God Sends Good And Bad

Reading through the book of Job is an interesting enterprise. Bad stuff happens, more bad stuff happens, people complain, people accuse, God shows up. God doesn't explain his actions, but does give a monologue about how awesome He is.
Only God can brag.

It appears as though God manipulates Satan into attacking Job. Maybe God wanted to show the spirit world that there were a few humans who would not curse Him even when life falls apart. That there were indeed a few people with integrity.
Unlike Satan, who fell into apostasy because he couldn't be as big as God.

Check out Job chapter 2. Yeah, go ahead. Satan says Job will curse God if Job gets sick. God takes that challenge, after taunting the Devil with Job's great character ("Look at my man Job! He didn't lose faith even when you killed his kids and destroyed his livelihood!").
Satan inflicts Job with nasty boils over his entire body, as drawn by John Totleben above.

This was a bad week for our pal Job.

But listen to this:
'Then his wife said to him: "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"'

Can you hear the venom spewing from her lips?

Now in her defense, her ten children had just died in a storm, and all her wealth had been destroyed. So she was grieved. But...

Job says: "You speak as one of the foolish women speak. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"

Think on that for a moment.

We think all good stuff comes from God, and bad stuff from Satan or the world. Job knows better. He knows it all comes from God. He didn't get mad about it either. He did lament the day of his birth, though. But God never called him out on it. In fact, He still said Job was blameless.

In his pain, Job wished he had never been born. His friends showed up too, and after being silent for a week, decided to give him their opinions about why his life fell apart.
It was his fault, they said!
He must have had some secret sin that had offended God. These things couldn't possibly happen to a righteous man!

But they do, don't they? God hands out adversity like free tickets to a baseball game. But you can't refuse these...

In the end, Job saw God's power and forgot about himself. God then told the three friends that He wasn't pleased with their speeches. They had not spoken well of God, as Job had. There is a lesson here. God didn't come to Job's aid because his friends were accusing him, He came to his aid because Job was speaking right about God. Job hadn't cursed God. He knew Him well enough not to do that. His friends thought they knew Him, but were merely superstitious. Job understood that God hands out trouble and doesn't owe anyone an explanation for it.

I'm sure this baffled Satan. What happens when you think you know better than God?
You fall.

Job also understood that his Redeemer was coming, and that he would see Him face to face. That always puts our lives in perspective, doesn't it?
His theology was in good order!

Job now had to pray for his friends, which he did. They offered their sacrifices, and Job prayed for them. What a good friend! See, God listened to Job because he was blameless. Not sinless, but blameless. Nobody could say anything bad about him.

Fortunately, it all ends well. Job's wealth is returned to him two-fold. Double the donkeys, double the camels, etc. He even has ten more kids, evidently with the same misinformed wife. He lived another 140 years as well, probably living to 210.
God took care of him.

Here is what we don't like about God: that He gives trouble. We ask 'Why?' and don't get a reply. But God can do whatever he wants with his clay. He uses adversity, sends adversity, to mold His people into a beautiful piece of pottery. He is preparing us for Heaven, where there is no pride or lust. Adversity has a way of stripping all that away.
As Christians, we no longer are our own, but we now belong to Christ. He bought us. He can do what He wants with us. His ways are good, though, so don't forget that.

Job knew this, and was well spoken of because of it.