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"This was all to test Job's dedication to God. "
"He did that to Job for our benefit, and for the benefit of Job's friends. "
I'm glad you seem to have realized that Job's trials were not a test of him but simply some sort of demonstration for the rest of us.

But what has it really demonstrated ?
That the trials in our lives might be God running an experiment? Hardly, since He knows the outcome.
That God is the boss and can take the leash off his nastier creations whenever he chooses ? Nope, If you believe in God you already know it, if you don't you won't connect it.

Hopefully he had some rational reason for it, but the explainations so far are simply not very God-like, more like some petty dictator trying to prove how strong he is, and therby asserting his weekness.

I'm glad you seem to have realized that Job's trials were not a test of him but simply some sort of demonstration for the rest of us.

Close, but no cigar. Job's trials were a demonstration, but not for "the rest of us." Job's trials were a demonstration for Satan. Read the first two chapters again. Satan foolishly challenges God. Twice! God apparently intends to prove Satan wrong.

Naturally, Satan loses the challenge and is proven wrong. There are things we may learn from considering this situation, and obviously God foresaw all that we might learn from it. But the text states that the demonstration was directed primarily towards Satan, not humans.

To claim otherwise, you must first disbelieve the text. In that case, you have no material with which to argue.

"Hopefully He had some rational reason for it..."

Rest assured, RS, God has a rational reason for everything He does. I wonder at your attempts to "figure God out" and at the conclusions you've made about God. Have you read what God says about your musings about Him?

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Answer this riddle for me, RS.

If we have a being with infinite intelligence and reasoning power and a being with finite intelligence and reasoning power, do you think it is more likely that the infinite being will have trouble comprehending the finite one or that the finite being will have trouble comprehending the infinite one?

I'm glad you seem to have realized that Job's trials were not a test of him but simply some sort of demonstration for the rest of us.

The answer is "C) All of the above". While God knew what Job would do, Job didn't. This was for his own benefit as well.

Hopefully he had some rational reason for it, but the explainations so far are simply not very God-like, more like some petty dictator trying to prove how strong he is, and therby asserting his weekness.

There usually aren't rational explanations for the things God does. We can't explain them because God's wisdom exceeds the wisdom of all mankind combined. "Ears have not heard and eyes have not seen" the things God has in store for us. You don't know what is God-like and what isn't, and neither does anyone else. We can only guess based on what He has told us in His Bible.

Since you seem to know what things are "God-like", please let me know what you think God should have done. As for the petty dictator remark, I don't think a petty dictator could have created life, nor do I think a petty dictator would die for his people. A petty dictator would not love his people unconditionally. A petty dictator cannot set down laws that would become the basis for every decent set of human morals for the last 4000 years.