We Are Cut From The Same Cloth

In antiquity one name that brought awe to any one on this side of Palestine was Job. O boy, was he rich? He was indeed. His wealth in cattle, sheep grains and precious metals was such even the kings of the neighboring lands gasped. They dared not touch him because they thought God had set a flaming fence around his all. Many rulers sent their trusted servants to assure the patriarch of their good will. Job kept a cordial relationship with the titled heads, neighbors, servants and strangers.
The nomads who crossed the desert could always count on him. The helpless would find succour at his gates. The weak and hungry always were satiated by the largesse of his table..
Job was a man. He was also a merchant who pressed a hard bargain and put away profits so he could live as he did.
His sons and daughters got their share and lived in awe of the patriarch.
They also were fabulously wealthy and lived as befitting their status. Job's firstborn had wife and many concubines. One day he took a Canaanite maid and made her pregnant. It wasn’t strange according to the mores of the times. But his wife knew he was so much smitten of her and knew her own status was at peril. So she did the best she could do.She sulked for days and denied him her bed and threw tantrum till he caved in to her demands. She demanded that the maid be sacked. Her husband for the sake of peace and domestic harmony promptly sent her off.
What they didn’t want to know was that the slip of a girl gone bad came to untimely end. Naturally Job didn’t get to hear of her unfortunate end.

Job was prospering all the while. He made a fantastic deal and all his cattle and sheep brought record prices. His middlemen took their cut and Job was onto many other deals. What he didn’t know was the cattle sold to others died mysteriously of anthrax while sheep fell victim to some other plague. Job didn’t lose a shekel but those who bought from him were completely wiped out.
Later it so happened that Satan tempted him. Job was thrown into the deepest pit of misery. He couldn’t figure out. Why him?
“ I am completely innocent!” said he. He was ready to take on even God as to his own righteousness.
How righteous was he?
Job was a cause and effect whether he knew it or not. This being the case anyone who pretends to be totally free from blame or beyond the pale of reproach talks through his hat.
Tailpiece:
Remember John Donne's famous ' no man is an Iland,'quote?
benny