(Job 2:1–13 | Chapter III of Jessie Penn-Lewis’s *The Story of Job*)
“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” —Job 2:10 (KJV)
He does not call her foolish—only says she is speaking like those who are. His integrity remains intact.
“In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10)
The heavenly council assembles once more. Satan returns. Job still stands.
God again holds him up:
“He still holdeth fast his integrity…”
But Satan is not finished. Stripped of wealth and family, Job remains unbroken. So the adversary now presses for more:
“Skin for skin… Touch his bone and flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.”
And God permits it.
The Second Blow: A Body in Pain
Satan smites Job with “sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.” His body erupts in affliction. Job sits in ashes, scraping himself with broken pottery.
Here is the image of true devastation: a man emptied of everything. Penn-Lewis writes:
“The climax of pain is reached… when the body is added to the spoiling of goods and the bereavement of loved ones.”
This is not just physical torment. It is humiliation. In biblical thought, disease was often equated with divine disfavor. Yet Job’s spirit remains unshaken.
The Breaking Point of Others
His wife finally speaks—her only recorded words:
“Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.”
Penn-Lewis is careful not to villainize Job’s wife. She frames her outburst as the cry of a crushed heart. She, too, lost her children. Her grief, compounded by Job’s visible suffering, breaks through in despair.
But Job responds without venom. He rebukes her gently:
“Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh…”
Enter the Friends — and the Silence
Three friends arrive. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come with genuine sympathy. At first, they do the right thing:
– They sit.
– They weep.
– And for seven days, they say nothing.
Penn-Lewis notes the solemnity of their silence:
“They saw how great was his grief.”
And so they waited. It is only in the next chapter, when they begin to speak, that error creeps in.
Penn-Lewis’s Insight
“Job’s integrity stood the test of the second blow… and the silence of friends was more tender than their words.”
These opening trials were not meant to expose sin but to reveal faith.
Overcomer’s Checkpoint
1. Can I worship God when pain touches my body and health?
2. How do I respond when those closest to me cannot bear my trial?
3. Am I willing to sit silently with the suffering—or do I rush to speak?
“The climax of pain is reached when the body is added to the bereavement of loved ones.” —Jessie Penn-Lewis