JOB
JOB : This story is about Job (from the land of Uz), a good man
who
feared God and stayed
away from evil and who was quite wealthy. Satan (the Accuser)
requested
that God test this man Job by having him suffer. Job lost his children
and his wealth. Job replied (Job1:21), "...The Lord gave and the Lord has
taken away; may the Name of the Lord be praised." Job then lost his
health and wished he had never been born. Three of Job's friends tried to
convince him that he must have sinned terribly to be in his condition.
Job denied that he had done anything to deserve his pain but he
questioned God, saying that his "Advocate" (i.e., possibly guardian
angel) should witness his innocence (Job 16:19). Job said of wisdom (Job
28:17), "Neither God nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had
for jewels of gold." And (Job 28:28), he said that to fear the Lord is
true wisdom and to forsake evil is true understanding. A new, young
friend pointed out that his questioning God itself was wrong and that man
could never understand God. God spoke to Job of the creation and of
powerful creatures (Job 40 and 41), "behemoth" (possibly the elephant)
and "leviathan" (with fire from its mouth and smoke from its nostrils --
like a dragon), thus showing His power and showing that man should not
question God. Job repented for questioning God and was given twice the
wealth as before and lived to very old age (140 years beyond this
testing). The story points out that suffering or wealth should not be
directly related to sin/evildoing: or, sometimes good people suffer and
sometimes bad people prosper.