Board Thread:Bible Questions/@comment-32267441-20170612022618/@comment-1777104-20170612185019

Sometimes persistence can seem like trolling. The other thing is this question has been bounced around using numerous usernames and IP addresses.

The major the question has been avoided is the apparent attitude seen in the asking. You assume that God is to be judged by human standards. God is not human, and neither is Satan. However, to be understood, the writer must make them seem human.

That being said, the analogy is not that of a bet, or of boasting. The analogy is of a trial. Satan brings an accusation and Yahweh asks for evidence. The only way evidence can be gathered is to test the accused.

Satan is often used in this way, by God, to prove the faith of the believer. The way one responds to the trial is evidence either for or against the accusations brought against him. For the most part, Job passed the test.

In the end, when he questions the Judge, Job finds that such an action is inappropiate, leading him to submit humbly before the "mercy of the court". He is rewarded twicefold for passing the test. The children that had died physically were irreplacable, but were ultimately not truly gone. This assumes the belief in life after death. Had not Job said "though .. destroyed...in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:36)?

Bottom line is this, God demands respect (Commmand 1-4). When we show Him the respect that the omnipotent, omniscient Creator deserves, we will begin to understand what He reveals to us.