How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?

I would say that this whole story of Job has a very straightforward message:

God by doing this (bet) in case of Job, wanted to proclaim his glory to Satan. God knew that here is a man who will stand besides Him and live up to His expectations, no matter how much He would torment him. This would allow Him to show his glory- the glory that he sought from his creation “Adam and his descendants” through obedience at the time of his creation. In spite of Job having free will to do things that would have made the Satan the winner of this bet, he continued to be loyal to his Creator. Before we placate God to be not “all-good” and not “all-loving” we can also try and apply this attribute to Job for not caring and not “all-good” and not “all-loving” about his children and livestock. Otherwise, he should have done something that which is against God so that God would lose, Satan will win, and everything would be as it is for Job.

God is demonstrating to Satan the character of Job, a Hard core devotee of Himself. More than this God demonstrates his pride to Satan, in an ideal man who is so much loyal to him in spite of all the sufferings and that too when Job had the free will to undo everything that God won through these bets with Satan.

When we evaluate God's actions with our limited brain and limited moral light, all death and loss in Book of Job may seems to be wrong and against our concept of ever loving God. Yes only when we evaluate God's actions within our conceptual framework... Just think who are we to evaluate God's actions? Who are we to evaluate the level of love of God. Didn't He allow His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ to suffer so huge humiliation, persecution, pain, agony and death. Isn't that real Love?

In other words our pride is the culprit when we try to evaluate God's actions. Pride is a base sin which produce further more sins like self justification and hypocrisy. This pride is the only sin Job had before he is visited by God. Job seems to self justify his actions and condemn God for His inequity. The moment Job heard God, he was transformed and says he was wrong. This pleases God and He justifies Job and gives back all his lost possessions.

I think the question contains a false premise. "How can God be loving in light of his behavior with Job?" presumes that the behavior attributed to God in The Book of Job is truly God's behavior. I think the short answer is that God is indeed loving, that the behavior attributed to Him in the book of Job is not loving, and that whoever wrote The Book of Job incorrectly attributed the bad behavior to God. Problem solved. Whether the author of The Book of Job knew he (or she) was making a false report or not is another matter. I would add that I believe we all bear some responsibility not to accept a report about God that characterizes him as morally imperfect, regardless of the source.

A close review of the The Book of Job reveals that it is inconsistent with gospel teaching in numerous respects. Some of the gospel truths that the book of Job denies include:

1. no one is good and righteous except God only,
2. no man pleases God by his good behavior,
3. God has no fellowship with Satan, rather God revealed himself to destroy the works of the devil,
4. every person who seeks finds, and God rewards those who diligently seek him, and of course
5. the goodness of God.

For evidence of Job's denial of these attributes of God see:

1. Job 1:1 (cf Rom 3:12, Ps 14:3), also Job 1:3b (cf Rom 3:22b), Job 1:8 (cf Ps 148:13, Lk 18:19)
2. Job 42:7 (cf Gal 2:16, Rom 3:20, Heb 11:6)
3. Job 1:8 (cf 1 Jn 3:8b, 2 Cor 6:14, Jn 1:5)
4. Job 19:7, 30:20, 9:33, et al (cf Mt 7:7, James 1:5, Acts 17:27)
5. Job 1:12, 2:6, 38:4 (cf Acts 10:38, Rom 5:8, 1 Jn 1:5, 1 Jn 4:8)

But there are many other passages in The Book of Job which are contrary to gospel principles, e.g.

• Job 5:7 (cf Heb 6:9, 2 Cor 2:14)
• Job 7:16 (cf 1 Jn 2:17)
• Job 8:9 (cf 1 Cor 2:16)
• Job 9:16 (cf Heb 10:39)
• Job 9:33 (cf 1 Tim 2:5)

...and so forth.

The Book of Job, quite apart from the issue of grossly misrepresenting God's character, paints the depressing picture of a man with no covenant, no mediator, no sure promise, no guarantee. How bleak! It's a reminder to me of what I myself have been given, and it makes me think "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:15)

I read this as a challenge and not as a bet

Evil has challenged Good

Please see: What should be done with a question based on a false premise? - duplicate

Answering

This answer with its references does not approach this topic as 'How do Christians reconcile God's bet with Satan with a God of love?' but as the answer and the references approach it. That is the classic Christian approach to the topic. It is precisely this way of thinking, i.e., that God made a bet with Satan, that leads to more complications in the understanding of God. With this view, God seemed to the OP as capricious.

It is not as if God approached Satan and says, 'Let's bet ...'

Plain reading of the text shows that God points to Satan that there isn't anyone as righteous as Job is in all the earth and Satan responds that he would not be righteous if God had not surrounded him with favor. This is more challenge than bet. God knows the genuine and true love that Job has for him. At the end of the book what is known to God is now revealed to all. Herein is a mystery: that the good man continues to be surrounded with God's favor even amidst his misfortune and his sickness. If God had not been with Job, he would not have persevered.

Evil has challenged Good. With this view, we are still faced with why a Good and almighty God can permit evil to exist let alone allow evil to challenge the Good that it cannot defeat, and knows it cannot defeat. Herein is the mystery that cannot be divorced from any understanding of the Book of Job.

From the above, it is seen that the problem of evil and it besetting the good man, is central to the book of Job

I am also reminded of another mystery of God that prompt people ask why God would 'test' Abraham (via enjoining him to obedience) when he knew him and then go on to say:

Gn 22:12 (RSVCE)
12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

Presenting the classic Christian approach to the Book of Job

The Introduction to the Book of Job in the Jerusalem Bible Popular Edition has:

The main character, Job, is a famous figure from ancient history, traditionally regarded as a model of virtue; he is used by the author to exemplify the problem of the good man who is punished by misfortune and sickness.

The questions raised in the book of Job
(Excerpts from A Guide to the Bible | Antonio Fuentes)

The question of a why a bet or even that there is a bet is not presented

The book does not answer the initial question posed; indeed no answer is forthcoming until almost the era of the New Testament. According to Vaccari it does advance to the position of realizing that God has wisely but mysteriously disposed that sometimes even the just are made to suffer despite their innocence. However, God will eventually reward their virtue. The problem posed by Job is, basically, what is the origin and purpose of suffering?

Job's question remains unanswered: he does not discover the reason why innocent people suffer. The furthest he gets is to realize that suffering is part of God's plan; that it has to be accepted as long as it lasts; and that God does not abandon the sufferer. In this connection it raises other basic points which later revelation - especially that of the New Testament - will be more specific about:

a) suffering tests the genuineness of a person's virtue;
b) it protects him from pride and makes him more humble;
c) when suffering comes a person's way he should abandon himself completely into God's hands.

The entire book opens up a new perspective - that of the reward which awaits, in heaven, those who do God's will on earth. Job's suffering, the suffering of a just man who bears it patiently and continues to seek mercy and forgiveness, acquires its fullest meaning in the New Testament. Thus, this text of St. Paul provides an answer to Job's complaints:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [cf. Rom 8:18 (RSVCE).].

In other words, no matter how much we may suffer on earth, it is nothing compared with the vision of God which awaits us in heaven. Job did not realize that the just man does not attain fulfillment through possession of material things, and never attains it completely in this life. He also knew nothing about what happens to souls after they leave the body. Happiness and immortality are totally connected to one another; but it took human reason centuries to discover this. [...]

In the New Testament, the good man remains faithful even in the face of death, and in so doing and by their LORD, definitively conquering Satan.

Prior to the section above, the guide states:

There is a happy ending and the moral is quite clear, even if Job does not grasp it. But he does realize now that there is no reason why God should have to account to anyone for what he does: man cannot grasp the mysterious ways of providence. in permitting the innocent to suffer and even to die and in not punishing the evildoer during their lifetime, God has his reasons, even if man cannot grasp them.

Ending commentary

Divine Revelation and Church Teaching tells us that the types in the Old point ultimately to the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Son of God, God's suffering servant, God himself.

Someone once couldn't have put it better when they said, 'God himself took his own punishment.'

With this, we are reduced to silence.

Answering OP's comment to my answer I don't know why people see Job and think my question is about the suffering of the righteous without actually reading it. Even after I removed that weird edit someone who gave the wrong answer made, this still persists.

Because classic Christian approach to the book of Job is that it exemplifies the problem of the good man who is punished by misfortune and sickness.

The background to the Bet:

• Satan goes to ‘church’:

‘Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.’ Job 1:6

God initiates the dialogue: ‘How is it going?’

The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Job 1:7

Satan gives an answer:

Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." Job 1:7

Thus far, we see that satan, like the rest of the sons of God goes to ‘worship?’. But it is apparent he is a ‘wanderer’ and ‘drifter’. God is interested to interact with Satan, to guide and teach him (and us). So God tries to help satan!
Satan seems to infer: He has seen it all (‘to and fro’, ‘up and down’) and there is not one and it is not worth it! So, God responds with a ‘SOLUTION’ (not bet) when he points to Job (who satan is familiar with in his travels).

Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Job 1:8

Job was the solution for satan! While God bets on Job, the context is very different: To advice and save satan! I.e. As Job ‘turns away from evil’, you also do likewise. Now this satan fella, was aware of Job’s way of righteous life and had probably considered adopting it. This is because he reasoned thus:

Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." (Job 1:9-11 ESV)

So begins an appeal to change, by God to satan, through Job. Was satan worth saving at the cost of Job? Now this attribute of God of using righteous men to save the wicked is a bit common: It starts with Abel who was murdered by Cain. Cain was offered forgiveness and the blood of Abel was not avenged.

Satan and Cain are parallels. Cain the wanderer:

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. (Gen 4:14)

“And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. “ (Gen 4:16)

Of Cain it is said:

1Jn 3:12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

Of Abel (an example like unto Job)

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Cain and Satan thought alike:

• Cain was jealous of Abel. Satan had no regard for Job. God had good regard for Abel and Job. {God and Abel, God and Job were on the same wavelength and team}. {Satan and Cain were on the same wavelength}
• Cain went away from the presence of God. Satan also seemed to prefer this but yet he could not resist coming back to God’s congregation. He is a seeker but unwilling to execute righteousness in his life.
• Cain gets a second chance. God reasoned with Satan twice…
• God reasoned in detail with Cain (before the act) like he did with Satan:

“The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen 4:6-7)

• Cain like Satan paid no attention to God’s word and strikes Abel as much as Satan struck Job.

Was Cain worthy of being forgiven even though he slew his own brother out of Jealousy? Now was satan worth saving at the expense of Job? As much as God did not slay Abel or chop the head of John the Baptist neither it is God who intents to bring evil on innocent Job. God’s goal was to bless Job, so he did. But God not willing that wicked or half believing people should perish, uses righteous, holy and innocent people to ‘try’ and save them.

Others with a similar fate as Job

Elijah was a righteous prophet who was worthy of honor yet he was persecuted by Ahab and Jezebel! Likewise we find great prophets such as Jeremiah humiliated and jailed.

The story of the prophet Zechariah had a sad & unjust ending:

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!” (2 Chronicles 24:20-22 ESV)

• Zechariah was the son of Jehoiada the priest
• Jehoiada had guided Joash in doing the right thing and had saved his life and made him king.
• Joash repaid the kindness by killing Jehoiada’s son.
• God used the blood language of LOVE to appeal: “God’s Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest,”

God and Job were on the same team. When calamity struck, his wife could not recognize it, neither his friends (but Satan knew this and wanted to break the bond).

Wandering Satan’s reasoning:

• "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. (Job 2:4 ESV)
• "Does Job fear God for no reason?” (Job 1:9 ESV)

I.e:

Satan: “Men cannot be righteous and hate evil!”

God: Yes! They can be!

Satan: “Ha! Been every place, seen it all – I have found none!”

God: Did you miss Job “MY” servant?

Satan: “Impossible! He is a fake! He is a hypocrite! No man can be righteous or truly fear you!”

The story unfolds: More scorn!

Wife: Job your righteousness is wasted! You are a looser! Curse God and die!

Salty words from friends:

Bildad said:

“If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.” Job 8:4

Zophar said:

“The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God.” (Job 20:28-29)

Elipha said:

“Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you? Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities. For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing.” (Job 22:4-6)

Still Others:

“Young people now insult me, although their fathers would have been a disgrace to my sheep dogs.” (Job 30:1 CEV)

Satan in Hebrew means 'enemy' and Job’s three friends were also behaving like his enemy. Instead of comforting him they criticized him. Now there is another dimension to the same problem. The friends, like satan, could not accept Job was righteous. They applied the law of Karma and justified his fallen and beaten state!

God finally VINDICATED Job

God finally VINDICATED Job from his friends and every other Tom, Harry and Satan!

“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job 42:7

God was not against Job but for Job! That is the beginning and end of the story! God loved Job and he was even merciful towards satan and the three friends. But, he had higher regard for Job.

God’s attitude towards Job’s friends (forgiveness and second chance):

Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:8 ESV)

Hopefully, the friends and the people at the time learnt a great lesson from the life of Job i.e. follow in his example.

James’s view of the story (in essence):

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ” (Jas 5:11)

Eventually, God would allow his son to be murdered at the hands of wicked men to save others. As Hebrews put it, ‘looking to Jesus’:

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV)

Concerning the "misfortune" that happened to Job and his family: We live for God, and not for ourselves, as Christ lived for us. I know that if I'm living for God, and I am in good faith, that anything that happens to me that I perceive as negative has some greater good for God's will and/or His kingdom, because God is good.

If I were Job, and I knew that by me displaying my faith and devotion to God amidst this horrific situation would be a testimony to the world over for centuries/millenniums to come, I would find much satisfaction and joy in that. Even if I were his children, who really got no recognition (everyone knows Job and this incredible story), I would still find much satisfaction and joy in God's divine purpose for the incident (plus God called me home early!), even more so because nothing should be for our own glory, but all is for God's.

IMO, God was not making a "bet". As I mentioned, God used the situation for a much greater purpose.. not to simply show up Satan.

I'm not going to give an involved answer, just a more simple one. I'm also only going to address the "bet" part, not the goodness or supposed evil of what happened to Job.

God does not bet. He exists simultaneously in every place, at every time that has ever, or will ever, exist. He doesn't know the future, he is in the future, right now, and a million years ago. Time is a construct of humanity and our physical system, God is not bound by it. So then, how can you bet against God? He doesn't just know the future, he is in the future. Satan, as he did with the fall, saw himself stronger than God, capable of manipulating those that God had called or that followed Him. God used the "bet" to show Satan his utter weakness compared to Himself. The bet could not be evil, because God cannot bet, it is as simple as that. At least for that part of Job.

Theological literature, not history

The bet between God and the ‘Accuser’ is not a problem for those who recognize the Book of Job is a parable, not an historical record.

So have said Jewish scholars since antiquity. Rabbi Maimonides called it a mashal, a type of Jewish allegory. The consensus of modern scholars is it’s a 6th century BCE work composed of a framing literary narrative (1:1 - 3:1 and 42:7-17) amended by poetic discourses. JPS’s Mayer Gruber explains, “Job is a wisdom book ... and such dialogues ['philosophical diatribes'] characterize ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature.” For that reason Job is not grouped with the history books of the Hebrew Bible but with ‘the Writings’, the non-historiographic wisdom books.

Were the Book of Job an account of actual historical events, the story of the wholly righteous, sinless Job and the capricious, Zeus-like God figure would certainly be problematic for both Jewish and Christian Bible readers. As even the question suggests, this picture contradicts the character of human beings and YHWH presented elsewhere in the Bible.

But as figures in a theological morality tale, they illustrate profound spiritual insights on the nature of justice and theodicy, “the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature” (Tennyson).

There seems to be an underlying assumption in questions like these, specifically that if God is really loving, then He is obligated to prevent any harm from ever coming to anyone. In fact, He should create a world where everything is perfect--which is actually what He did, but even in that world mankind rejected God.

It is also instructive to note that bad things can often have good results. In fact, as Romans 8:28, God works out even bad things for our good. When we experience death and loss in this life, is it not a potent reminder that we were not made for this world, but for another? When we see evil, is it not a great teacher that all people desperately need the power of God to transform our hearts? Do not all the trials and frustrations of this life teach us that there is more to life than physical life?

This is the problem with the question--we view things from a worldly perspective, wanting to see all the blessings of God confined to a few years on this planet, and if we don't, then God must not be loving. The Bible teaches about an eternity where all the infinite riches of God's blessing can be experienced. Job will no doubt, as does a woman giving birth, forget the pain for the joy to come.

The story is told of a missionary who spent his life in a distant country bringing the gospel of God to a remote tribe. In his later years, he returned home on a boat, which, once it came into port, was greeted with much fanfare--none of which was for him. There was no one to welcome him home or thank him for his sacrifice, even though many had come to welcome home others who were aboard.

The man prayed and asked God, "I have given my life and strength for your kingdom. Why is there no one to welcome me home." Then the man felt the Lord saying to him, "You're not home yet."

Conclusion

So, was God playing a cruel joke on Job? No. Did He allow evil to happen? Yes. In fact, all evil that ever happens could certainly be prevented by God. And if God's ultimate goal was the physical well-being of all mankind, then He would certainly do so.

God's ultimate goal is much greater than that--it is the spiritual well-being of all mankind. God desires for all mankind everywhere to see the vanity of all this world has to offer and to turn to Him that He may bless us richly, not merely in physical ways and not merely in this life.

First a disclaimer –

Your question is another form of the renowned problem of evil. How can God be loving and kind in light of all the suffering that exists in the world?

It is easy to try to give over simplifying answers especially when I myself haven’t gone through the problems many other people have to face. I do not think I can fully answer your question, all I can offer is some speculative arguments.

End of disclaimer.

The problem of evil is not an easy one and as such one could not expect its answer to be simple (And not expect it to come from a simpleton like me). The problem has been dealt innumerable times by many Philosophers and Apologists.

Leibniz and Lewis come to mind. (I would recommend The Problem of Pain) Nor is the problem essentially a new one. Even the prophets of God had the same confusion –

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

I think the crux of your question is the premise that humans are innocent until they do something very terrible like murder.

Innocent people and livestock died.

And it is this premise that I'll focus on –

1. We all think ourselves to be quite innocent. There are a few faults here and there but there’s a good reason for those.

   Proverbs 16:2 All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.

   All our goodness is accidental or circumstantial. I have never stolen anything in my life. Though I'd like to believe it's all because of my good nature it might be because I've never really needed to. While we humans can only look on the external actions of a person and make our judgement on that basis, God is not fooled by appearances.

   By the way of an analogy the user of a software system can only tell if a program malfunctions by analyzing the output. On the other hand a programmer can read the code and make an estimated guess if the code will actually work. Badly written code executing in an ideal environment may work. While a code of mathematical precision may break under extensive regression test. In these cases a programmer is (and as God is in our case) - not fooled.

   It is in this context that He says -

   Matthew 23:26 I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

   And -

   Matthew 23:6 " ... first clean the inside of the cup"

2. Our sense of goodness is in out of touch with reality. Have you ever watched a documentary on Khmer rouge or the war crimes in World War II?

   Innocence is the last characteristic one could attribute to the human race. - Monika Michael

   And -

   1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

   Also -

   The more I know of men, the more I respect dogs. (Author Monika can't remember)

   And also -

   Jeremiah 17:9 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

3. God does not owe His salvation or His favor to anyone. Nor does He need to explain Himself to anyone.

   Psalm 50:12 ... all the world is mine and everything in it.

   Matthew 20:15 I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

Now directly onto your question. We don't know exactly what happened, we aren't given much information. There are two possibilities (in my mind) -

1. Perhaps Job's sons were wicked, not God fearing like their father. (Example, David and Solomon, Eli the high priest and his wicked sons) And God decided to use the situation and kill two birds with one stone. Bring judgement on his sons and set a personal matter straight with Satan.

   In the end all things even those not in approval to His immediate commands will accomplish only His purpose.

2. Perhaps Job's sons were not wicked. They died in a dramatic fashion and so we ask the question - what was their sin? Again we're judging based on appearances. If someone dies quickly we think it's because of sin. If someone dies by age we thinks its all right.

   The fact is that we all have sinned and are going to die one day or another. The timing of our death has nothing to do with it. The righteous may live few days and the wicked may flourish (I'm in my full old testament rhythm today) but in the end each man will get what he deserves.

   The Apostle Peter was not rescued from the prison because he was sinless but so that he might preach the gospel. When he had finished his job he did have to die. Similarly maybe Job's sons were innocent as you say. But they did have to give up their souls to God one day. He took it early. Whether he takes it right now or 60 years later is His prerogative.

   In the end all I can say is -

   Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?

   Perhaps Jobs sons were holy and righteous (like me) and they died, well then -

   Philippians 1:23 I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;