patience, without a murmur against Almighty God. From whence did Job draw these powers of heroic endurance ? In a word, from his strong, living faith. He looked forward to nothing in this world except to a grave, in which to lay his diseased body; but this made him believe all the more firmly in the promised Saviour and in the future life. He knew and proclaimed that his Redeemer was living. Job could not know this, as he had never seen Him; but all the same he believed it, and also that God Himself, Who is eternal, would come as our Saviour. He believed, furthermore, that he himself would rise from the earth, and in his risen body would see God in heaven.
Resentment against Almighty God. Job’s wife sinned grievously against the love of God. She loved her children more than she loved God, and could not resign herself to His having taken them all from her. She listened to the suggestions of Satan, and allowed herself to murmur against the ways of God, and even against God Himself. She also sinned against the love of her neighbour; for by her bitter scorn she tried to move her husband to renounce the service of God, as being that of an unjust Master.
Rash judgment. Job’s friends also sinned. It was kind of them to visit Job in his misery, but they judged their friend uncharitably and without cause, reproaching him with having some secret sin on his conscience, without which God would not have visited him with these tribulations. Their main idea that “all evil is due to sin” was true, but they should have distinguished between original sin and personal sins.
The invocation of Saints. God was angry with these three friends, and bade them offer sacrifice and ask Job to intercede for them. Thus we can see that it is right and pleasing to God to ask for the intercession of the Saints; and we can also see that their intercession is efficacious, for God pardoned Job’s friends, because he prayed for them.
Satan's power is limited. We see by the story of Job that Satan can injure us only so far as God allows it. Under the Old Law the devil had more power over men than he has now; for under the New Law Jesus Christ has crushed the head of the devil, and the suggestions of the evil enemy can hurt no one who clings to our Lord. Therefore, in her exorcisms, and in the blessing of creatures (as for instance of water), the Church prays our Divine Saviour to protect us from the attacks of Satan.
Job, the seventh type of Jesus Christ. Job, suffering the most profound grief of soul, seeing nothing but a miserable death before him and robbed of all human consolation, fell down on the ground, praying and humbly resigning himself to God’s will. In this he is a type of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemani.
