One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” 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.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “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. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 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. One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
—Job 1:6-22 (TNIV)
Here we see the introduction of the problem of suffering. Satan poses the challenge to God. “Job is righteous only because you, God, don’t rain on his parade.” And so God allows Satan to do just that. This begins to challenge conventional Jewish wisdom regarding the problem of suffering. Those who suffer have obviously done something to deserve it.
But notice Job’s reaction to the catastrophes that Satan causes to fall on him. He does not curse God, but rather thanks God for his generosity. Job understands that God is the owner and he is but the steward. Reading this story with 21st century eyes may cloud its impact because most of us do not have livestock as the basis for our material wealth. To help you appreciate the extent of Job’s loss, besides losing all his children, itself an unimaginable catastrophe, substitute your bank account or 401K or other monetary assets and you get the picture. Satan wiped Job out, expecting him to curse God, but Job did not do so.
Having just suffered the loss of a sweet little kitten prematurely and unexpectedly, and having suffered other loss before, I can tell you that it is tempting and easy to blame God, and to ask the “why” questions. But Job did not do so. Instead, he responded in grief and thanksgiving to God for all that God had provided him. Job loved God for God’s goodness and mercy, for being God, not for what God had given him; that was just icing on the cake.
Do you have that kind of trust and confidence in God?