Considering Job, 2

In my first post, I emphasized the importance of comprehending the time in which Job lived.  His life, during the time of Abraham, communicated to us that he was not living contemporaneous with an identified people of God.  In other words, Job's life was lived in pre-Abraham covenant. This means that God had not yet identified and set apart a people special to him.  All men were knowledgeable of and responsible to obey, God. 
The description we receive of Job, with his large family and large estate, shows us that he was living under God's blessing, for obedience.  We see in the book that Job is identified as a righteous man. So what happened?
It's important to note that we see the free wills acting in this historical sequence.  We see God's freewill, we see Jobs, and we see the devils.  It's also important to note that the devil needed to get permission from God to attack Job.  This in itself shows us that Job was living under God's blessing for obedience.
As a means of testing Jobs character, God allows the devil to harm Job's possessions, his family and his health, but he is not allowed to kill him.  The attack on possessions shows us that Job had been faithful to God and was enjoying God's covenantal blessing.  But it also shows us that God's blessing upon men was limited to things physical.  The devil attacks Job in these ways but does not take his life.  In all of this, thus far, Job responds rightly.
The book then moves into the monologue section, where Job's wife and friends all give their opinion as to why these bad things are happening to Job.  They all get it wrong.
In my next post, we'll consider why.