Jon Huer writes

THE SEDUCTION OF JOB: Twenty Years Later

  A Dramatic Poem

CHAPTER THREE

Satan instructs the chosen angel.

SATAN: 

My angel, specially chosen for God's task on earth,  

Transformed into a human female, sweet and fair, 

You shall ruin Job and destroy his life.  

Seduce him and he will fall, whole and complete.  

ANGEL:  

My Lord, Satan, Master of all wickedness and evil, 

Glad of all trials and tribulations on earth,  

Schemer of plans and means to cause grieving souls, 

A mere angel, only humbly walking before God, I am,  

With no knowledge of human mischief and downfall, 

Yet wreaking havoc in an innocent man and his life,  

Why and how should I partake in this enterprise?  

SATAN:  

Job is no innocent man about to be destroyed. 

His innocence is exceeded by his pride;  

His haughtiness has overtaken his righteousness; 

And his honor is confused with his wealth.  

Our Lord God still calls him, "My servant Job"  

And bestows His grace and mercy upon him as old. 

This new trial shall determine his true piety and soul. 

And worry not about the ways of man, 

For my knowledge is vast on the subject. 

  

ANGEL: 

Then teach me, my Lord Satan, the art of seduction, 

And the methods of ruining man's honors and lives, 

So that I may go about fulfilling my duty. 

SATAN: 

My angel, remember that all men are mere mortals, 

Naturally vulnerable to praise and flattery, 

Especially from females of surpassing sweetness and fairness. 

Ever since Eve succumbed to me, and Adam to her, 

No man has been free from the powers of a temptress. 

Kings and conquering heroes, and men of high wisdom, 

As well as men of ordinary toil and spirit, 

All fall to nature's most wondrous magic. 

I shall transform you into a woman of beauty, 

Armed with the knowledge and art of destroying men, 

To pose as a maid in Job's household. 

There you shall praise your master's wisdom and honor, 

His righteous reputation that travels far and wide, 

His great wealth granted upon the grace of God. 

As an ardent admirer of his person and power, 

You will abandon yourself into his bosom 

All the while flattering him as great and heroic.  

ANGEL: 

O Satan, the acknowledged mastermind of wickedness, 

I am a simple angel of goodness and mercy, 

Having witnessed nothing but the heavenly and just, 

Always taught to seek grace in all things, 

Would I be restored after this wicked scheme?             

SATAN: 

My angel, sweet and fair, worry not yourself. 

Your wings shall not tarnish by this undertaking, 

For your goodness and mercy will remain intact; 

Nor shall your search for grace suffer, 

For you will remember nothing of the heavens 

Once you enter Job's household as maid named Bashana. 

Further instructions shall come to you in your dreams 

In which you will acquire all human manners, 

And all other necessary ways and knowledge. 

You shall return to the heavenly station once again 

After your task is accomplished and Job tested, 

And likewise with no memory of your earthly sojourn.   

To try a man's soul you have been chosen, 

As Job has been chosen to judge man's faith in God. 

Trial and redemption are all that heaven allows 

To the mere mortals between their birth and death. 

Job was once tried and once redeemed, 

But time and repetition have corroded his soul, 

Which must now be re‑tested in great affliction 

To reclaim himself and his faith that has faded. 

Whether he will be crushed in the crucible of pain, 

Our Lord God has entrusted us to find out. 

So, prepare for the journey, my sweet and fair angel.  

ANGEL TO SELF: 

How odd is this business of seduction and destruction, 

For which I have been specially selected! 

It is Satan's ordained task to scheme and pursue 

Ways to wreak havoc in a man's life and faith; 

But to obey the instruction without questioning 

Is mine in this blessed Heaven of heavens. 

But what is Job's fate to be re‑tried 

By Satan's meticulously devised plan of action 

And what is my lot among all fair angels 

To carry out the action to seduce and destroy him?   

Why are God's heaven and man's earth so far apart, 

And why so vastly different are angels and man? 

As God's creatures, both created to serve Him, 

One has wings to soar to heavenly heights 

While the other is mired in sin and corruption! 

But to measure the distance once again 

An angel of God is chosen to do Satan's bidding 

To seduce a man and destroy his faith,  

And to test the chain that binds him to God!

           

 

 Satan Exulting over Eve -- William Blake