Why Did God Allow Satan to Do All What He Did to Job?
1) Direct answer
God allowed Satan to touch Job in order to vindicate His own testimony of a righteous man, to prove the liar wrong, to refine Job like gold, and to bring him into a deeper revelation of the Redeemer. Satan was on a leash the whole time, and God turned the trial to Job’s blessing and to His glory.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says God Himself testified of Job: “a perfect and an upright man” (Job 1:8). Satan accused: “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9–11). So God permitted a test, but set boundaries: “only upon himself put not forth thine hand” (Job 1:12), and later, “but save his life” (Job 2:6). You see, Satan could not move one inch beyond God’s limit.
- Job understood the purpose: “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
- In the midst of loss, Job’s faith reached higher: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth… yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25–27).
- At the end, God corrected Job’s reasonings, revealed Himself, and Job said, “now mine eye sees Thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5–6). Then the Lord “turned the captivity of Job… also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10,12).
- The New Testament seals it: “You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11). Trials prove faith “much more precious than of gold… tried with fire” (1 Peter 1:6–7). And “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Satan said Job served God only because of blessings. God allowed the hedge to open so the truth could be proved. The test didn’t create Job’s faith; it revealed it. That’s the mystery—trials don’t make a believer; they manifest one.
- If God meant evil, He would have left Job to destruction. Instead, He set strict limits, spoke from the whirlwind, lifted Job higher, used him to pray for his friends, and restored him double. The outcome shows the purpose: not to destroy, but to perfect and vindicate.
- God doesn’t tempt with evil (James 1:13). He permits testing under His sovereignty to display faith, deepen revelation, and bring a greater end than the beginning.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice, Satan’s hand was never greater than God’s purpose. Job came out with a clearer vision of God and a stronger testimony: the Redeemer lives, and the righteous shall see Him.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
God's Provided Way for this day
64-0206E §28
Abraham, here, had a need of a sacrifice. What happened? God provided Him a lamb. That was God's provided way. He needed a sacrifice, so God provided it. Later on He called the place Jehovah-jireh: the Lord will provide for Himself a sacrifice. Now, Job: one time the old prophet Job---he was a prophet---he'd got in trouble. Satan had desired to tempt him, and he broke him out in boils. And he'd taken his children, he'd taken his stock, he'd taken all he had. And he broke him out in boils. And his comforters come. W...
An Exodus
56-0615 §13
Now, notice. When Job, the patriarch, died at the end of his great tribulation... I just love the book of Job. Many people just pass by that. That's got every ... the full gospel in it, the book of Job, all of his trials. I preached on it at my tabernacle for a year and something. And when I got Job over to the ash heap, I had him there about six weeks. A lady, didn't want to come up to my face and tell me. She wrote me a letter and said, "Brother Branham, when are you going to get Job off the ash heap?" But, oh, m...
A trumpet gives an uncertain sound
63-0114 §61
Let's just take one old character for a moment. Let's take the prophet Job. Now that man went through a test, but he knowed that God required a burnt offering. That's what God required, and that's all He required. And no matter how much disaster happened to his home... God don't always ... when you see something going wrong for a fellow, that don't mean that he's being whipped by God. It might not be that he's out of the will of God. He knows in his heart whether he's listening to the trumpet or not. God required t...
Be certain of God
59-0708E §26
When you've done all that you can do, when you come through the prayer line and been prayed for, your heart doesn't condemn you, and you're living right with God, just hold onto it; God has to answer. He's testing you. If you turn loose the next morning, say, "Well, I'm no better; I guess there's nothing to it," then you didn't have faith to begin with. If you've got real faith, you'll hold till the last breath's gone from your body. You're certain that God is God. "For he that cometh to God, must believe that He i...
Elisha the Prophet
56-1002E §25
Like Satan, he knows a whole lot about human beings. He said to God, to Job, he said, "What would a man give for his skin?" Sure. He knows something about human nature. He helped pervert it. He had a hand in it. He knows a whole lot about it and he still knows how to ... what to do to cause people to fall. He knows human nature. He knows just what to present before you and make you fall for it. He knows just how well to put the smell of whiskey. How tantalizing to make a cigarette. How well to put a place out here...