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Commentary on Job 2 verses 7–10
The devil, having got leave to tear and worry poor Job, presently fell to work with him, as a tormentor first and then as a tempter. His own children he tempts first, and draws them to sin, and afterwards torments, when thereby he has brought them to ruin; but this child of God he tormented with an affliction, and then tempted to make a bad use of his affliction. That which he aimed at was to make Job curse God; now here we are told what course he took both to move him to it and move it to him, both to give him the provocation, else he would not have thought of it: thus artfully in the temptation managed with all the subtlety of the old serpent, who is here playing the same game against Job that he played against our first parents (Gen. 3), aiming to seduce him from his allegiance to his God and to rob him of his integrity.
I. He provokes him to curse God by smiting him with sore boils, and so making him a burden to himself, Job 2:7, Job 2:8. The former attack was extremely violent, but Job kept his ground, bravely made good the pass and carried the day. Yet he is still but girding on the harness; there is worse behind. The clouds return after the rain. Satan, by the divine permission, follows his blow, and now deep calls unto deep.
1.The disease with which Job was seized was very grievous: Satan smote him with boils, sore boils, all over him, from head to foot, with an evil inflammation (so some render it), an erysipelas, perhaps, in a higher degree. One boil, when it is gathering, is torment enough, and gives a man abundance of pain and uneasiness. What a condition was Job then in, that had boils all over him, and no part free, and those as of raging a heat as the devil could make them, and, as it were, set on fire of hell! The small-pox is a very grievous and painful disease, and would be much more terrible than it is but that we know the extremity of it ordinarily lasts but a few days; how grievous then was the disease of Job, who was smitten all over with sore boils or grievous ulcers, which made him sick at heart, put him to exquisite torture, and so spread themselves over him that he could lie down no way for any ease. If at any time we be exercised with sore and grievous distempers, let us not think ourselves dealt with any otherwise than as God has sometimes dealt with the best of his saints and servants. We know not how much Satan may have a hand (by divine permission) in the diseases with which the children of men, and especially the children of God, are afflicted, what infections that prince of the air may spread, what inflammations may come from that fiery serpent. We read of one whom Satan had bound many years, Luk 13:16. Should God suffer that roaring lion to have his will against any of us, how miserable would he soon make us!
2.His management of himself, in this distemper, was very strange, Job 2:8.
(1.)Instead of healing salves, he took a potsherd, a piece of a broken pitcher, to scrape himself withal. A very sad pass this poor man had come to. When a man is sick and sore he may bear it the better if he be well tended and carefully looked after. Many rich people have with a soft and tender hand charitably ministered to the poor in such a condition as this; even Lazarus had some ease from the tongues of the dogs that came and licked his sores; but poor Job has no help afforded him. [1.] Nothing is done to his sore but what he does himself, with his own hands. His children and servants are all dead, his wife unkind, Job 19:17. He has not wherewithal to fee a physician or surgeon; and, which is most sad of all, none of those he had formerly been kind to had so much sense of honour and gratitude as to minister to him in his distress, and lend him a hand to dress or wipe his running sores, either because the disease was loathsome and noisome or because they apprehended it to be infectious. Thus it was in the former days, as it will be in the last days, men were lovers of their own selves, unthankful, and without natural affection. [2.] All that he does to his sores is to scrape them; they are not bound up with soft rags, not mollified with ointment, not washed or kept clean, no healing plasters laid on them, no opiates, no anodynes, ministered to the poor patient, to alleviate the pain and compose him to rest, nor any cordials to support his spirits; all the operation is the scraping of the ulcers, which, when they had come to a head and began to die, made his body all over like a scurf, as is usual in the end of the small-pox. It would have been an endless thing to dress his boils one by one; he therefore resolves thus to do it by wholesale - a remedy which one would think as bad as the disease. [3.] He has nothing to do this with but a potsherd, no surgeon's instrument proper for the purpose, but that which would rather rake into his wounds, and add to his pain, than give him any ease. People that are sick and sore have need to be under the discipline and direction of others, for they are often but bad managers of themselves.
(2.)Instead of reposing in a soft and warm bed, he sat down among the ashes. Probably he had a bed left him (for, though his fields were stripped, we do not find that his house was burnt or plundered), but he chose to sit in the ashes, either because he was weary of his bed or because he would put himself into the place and posture of a penitent, who, in token of his self-abhorrence, lay in dust and ashes, Job 42:6; Isa 58:5; Jon 3:6. Thus did he humble himself under the mighty hand of God, and bring his mind to the meanness and poverty of his condition. He complains (Job 7:5) that his flesh was clothed with worms and clods of dust; and therefore dust to dust, ashes to ashes. If God lay him among the ashes, there he will contentedly sit down. A low spirit becomes low circumstances, and will help to reconcile us to them. The Septuagint reads it, He sat down upon a dunghill without the city (which is commonly said, in mentioning this story); but the original says no more than that he sat in the midst of the ashes, which he might do in his own house.
II. He urges him, by the persuasions of his own wife, to curse God, Job 2:9. The Jews (who covet much to be wise above what is written) say that Job's wife was Dinah, Jacob's daughter: so the Chaldee paraphrase. It is not likely that she was; but, whoever it was, she was to him like Michal to David, a scoffer at his piety. She was spared to him, when the rest of his comforts were taken away, for this purpose, to be a troubler and tempter to him. If Satan leaves any thing that he has permission to take away, it is with a design of mischief. It is his policy to send his temptations by the hand of those that are dear to us, as he tempted Adam by Eve and Christ by Peter. We must therefore carefully watch that we be not drawn to say or do a wrong thing by the influence, interest, or entreaty, of any, no, not those for whose opinion and favour we have ever so great a value. Observe how strong this temptation was. 1. She banters Job for his constancy in his religion: "Dost thou still retain thy integrity? Art thou so very obstinate in thy religion that nothing will cure thee of it? so tame and sheepish as thus to truckle to a God who is so far from rewarding thy services with marks of his favour that he seems to take a pleasure in making thee miserable, strips thee, and scourges thee, without any provocation given? Is this a God to be still loved, and blessed, and served?"
Dost thou not see that thy devotion's vain?
What have thy prayers procured but woe and pain?
Hast thou not yet thy int'rest understood?
Perversely righteous, and absurdly good?
Those painful sores, and all thy losses, show
How Heaven regards the foolish saint below.
Incorrigibly pious! Can't thy God
Reform thy stupid virtue with his rod?
- Sir R. Blackmore
Thus Satan still endeavours to draw men from God, as he did our first parents, by suggesting hard thoughts of him, as one that envies the happiness and delights in the misery of his creatures, than which nothing is more false. Another artifice he uses is to drive men from their religion by loading them with scoffs and reproaches for their adherence to it. We have reason to expect it, but we are fools if we heed it. Our Master himself has undergone it, we shall be abundantly recompensed for it, and with much more reason may we retort it upon the scoffers, "Are you such fools as still to retain your impiety, when you might bless God and live?" 2. She urges him to renounce his religion, to blaspheme God, set him at defiance, and dare him to do his worst: "Curse God and die; live no longer in dependence upon God, wait not for relief from him, but be thy own deliverer by being thy own executioner; end thy troubles by ending thy life; better die once than be always dying thus; thou mayest now despair of having any help from thy God, even curse him, and hang thyself." These are two of the blackest and most horrid of all Satan's temptations, and yet such as good men have sometimes been violently assaulted with. Nothing is more contrary to natural conscience than blaspheming God, nor to natural sense than self-murder; therefore the suggestion of either of these may well be suspected to come immediately from Satan. Lord, lead us not into temptation, not into such, not into any temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
III. He bravely resists and overcomes the temptation, Job 2:10. He soon gave her an answer (for Satan spared him the use of his tongue, in hopes he would curse God with it), which showed his constant resolution to cleave to God, to keep his good thoughts of him, and not to let go his integrity. See,
1.How he resented the temptation. He was very indignant at having such a thing mentioned to him: "What! Curse God? I abhor the thought of it. Get thee behind me, Satan." In other cases Job reasoned with his wife with a great deal of mildness, even when she was unkind to him (Job 19:17): I entreated her for the children's sake of my own body. But, when she persuaded him to curse God, he was much displeased: Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. He does not call her a fool and an atheist, nor does he break out into any indecent expressions of his displeasure, as those who ar sick and sore are apt to do, and think they may be excused; but he shows her the evil of what she said, and she spoke the language of the infidels and idolaters, who, when they are hardly bestead, fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, Isa 8:21. We have reason to suppose that in such a pious household as Job had his wife was one that had been well affected to religion, but that now, when all their estate and comfort were gone, she could not bear the loss with that temper of mind that Job had; but that she should go about to infect his mind with her wretched distemper was a great provocation to him, and he could not forbear thus showing his resentment. Note, (1.) Those are angry and sin not who are angry only at sin and take a temptation as the greatest affront, who cannot bear those that are evil, Rev 2:2. When Peter was a Satan to Christ he told him plainly, Thou art an offence to me. (2.) If those whom we think wise and good at any time speak that which is foolish and bad, we ought to reprove them faithfully for it and show them the evil of what they say, that we suffer not sin upon them. (3.) Temptations to curse God ought to be rejected with the greatest abhorrence, and not so much as to be parleyed with. Whoever persuades us to that must be looked upon as our enemy, to whom if we yield it is at our peril Job did not curse God and then think to come off with Adam's excuse: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me persuaded me to do it" (Gen 3:12), which had in it a tacit reflection on God, his ordinance and providence. No; if thou scornest, if thou cursest, thou alone shalt bear it.
2.How he reasoned against the temptation: Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil also? Those whom we reprove we must endeavour to convince; and it is no hard matter to give a reason why we should still hold fast our integrity even when we are stripped of every thing else. He considers that, though good and evil are contraries, yet they do not come from contrary causes, but both from the hand of God (Isa 45:7, Lam 3:38), and therefore that in both we must have our eye up unto him, with thankfulness for the good he sends and without fretfulness at the evil. Observe the force of his argument.
(1.)What he argues for, not only the bearing, but the receiving of evil: Shall we not receive evil, that is, [1.] "Shall we not expect to receive it? If God give us so many good things, shall we be surprised, or think it strange, if he sometimes afflict us, when he has told us that prosperity and adversity are set the one over against the other?" Pe1 4:12. [2.] "Shall we not set ourselves to receive it aright?" The word signifies to receive as a gift, and denotes a pious affection and disposition of soul under our afflictions, neither despising them nor fainting under them, accounting them gifts (Phi 1:29), accepting them as punishments of our iniquity (Lev 26:41), acquiescing in the will of God in them ("Let him do with me as seemeth him good"), and accommodating ourselves to them, as those that know how to want as well as how to abound, Phi 4:12. When the heart is humbled and weaned, by humbling weaning providence, then we receive correction (Zep 3:2) and take up our cross.
(2.)What he argues from: "Shall we receive so much good as has come to us from the hand of God during all those years of peace and prosperity that we have lived, and shall we not now receive evil, when God thinks fit to lay it on us?" Note, The consideration of the mercies we receive from God, both past and present, should make us receive our afflictions with a suitable disposition of spirit. If we receive our share of the common good in the seven years of plenty, shall we not receive our share of the common evil in the years of famine? Qui sentit commodum, sentire debet et onus - he who feels the privilege, should prepare for the privation. If we have so much that pleases us, why should we not be content with that which pleases God? If we receive so many comforts, shall we not receive some afflictions, which will serve as foils to our comforts, to make them the more valuable (we are taught the worth of mercies by being made to want them sometimes), and as allays to our comforts, to make them the less dangerous, to keep the balance even, and to prevent our being lifted up above measure? Co2 12:7. If we receive so much good for the body, shall we not receive some good for the soul; that is, some afflictions, by which we partake of God's holiness (Heb 12:10), something which, by saddening the countenance, makes the heart better? Let murmuring therefore, as well as boasting, be for ever excluded.
IV. Thus, in a good measure, Job still held fast his integrity, and Satan's design against him was defeated: In all this did not Job sin with his lips; he not only said this well, but all he said at this time was under the government of religion and right reason. In the midst of all these grievances he did not speak a word amiss; and we have no reason to think but that he also preserved a good temper of mind, so that, though there might be some stirrings and risings of corruption in his heart, yet grace got the upper hand and he took care that the root of bitterness might not spring up to trouble him, Heb 12:15. The abundance of his heart was for God, produced good things, and suppressed the evil that was there, which was out-voted by the better side. If he did think any evil, yet he laid his hand upon his mouth (Pro 30:32), stifled the evil thought and let it go no further, by which it appeared, not only that he had true grace, but that it was strong and victorious: in short, that he had not forfeited the character of a perfect and upright man; for so he appears to be who, in the midst of such temptations, offends not in word, Jam 3:2; Psa 17:3.
58. For what do we understand by the ‘potsherd,’ saving forcibleness of severity, and what by the ‘humour,’ save laxity of unlawful imaginations? And thus we are smitten, and ‘scrape off the humour with a potsherd,’ when after the defilements of unlawful thoughts, we cleanse ourselves by a sharp judgment. By the potsherd too we may understand the frailness of mortality. And then to ‘scrape the humour with a potsherd,’ is to ponder on the course and frailty of our mortal state, and to wipe off the rottenness of a wretched self-gratification. For when a man bethinks himself how soon the flesh returns to dust, he readily gets the better of that which originating in the flesh foully assails him in the interior. So, when bad thoughts arising from temptation flow into the mind, it is as if humour kept running from a wound. But the humour is soon cleansed away, if the frailty of our nature be taken up in the thought, like a potsherd in the hand.
59. For neither are these suggestions to be lightly esteemed, which though they may not draw us on so far as to the act, yet work in the mind in an unlawful way. It is hence that our Redeemer was come, as it were, ‘to scrape the humour from our wounds,’ when He said, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. [Matt. 5, 27. 28.] ‘The humour,’ therefore, ‘is wiped off,’ when sin is not only severed from the deed, but also from the thought. It is hence that Jerubbaal saw the Angel when he was winnowing corn from the chaff, at whose bidding he forthwith dressed a kid and set it upon a rock, and poured over it the broth of the flesh, which the Angel touched with a rod, and thereupon fire coming out of the rock consumed it. [Judg. 6, 11. &c.] For what else is it to beat corn with a rod, but to separate the grains of virtues from the chaff of vices, with an upright judgment? But to those that are thus employed the Angel presents himself, in that the Lord is more ready to communicate interior truths in proportion as men are more earnest in ridding themselves of external things. And he orders a kid to be killed, i.e. every appetite of the flesh to be sacrificed, and the flesh to be set upon a rock, and the broth thereof to be poured upon it. Whom else does the ‘rock’ represent, saving Him, of Whom it is said by Paul, And that rock was Christ? [1 Cor. 10, 4] We ‘set flesh then upon the rock,’ when in imitation of Christ we crucify our body. He too pours the juice of the flesh over it, who, in following the conversation of Christ, empties himself even of the mere thoughts of the flesh themselves. For ‘the broth’ of the dissolved flesh is in a manner ‘poured upon the rock,’ when the mind is emptied of the flow of carnal thoughts too. Yet the Angel directly touches it with a rod, in that the might of God's succour never leaves our striving forsaken. And fire issues from the rock, and consumes the broth and the flesh, in that the Spirit, breathed upon us by the Redeemer, lights up the heart with so fierce a flame of compunction, that it consumes every thing in it that is unlawful either in deed or in thought. And therefore it is the same thing here ‘to scrape the humour with a potsherd,’ that it is there to ‘pour the broth upon the rock.’ For the perfect mind is ever eagerly on the watch, not only that it may refuse to do bad acts, but that it may even wipe off all that is become foul and soft in it, in the workings of imagination. But it often happens that war springs up from the very victory, so that when the impure thought is vanquished, the mind of the victor is struck by self-elation. Therefore it follows that the mind must be no otherwise elevated in purity, than that it should be heedfully brought under in humility. And hence, whereas it was said of the holy man, And he took a potsherd, and scraped the humour withal, it is forthwith fitly added,
And he sat down upon a dunghill.
60. For ‘to sit down upon a dunghill’ is for a man to entertain mean and abject notions of himself. For us to ‘sit upon a dunghill,’ is to carry back the eye of the mind, in a spirit of repentance, to those things which we have unlawfully committed, that when we see the dung of our sins before our eyes, we may bend low all that rises up in the mind of pride. He sits upon a dunghill, who regards his own weakness with earnest attention, and never lifts himself up for those good qualities, which he has received through grace. Did not Abraham sit by himself upon a dunghill, when he said, Behold, now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes? [Gen. 18, 27] For it is plain to see in what place he had set himself, who, at the very moment that he was speaking with God, reckoned himself to be ‘dust and ashes.’ If he then thus despises himself who is raised to the honour of converse with the Deity even, we should consider with earnest thoughts of heart with what woes they are destined to be stricken, who, while they never advance a step towards the highest things, are yet lifted up on the score of the least and lowest attainments. For there are some, who, when they do but little things, think great things of themselves. They lift their minds on high, and account themselves to excel other men in the deserts of virtue. For surely, these inwardly quit the dunghill of humility within themselves, and scale the heights of pride; herein following the steps of him, the first that elevated himself in his own eyes, and in elevating brought himself to the ground, following the steps of him, who was not content with that dignity of a created being, which he had received, saying, I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. [Is. 14, 13] And it is hence that she, which is united to him by an evil alliance, even Babylon, i.e. ‘the confused multitude of sinners,’ says, I am, and none else beside me, I shall not sit as a widow. [Is. 47, 8] Whosoever then swells within him, has set himself on high by himself. Yet doth he sink himself so much the deeper below, in proportion as he scorns to think the lowest things of himself according to the truth. There are some too that labour not to do aught that is virtuous, yet when they see others commit sin, they fancy themselves righteous by comparison with them. For all hearts are not wounded by the same or a similar offence. For this one is entrapped by pride, while that perchance is overthrown by anger, and avarice is the sting of one, while luxury fires another. And it very often chances that he, who is brought down by pride, sees how another is inflamed with anger; and because anger does not speedily influence himself, he now reckons that he is better than his passionate neighbour, and is as it were lifted up on the score of his righteousness in his own eyes, in that he forgets to take account of the fault, by which he is more grievously enchained. And it very often happens that he who is mangled by avarice, beholds another plunged in the whirlpool of luxury, and because he sees himself to be a stranger to carnal pollution, he never heeds by what defilements of the spiritual life he is himself inwardly polluted; and while he considers well the evil in another, which he is himself without, he forgets to take account in his own case of that which he has; and so it is brought to pass, that when the mind to be pronounced upon goes off to the cases of other men, it is deprived of the light of its own judgment, and so much the more cruelly vaunts itself against others' failings, in proportion as it is from negligence in ignorance of its own.
61. But, on the other hand, they that really desire to rise to the heights of virtue, whenever they hear of the faults of others, immediately recall the mind to their own; and the more they really bewail these last, so much the more rightly do they pronounce judgment on those others. Therefore, forasmuch as every elect person restrains himself in the consideration of his own frailty, it may be well said that the holy man in his sorrow sits down upon a dunghill. For he that really humbles himself as he goes on his way, marks with the eye of continued observation all the filth of sin wherewith he is beset. But we must know that it is in prosperity that the mind is oftenest touched with urgent temptations, yet that it sometimes happens that we at the same time undergo crosses without, and are wearied with the urgency of temptation within, so that both the scourge tortures the flesh, and yet suggestion of the flesh pours in upon the mind. And hence it is well, that after the many wounds that blessed Job received, we have yet further the words of his illadvising wife subjoined also.
9. What is a potsherd made from, excepting mud? and what is the humour of the body, but mud? Accordingly he is said ‘to scrape the humour with a potsherd,’ as if it were plainly said, ‘he wiped away mud with mud.’ For the holy man reflected, whence that which he carried about him had been taken, and with the broken piece of a vessel of clay he scraped his broken vessel of clay. By which act we have it openly shown us, in what manner he subdued under him that body of his when sound, which even when stricken he tended with such slight regard; how softly he dealt with his flesh in its sound state, who applied neither clothing, nor fingers, but only a potsherd to its very wounds. And thus he scraped the humour with a potsherd, that seeing himself in the very broken piece, he might even by the cleansing of the wound be taking a remedy for his soul.
10. But because it often happens that the mind is swelled by the circumstances that surround the body, and by the way men behave toward us the frailty of the body is removed from before the eyes of the mind, (as there are some of those that are of the world, who while they are buoyed up with temporal honours, whilst they rule in elevated stations, whilst they see the obedience of multitudes yielded to them at will, neglect to consider their own frailty, and altogether forget, nor ever take heed, how speedily that vessel of clay which they bear, is liable to be shattered,) so blessed Job, that he might take thought of his own frailty from the things about him, and increase the intensity of his self-contempt in his own eyes, is described to have seated himself not any where on the earth, which at most in every place is found clean, but upon a dunghill. He set his body on a dunghill, that the mind might to its great profit consider thoroughly what was that substance of the flesh, which was taken from the ground. [Gen. 3, 23] He set his body on a dunghill, that even from the stench of the place he might apprehend how rapidly the body returneth to stench.
11. But see, while blessed Job is undergoing such losses in his substance, and grieving over the death of so many children whereby he is smitten, while he is suffering such numberless wounds, while he scrapes the running humour with a potsherd, whilst, running down in a state of corruption, he sat himself upon a dunghill, it is good to consider how it is that Almighty God, as though in unconcern, afflicts so grievously those, whom He looks upon as so dear to Him for all eternity. But, now, while I view the wounds and the torments of blessed Job, I suddenly call back my mind's eye to John, and I reflect not without the greatest astonishment, that he, being filled with the Spirit of prophecy within his mother's womb, and who, if I may say so, before his birth, was born again, he that was the friend of the Bridegroom, [John 3, 29] he than whom none hath arisen greater among those born of women, [Matt. 11, 11] he that was so great a Prophet, that he was even more than a Prophet, he is cast into prison by wicked men, and beheaded, for the dancing of a damsel, and a man of such severe virtue dies for the merriment of the vile! Do we imagine there was aught in his life which that most contemptible death was to wipe off? When, then, did he sin even in meat, whose food was but locusts and wild honey? How did he offend even by the quality of his clothing, the covering of whose body was of camel's hair? How could he transgress in his behaviour, who never went out from the desert? How did the guilt of a talkative tongue defile him, who was parted far from mankind? When did even a fault of silence attach to him, who so vehemently charged those that came to him? O generation, of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [Matt. 3, 7] How is it then, that Job is distinguished above other men by the testimony of God, and yet by his plagues is brought down even to a dunghill? How is it that John is commended by the voice of God, and yet for the words of a drunkard suffers death as the prize of dancing? How is it, that Almighty God so utterly disregards in this present state of being those whom He chose so exaltedly before the worlds, saving this, which is plain to the religious sense of the faithful, that it is for this reason He thus presses them below, because He sees how to recompense them on high? And He casts them down without to the level of things contemptible, because He leads them on within to the height of things incomprehensible. From hence then let everyone collect what those will have to suffer There, that are condemned by Him, if here He thus torments those whom He loves, or how they shall be smitten, who are destined to be convicted at the Judgment, if their life is sunk so low, who are commended by witness of the Judge Himself.
33. For what is the potsherd in the hand of the Lord, but the flesh which He took of the clay of our nature? For the potsherd receives firmness by fire. And the Flesh of our Lord was rendered stronger by His Passion, in so far as dying by infirmity, He arose from death void of infirmity. And hence too it is rightly delivered by the Prophet, My strength is dried up like a potsherd. [Ps. 22, 15] For His ‘strength was dried up like a potsherd,’ Who strengthened the infirmity of the flesh which He took upon Him by the fire of His Passion. But what is to be understood by humour [saniem] saving sin? For it is the custom to denote the sins of the flesh by flesh and blood. And hence it is said by the Psalmist, Deliver me from blood. [Ps. 51, 16] Humour then is the corruption of the blood. And so what do we understand by humour but the sins of the flesh, rendered worse by length of time? Thus the wound turns to humour when sin, being neglected, is aggravated by habit. And so the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, in giving up His Body into the hands of those that persecuted Him, scraped the humour with a potsherd, forasmuch as He put away sin by the flesh; for He came, as it is written, in the likeness of sinful flesh, that He might condemn sin of sin. [Rom. 8, 3. Vulg.] And whilst He presented the purity of His own Flesh to the enemy, He cleansed away the defilements of ours. And by means of that flesh whereby the enemy held us captive, He made atonement for us whom He set free. For that which was made an instrument of sin by us, was by our Mediator converted for us into the instrument of righteousness. And so ‘the humour is scraped with a potsherd,’ when sin is overcome by the flesh. It is rightly subjoined;
And he sat down upon a dunghill.
34. Not in the court in which the law resounds, not in the building which lifts its top on high, but on a dunghill he takes his seat, which is because the Redeemer of man on coming to take the flesh, as Paul testifies, hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. [1 Cor. 1, 27] Does not He, as it were, sit down upon a dunghill, the buildings being ruined, Who, the Jews in their pride being left desolate, rests in that Gentile world, which He had for so long time rejected? He is found outside the dwelling all in His sores, Who herein, that He bore with Judaea, which set itself against Him, suffered the pain of His Passion amid the scorn of His own people; as John bears witness, who says, He came unto His own, but His own received Him not. [John 1, 11] And how He rests Himself upon a dunghill, let this same Truth say for Himself; for He declared, Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. [Luke 15, 7. and 10.] See, He sits upon a dunghill in grief, Who, after sins have been committed, is willing to take possession of penitent hearts. Are not the hearts of penitent sinners like a kind of dunghill, in that while they review their misdoings with bewailing, they are, as it were, heaping dung before their eyes in abusing themselves? So when Job was smitten he did not seek a mountain, but sat down upon a dunghill, in that when our Redeemer came to His Passion, He left the high minds of the proud, and rested in the lowliness of the heavy laden. And this, while yet before His Incarnation, He indicated, when He said by the Prophet, But to this man will I look, even to him, that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. [Is. 66, 2]
35. But who can think what numberless outrages He underwent at the hands of men, Who showed to men such unnumbered mercies? Who can think how great those are which He even yet undergoes, yea now that He reigns from above over the hearts of the faithful? For it is He that endures daily all wherein His Elect are racked and rent by the hands of the reprobate. And though the Head of this Body, which same are we, already lifts itself free above all things, yet He still feels in His Body, which He keeps here below, the wounds dealt it by reprobate sinners. But why do we speak thus of unbelievers, when within the very Church itself we see multitudes of carnal men, who fight against the life of our Redeemer by their wicked ways. For there are some, who set upon Him with evil deeds, because they cannot with swords, forasmuch as when they see that what they go after is lacking to them in the Church, they become enemies to the just, and not only settle themselves into wicked practices, but are also busy to bend the uprightness of good men to a crooked course. For they neglect to lift their eyes to the things of eternity, and in littleness of mind they yield themselves up to the lust of temporal things, and they fall the deeper from eternal blessings, in proportion as they look upon temporal blessings as the only ones. The simplicity of the righteous is displeasing to these, and when they find opportunity for disturbing them, they press them to lay hold of their own duplicity.
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SUMMARY
Job 2:8 presents a stark and profoundly moving image of Job's utter destitution and excruciating suffering. Having lost his wealth, children, and now afflicted with a severe, painful skin disease, Job is depicted taking a broken piece of pottery to alleviate his torment, and then sitting among the ashes, a public display of profound grief and humiliation. This verse powerfully encapsulates the extreme depth of his physical agony and social degradation, serving as a poignant testament to the relentless trials he endures while remarkably maintaining his integrity before God.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 2:8 is profoundly effective through its use of vivid Imagery, painting a stark and unforgettable picture of human suffering. The visual of Job, a once-wealthy and respected man, now reduced to using a broken Potsherd to scratch his diseased skin while sitting "among the Ashes," evokes a powerful sense of Pathos and deep empathy in the reader. The potsherd and ashes function as potent Symbolism: the potsherd represents utter destitution, the crudeness of suffering, and the stripping away of all comfort and dignity, while the ashes symbolize deep mourning, profound humiliation, and the fragility of human existence. This scene is a masterclass in conveying the raw, visceral reality of Job's affliction through concise yet impactful descriptive elements, making his suffering palpable and universally relatable. The contrast between Job's former glory and his current abject state also creates a powerful sense of Irony, highlighting the unpredictable nature of suffering.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 2:8 stands as a profound theological statement on the reality of human suffering, even for the righteous, and the raw, unvarnished expression of lament in the face of inexplicable pain. It challenges simplistic notions of divine retribution, as Job's suffering is clearly not a result of his sin, but rather a severe test of his integrity and faith. The scene resonates deeply with the biblical theme of lament, demonstrating that expressing anguish and distress to God, even in the most undignified circumstances, is not a sign of weakness or unbelief but an authentic human response to profound trials. It foreshadows the long, arduous journey of Job's questioning and his eventual vindication, affirming that God is sovereign and present even in the depths of despair, and that true faith can endure the most severe tests. This verse invites believers to acknowledge the reality of suffering, to embrace honest lament, and to trust in God's inscrutable yet ultimately good purposes, even when His ways are hidden from our view.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 2:8 offers a sobering yet profoundly comforting mirror for believers navigating their own seasons of intense suffering. It reminds us that even the most righteous and devout individuals are not exempt from excruciating physical, emotional, or spiritual pain. Job's actions—scraping his sores with a crude potsherd and sitting in the ashes of desolation—are not a failure of faith but an authentic, raw, and undignified expression of deep anguish. This scene grants us permission to lament, to express our pain without pretense or spiritualized platitudes, and to acknowledge the crushing weight of trials. It teaches us that true resilience is not the absence of pain or a stoic denial of suffering, but the capacity to endure it, even in the most humiliating and undignified circumstances, without abandoning our core commitment and trust in God. In our own suffering, whether physical ailments, emotional distress, or spiritual desolation, we are called to bring our brokenness before God, just as Job did, trusting that He sees, He knows, and He remains sovereign, even when His purposes are hidden from our view. This verse encourages profound empathy for those in distress, urging us to see beyond outward appearances to the profound suffering that may lie beneath, and to offer compassionate presence rather than simplistic answers or judgmental platitudes.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Job use a potsherd to scrape himself?
Answer: Job used a potsherd, a broken piece of clay pottery, because he was afflicted with "sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown" (Job 2:7). These boils were intensely painful and likely caused severe, unbearable itching. In his state of utter destitution, having lost all his possessions, family, and likely access to any form of medical care or even basic hygiene, a discarded potsherd was the only readily available, albeit crude and unhygienic, implement he could find to attempt to alleviate his torment. It vividly underscores the severity of his suffering and his desperate, primal need for even a moment's relief, highlighting his complete lack of resources and dignity.
What is the significance of Job sitting "among the ashes"?
Answer: Sitting "among the ashes" was a deeply symbolic and culturally significant act in the ancient Near East, signifying profound mourning, deep grief, humiliation, and often, repentance or lament. It was a public display of utter distress and a complete withdrawal from normal life and social standing. For Job, who was once described as the "greatest of all the people of the east" (Job 1:3), sitting in ashes represented his complete loss of status, his profound sorrow over his children and possessions, and his identification with the lowest, most desolate state of humanity. It was a visible, public declaration of his profound suffering and his utter brokenness to anyone who might observe him, a stark and deliberate contrast to his former glory and prosperity.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job's profound suffering, vividly depicted in his use of a crude potsherd and his desolate seat among the ashes, finds its ultimate echo and redemptive fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While Job's suffering was a test of his integrity, Christ's suffering was uniquely redemptive, a voluntary descent into the depths of human brokenness, sin, and humiliation to secure eternal salvation for humanity. The excruciating physical agony Job endured, scraping his boils, foreshadows the incomprehensible physical torment of Christ, who was scourged, mocked, crowned with thorns, and crucified, bearing the "stripes" by which we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Job's profound humiliation, sitting in ashes, resonates deeply with Christ's ultimate humility, who, "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7). He became "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), identifying with humanity in its lowest and most desolate state. Just as Job, despite his overwhelming suffering, did not curse God, Christ perfectly obeyed His Father, even to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8), demonstrating perfect faithfulness amidst unparalleled suffering. Through Christ, the problem of innocent suffering is not merely explained but divinely transformed and overcome, as His resurrection transforms the ashes of despair into the beauty of new life and eternal hope, offering ultimate vindication and glory to all who suffer in and for Him (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).