Reduced to Rubble

In my limited training as grief counselor, I have read time and time again that we should resist the temptation to "rate" our griefs. All losses are awful, and it doesn't help to say to someone, "My sorrow is worse than yours!" As much as I agree with this principle, I think that the grief undergone by the biblical figure Job really is the worst one imaginable. Consequently, there are lessons to be learned from the way he dealt with his difficult circumstances, and it is to him that we now turn our attention.

The story is simple. Satan came one day to visit God in Heaven. God asks him where he has been recently, and Satan replies that he has been traveling 'to and fro' on the earth. God then asks Satan if he has noticed Job, a "blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil." Satan says that of course Job is good and fears God, because God has incredibly blessed him with family and friends and possessions. Satan argues that if those were removed, then Job would surely curse God. God then gives Satan permission to destroy seven sons, three daughters, and all his worldly goods. All these are taken away from Job, and his response is a famous one:

"And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." (Job 1:21)

Apparently Satan is not pleased with this response of Job's and returns to God, challenging Him once again.

"Then Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.'"

God assents to this, but with the condition that Job's life be spared. Job is then afflicted with "loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head."

This time even Job's wife is frustrated by her husband's calm acceptance of all that has happened to him:

"Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.' But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips." (Job 2:9-10)

The first lesson to be learned here is that God is sovereign over Job and Satan alike. God is the shaper of all events, and Satan, while causing trouble for saints on earth, is only allowed to go so far in his mischief. God clearly has Satan on a leash. He cannot do anything without the permission of God. While this does not answer all of our questions about our losses or about how God rules from heaven, we can take comfort in this: God is in charge. He does all things well, despite the grief and pain that we feel.