God merely ALLOWED the Devil to mess with Job's life; there was no bet whatsoever. In our church, gambling is morally and spiritually degrading. It is trying to gain something from nothing. We strive to do good, and if we gamble, we loose that motivation and basically all other feelings.
Hmmm, I'd be very curious to learn what is considered a good transaction. Is buying cheap goods at Wal-Mart that was made by people toiling in poverty in near slave-labor conditions considered degrading? We gain from nothing all the time, we just cloak it into different legal terms so that it's aesthetically acceptable. After all, you benefit with a job, general health, a certain amount of protection, certain rights and guarantees just by being a US citizen. You did nothing to earn that.
Please understand that I am not slighting your beliefs in this instance, but I am most curious about where the limits really are as valued by your belief structure. For example, Whole Foods--an excellent grocery store, btw--has a value that no price shall exceed 14% of the cost. They also mandate that no one may be paid more than 14 times the wage of the lowest earner in the company. I applaud values like that, because, while arbitrarily determined, it does indicate a desire to be absolute with their treatment of the public and their staff that I believe to be a fair and equitable arrangement.
Direct quote from the Bible :
11 Satan speaking: But put forth thine ahand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will bcurse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy apower; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
There was no bet here.
A personal favorite quote of mine is in this chapter. It's: 7 And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it."
Shouldn't God already have known what Satan was doing and where he was if he was all-powerful? But that's not the point of debate here.
Bet:
I was using the 7'th definition of Bet listed as:
7. a person, plan of action, etc., considered as being a good alternative; choice: Your best bet is to sell your stocks now. That's from dictionary.com.
Gambling:
I was using the 5'th, 6'th, and 7'th definitions for gambling:
5. to take a chance on; venture; risk: I'm gambling that our new store will be a success.
–noun
6. any matter or thing involving risk or hazardous uncertainty.
7. a venture in a game of chance for stakes, esp. for high stakes.
The parable told from the lines you quoted does meet the criteria for both a bet and for gambling. It was a chance undertaking, a plan of action agreed to by God and Satan, something that involved a risk for God. I believe that my interpretation is quite valid.