And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited Me against him without any reason.
There's suffering. And then there's Job. What happens to Job strikes me as obsessive. And even the word "obsessive" seems understatement. It seems unusually cruel, even criminal. How could I think otherwise? But I trust God and have hopes in the next life He will put it right for me.
In a matter of just a few verses four tragedies strike in quick succession, so quick that if it weren't so horrific it would be comic. First the Sabeans take oxen and donkeys and kill the servants. Then fire from heaven consumes Job's sheep and servants. Then the Chaldeans take the camels and kill the servants. Then a mighty wind collapse the house and kill Job's sons and daughters. The horrible events go back and forth between manmade and divine-made disasters so there can be no doubt where the punishment has come from.
And Job worships God. How does he do that? I'd like to think this story is a fable, a myth, a drama created for our learning and not historic happening that challenges my faith and my concept of God and unconditional love and fairness. But it does.
And how is it the devil has such unchallenged access to God?
Lord knows.
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