I don’t know about “protect the obedient”. God pretty watched Satan beat the Hell out of Job, and Job was obedient.
SnakeDoc
Job was sorely tested. He survived the encounter, just as he survived the belly of the whale. “Protection” does not mean some sort of hermetically sealed bubble of perfect serenity and happiness, that flew out the window with the Fall.
The only thing God wouldn't allow Satan to do was kill Job. Satan took everything from Job and God allowed that to happen. Job remained obedient but he sure did his share of complaining go God about the things that were happening to him. Job is right when he insists upon his own virtue and innocence. But Job does go wrong when he thinks that God is doing all this to him on purpose, deliberately, with malice of forethought.
Thus God's answer to Job "Who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge? ... Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" [38:1-2,4a,7]
As I read Job during a particularly difficult time in my own life, I found our Father's answer to Job and his subsequent blessings on him particularly comforting. It's during the times of trial and tribulation that the Lord works wonders in our hearts and lives. We always come out better for it.