job
Explanation
The Joke
The comic retells the biblical Book of Job as an escalating series of failed attempts by God (and later the Devil) to manipulate a man named Job. God first sends the Devil to ruin Job's life -- killing his crops, his family -- but Job continues to worship God. God then tries a different tactic: making Job prosperous, with a wealthy nation and advanced technology, hoping Job will become arrogant and stop thinking about God. Instead, Job realizes he just wanted happiness all along and stops caring about God entirely.
Frustrated, the Devil tries destroying Job's cattle and crops again, but Job now has insurance money. The Devil then writes a book about surviving adversity, which makes Job even richer and more inspired. Every attempt to manipulate Job -- whether through suffering or prosperity -- backfires. Finally, God and the Devil ask each other how to deal with someone who thrives regardless. The solution: "You could create a diversified portfolio... everyone slowly gets surplus value while continuously praising elegance." The final panel reveals the punchline: this is called "the world wide web" -- essentially, the modern internet economy is the ultimate divine trap.
The Humor
The comic takes the Book of Job -- one of the Bible's most profound explorations of undeserved suffering and faith -- and turns it into a long-form comedy about an indestructible optimist who cannot be broken by any means. The escalating absurdity of God and the Devil both failing at their jobs is inherently funny, but the deeper joke is the inversion of the original story's theology. In the Bible, God allows Job's suffering to test his faith; here, even prosperity fails to produce the desired result because Job turns out to be genuinely happy once his material needs are met. The final punchline ties it all together by suggesting the internet -- with its endless cycle of content creation, engagement, and value extraction -- is the one trap that finally works on humanity, accomplishing what neither divine punishment nor reward could achieve.
References
The comic is a parody of the Book of Job from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, one of the Wisdom books that explores the problem of theodicy (why a just God permits evil and suffering). The comic also references utilitarian philosophy, insurance markets, and the modern internet economy as an ironic culmination of divine scheming.