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Like Oedipus, Job is the victim of a fate he does not control. He is the object of a wager between God and Satan. Satan says to God, Job does not really have faith in you. He will curse you if you ruin his life. So, God says to Satan, go and ruin his life, just don't kill him. I think he will hold up. So now Job is driven mercilessly into pain and suffering. Job does not curse God. However, he does not bow his head and take it. He demands that God defend Himself against the charge of acting unjustly. "What have I done to deserve this?" Job's so-called friends tell him to shut up. Of course, he did something to deserve this treatment. Job won't shut up. In the end, God tells Job's friends to shut up. Job did not "deserve" this treatment, he says, but that does not mean that God is unjust. You cannot fathom my way, God says, speaking out of whirlwind. 


The question for today is: "Would God have wanted Job to accept having his life ruined for no comprehensible reason without any complaints? Does the book of Job carry the message: Job failed God's test and lacked faith, even though he didn't curse God? Or is the message: Job passed the test perfectly, and that is why God spoke to Job and told his friends to shut up?