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Document: C. Vanderwaal, Search the Scriptures, Vol. IV: Job to Song of Songs, trans. by Theodore Plantinga (St. Catharines, ON.: Paideia Press, 1979).
Excerpt: A devilish experiment. Both the beginning and end of the book of Job are written in prose form. The first two chapters not only tell us about the catastrophes that struck Job on earth, they also show us something of the heavenly background. They immediately confront us with the “problem” dealt with in the book.
Job, who lived in the land of Uz, was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (1:1). As far as family and possessions were concerned, he had been richly blessed. In 1:6 we are given a glimpse of what goes on in heaven. The Lord is having a conversation with satan. The devil suggests to God that Job serves Him so faithfully because God has made it worth his while. “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face” (vs. 9-10, 11 NIV). What happened next? The Lord gave Job’s possessions into satan’s hands; that is to say, the devil received permission to conduct an experiment to find out whether Job would turn his back on God if everything was taken away from him. Calamity after calamity struck the poor man in the land of Uz. Soon Job was mourning the loss of his possessions and children. But at the same time he sang: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21).
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Search the Scriptures, Vol. IV: Job to Song of Songs – C. Vanderwaal.pdf