Job 1:6–12 (ESV)
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
So, this book of Job, which even a lot of you Christians don’t understand, is supposed to help me understand how this universe glorifies its creator. Have I got that right?
Exactly. The answers to the toughest questions are usually the toughest answers. It’s not that the lessons from Job are complicated; it’s that they’re painful. People don’t want to learn what it teaches.
How’s that?
You’ll see. I have to just start at the beginning. Job was a good man. The book says he was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. (Job 1:1b, ESV) He had seven sons and three daughters and many livestock. All was well until Satan asked God for permission to afflict Job.
Wait. What? I think I know who Satan is, but you’d better fill me in a bit more. How did he “ask” permission to afflict Job? Why did he “ask”? Isn’t afflicting people his regular hobby?
Yeah, I guess I need to introduce the characters before the action starts. Satan is an angel who went bad. We call angels gone bad “demons,” and Satan is the worst of the bunch.
But I need to tell you what an angel actually is for this whole scene to make sense. The Hebrew word that’s translated as angel is mal-akh (מַלְאָךְ) and it actually means “messenger.” Angels are created beings, created for the purpose of messaging.
This is important. Messaging is not just their day job; it’s the essence of their being. They are very powerful and smart, but they are still created beings. In particular, they’re inside of time. In the book of Daniel, an angel explains his delay saying, “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days,” — Daniel 10:13a (ESV)
Having dominion over time means never having to explain why you’re late.
Ha, ha. Cute. So Satan is one of these messengers gone bad. But if he’s inside of time, how/where does he ask permission for anything? God is outside of time, right?
Good question, and the answer is partly, “We don’t know.” The passage in Job actually makes this worse.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. — Job 1:6 (ESV)
So, where is this?
That’s the “we don’t know” part. The messengers must have a way to get the messages from God. This is presumably a special place for messengers. It could even be outside of time, if the angels can’t use going there for time-travel.
I like to use the technical term “interface” to describe this. The term “throne room” gets used a lot in Christianity, but that might be a different interface place (or even concept). The details are beyond us, but it’s definitely somewhere very special.
Okay, so why does Satan have to ask permission to hit on Job?
That’s the killer question that so many people want to avoid. The passage in Job is blunt.
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. — Job 1:12 (ESV)
There’s no denying that God has Satan on a leash.
This touches on all the questions. If truth itself created the universe, why is there evil? What happens to free will if God sees the future? What happens to responsibility? How does this universe glorify God?
Yes, especially the one about responsibility. There’s no question that God unleashed Satan on Job. He even planted the idea in Satan’s mind.
And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” — Job 1:8 (ESV)
So God is responsible for what happened to Job?
God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in His creation, but all created beings are still responsible for what they do.
I don’t get it.
Next lesson!
