Why did God wager with Satan on the affections and loyalty of Job?

Question

Job chapter 1 verses 6 through 12

(This is the same God who in Genesis 6:7 said "I shall destroy mankind whom I have created, both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have created them.")

The God who thought about destroying his own creation, is now wagering with Satan on the loyalty of some mortal human who was in general a pious man; but Satan challenged God to a wager and God accepted.

Do those of you who know the Bible, and are familiar which God's many moods in the Old Testament, do you sometimes get the impression that this God is capricious and vain and emotional and erratic?

Here he is wagering with Satan. Any thoughts on that?

Answer 1

Satan is stating that he can take Job and that Job would in fact curse God.
He could do all he wanted to him but take his life.
Never once did Job curse God or turn his back against Him either.
The moral of the story is, Job had strong faith regardless what he was up against

Answer 2

I believe that God made us in His image, and since we can not see or touch God, maybe the 'image' is the massive range of moods we see in Him. Look at the most creative famous inventors, artists, etc. It is said that many or most of them suffered from what we have labeled 'mental illness'. Albert Einstein, Michaelangelo, Piccaso, Ernest Hemingway. I think these creative minds also had intense moods, sometimes to the point of suicide.
I have visited people with mental illnesses in the hospitals and haven't found many with a intelligence. These same people are very creative and continuously having new ideas. I think that though we were created in God's image, if we get too many emotions or creative juices flowing, it can be harmful.

Have you ever watched the movie "lawnmower man"? Perfect example of how learning to much and mixing with too many emotions can be explosive.

I believe that because of Job's faithfulness, God had protected him from evil for a time until the wager. I think God was proving to God and everyone that reads this story, that even if you are faithful to him, upright and pious, that you may also go though trials with Satan - but only to the extent of our faith- so that we can grow in our faith. I also think this book teaches us about how strong we can be when we have faith.

I have heard that Satan has the intelligence of a ten - twelve year old boy. This would imply that that most of us can show him up because like a twelve year old, we can learn to outwit him. I think that Job was tested to leave for us an example of the power of mind over matter. This story also talks of how it is best to respect God's ways as well as the power of prayer.

Peace.

Answer 3

god said in Genesis '' the end of all flesh is before me.'' the earth had become filled with violence and the Nephilim were around. also the angels that had taken fleshly bodies were around. god felt regret that he had created man becuse he was pained by all the disgusting filth and murder and unnatural things that he had to witness when he looked on the earth. However he carried 8 people through the flood and brought an end to that wicked system.
Satan was charging that Job only worshipped god when things were going well for him. Job was receiving god's blessing. satan asked for a change please. thrust out your hand .Job 2 v5 god accepted because satan was saying Job would only worship God when things were going well. All the angels were watching. God agreed. Interestingly it was not god who plagued job because god said to him at Job 1 v12. not to touch Job physically. so it was the devil that plagued him. not god.
then the stakes were raised. Job 2 1-9
If god had not accepted satan's charge then satan would have looked to have a point. do your worst said God. job was pressured by his wife and his would be counsellors could not accept that he had done nothing to deserve it. God is erratic ? how so ? moody ? pah. you do not understand the universal importance of the accounts you mention.

Answer 4

The story of Job is an interesting one. Satan comes in the "entourage of sons of god" in Job, as that is what he is, as well as being a spy for his father Yahweh. If Yahweh had not been so narcissistic, he would not have made that "wager" with Satan to prove that Job would worship Yahweh regardless of the calamities which were inflicted on Job by Satan. In other words, the killing of Job's children meant less to Yahweh than proving to Satan that Job loved him.....which I find abominable.

Answer 5

NUmber one - He is not "wagering" with satan. Satan was looking for someone to work on. God KNEW Job trusted in Him enough that satan would not be able to turn Job from God. Was He vain? I think not, but He was proud of Job and rewarded him for his devotion.

Answer 6

God was kinda proud of Job. He was a very kind a spiritual man who loved God and Satan, honestly, was unhappy about this. Satan decides he's going to mess up God's "star pupil" and see if he stays true to God. God, being omniscient accepts Satan's offer to test Job, knowing he will pass. Then Satan makes a jerk of himself before the whole of Heaven and Hell and leaves in huff.

Answer 7

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of Gods plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It’s meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 8

Well God won the bet anyway. Job's faith remained solid.

Maybe God has wagered with Satan in modern times too, and has allowed Satan to created false fossils to make us believe in evolution.

Satan probably challenged God to a wager on the faith of church people, saying 'just let me manufacture false fossils and I can make them into atheists', and God said "No, you can't! Church people have so much faith, it doesn't matter how many false fossils the paleontologists find, church people will still believe in me,!" And the wager was on.

Answer 9

in this case we see satan's true role in the myth. he is NOT evil, but rather the tester of god's creation. how, according to christianity, could god sit next to satan and have a cordial conversation concerning whether or not Job loved god because of his wealth, when god has to banish sinners to hell simply because they are evil? if god can allow satan to hang out in heaven then certainly a few trillion sinners shouldn't be a problem!

satan is even sent by god to test jesus. he did not sneak up on jesus, jesus was led by the spirit to be tempted. now, if jesus is god, how the hell does that make any sense???

in fact, can we find one passage wherein satan has destroyed anything (other than in Job, considering we know he asked god's permission first). What i see is that god goes about jealously eradicating entire civilizations on a whim! but satan simply tests god's subjects to see if they truly do believe! who's "evil" now???

Answer 10

Ever read the end of the book of Job? God's confidence in his servant was vindicated and he kinda stuck it to Satan. God wasn't gambling he knows the end from the beginning.