Why is This Happening to Me?

The first two chapters of Job give us the large-scale scope of what is happening to Job: He is stuck in a cosmic tug-of-war between God and the Accuser, Satan. Satan argues that God has blessed Job, and this is the reason he is righteous. If God would take away everything that Job owns, he would curse God. Job loses his livestock, his servants, and his children, but still does not blame God or sin in any way (Job 1:22). Satan then argues that if God were to strike Job’s flesh, this would surely cause him to curse God, so God allows Job to be infected with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head (Job 2:7). Amid all this happening, Job has no knowledge of the machinations behind the scenes. His only reality is the pain and suffering he is experiencing. His wife urges him to curse God and die (Job 2:9). His friends sit silently with him for seven days and seven nights (Job 2:13). But Job must eventually give voice to his anguish.