It begins with the Divine injunction: “Have you considered my servant Job?” The Biblical drama of Job is haunting. A blameless man is tormented by ‘the Satan’: stripped of wealth, status, possessions, health and children – all with God’s permission! Who is this Satan? More chilling still, who is this God? And why, despite this cataclysmic carnage, does the drama focus on the resulting argument between Job and his 3 friends?
The ending of the drama seems no clearer. When God reveals Himself, what is He saying? Finally, God restores Job. Yet does this truly repair His permitted destruction of him? With its distinctive identification of the Satan, this interpretation offers unique insights into the classic interactions between God, Satan and the Righteous Man, revealing the Messianic message encoded within. Most importantly it lends reason to persevere in faith, as Job did; and speak well of God.
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)