared to act so recklessly, not only not thanking God at that time for his blessings and care in all his life, but instead cursing that the day he was born should perish. What is this if it is not resistance against God? These outward phenomena give people the proof to condemn this conduct of Job. But who could know what Job’s real thought was at that moment? And who could know for what reason Job did so? Only God knew its inside truth and cause, and only Job himself knew them.
When satan put forth its hand on Job’s bones, Job was caught in the devil’s clutches, unable to get free and powerless to resist it. His body and soul were bearing tremendous agony, and this “agony” made him deeply feel that man who lived in the flesh was small, powerless, and frail. And he also deeply comprehended and understood God’s heart of why he cared for and watched over mankind. In the devil’s clutches, he tasted that a mortal man was actually so helpless and weak at that time. When he bent over and knelt down to pray to God, he seemed to feel that God hid his face and concealed himself, because God delivered him into satan’s hand completely and at the same time God shed tears for him and even more grieved for him, grieved for his agony and sorrowful for his misery…. Job felt God’s grief and also felt that God could not bear to…. He did not want God to grieve for him or shed tears for him anymore, much less did he want to see God suffer for him. Job at that time only wanted to struggle free from the mortal flesh and not to endure the pain from the flesh anymore, because God would thereby no longer suffer for his pain. However, he could not make it. He had to endure not only the physical pain, but even more the suffering from “not wanting God to be worried.” The double pain, one from his flesh and the other from his heart, made Job bear a heart-rending and heart-breaking suffering and feel that the limit of a mortal man’s capacity made him so resigned and helpless. In this state, his thirst for God became much stronger and his hatred of satan also became more intense. At that time Job wished that he would not have been born to this world and would not have existed rather than saw God shed tears for him and suffer for him. He began to abhor his flesh and loathe himself and the day he was born, and he even loathed everything that had to do with him. He hated to mention the day of his birth and everything related to his birth again, so he opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine on it. (Job 3:3-4) In Job’s words there was contained his hatred of himself: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. And there was also contained his self-reproach and indebtedness to God for God’s suffering for him: Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine on it. These two passages perfectly expressed Job’s mind at that time and fully showed Job’s perfectness and uprightness to everyone, and at the same time, Job’s faith and obedience and his fear of God were truly sublimated at that time, as he expected. Of course, this “sublimation” was just the result God expected to achieve.
Job Overcame Satan and Became a Real Man in God’s Eyes
When Job was first tried, he was deprived of all his property and his sons and daughters, yet he did not fall or say a word that offended God because of this. He overcame satan’s temptation, overcame property and children, and overcame the trial of losing all his worldly possessions; that is, he could submit to God’s deprivation upon him and offered thanks and praises for that. This is Job’s manifestation in the first round of satan’s temptation and also the testimony he bore in the first trial of God. In the second trial, satan put forth its hand to afflict Job himself. Although he tasted the pain he had never tasted, his testimony was heart-shaking. By his firmness, faith, and obedience to God, and his fear of God, he defeated satan once again, and his manifestation and his testimony were once again approved and accepted by God. In this temptation, Job declared to satan by his actual manifestation: The physical pain could not change his faith and obedience of God, nor could it take away his heart that was attached to and feared God. He would not curse God or abandon his perfectness and uprightness because he was faced with death. Job’s fortitude rendered satan timid, his faith rendered satan fearful and panic-stricken, and his mettle of fighting against satan to death rendered satan bitterly resentful. Job’s perfectness and uprightness left satan no way to attack him again, and thenceforth it gave up its attack against Job and gave up its accusation against Job before Jehovah God. This means that Job overcame the world, the flesh, satan, and death and that he was one who completely belonged to God. Job stood testimony in the two trials, and thus his perfectness and uprightness were lived out practically and the scope of his living principle of fearing God and shunning evil was extended. After Job experienced the two trials, he had a richer experience in his life, and this “experience” made him more mature and experienced, made him stronger and have more faith, and made him believe more firmly the correctness and value of the integrity he held fast. Jehovah God’s trials to him made him deeply realize and feel God’s care for man and also made him feel the preciousness of God’s love. From then on, in his fear of God there were contained his care and love for God. Jehovah God’s trials not only did not keep Job far distant from God, but instead it drew Job’s heart closer to God. When the physical pain Job bore reached the peak, the care Job felt from Jehovah God made him curse the day of his birth spontaneously. This behavior was not planned by him beforehand, but was a natural expression of his care and love for God from the bottom of his heart. This “natural expression” of his was from his care and love for God. That is to say, because he hated himself and because he did not have the heart and could not bear to let God suffer, his care and love for God reached the extent of forgetting himself. Job at that time had his years of adoration, longing, and attachment for God sublimated into care and love, and also had his faith and obedience and fear of God sublimated into care and love. He did not allow himself to do anything that hurt God, did not allow himself to have any behavior that grieved God, and did not allow any sadness or grief or displeasure to be brought to God because of him. In God’s eyes, Job was still the former Job, but his faith and obedience and fear of God gave God full satisfaction and enjoyment. By that time, Job had reached the perfectness which God expected him to reach, and he had become a real “perfect and upright” man in God’s eyes. His righteous deeds made him overcome satan, made him stand testimony for God, made him perfect, made the value of his life sublimated and transcendent, and also made him the first man who would no longer be attacked or tempted by satan. Because of his righteousness, he was accused by satan; because of his righteousness, he was tempted by satan; because of his righteousness, he was delivered into satan’s hand; because of his righteousness, he overcame satan, defeated satan, and stood testimony. From then on, Job became the first one who would not be delivered to satan again, and he truly came before God’s throne, lived in the light, and lived in God’s blessing of being free from satan’s spying and affliction…. He became a real man in God’s eyes, and he got free….
What was God doing when Job underwent these sufferings? God was searching, watching, and also waiting for the result. When God was searching and watching, how did he feel? Of course, his heart ached bitterly. Did God regret allowing satan to tempt Job because his heart ached? The answer is: No. Because he was sure that Job was perfect and upright and feared God and shunned evil, and he just gave satan a chance to confirm Job’s righteousness before him and also gave satan a chance to expose its evil and meanness, and even more gave Job an opportunity to testify his righteousness and his fearing God and shunning evil to the world, to satan, and to all God’s followers. Didn’t the ultimate result prove that God’s evaluation of Job was completely accurate? In fact, hadn’t Job overcome satan? Here is the most classical word of Job, which is the evidence of Job overcoming satan. He said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither.” This was Job’s attitude of obeying God. And then he said, “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” These words of Job proved that God searches hearts and minds and God can see man’s heart, and proved that God’s commendation was not wrong and that the man commended by God was a righteous one. The word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” was the testimony Job bore for God. It was this common word that made satan frightened and ashamed and disgraced and flee in panic, and even more caused satan to be at its wits’ end. It was also this word of Job that made satan feel the wonderfulness and power of Jehovah God’s deeds, also made satan see the transcendent charm of a man who had God’s way rule in his heart, and even more made satan see the powerful life force that a small man displayed for the sake of holding fast the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” In the first contest, satan was defeated like this. Although it “increased knowledge,” it did not intend to let Job go. Its malicious nature did not change because of this, and it intended to continue its attack against Job. Then it came to God again….
Next, let’s read the scriptures about Job undergoing the second temptation.
3. Satan Tempted Job the Second Time (suffering from sore boils all over)
1) God’s Word
(Job 2:3) And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? and still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.
(Job 2:6) And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life.
2) Satan’s Word
(Job 2:4-5) And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.
3) How Job Treated the Trial
(Job 2:9-10) Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die. But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. 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.
(Job 3:3) Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Job Treasured God’s Way More Than Anything Else
The scripture records the conversation between God and satan this way: And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3) In this conversation, God again asked satan the same question. This question shows us that Jehovah God made a positive evaluation of Job’s behavior and living out in the first trial, which was the same as he made before Job was tempted by satan. That is to say, before the temptation, Job was a perfect man in God’s eyes, so God guarded him and his family and also blessed him; he was a man worthy of God’s blessings in God’s eyes. After the temptation, Job did not sin with his lips because of the loss of his possessions and sons and daughters, but instead he still extolled the name of Jehovah. His actual behavior made God applaud him and give him a full mark. That was because in Job’s eyes, of all his possessions and his sons and daughters, none could cause him to forsake God for their sake. That is to say, God’s place in his heart could not be replaced by any of his possessions or his sons and daughters. In the course of Job undergoing the first temptation, God saw that he treasured God and the way of “fearing God and shunning evil” more than anything else; that trial just gave him an experience of receiving blessings from Jehovah God and again being deprived of all his possessions and his sons and daughters by Jehovah God.
To Job, it was a real experience to cleanse his heart, a baptism of life to enrich his human life, and even more a good feast to test his obedience and fear of God. That temptation reduced Job from a rich man to a penniless man, and it also made him undergo satan’s affliction upon man. He did not hate satan because of his pennilessness, but through satan’s abominable acts he saw satan’s ugliness and meanness and saw its hostility and rebellion against God. So he was even more stirred to forever hold fast the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” He took a vow: He would never forsake God and depart from God’s way because of any external factors such as possessions, sons or daughters, or relatives, nor would he be a slave to satan, to possessions, or to anyone; other than Jehovah God, no one could be his Lord and his God. This was Job’s heart’s voice. On the other side of the temptation, Job also gained something. That is, what he gained in the trial that came from God was quite rich.
In the past decades of his life, Job saw the deeds of Jehovah and received blessings from Jehovah God. These blessings made him feel very uneasy and also greatly indebted, because he thought he did not do anything for God and yet received such great blessings and enjoyed so much grace from God. So, he often prayed in his heart and hoped that he could repay God and also that he could have an opportunity to testify God’s deeds and God’s greatness and that God could test his obedience and even more purify his faith until his obedience and faith were approved by God. And the coming of the trial at that time, Job thought, was God’s answer to his prayers. He treasured such an opportunity very much. So he did not at all dare to take it lightly, because his greatest wish in his life could be realized. The coming of this opportunity meant that his obedience and fear of God could be tested and also purified, and even more meant that he could have the opportunity of receiving God’s commendation and thus he could come nearer to God. Job had such faith and pursuit, so that he could be more perfect and more clear about God’s will in this trial; at the same time he thanked God all the more for his blessings and grace, extolled God’s deeds in his heart all the more, and feared God, looked up to God, and thirsted for God’s loveliness, greatness, and holiness all the more. Although Job at that time was still a man who “feared God and shunned evil” in God’s eyes, as far as what he experienced and tasted was concerned, he already made a great progress and leap in his faith and knowledge: His faith increased, his obedience had its foothold, and his fear of God had a further progress. Although this trial renewed Job’s heart and life, he was not satisfied with it and did not thus slow his pace to go forward. He counted his gains in this trial and examined his deficiencies and defects. At the same time, he also prayed in silence and waited for the coming of the next trial, because he expected that his faith and obedience and his fear of God could be sublimated in another trial from God.
God searches man’s every act and move and man’s mind and thoughts. Job’s thoughts came up to the ears of Jehovah God and God listened to his prayer. Thus, another trial from God came to Job as he expected.
Job Truly Experienced God’s Care for Man in His Agony
After Jehovah God asked satan the question, satan was secretly delighted, because it knew that it would be allowed again to attack the perfect man in God’s eyes, and that was so rare a chance for it. It wanted to take the chance to crush Job’s faith completely and cause him to lose faith in God and thus no longer fear God or extol the name of Jehovah, so that it could have the chance to fool Job in its clutches anytime and anywhere. Although satan concealed its evil intention in a watertight way, it could not restrain its malicious nature. The fact could be seen in its answer to Jehovah God. The scripture records as follows: And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. (Job 2:4-5) Such words of satan make one have a substantive knowledge and impression of its maliciousness. After hearing satan’s fallacy, all those who love the truth and hate evil, I believe, will hate its meanness and shamelessness all the more and feel loathing and disgust at the fallacy and heresy released by it, and at the same time will offer a deep prayer and wish for Job, praying that the upright man can be perfect, wishing that he who fears God and shuns evil can forever overcome satan’s temptation and live in the light and in God’s guidance and blessings, and also wishing that Job’s righteous deeds can forever urge and encourage everyone who pursues the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” Although satan’s malicious intention in its remarks was obvious to all, God consented to its “request” very easily, but on one condition: he is in your hand; but save his life. (Job 2:6) Because this time satan demanded to put forth its hand on Job’s bone and flesh, God said “but save his life.” This word means that Job’s flesh was delivered to satan, but it must save his life and was not allowed to take away his life, and except for this, satan could treat Job in any way and by any means.
After receiving God’s permission, satan came to Job in a flurry. It stretched out its hands to hurt his skin and caused him to be covered with sore boils, and Job felt the pain on his skin. He extolled the wonderfulness and holiness of Jehovah God. Seeing that, satan was even more rampant. As it felt the delight of afflicting man, it stretched out its hands to scratch Job’s flesh and caused his sore boils to fester. Immediately, Job felt an extreme ache and agony in his fleshly body. So he could not help kneading the skin and flesh of his whole body with his hands, as if that could relieve the impact of the pain of his flesh on his heart. Aware that God was watching him beside him, he tried his best to become strong and then bent over and knelt down: You search man’s heart and observe man’s misery. Why are you mindful of man’s weakness? Blessed be the name of the LORD. Seeing that Job did not curse the name of Jehovah God though he ached unbearably, satan hurriedly stretched out its hands to hurt Job’s bones, even wishing to tear him to pieces. Instantly, Job felt the pain he had never felt, as if his skin and flesh were being torn from his bones, and as if his bones were being crushed bit by bit. The ache as if his heart were pierced by countless arrows made him feel worse than death…. And he was at the end of what he could bear…. He wanted to yell and wanted to tear at his skin and flesh to relieve his pain, but he restrained himself from yelling and did not tear at his skin and flesh, because he did not want satan to see his weakness. Then he bent over and knelt down again. But at that time, he did not feel the presence of Jehovah God. He knew that Jehovah God was often in front of him, behind him, and on his left or right, yet he never watched his painful look but hid his face and concealed himself when he was in pain, for the meaning of God’s creating man was not to let man suffer. At that time, Job shed tears; he fought back his physical pain, but could no longer restrain his thankfulness for God: Man cannot withstand a blow, and man is weak and feeble, immature and ignorant. Why should you show your care and pity in such a way? Although you smite me, you yourself suffer. How can man be worthy of your care and concern? Job’s prayer came up to God’s ears. God kept silent and just watched quietly…. Satan exhausted its means but did not achieve its ends, so it retreated silently. However, God’s trial for Job did not come to an end on that account, because God’s great power revealed in Job was not made public yet. So Job’s story did not end with the retreat of satan. More wonderful episodes continued to be shown as different characters appeared.
Job’s Another Manifestation of Fearing God and Shunning Evil Is Extolling God’s Name in Everything
When Job, though suffering all satan’s tortures, did not curse the name of Jehovah God, his wife first stood out and acted the visible satan to attack Job. The text is like this: Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die. (Job 2:9) This is the word that satan said by acting as a man, and it carried attack, accusation, seduction, temptation, and slander. Failing in attacking Job’s flesh, satan came to directly attack Job’s integrity, attempting to, through this, make Job give up his integrity and curse God and not live on. And through this word, it also attempted to lure Job: If he curses the name of Jehovah, he will not have to undergo all the sufferings and can be free from the physical pain. Facing his wife’s counsel, Job rebuked this way: You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? (Job 2:10) This word was the knowledge Job had had for a long time, and it was only that the realness of Job’s knowledge was proved then.
When his wife tried to persuade him: “Curse God, and die,” her meaning was: as your God has treated you this way, why don’t you curse him? Why are you still living? Your God treats you so unfairly, but you still keep saying, blessed be the name of the LORD. Why does he let you receive calamities since you extol his name? Curse God’s name now and follow him no more. Then your calamities will be gone. At that time, the testimony God wanted to see in Job was borne again. The testimony cannot be borne by ordinary people and cannot be found in any other story of the Bible. But before Job said those words, God had already seen it. God just wanted to use this opportunity to let Job prove to the world that God was right. Facing his wife’s counsel, Job not only did not give up his integrity or curse God, but on the contrary he said to his wife: shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Does the word carry weight or not? Here, there is only one fact that can prove the word is weighty. Its weight lies in that it is what God commended in his heart, is what God wanted, is the word God wanted to hear, and is the result that God expected to see. And it is also the quintessence of Job’s testimony. Job’s “being perfect and upright and fearing God and shunning evil” was proved here. Job’s preciousness lies in that when he was tempted and covered with sore boils, when he was most distressed, and when his wife and his relatives all tried to persuade him, he could still say such a word. That is, he thought in his heart that no matter what kind of temptations and what great tribulations and sufferings came to him, even if death came, he would not reject God or abandon the way of “fearing God and shunning evil.” It can be seen that God’s place in his heart was most important and that God was his only One in his heart. Thus, we can see such evaluation of him in the scriptures: In all this did not Job sin with his lips. He not only did not sin with his lips, but also did not complain against God in his heart. He did not say anything to grieve God’s heart or do anything to offend God. He extolled God’s name not only with his mouth but also in his heart. His heart accorded with his mouth. This was the real Job God saw, and it was the very reason why God treasured Job.
Man’s Various Misunderstandings of Job
The sufferings Job underwent were not made by the angels sent by God or made by God with his own hand, but made personally by satan—God’s enemy, so it is evident how grievously Job suffered. But at that point, Job fully expressed his knowledge of God in his heart at ordinary times and his principles of doing things and his attitude toward God at ordinary times, which were true. If Job said the word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” before he encountered the temptation or before God tried him, you would say that Job was very hypocritical and that he certainly extolled Jehovah’s name as God bestowed so much property to him. If before the trials Job said the word “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”, you would say that Job liked to talk big, that he did not curse God’s name only because he often received blessings from God’s hand, and that he would surely curse God’s name if he received calamities from God. But when Job was in a situation which no one wanted to be in, or to see, or to encounter, which everyone was afraid to encounter, and which God could not even bear to see, Job could still hold fast his integrity: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Facing Job’s behavior at that time, those who like to talk in a high-sounding way and like to speak letters and doctrines all cover their mouths, those who extol God’s name on their lips but never accept trials from God are condemned by the integrity Job held fast, and those who never believe that “man can hold fast God’s ways” are judged because of Job’s testimony. Facing Job’s behavior in the trial and the words he said, some people feel perplexed, some feel jealous, some feel doubtful, and some even show an indifferent attitude and sneer at Job’s testimony, because they not only see the sufferings Job underwent in the trials and see the words he said, but even more see the human “weakness” manifested in him when he encountered the trials. This “weakness” is their so-called imperfectness in Job’s perfectness, and the “weakness” also becomes the flaw of “the perfect man in God’s eyes.” That is to say, because people all think that a perfect man is an ideal man, a man without flaws or stains, and such a man has no weaknesses or painful sense, no sad or sorrowful moods, and no hatred or outward extreme actions, most of them do not think that Job is a real perfect man. This is because many of his actions in the trials cannot be “approved” by people. For example, when Job lost his property and his sons and daughters, he did not wail bitterly on that account as people imagine. His “gaffe” makes people think that he was very cold-blooded, because he had no tears and no affections. This is the first “bad impression” Job gave people. The series of his actions that followed are even more incomprehensible to people: “Rent his mantle” is interpreted as irreverence to God, and “shaved his head” is mistaken as a blasphemy and contradiction against God. Except for Job’s word “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD,” people have not found any righteousness in him that was commended by God. So, most people’s evaluation of Job remains within puzzlement, misunderstanding, doubt, condemnation, and doctrinal approval, and no one can truly understand or comprehend the word from the mouth of Jehovah God “Job is a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil.”
Based on the above impression of Job, people have a further doubt about Job’s righteousness, because Job’s doings and his behavior recorded in the scriptures are not so earth-shaking and soul-stirring as to move one to tears, as they imagine. Job not only did not have any “magnificent feat,” but instead he “took him a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat down among the ashes.” The scene shocks the world again and makes the world doubt Job’s righteousness and even take a denying attitude toward it, because Job, while scraping himself, did not pray to God or make promises to God, much less weep or wail. At this point, people see nothing but Job’s weakness, so even if they hear Job’s word “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”, they still remain completely unmoved or come to no agreement, and still cannot see Job’s righteousness from his word. The general impression Job gave people while undergoing the suffering of the trials is that he was neither humble nor haughty. People cannot see the story behind his actions that happened in his innermost being or see his fear of God in his heart and his principle of holding fast the way of “shunning evil.” His neither being humble nor haughty makes people think that his perfectness and uprightness are merely an empty talk and his fear of God is merely a legend, but the “weakness” he expressed outwardly gives people a deep impression and makes them have a “completely new view” or even a “new understanding” of the perfect and upright man as defined by God. When Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth, the “completely new view” and the “new understanding” I speak of were proved here.
Although the suffering Job underwent was beyond anyone’s imagination and realization, he did not say any word of “great disobedience” but only used his own way to relieve his physical pain. He said such a word as the text records: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. (Job 3:3) Perhaps no one has taken it as a very important word, or perhaps some people have paid heed to it. In your eyes, is there any sense of resisting God in this word? Is there any intention of complaining against God in it? I know many of you have critical views of this word Job said, thinking that since Job was perfect and upright, he should not have any manifestations of weakness and sadness, but instead he should “positively” face any attack from satan and even welcome satan’s temptations with smiles, and with any suffering satan brought to his flesh, he should have no response to it and should not express any of his inner feelings, and should even ask God to let these trials come more fiercely. Such are what a real upright and unyielding man who “fears God and shuns evil” should show and have. In great agony, Job only cursed the day of his birth but did not complain against God, much less have any intention of resisting God. This is much easier said than done, because from ancient times to the present no one else has undergone the same temptations as Job’s, and no one else has undergone the same experience as Job’s. Why is it that no one else has undergone the same temptations as Job’s? Because in God’s eyes no one else can undertake such a responsibility and such a commission and can do what Job could do, much less can anyone else be like Job who only cursed the day of his birth and did not curse God’s name but still extolled the name of Jehovah God when encountering such sufferings. Isn’t it that which no one else can do? Aren’t we praising Job’s conduct now when we talk about Job’s stories? With a righteous man, a man who could bear such testimony for God and who could cause satan to flee in panic and make no more accusations before God, can’t we praise him? Is your standard of requirement higher than God’s? Will you act better than Job when encountering trials? Even God has commended him, so what doubt do you have?
Job Cursed the Day of His Birth Because He Did Not Want God to Grieve for Him
I often say that God looks at a person’s heart, while men look at a person’s appearance, and that God knows a person’s substance through searching his heart, while men define a person’s substance through watching his appearance. When Job opened his mouth to curse the day of his birth, all spiritual men, including his three friends, were shocked by such conduct of his. Man is from God, and he ought to thank God for the life and flesh God bestows, including the day of his birth, and should not curse them. This is what ordinary people can understand and think. To any follower of God, this understanding is sacred and inviolable and is the truth that can never be changed. However, Job “broke the convention”—cursed the day of his birth. In ordinary people’s eyes, such conduct of his broke in the forbidden zone, which not only cannot be understood or pitied by people, but also cannot be forgiven by God. At the same time, more people cast doubt on Job’s “righteousness,” because Job seemed to “indulge himself” due to God’s favor to him, so that he even dared to act so recklessly, not only not thanking God at that time for his blessings and care in all his life, but instead cursing that the day he was born should perish. What is this if it is not resistance against God? These outward phenomena give people the proof to condemn this conduct of Job. But who could know what Job’s real thought was at that moment? And who could know for what reason Job did so? Only God knew its inside truth and cause, and only Job himself knew them.
When satan put forth its hand on Job’s bones, Job was caught in the devil’s clutches, unable to get free and powerless to resist it. His body and soul were bearing tremendous agony, and this “agony” made him deeply feel that man who lived in the flesh was small, powerless, and frail. And he also deeply comprehended and understood God’s heart of why he cared for and watched over mankind. In the devil’s clutches, he tasted that a mortal man was actually so helpless and weak at that time. When he bent over and knelt down to pray to God, he seemed to feel that God hid his face and concealed himself, because God delivered him into satan’s hand completely and at the same time God shed tears for him and even more grieved for him, grieved for his agony and sorrowful for his misery…. Job felt God’s grief and also felt that God could not bear to…. He did not want God to grieve for him or shed tears for him anymore, much less did he want to see God suffer for him. Job at that time only wanted to struggle free from the mortal flesh and not to endure the pain from the flesh anymore, because God would thereby no longer suffer for his pain. However, he could not make it. He had to endure not only the physical pain, but even more the suffering from “not wanting God to be worried.” The double pain, one from his flesh and the other from his heart, made Job bear a heart-rending and heart-breaking suffering and feel that the limit of a mortal man’s capacity made him so resigned and helpless. In this state, his thirst for God became much stronger and his hatred of satan also became more intense. At that time Job wished that he would not have been born to this world and would not have existed rather than saw God shed tears for him and suffer for him. He began to abhor his flesh and loathe himself and the day he was born, and he even loathed everything that had to do with him. He hated to mention the day of his birth and everything related to his birth again, so he opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine on it. (Job 3:3-4) In Job’s words there was contained his hatred of himself: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. And there was also contained his self-reproach and indebtedness to God for God’s suffering for him: Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine on it. These two passages perfectly expressed Job’s mind at that time and fully showed Job’s perfectness and uprightness to everyone, and at the same time, Job’s faith and obedience and his fear of God were truly sublimated at that time, as he expected. Of course, this “sublimation” was just the result God expected to achieve.
Job Overcame Satan and Became a Real Man in God’s Eyes
When Job was first tried, he was deprived of all his property and his sons and daughters, yet he did not fall or say a word that offended God because of this. He overcame satan’s temptation, overcame property and children, and overcame the trial of losing all his worldly possessions; that is, he could submit to God’s deprivation upon him and offered thanks and praises for that. This is Job’s manifestation in the first round of satan’s temptation and also the testimony he bore in the first trial of God. In the second trial, satan put forth its hand to afflict Job himself. Although he tasted the pain he had never tasted, his testimony was heart-shaking. By his firmness, faith, and obedience to God, and his fear of God, he defeated satan once again, and his manifestation and his testimony were once again approved and accepted by God. In this temptation, Job declared to satan by his actual manifestation: The physical pain could not change his faith and obedience of God, nor could it take away his heart that was attached to and feared God. He would not curse God or abandon his perfectness and uprightness because he was faced with death. Job’s fortitude rendered satan timid, his faith rendered satan fearful and panic-stricken, and his mettle of fighting against satan to death rendered satan bitterly resentful. Job’s perfectness and uprightness left satan no way to attack him again, and thenceforth it gave up its attack against Job and gave up its accusation against Job before Jehovah God. This means that Job overcame the world, the flesh, satan, and death and that he was one who completely belonged to God. Job stood testimony in the two trials, and thus his perfectness and uprightness were lived out practically and the scope of his living principle of fearing God and shunning evil was extended. After Job experienced the two trials, he had a richer experience in his life, and this “experience” made him more mature and experienced, made him stronger and have more faith, and made him believe more firmly the correctness and value of the integrity he held fast. Jehovah God’s trials to him made him deeply realize and feel God’s care for man and also made him feel the preciousness of God’s love. From then on, in his fear of God there were contained his care and love for God. Jehovah God’s trials not only did not keep Job far distant from God, but instead it drew Job’s heart closer to God. When the physical pain Job bore reached the peak, the care Job felt from Jehovah God made him curse the day of his birth spontaneously. This behavior was not planned by him beforehand, but was a natural expression of his care and love for God from the bottom of his heart. This “natural expression” of his was from his care and love for God. That is to say, because he hated himself and because he did not have the heart and could not bear to let God suffer, his care and love for God reached the extent of forgetting himself. Job at that time had his years of adoration, longing, and attachment for God sublimated into care and love, and also had his faith and obedience and fear of God sublimated into care and love. He did not allow himself to do anything that hurt God, did not allow himself to have any behavior that grieved God, and did not allow any sadness or grief or displeasure to be brought to God because of him. In God’s eyes, Job was still the former Job, but his faith and obedience and fear of God gave God full satisfaction and enjoyment. By that time, Job had reached the perfectness which God expected him to reach, and he had become a real “perfect and upright” man in God’s eyes. His righteous deeds made him overcome satan, made him stand testimony for God, made him perfect, made the value of his life sublimated and transcendent, and also made him the first man who would no longer be attacked or tempted by satan. Because of his righteousness, he was accused by satan; because of his righteousness, he was tempted by satan; because of his righteousness, he was delivered into satan’s hand; because of his righteousness, he overcame satan, defeated satan, and stood testimony. From then on, Job became the first one who would not be delivered to satan again, and he truly came before God’s throne, lived in the light, and lived in God’s blessing of being free from satan’s spying and affliction…. He became a real man in God’s eyes, and he got free….