Discover the biblical meaning behind Job’s trials. Was Job tested or tempted by God? Let’s continue our study on this topic together.
From Vol. 1, we properly differentiated between a test and a temptation. We saw that the devil tempts men so that they fall and are deceived into doing evil, while God’s test is meant to bring out the best in us, provide the corrections we need, and reassure us of our faith (like Abraham). The test of God is to perfect us. Imagine how confident Abraham would feel about God after that test. Abraham’s trust in God would have grown 200% more from that test.
God’s test is always to make us better. Also, remember that Abraham did not have to sacrifice his son—God provided a lamb Himself. God gives tests for which He has already provided solutions.
In the case of Job, it was not a test but a temptation. From Vol. 2, we saw the devil’s intention: to push Job to the point that he would curse God. With Job, it was not a test from God but a temptation from the devil. I do not think there is a living man who has experienced such a great magnitude of loss. The loss was intended to mount pressure on Job until he would curse God.
From Vol. 2, we saw that it is the devil who kills, steals, and destroys. In Job’s story, he was stolen from, experienced the death of his children, and suffered destruction in that sense.
Most people would agree that God did not cause the disaster that happened to Job. However, why did God allow it?
If we study the pattern of how the devil operates in the Bible, we would see that the devil does not need permission to do evil—he always does evil. Peter says he is roaming about, looking for someone to devour. It just happened that Job was his next prey. From Job 1:5: “…Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.” Job was also sin-conscious, which provided an opening for the devil to penetrate.
One thing God dealt with in the new creation is sin consciousness—He has made us righteous in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Sin consciousness can open the door for the enemy to walk into our lives. It can keep one under fear and worry, which is the devil’s domain, leading to condemnation and death. Thanks be to God for delivering us from the domain of darkness.
Back to Job—why did God allow Job to go through all this? This is similar to the question we all ask when experiencing pain and loss in our lives. A friend of mine once asked why his friend and sister drowned in a flood. I also remembered my grandma’s friend, whose granddaughter also drowned in a flood while in school. In my head, I asked, why?
I also remember the losses I have experienced in my life, and I ask, why? Sometimes we see the story of Job and have different reactions. Some accept it to feel better, while others rebel against it and develop reservations about God. Some even stop believing in God’s existence. We all have the right to react differently because we are different people. However, from my study of the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, I have seen that God does not tempt us with evil nor cooperate with the devil to harm us.
Evil happens in the world because, as Revelation calls him, the dragon (devil) has been thrown into the world (Revelation 12:12).
In Vol. 2, shows that the relationship between God and the devil in Job was strange compared to other descriptions of their relationship in the Bible, I referenced several scriptures: John 10:10, Revelation 12:7-12, Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 12:17, and 2 Corinthians 6:14.
There is no New Testament scripture that corroborates what the writer of Job said. Since this is a Bible study that will continue, we will take our time for a proper study.
The Bible tells us to rebuke the devil (James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”). I do not think God would entertain the devil to the point that it seems like He is collaborating with him to destroy His own. This conflicts with God’s character when understood from the revelation of Christ.
Some say there is an Old Testament God and a New Testament God. The truth is that God did not change; rather, people’s understanding of Him changed. The Old Testament had little understanding of the devil. There are only a few mentions of the devil or Satan in the Old Testament (including Job), so everything was attributed to God. Jesus came to reveal God. Whatever cannot be found in Christ cannot be found in God. He is the express image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3).
Jesus did not inflict disease on anyone; rather, He healed people. I believe God’s involvement in Job’s story was in Job’s restoration (Job 42), which aligns with the character Jesus demonstrated.
Here is a biblical story that conveys a similar thought to Job’s:
John 9:1-5 (KJV):
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, “Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
The blindness of this man was not because of his sin or his parents’ sin. He was blind due to the imperfection of the earth—remember, the dragon has been thrown down. The disciples had a similar reaction to how we respond when we read Job or when we or someone we love experiences loss. We ask, why? Just like the disciples did.
Jesus responded, “… but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” What is the work of God here? Healing the blind man.
This is the best scenario related to Job and see Jesus’ response. How did God respond to Job? He restored all he had lost.
God did not cause the blindness, but He used the healing to demonstrate His restorative power—to the blind man, the disciples, and us. Instead of asking “why?” I suggest that we give God permission to manifest Himself through the losses we have experienced.
When Jesus was leaving His disciples, He did not assure them there would be no tribulation. Is this tribulation from God? No, which is why He informed them ahead of time.
John 16:33 (KJV):
“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world, you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]”
Jesus gave them divine assurance of His presence. This is why we can pray and rebuke the devil in our lives—we have His divine presence.
Questions we have answered in these three volumes:
- God did not test Job; Job was tempted by the devil to make him curse God.
- We established that God and the devil do not have fellowship, using several scriptures. In the future, we will investigate this further.
- In the next volume, we will continue with how God restored Job.