JOB : This story is about Job (from the land of Uz), a
good man who feared God and stayed away from evil and who was
quite wealthy. Satan (the Accuser) requested that God test
this man Job by having him suffer. Job lost his children and his
wealth. Job replied (Job1:21), "...The Lord gave and the
Lord has taken away; may the Name of the Lord be praised."
Job then lost his health and wished he had never been born. Three
of Job's friends tried to convince him that he must have sinned
terribly to be in his condition. Job denied that he had done
anything to deserve his pain but he questioned God, saying that
his "Advocate" (i.e., possibly guardian angel) should
witness his innocence (Job 16:19). Job said of wisdom (Job
28:17), "Neither God nor crystal can compare with it, nor
can it be had for jewels of gold." And (Job 28:28), he said
that to fear the Lord is true wisdom and to forsake evil is true
understanding. A new, young friend pointed out that his
questioning God itself was wrong and that man could never
understand God. God spoke to Job of the creation and of powerful
creatures (Job 40 and 41), "behemoth" (possibly the
elephant) and "leviathan" (with fire from its mouth and
smoke from its nostrils -- like a dragon), thus showing His power
and showing that man should not question God. Job repented for
questioning God and was given twice the wealth as before and
lived to very old age (140 years beyond this testing). The story
points out that suffering or wealth should not be directly
related to sin/evildoing: or, sometimes good people suffer and
sometimes bad people prosper.