Hi James and Ellen,
Job is an example of what may happen when God allows a guy, gal or kid to be caught in Satan’s crosshairs. Job’s story exposes Satan’s restricted playbook, discloses Satan’s psychological, emotional, physical and spiritual sufferings that he incurs in controlled venues, proposes Satan’s ability to con and dupe through using sanctimonious, self-described friends and espouses God’s sovereign will and His matchless omniscience in regards to His constant unfolding plan that He intentionally, inexorable put in motion before He created planet Earth and His purpose of individually and uniquely hardwiring a soul spirit into every guy, gal and kid who has lived, is living and will live on planet Earth. Job is thought to have lived on planet Earth about the same time as when Abraham was living on planet Earth. The anonymous author of the Job Book purports that Job lived in the land of Uz. The land of Uz was 3,000 years ago the territory that was located on the east side of the Jordon River. Job’s story’s writer has Job being married with kids, having livestock, being a land owner, having servants, being healthy and wealthy and exuding a raw, unquenchable faith in God. The 42 chapters of Job Book’s storyline is God’s indubitable and unquestionable commitment to uphold His grace covenant through the absolute worst that He has given Satan the ‘rope’ to inflict. Satan used his God-permitted latitude to have all of Job’s kids killed, all of Job’s animals rustled, Job’s entire body ravaged by boils and self-righteous guys pretending to be friends to put a guilt trip on Job by insisting that Job had somehow compromised his relationship with God for God to instigate the kind of awful punishment that He was leveling on Job.
Even though there is a consensus by Bible commentators and/or pundits that Job did exist, your grandpaa wonders if there is a possibility that the Job Book narrative is a metaphorical allegory that was orally passed from one generation to the next generation – beginning at the time of the patriarchs, to reveal and confirm the problems that are associated with living on planet Earth that lead to hope being challenged and to encourage a fierce, genuine devotion to God that results in hope being affirmed. Some guy at some point between Solomon’s reign as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals – who are God’s specially chosen guys and gals, who were living at that time in the land – which was the land of Canaan, that God gave them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . and the time when the Israelite people group guys and gals were exiled as God’s punishment for their stupidity in believing that He would do nothing to do them if . . . decided to scribe the oral story of the real or the mythical Job into a missive that would be in time accepted into the Biblical canon.
Axioms or truths are to be derived from the perceived appallingly tragic blip in Job’s life story. If painful, stomach racking sufferings are seen as sovereign gifts, a devout perseverance will be genuine as a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid fiercely and diligently seeks God’s unmerited grace. If agonizing, gut wrenching sufferings are seen as calls to a continued repentance from a life that has DNA sin markings in it, a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid will be enlightened more and more as he or she internalizes why and how God is divvying up His curses and blessings. If excruciating, heartbreaking sufferings are seen as being teaching moments, a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid will as Job did through His sufferings, attain insights into God’s heavenly role as his or her vindicator and how he or she will have Him redeem his or her life from Satan’s slanderous attacks. Because of how the subject of suffering was explored and delved into in Job Book – which was through a debate medium, your grandpaa has some skepticism regarding the principal players. Your grandpaa at the same time has no issues with anything that is mentioned in the Job Book. Job very possibly was who the Job Book editor said he was – a wise, wealthy family man. Your grandpaa can speak from his own experiences that there are invariably guys around who think that they have more wisdom than every other guy. Your grandpaa thinks that everyone should read and reread what the Job Book editor wrote about what God said about His creation and His power. The drama and dialogues that are in the Job Book – that begins with a life that is totally ripped apart and ends with a hope realized life, offers promise to all Christ-follower guys, gals and kids who are going through a Job-like crisis. There always seems to be a guy, gal or kid – such as your grandmaa’s sister Gladys who has early onset Alzheimer’s and who has not had the ability for some time to care for herself, such as your grandmaa’s cousin Angie who has had to stay in care facilities for the past nine months because of health issues, your dad’s Aunt Katy’s grandson – Jerald, who has a cancerous brain tumor that is keeping him more and more from doing things independently, who are teaching your grandmaa and grandpaa what it is like to daily struggle with life uncertainties as Satan works overtime to try to wrestle God’s implanted soul spirits from them. Job’s ultimate conclusion to what Satan took him through is that serving God is being in the moment for the sake of God – not for self’s sake. It is having a mindset of being God’s servant ‘for nothing’ that leads to His grace versus thinking that doing something that will conceivably please God as a way to earn points from God which…
Job