And soon Satan showed the malignity of his character by bringing
disaster after disaster upon the devoted man. By his emissaries he
incited the Sabeans, and they fell upon the oxen and the asses
feeding beside them, slaying the servants with the edge of the sword,
suffering one only to escape--and this, not in any pity or sympathy,
but that he might bear the message to his unhappy master, telling of
the destruction of his property and servants. The evil one appears,
also, to have had power to bring the lightning from heaven--by which
the sheep, and the servants caring for them, were destroyed. Here,
again, one servant only was left, by his message to increase the
distress of the afflicted man of GOD.
Working in another direction, the Chaldeans were led to come in three
bands and carry off Job's camels, slaying all the servants with the
edge of the sword, save the one left to convey the evil tidings. And,
as if this were not sufficient, even the very children of Job, his
seven sons and three daughters--children of so many prayers--were
swept away at one blow, by a terrible hurricane from the wilderness,
which smote the four corners of the house so that it fell upon them,
leaving only one servant to bear witness of the calamity. One only of
all his family--his wife--seems to have been left to Job. But so far
from being a spiritual help to him in this hour of sorrow and trial,
she lost faith in GOD; and when further calamity came upon him, and
he was in sore bodily suffering and affliction, his trial was added
to by the words of his despairing wife: "Curse GOD, and die." We see
from this, that even she was left to Job through no mercy on the part
of the great enemy, but simply to fill the cup of affliction to the
full in the hour of his extremity.