22: Losing it All in a Day

So our story continues. Satan gets to play God for a day in the life of Job, while God sits back and lets it all unfold. It must have been nice to take a vacation longer than just "the seventh day."

So let's recap Job's first test. First, some enemies, the Sabeans (no relation to Alabama Football Head Coach Nick Saban), took all of Job's oxen and donkeys and killed all of the servants in the fields, except the one messenger. I guess that's where the old western movies got that from. And remember how livestock were as good as gold in the Bible days. Satan, or we can argue greed, took Job's wealth. Well played, but as for me, it's a little too superficial. Surely Satan would rest a day and get Job tomorrow.

But wait. Another messenger comes in the room and says that fire from God has destroyed all of the sheep and some servants, leaving only him alive. So now Job can't film any more Serta bed commercials and has lost some shepherds. Damn! I love those claymation sheep. But surely Satan would take it easy on the guy. It's only his first day on the job.

But no. Satan isn't done yet. Another group of raiders, the Chaldeans, come and take his camels, the transportation vehicles of the time. So basically the Chaldeans did a "Gone in 60 Seconds" on Job. Bummer. And of course, all of the car mechanics, I mean camel servants, were killed except the one messenger.

Okay, that's fine. So Job has lost a little wealth. He lost his oxen, donkeys, sheep, and camels, but those things are replaceable. They are ONLY animals anyway. It's not like Satan would take things that are irreplaceable on the first day.

Nope. Wrong again. Satan causes the house where his children are eating to fall and kill all of them. Now that is just pure evil. While the other things that happened could be replaced, Job's kids could never have been replaced. There is only one of each of us, unless you are a twin, in which case there are two. But the kids? That was pretty low.

It's interesting to note that these bad happenings are similar to the plagues that the Egyptians went through when Moses and the Pharoah had their little scuffle. Animals died. Fire came from the sky. People died. Children died. I guess God's work is consistent.

So what does Job do next? Does he file a lawsuit against God, claiming that He messed everything up? No. Job just tears his clothes off and shaves his head, still praising God in this unfortunate storm. Damn, what a saint! Could any of us do this? I get mad when I miss a traffic light on the way to school. I get mad when I can't find any parking outside of my apartment. I get mad when I am out of bread in the frig. There is no way that I could do this. No way. Especially with my children just dying.

But wait, didn't Job sacrifice an animal every day? Of course! He sacrificed offerings for all of his children so that if a day like this ever occurred, he would know that they would go to heaven. The ultimate insurance plan! Genius! So I guess Job, while torn and sad, could find some hope in this situation in that he knew his kids could go to heaven. And there is something to learn through this act of faith. He placed no blame on God. That's incredible considering that I would place the blame entirely on God. I am so NOT like Job. We are really two different people with completely different attitudes and relationships concerning God.

However, that just shows how much I have to grow. I'd like to be more like Job. Rich, powerful, and famous. Just kidding. I'd like to be closer to God, in a relationship that doesn't just jump to anger and blame. I'm sure Satan saw that his first efforts were ineffective and was pissed. Of course, he's not letting down anytime soon. He'll bring it on day two.