This is the moment that Toto pulls the curtain back and reveals that the Wizard is just a man doing a bunch of theatrics. Unlike the Wizard of Oz we don't have to wait till the end of the book to find out what is going on in the behind the curtain with Job. God tells up right up front the who, what, and why of what is going on. It is as is God was writing 1 Peter 4:12, right then; "
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you" God doesn't want us to be in the dark as to the trials that come our way, He has left clues all through the Bible about when we face trials in our lives.
Once the curtain to God's throne is pulled back we see that God is on His throne and Satan is there making accusations before God about those on earth. In 1 Peter 5:8, we see that Satan walks the Earth searching out for people that he can destroy. Then God threw a monkey wrench at Satan. He asked him if he ever thought about testing His servant Job, for he was a righteous man. Satan accused that was because God has protected him. The only condition that God put on Satan is that he couldn't take Job's life.
What happened is that Satan first took away Job's wealth, yet Job still sought God. Next Satan took away Job's children, and Job still sought God. Finally, Satan attacked Job's health with boils all over his body. Even with his wife being extremely bitter and angry, telling Job to curse God and die; Job remain faithful to God. To show how serious he was in his devotion to God, Job tore his clothes and sat in an ash heap and put the ashes all over his body.
It is interesting that Job admits that he was bitter. Bitterness is a key factor to many illnesses, including: ulcers, heart disease, even boils. Job is not the only one mention in the Bible with bitterness and boils, in Isaiah 38 & 39, tells about how King Hezekiah almost died from a boil that was healed once he dealt with his bitterness. It is through his story that we learned bitterness is used as a band aid to keep us from feeling the emotional pain.
So why did God allow Satan to atack Job the way he did? Satan had accused that the only reason Job was faithful to God was that had blessed Job and that God had protected Job. That if God allowed all that to be removed that Job would be like anyone else and blame God for what happened to him. God allowed what happen to Job to prove Satan wrong and in the end bring Glory to God. Which in the end of chapter three that Job still praises God even after his wife encouraged him to curse God and die.
So now let's look at the saying that "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." Most of the time the verse that is used for that is 1 Corinthians 10:13,
"No temptation is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
This is talking about temptation. What happened to Job was not a temptation but a trial/test of his character. What we can take away from the first three chapters of Job is this, nothing happens to us that has not been given a stamp of approval by God and that in the end it will bring glory to God. How we see it and what we feel at the time of going through the trial may not always show that we remember that fact. Yet, the coffee cup verse Romans 8:28, is a strong promise that in the end it will all work together for our good.
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you" God doesn't want us to be in the dark as to the trials that come our way, He has left clues all through the Bible about when we face trials in our lives.
Once the curtain to God's throne is pulled back we see that God is on His throne and Satan is there making accusations before God about those on earth. In 1 Peter 5:8, we see that Satan walks the Earth searching out for people that he can destroy. Then God threw a monkey wrench at Satan. He asked him if he ever thought about testing His servant Job, for he was a righteous man. Satan accused that was because God has protected him. The only condition that God put on Satan is that he couldn't take Job's life.
What happened is that Satan first took away Job's wealth, yet Job still sought God. Next Satan took away Job's children, and Job still sought God. Finally, Satan attacked Job's health with boils all over his body. Even with his wife being extremely bitter and angry, telling Job to curse God and die; Job remain faithful to God. To show how serious he was in his devotion to God, Job tore his clothes and sat in an ash heap and put the ashes all over his body.
It is interesting that Job admits that he was bitter. Bitterness is a key factor to many illnesses, including: ulcers, heart disease, even boils. Job is not the only one mention in the Bible with bitterness and boils, in Isaiah 38 & 39, tells about how King Hezekiah almost died from a boil that was healed once he dealt with his bitterness. It is through his story that we learned bitterness is used as a band aid to keep us from feeling the emotional pain.
So why did God allow Satan to atack Job the way he did? Satan had accused that the only reason Job was faithful to God was that had blessed Job and that God had protected Job. That if God allowed all that to be removed that Job would be like anyone else and blame God for what happened to him. God allowed what happen to Job to prove Satan wrong and in the end bring Glory to God. Which in the end of chapter three that Job still praises God even after his wife encouraged him to curse God and die.
So now let's look at the saying that "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." Most of the time the verse that is used for that is 1 Corinthians 10:13,
"No temptation is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
This is talking about temptation. What happened to Job was not a temptation but a trial/test of his character. What we can take away from the first three chapters of Job is this, nothing happens to us that has not been given a stamp of approval by God and that in the end it will bring glory to God. How we see it and what we feel at the time of going through the trial may not always show that we remember that fact. Yet, the coffee cup verse Romans 8:28, is a strong promise that in the end it will all work together for our good.