Job's hell on earth

I'm reading Job right now in my daily chronological Bible reading. I don't enjoy Job. Much of it I don't understand, so I pray for the Holy Spirit to open up the meaning of the scriptures to me and help me to understand.

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Then this morning something occurrs to me. I don't want to understand Job. Job was literally in a hell of a time in his life. Satan was gunning directly for Job simply in order to show God up (Job 1:8-12) and Job had lost all his wealth and all of his family (Job 1:13-20) except for his wretched wife (Job 2:9). His friends were awful to him (Job 16:2) to the point that he said, "I despise my life." (Job 9:21)

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What's worse, Job takes place post-fall and pre-law, which means that his relationship with God was ruined before he was even born and Moses had not yet brought the Law to provide a way for him to have a relationship with God - or even to highlight the need and the hope for a Savior. Job had no hope and could have no hope. The same must have been true for all the people in this in-between period. They were living in spiritual limbo. All their lives were hell on earth!

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. (Romans 5:12-14)

God help me if I ever grow to understand Job's plight in more than an intellectual sense! You have to be careful what you pray for (Matthew 7:7). This story of Job highlights the awesome thing that God did for us through Christ. We must thank and praise Him for this.