God allowed Satan to do it.
Where does it say, "I give you permission to hurt Job?"
But the credit goes to God himself.
Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
This is telling what the acquaintances thought. It is given as their point of view, not what actually happened. They comforted him because t
hey thought God had brought evil upon him. Was it God do it? No. Again and again, it is stated satan did the evil, not God.
Job, a messenger, his wife, and his servants made the same mistake of assigning the trouble to God.
Job 1:14-19 KJV
14 And
there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:...
16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,
The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
The messenger said it was from God. How does he know where it came from? But we know it was not God.
Job 2:7-9 KJV
7 So went
Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his
wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Again, the wife said to curse God. But she was wrong. But the scripture clearly says satan did it.
And in fact, God is the One who brought Job to Satan's mind.
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Not once, but twice:
Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Look at Young'‘s literal translation of Job 1:8
Job 1:8
And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Hast thou set thy heart against My servant Job
because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God, and turning aside from evil?'
It sounds to me like Satan had
already set his heart against Job. God's question is not to consider Job; rather, it is asking Satan
why he had
already set his heart against Job. "Did you do this because Job is a good man? Is that why you did it?"
This is confirmed by the second instance,
after Satan attack Job. Same question:
Job 2:3 YLT
3 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, 'Hast thou set thy heart unto My servant Job
because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God and turning aside from evil? and still he is keeping hold on his integrity, and thou dost move Me against him to swallow him up for nought!'
Again, God is simply asking Satan
why he did it.
The bottom line is that Satan does not need special, immediate permission to "get" people. He has standing permission to get anyone he wants if they are not vigilant and sober. He is like a roaring lion hunting a gazelle. The lion does not ask permission to get the gazelle; he already has standing permission. Satan is a free moral agent who can "get" anyone he wants. If you do not resist him, he may come after you. If you do not know how to overcome him, he may devour you. Satan was not asking God's permission, nor did he receive special permission to do not only what he had
already tried to do but also what he already had default permission to do.
I realize there is this bogus teaching going around that Satan asked and received permission to get Job. People only believe this if they come into the book with the preconceived idea that Satan needs special immediate permission and that God gives it. They only read "behold all he has is in your hands" to mean "I give you permission" because that is how they believe this all happens. The idea that evil only happens if God gives permission is odd indeed. It makes God the author and perpetrator of all evil. It means
if He did not allow it, it would not happen! It means if you experience evil in your life, it can only mean God told Satan he could do it to you. Odd indeed! But as said before, Satan has had standing, default permission to do whatever he wants and is capable of doing.
