THE BOOK OF JOB 97 



those facts suggest* He seems to tear into shreds and 

 tatters the conventional platitudes of his day and of ours. 



We probably all know the outline of the story. The 

 scene of the prologue is Heaven^ where the sons of God 

 present themselves before the Throne, and give an 

 account of their doings. Amongst them is the Satan, 

 whom we must be careful not to confuse with our 

 ** devil/* The Satan of classical Hebrew literature was 

 one of the Sons of God, whose duty it was to test men's 

 characters. 



Long experience has made him cynical, so that when 

 God calls his attention to the righteousness and integrity 

 of His Servant Job, the Satan suggests that Job has 

 not served God for nought. His services have been well 

 remunerated, God has only to take away his wealth, 

 and Job will curse Him to His face. So God gives the 

 Satan a free hand and in one day Job loses all his wealth ; 

 his children, his slaves, and his flocks and herds. But 

 far from cursing God, Job says ** Naked I came into the 

 world and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the 

 Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the ' 

 Lord,*' 



Thus the Satan is foiled, but he is far from being at 

 the end of his resources. So when next the Sons of 

 God appear before the Throne and God again points 

 out to the Satan the righteousness of His Servant Job, 

 the Satan answers that he has not yet laid His Hand on 

 Job himself, A man's possessions are things outside 

 himself. Let Job's body be afflicted and then indeed 

 he will curse God, 



So Satan is again given a free hand with the one 

 limitation that Job's Hfe shall be spared. Job is afflicted 

 with a loathsome disease, and so terrible are his suffer- 

 ings that even his wife turns against him and tells him to 

 ** curse God and die," But Job reproves her with the 1 

 words, ** We have received good at the Lord's Hand, ^ 



