The Hand of God and the Nature of Touch

One is said to mainly abstain from wickedness by nature. For praise has its place when one, being able to be base, abstains from wickedness through hatred of it. Not everyone who does not use wickedness is called to abstain from it; for infants, not using such things, no one would say they mainly abstain from wickedness, for the one doing this acts by judgment and word.

But the distinction between wickedness and virtue requires skill. Nor would anyone say a child abstains from intemperance or is prudent, for he has not yet reached the discernment of these things. Having discussed these matters in the previous passages, when we were setting aside the things from the first Psalm, we rebuked Job as being God-fearing according to it. For he is truly God-fearing, one honoring a life of reverence, whereas those honoring things not sacred are found impious.

And to the blessed one is added 'true' according to the theory of truth and the lack of hypocrisy in ethics; for one who seeks virtue through opportunism is not true. 'And the devil answered and said against the Lord' (Job 1:9). It is possible to say, regarding 'against the Lord,' that he spoke against the testimony of God being a lover of evil, or that he thought with audacity; for wickedness is shameless. Thus also, what he brings forth from a lover-of-evil mindset brings forth the deficiencies of the virtue of the righteous.

For what does he say? 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not encircled him and his house and all that he possesses on every side? Have you blessed the work of his hands and made his livestock many on the earth?' (Job 1:9-10). It is characteristic of lovers of evil, who loathe virtue, not to consider the beauties of those nearby as genuine, but to say instead: this one is just through an inability to do wrong, this one is prudent through the so-called foolishness, this one does not have wealth and resources because he is unsuited to them, even while considering the gentle hypocrite as such; and in no way does anyone base accept anyone's virtue as genuine.

The devil, being the leader of wickedness, conceiving such things concerning Job, made these things manifest to the one who knows the hidden, saying that Job is just because of external goods. And 'encircled' (Job 1:10) was said to him instead of security, providing emphasis, as if because of these things he is unassailable and has no vulnerability, the multitude of the un...

Since he is considered to have wealth as the cause of his virtue, he was rebuked for not speaking well. For having these things removed, he remained similarly unblemished. In truth, possessing wealth contributes something to virtue for one who uses it well, but wealth itself contributes nothing to it.

The blessed Job showed unshakeable virtue both in poverty and in wealth. 'But send your hand and touch all that he has; surely he will bless you to your face' (Job 2:5). One may call his hand in two different ways: either the punishing and service-oriented power, which the divine Scripture is accustomed to calling 'vessels of wrath,' or the protective and guarding power, as it is said: 'No one is able to snatch from the hand of my Father.' It is also possible to take the Son into a hand that protects and supports those under it, as it is said: 'The Lord's right hand exalted me; the Lord's right hand made strength' (Psalm 37:30).

And as for 'to touch,' let it not mean here to strike instead of bringing affliction; for we commonly have this expressed in Scripture. For 'do not touch my sheep' does not forbid simple contact, but the audacity against the saints to harm them. And 'he who touches you touches the apple of his eye' (Zechariah 2:8) similarly means one who touches for evil. Even if the one through the devil has become an apostate and 'stiff-necked before the Lord of all' (Psalm 78:9), yet he still has some reverence toward the Creator of all things.

For he says: 'Surely he will bless you to your face,' instead of cursing or blaspheming, using this expression so that the harshest words might not be brought against God, as is foretold. 'Then the Lord said to the devil: Behold, all that he has I have given into your hand, but do not touch him' (Job 1:12). The words placed here seem to mean not to fall into trials apart from divine permission. For God says: 'Behold, I have given all into your hand.' But so that it may become clear that He also exercises permission with measure, it is added: 'but do not touch him.' Therefore, circumstances occur neither by fate nor of themselves, but by the permission of God, according to what has already been laid out for the demonstration of Job's virtue, and also for another reason, concerning which in the following sections...