Satans Challenge...

Satan snears at God's pride and joy-- the man Job, who is unlike any other.

He doesn't love you, Satan implies.
Take away Job's many blessings and you'll find he is no friend of yours.

Satan tries to make a bet with God.
" Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, " Satan dares God,
" and he will surely curse you to your face. "

Really ? Does Job only love God for his own selfless reasons ?
Well--- Lets see, is God's reply.

He tells's Satan , " Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. "

Granted God's permission, Satan the devil immediately grabs a handfull of dirty tricks from his bag of suffering .

He flings them at Job, and the world caves in on this innocent man.
Job's herds and property are either carried off by raiders or destroyed by natural disasters-- " acts of God they are sometimes called.

All Job's chilldren are killed....But Satan is proven wrong.
After all thoses terrible tragedies strike Job, he tears his robe and shaves his head.
He falls to the ground in worship, saying," The Lord gave and the Lord has taken it away; may the name of the Lord be praised. "

The author of the book of Job is carefull to point out, " In all of this , Job did not sin by chargeing God with wrongdoing."