Yahweh, the Devil, and Job

[Tonus]

And think about what Job's reaction would be after hearing that all the horrible things he went through was because God was just trying to prove a point to Satan. I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty pissed, and that's the point where I'd renounce God.

I'd be terrified. Because it would mean that being "blameless and upright" and seeking god's approval and rejecting evil was no guarantee that god would not unleash Satan himself upon you. Being a true son of god would not protect you from his almighty wrath if you felt as if you deserved an answer for such horrific treatment. You may have been a good person and suffered terribly at the hand of god's worst enemy, but that didn't mean that you were worth more than any other filthy human slug.

In the story, god rewards Job with riches and ten children to replace those he lost, which makes me think two things. One, it doesn't seem all that easy to simply replace your sons and daughters with "new" ones. Two, if anyone had it worse than Job, it might have been his wife! But Job also gets to spend the rest of his days knowing that it doesn't matter that god rewarded him for his loyalty, because he had been a blameless and upright man before and it didn't count for anything. If god decided that it was time to wreck his life again, he would do so and there was nothing Job could do but grab his ankles and shut his eyes tight and keep repeating "thank you sir may I have another!"