![]() Obviously, it was some kind of physical suffering, or he wouldn’t have described it as a part of his flesh. In II Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul complained about a thorn in his flesh. Later, Job would describe his physical suffering, Job 7:5 “My body is clothed with worms and scabs my skin is broken and festering.” ( Job 7:5) Every sickness may not be a direct attack from Satan, but we can learn here that, when permitted, Satan will try to attack your health. Health: Satan afflicted Job with painful sores. *Satan can attack your health and your marriage. He is still attacking God’s servants today, so it will help us resist the devil if we can learn some of the methods of his attack. Even though Job survived round one, the devil wasn’t through with Job. Job 2:7 “Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” You’ve got to give the devil his due he is a persistent old dude. As we study Job’s suffering and Job’s words in these verses, we can learn three very important lessons. Maybe you’ve never expressed it exactly in those words, but at some time, most people have wondered if they would just be better off dead. He was saying, “I wish I had never been born in the first place.” Then he suggests that for him, death would be preferable to this misery: Read Job 3:20-26. He contends he would be better off dead than to deal with all the pain and suffering in his life. Next week, we’ll talk about them as we consider the topic, “With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies?” But for now, I want you to notice some of Job’s words of agony. In the third chapter, three of Job’s friends come to comfort him, but rather than comforting him they end up tormenting him. But instead, Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away May the name of the Lord be praised.” ( Job 1:21) After round one, the score is Job 1, Satan 0. The reason Satan brought this trouble on Job was because Satan alleged if Job suffered he would curse God. To make matters worse, on the same day, a storm blew in and killed all ten of his children. In the first chapter we learned about Job losing all his wealth and most of his servants. As we are studying the book of Job, we find a man who has experienced so much pain and trouble that he insists he would be better off dead. If you’re not a Christian, no, you wouldn’t be better off dead, and you still have time to do something about it. If you’re a Christian, yes, heaven is preferable to life, but you don’t get to set your departure time. Am I Better Off Dead? Here’s the answer: YES and NO–it all depends.
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