Him and Job both.
Acts 9:
13 And Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem,
14 and here he hath authority from the
chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.’
15 And the Lord said unto him, ‘Be going on! because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings — the sons also of Israel;
16 for I will shew him
how many things it behoveth him for My name to suffer.’
Here is a list of things Paul went thru to bring his Gospel of Christ to the Jews and Gentiles:
2 Corin 11: [Job 2:7]
especially because of the extraordinary revelations.
Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of
Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.
But in whatever anyone dares to boast — I am talking foolishly — I also dare:
22 Are they Hebrews?
† So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham?
† So am I.
23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman — I’m a better one:
with far more labors,
many more imprisonments,
far worse beatings,
many times near death.
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews.
†
25 Three times I was beaten with rods.
†
Once I received a stoning.
†
Three times I was shipwrecked.
†
I have spent a night and a day in the open sea.
26 On frequent journeys, I faced
dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers,
†
dangers from my
own people,†
dangers from Gentiles,
dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness,
dangers at sea, and
dangers among
false brothers;
27 toil and hardship,
many sleepless nights,
hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing.
†
28 Not to mention
† other things, there is the daily pressure on me:
my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble,
† and I do not burn with indignation?
Now this is interesting, just as Paul was given a thorn in his side, a messenger from Satan, so to is Satan allowed to make Job suffer.
Job 2: 2 [Corinthians 11:2]
1 On another day, the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD;
and
Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
5 But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
6 “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan, “he is in your hands;
but you must spare his life.”
7 So
Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
8 And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
9 Then Job's wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse
a God and die!”
Both Job and Paul rewarded:
Job 42:
12 So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first.
He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch.
† 15 No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.
2 Timothy 4
6 for I am already being poured out, and the time of my release hath arrived;
7 the good strife I have striven, the course I have finished, the faith I have kept,
8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of the righteousness that the Lord — the Righteous Judge — shall give to me in that day,
and not only to me, but also to all those loving his manifestation.
Here is a good study on Job for those interested:
Kindgdom Bible Studies Job
THE SECRET OF JOB
I never paid much attention to Job. I knew that he was an overcomer. I knew that he was tested and tried and proven to the utmost extremity and I knew that he passed the test. So I praised God for Job. I eulogized his faith and patience, and that was about as far as it went.
It is believed that the book of Job is the most ancient of the inspired writings we have come to know as the Bible.
It predates the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, and its exact origin is a mystery. We do not know who wrote the book of Job: no information is given us on this point either in the book itself or elsewhere.
The book of Job just appeared on the scene, it came out of antiquity, it emerged from the mists of obscurity, and has always been a part of human history. It was just there! It was there before Moses. It was there, perhaps, before Abraham. We cannot tell when Job lived. The scene of the book of Job is laid in Arabia in the remote Patriarchal period.
The story begins simply: "
There was a man".
Since a parable (II Sam. 12:1) and a history (I Sam. 25:2) begin with this same simple phrase, the style does not indicate whether Job was meant to be fact or allegory.
The book of Job is written in Hebrew in the style of a poetic drama, or stage play. The first two chapters, which constitute the introduction, are in prose. Beginning with the third chapter and continuing on through 42:6 the form is poetical.
From 42:7 to the end of the book it is again prose, providing as an epilogue a few facts concerning Job's later life. What is so powerfully set forth in this book is not the unfolding of a drama full of action, event, or happening.
Instead it is a poem in which several great issues that relate to the righteousness of God and the mystery of life are explored by means of conversations between Job and his friends. There is no "movement," except in the intensity of the feeling and thought expressed, until the poem comes to a crescendo with the voice of Yahweh speaking from a whirlwind.
The book of Job belongs to a type of literature known as Wisdom, common in the Near East, a special kind of writing based upon practical observations about the mystery of life — and how to live it. Its modern counterpart would be philosophy..............................
