Why did God play right into Satan's hands by allowing Job to be tortured for 18 YEARS?

Question

All I hear is "God didn't punish Job. He let the devil do it to prove to him that true believes never falter in their faith!"

And I say - why would God need to prove ANYTHING to Satan? Heck, he created Satan! He knew exactly what Satan would do. Alright, fine, he gave Satan a choice. Satan chose B.

If we can all agree that the Biblical devil would get his greatest enjoyment out of seeing someone being tortured for years, then didn't God play right into his hands? Kind of makes you question why, huh? He, according to the Bible (yes, this is a hypothetical) allowed Satan to torture Job to, in essence, win a bet. He allowed a man's children, land and loves to be taken from him and he allowed large, pussy boils to form all over his body just to prove something to Satan?

IMPORTANT - No excuses:
Most Christians tell me that the Old & New Testaments describe their God. Please don't tell me, "Oh, that was the OLD Testament, before Jesus died for our sins." God IS Jesus, the trinity, we've all heard it. And especially don't use it if you follow O.T. rules, i.e. banning homosexuality.

LOL, I suppose I should have said "pus-filled".

To me this says nothing about faith, and everything about the fact that an omnipotent and omniscient god needn't EVER prove a point to anyone, let alone the devil!

(Again, it's a hypothetical, so please keep the "work of fiction" comments to a minimum. I am looking for people's opinion of this scenario. Thanks.)

Julian - If all the Bible stories are allegorical then isn't it possible too that "God" and "Jesus" are allegories as well, created by man to keep law and numb the fear of death? Oh, wait, that's your POINT, isn't it? *Slaps forehead* Yes, indeedy-do. It seems we are on the very same page. ;-) And I am NOT a dude!!!

LovelyFeathers- The same can be said of God.

Yes, Erica, I read forward. Twice. Which is why I say "18 years" rather than forever. So God "gave it all back" - to a man who had lost everything that ever meant anything to him. By then Job wanted to be dead. I doubt the extra silo did it for him. And, PLEASE, get your head out of what you've been taught for just a moment and tell me why God allowed Satan to do the thing Satan wanted most? Satan likes TORTURE, not death. Of course God played right into Satan's hands. If he is God I can't imagine he needs to prove a point - unless man wrote the Bible and created 'God' as a way of reigning in the lawless.

LOL Footprints! I too have asked this question in many different incarnations previously and always got the same answers you did. I realized I had lucked out the minute I read the first few answers!

Oh, Hamoh. I don't WANT to read the scriptures again - you go do that. You call what Job's 'friends' gave him "sufficient advice"? Why would your God allow someone to be tortured? It's TERRIBLE. Period!

Hi Jeffrey,
It was 18 years after the torment began that God gave Job "new" children to make up for the old ones (like that's at all possible) and threw in even better land plus an extra silo or two. Job had 10 children. It is unclear in the book what exactly happens to them but Job can NEVER see them again. Imagine losing your children and being tortured for 18 years. When the torture stops, do you think you won't have psychological scars? I'm sure Job died soon after his land was replenished, an empty and broken man.

Zero - I love you. You're brilliant.

Did I mention that I loved you? I do. I love you. You're my gal.

Answer 1

You heard it here first, Thrice. Straight from Charles. We are NOTHING. Nothing compared to the Abrahamic deity. Hence he can toy with our lives because, after all, "might makes right", yes? Of COURSE. Of course.

OH, oh, and we're immeasurably dense in comparison to our Divine Father, don't forget that fun fact. We, with our pitiable human logic and reasoning, can't see the pure GENIUS in Yahweh's incomprehensibly brilliant plan. It's our shortcomings as lowly ambulating sacks of flesh that prevent us from realizing and appreciating the beauty and benefit in tearing a man's children from his arms and inflicting a vile sickness on his body all for the sake of teaching SOMEONE ELSE, namely SATAN, a lesson. Oh, if only we could see the WISDOM in such a scheme! But fear not... God can!

And I'm sure this was a VERY effective means of showing Satan "the light", so to speak. How RIDICULOUS that you entertain the notion of Satan deriving pleasure from indulging in his favorite sport: TORTURE. I'm sure Satan came away humbled and enlightened after nearly 2 solid decades of inflicting gut wrenching, heart crushing agony. Yes ma'am, Satan sure did learn his lesson, mm hm! What a clever, clever deity Yahweh must be!

Answer 2

Are you kidding me ? Satan said to God right there in Job 1:10 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Satan knew that he could not TOUCH JOB - THAT IS WHY HE DIDNT DO IT BEFORE ?!! hello ! satan said that he had been walking to and fro in the earth and causing havoc. meaning he had been making as much trouble for everybody as possible, but he knew he couldnt touch job because of the HEDGE - that PROTECTION- around him. so God brought Job up as a challenge, the wager was that Job would not renounce the name of the lord. and He didnt, God is all knowing and he knew 1) Job wasnt going to renonce him and 2) satan was gonna jump at the chance anyways to TRY to mess up jobs life.
IF YOU THINK - that God feel into a trap how is it that after Job came out of all his trials, that he was BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE ??????
12So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

13He had also seven sons and three daughters.

14And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.

15And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.

16After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

17So Job died, being old and full of days.


God did it to us that prove that Job was honorable and faithful, He did it so that he could bless job 100 times more than whay he already had. He did it so that when we were going through something and we think the whole world is against us we can pick up the bible and read Jod and be encouraged, because NOBODY went through what Job went through. Read it again - WITH UNDERSTANDING THIS TIME. and then youll get the moral of the story - you are just stuck on the fact that he went through so much, your stuck at God making an example for the rest of us. that iis if you hold on for christs sake, through trials and tribulations - your latter will be greater than your beginning. ♥

Answer 3

I answered another question you posed regarding the whole Job situation, and I explained about how I identified with the whole thing. Having read your impeccable ranting (I mean that in a good way . . . .) I am beginning to wonder why I allow myself to identify with a character who is ruled not by God, but by Satan. Then I try to remind myself that God is the yin and yang, and that to be able to truly grok beauty and love and goodness, we must experience ugliness, hatred and evil. Well, here I have been living a similar trial, losing everything and everyone, and I have continued to open my heart to God and asking for his favor. Maybe I should stop doing that and this will all go away, for if this is His favor, I would HATE to think what it would be like to live without it.

Although, I must admit, I am blessed and enriched in ways well beyond the physical, ways that could never compare to earthly riches. So I guess that is why I keep going back for more.

(((Thrice))). I must admit to you that I am beginning to see your point. Questioning still, always thinking, always feeling, ever changing, ever growing. Thank you.

Answer 4

That is my question too! With all those explanations, I still don't understand the real reason. I think that until this days we have a lots of Jobs. I know I have been tortured enough.

Answer 5

I don't know where you got the 18 years from !

Actually Satan played right into God's hands by making this challenge !

In essence Satan said that Job only Served God because of what kind of rewards he could get from God and not because he TRULY LOVED God. Satan also implied that ALL HUMANS serve God out of a Selfish Motive and that this even extended to angels and Even to God's very Own Son Jesus !

When Job proved faithful it proved that some True Hearted People TRULY SERVE AND LOVE God !

So God ALLOWED this Temporary Torture of Job to encourage future TRUE SERVANTS of God to Remain faithful even though they may not even KNOW WHY they're being persecuted (like Job didn't know)

There were MANY WELL THOUGHT OUT REASONS That God ALLOWED This Test of Job and I encourage you to read Job with the Idea of Learning for yourself all these Reasons

Best Wishes and I hope you'll have a Sincere Bible Study with Jehovah's CHRISTIAN Witnesses to help you along your way

Best Wishes !

Answer 6

Hallo,God allowed Satan to tortured Job becaused He is very proud of Job because Job has a great faith and faithful to God no matter what happened to Him.He tried to proved Satan that He have a great man and a faithful Job.

Answer 7

As you stated, according to the old testament it was to prove to Satan that Job's faith was unshakable. However, I do not pay attention to the old testament anymore as I believe that there are many spirits who can convince people that they are God. Satan certainly has that power. According to my belief the old testament passed away as soon as all prophecies were fulfilled. A religious college which required I take religious classes, taught this. It makes sense to me as the God in the old testament is so horrible, I cannot worship it. I cannot have faith in a God who starts war. I believe that's why God sent us Christ, in order that we may understand God in the proper perspective.
Blessed Be

Answer 8

Let's see. God knows everything and the outcome. Satan knows what he thinks and believes of him self. So how did Satan fool God again?
Seems a lot like God and mankind to me. He is the answer but everyone is still running around making up questions.

Answer 9

The story of Job is what's called a "type" in the Bible. God wasn't trying to make a point to Satan, His point is to those He knew would honor and serve Him. And thousands of years later we're still using it as the example (or type) which God intended.

Answer 10

I have read the book of Job several times in the past. I have not seen the boils as being a 'long term' situation. I have wondered about Jobs 'kids', but have not delved into that part deeper yet. Where did you get the 18 years from?