use. But his friends do not believe him.

Now the writer of the book lets us into the explanation he has thought
out for this: God for a special reason is testing Job, to see whether
he will be true to him in spite of the fact that he does not get the
ordinary blessings that the people were accustomed to look for as the
rewards of their conduct. But the writer is not consistent with the
wonderful position that he makes Job assume; for, after the trial is
all over, he falls in with the popular theory, and shows us Job, not
with the old children who could not be brought back, but with a lot of
new ones, with herds and cattle again in plenty, with honor among his
fellow-citizens, with all that heart could wish in the way of worldly
prosperity and peace.

So I say the writer is not quite consistent, for he falls back at the
end on the old theory, and he lets us gain a glimpse behind the scenes,
just enough to see that there are cases, special cases, where the
popular theory does not hold; but he still seems to assume that, in a
general way, we are to accept it as correct, and as explaining the
facts of human life.

The Jews acted on this theory in their political history. Their
prophets, their great teachers, asserted over and over again that, if
they were true to their God, if they were faithful in their obedience
to the law, if they lived out all these highest and finest ideals of
ceremonial as well as heart righteousness, that they would be mighty as
a nation, that their enemies would be put under their feet, that they
would have political success and power; and yet their increasing
insistence on this ceremonial and interior righteousness of thought and
life was found to be no adequate defence against the Roman legions.
Political success did not come to them. In spite of all their
obedience, they were swept out of existence as a nation.

Now do we find any difference in teaching in the New Testament? We do;
and we do not. The teaching of the New Testament is not consistent in
this matter. If Jesus be correctly reported, his own teaching is not
quite consistent on this subject. Let me give you one or two
illustrations, that you may see what I mean. John tells us that a
certain man, who had been born blind, was brought to Jesus to be cured;
and the people stood about, and said to Jesus, "Who is it, this man
himself or his parents, that sinned, so that he was born blind?" You
see it does not occur to them that there is