Job was a righteous man, but he experienced many tragedies in his life. In a mysterious glimpse into God’s throne room, Satan is challenging God to a test, with Job as their subject. Satan presumes Job is only good because he is blessed; God contends Job will remain good even if his blessings are taken.
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Satan brings disaster upon Job’s life. His children die, his servants die, his livestock die. When Job remained righteous through all of this, Satan struck Job’s body with excruciating sores. Job’s own wife told him to curse God for all that had happened to him, but Job refused.
Job was then visited by friends who had a lot of theological knowledge but no pastoral sensitivity. They each told Job that there must have been something he did or some sin he had committed to bring about these misfortunes. In spite of his friends’ discussions, Job would not be swayed; he continued to claim that he was innocent of wrong. He demanded his day in court with God.
God spoke to Job and gave him a tour of the marvels of creation. God revealed his own wisdom and power, and Job was faced with the reality of how little he himself truly understood about the universe and the power and wisdom of God. He acknowledged he was only one small part of God’s creation and repented of challenging God. God then restored Job’s fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.
Job shows us that blessings and hardships cannot easily be correlated with righteousness and wickedness. It is true that good actions often lead to good results and wicked actions usually yield bad results. However, it is also true that sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. Job’s story is an example for us. Whatever our circumstances, God’s plans are bigger than we can comprehend. God is God, and we are not. We can also take comfort in the fact that, even after all his suffering, Job found God to be good.
