Adam was a righteous man in the garden before the fall. He was in paradise! He had everything he could want, including a perfect relationship with the God of the universe. Yet he turned from it all, rebelled against God, and sinned.
But think about Job. He was a fallen sinner; he lost all of his possessions; he lost all of his beloved children; he lost his health; and his wife told him to curse God and die. Would he sin against God like the first Adam? NO! HE BLESSED GOD IN HIS TRIALS! HE SAID GOD IS GOOD! GOD DOES ALL THINGS WELL! THOUGH HE SLAY ME I WILL HOPE IN HIM!
And why? Because, unlike Adam's righteousness, Job, through the Promised Redeemer, had an everlasting righteousness by grace through faith!
Dr. Meredith Kline comments on Job's triumph over Satan:
"Satan seduced Adam even while Adam was standing in the integrity of his creation righteousness. From this it might have appeared that Satan could trip up the depraved sons of Adam at will and trample upon them. But herein lies a great wonder of redemptive grace: sinner Job stands triumphant where righteous Adam tragically fell! Thus, for the confounding of Satan and the reassurance of the saints, the Lord gave clear proof that a righteousness more enduring than that of Adam was being provided through the second Adam. This triumph of Job’s patience over the Adversary’s malice provided a seal, especially for the ages before the Incarnation, of God’s promise that He would bestow on the faithful the gift of eternal salvation through the Christ to come."
From: Meredith Kline, Job in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), 464.
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