46. A story about a man called Job (Job)

Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (KJV)

As the family of Jacob sat and wept by the waters of Babylon, they thought about all the terrible things they had seen happen. The city of Jerusalem in flames. Families torn apart. People killed. Children traumatized. And as they thought, they started to ask questions like, “Why had everything gone so wrong?” and “Why had the world fallen apart so completely?” and “Why did God let this happen?” But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t make it make sense. And as they were struggling to make sense of everything, the family of Jacob remembered an old story about a man named Job. It goes like this:

Job was very rich because everything in his life was precious to him. Every single one of his cows and sheep and camels and fields of grain was numbered and cared for and loved. He loved his children. He loved his home. He loved his wife. He loved God like a friend. And Job was kind, and good, and …