Who Caused Job's Suffering?

Or....How sovereign is God, really? OK, guys, this will test your theology! I had a conversation with a friend recently, and it got very interesting as we talked about God's role in Christians' suffering! He was struggling to believe that the following verses were in the Bible. It's the book of Job, and it is a fascinating glimpse into reality. It's actually the first three verses of chapter 2, right after God suckered Satan into the bet, and he destroyed all Job’s stuff and all his children. Then 2:1-3a are a word for word repeat of 1:6-8a, and that is where God says it: “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although YOU INCITED ME AGAINST HIM TO DESTROY HIM without reason."-Job 2:1-3 So God says Satan incited Him to destroy Job! And good interpretation of the passage sees this verse saying that in fact, God destroyed Job. (Actually the physical destruction of Job doesn’t start until God baits Satan into another round!) And He tells Satan, “YOU INCITED ME!” I love the irony! And of course, God knew this whole thing would play out just like that, about a billion years before it happened. I have read those first two chapters quite a few times, and it seems clear to me that though Satan will answer for all the evil he commits, God is the instigator of Job’s affliction. Job didn’t even know this conversation was going on, of course, and neither do we. It goes on every day. Revelation says Satan accuses the saints before the throne “day and night.”(Rev 12:10) We often have no clue what God’s high, high purposes are in sovereignly sending affliction our way. We are so man-centered, it is hard for us to conceive of affliction as God’s sovereign work, rather than simply something that went horribly wrong. I think we are going to be thankful one day for every bit of affliction we experienced, where we were able to give God a quality of praise and thanks and obedience that is impossible in good times. Face it: God gets one level of joy out of hearing a millionaire in good health, with a healthy family, sing praise and say He is a follower of Jesus. But I think the joy that comes to God when he hears praise and thanks from someone who loses ALL that, knowing God could have prevented it…..well, that is something in another ball park all together! (Actually, we ALL suffer, and it is hard to compare one man’s suffering to another’s!) By the way, who killed Jesus? Did God “allow it?” The Romans killed Him. Well, the Jews did. Both are true. But in reality, God drove the nails into his own Son’s hands and feet. God killed Jesus, and Isaiah 53 says this about the Sovereign One: "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. But THE LORD WAS PLEASED TO CRUSH HIM, PUTTING HIM TO GRIEF; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand." Obviously God doesn’t get pleasure from our suffering, nor from Jesus’, but He gets great pleasure from what it brings about —His glory, faith more pure and valuable than 14 karat gold, and a family of children who trust Him NO MATTER WHAT!!