THE BEGINNING OF JOB’S TRIALS
The book of Job tells of one man’s struggle to comprehend how the goodness of God relates to his own suffering. God acknowledges that Job, the central figure of the book, is especially righteous. Still, God permits him to suffer the loss of everything dear to him. The book pulls back the curtain of heaven and permits the reader to learn about matters that were concealed from Job. Had he known that his sufferings were significant, he might have found them easier to bear. Job’s ignorance helps to aggravate his suffering, but it also makes the book realistic. We can understand more about our own troubles from Job’s experience. More importantly, we can learn where the boundaries are when it comes to calling God’s fairness into question.