Life Matters - August 21, 2024
When God stepped out of the devil’s way, swift calamity befell Job. The plowing oxen and the grazing donkeys were stolen by the Sabeans, and the servants, save one who escaped, killed. Fire fell from the sky, killing 7,000 sheep, and the shepherds, except one shepherd who survived to tell the story. Three bands of Chaldeans made off with the 3,000 camels, having killed all the caretakers except one survivor who brought the news to Job.
After this horrendous string of calamities came news of the calamity of all calamities. ‘’Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house. And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped to tell thee.’’
In his distress Job tore his clothes, shaved his head and fell to the ground in worship to God, and said, ‘’Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’’ In all this distress, God yet testifies of Job’s integrity saying, ‘’In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.’’ (Job 1:22)
But Satan, not admitting defeat, kept on accusing Job to God, saying, “skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.’’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘’behold he is in thy hand; but save his life.’’
So Satan smote Job with sore boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. And then his wife turned against him. Consider what this woman was going through. Destitute, with only memories of riches and honor. Childless, with only memories left of three daughters and seven sons. And now, she saw her once capable, once healthy, once respected husband reduced to an incapacitated, sick, and ruined old man. Her hope, joy, and strength showed itself to be misplaced. Affluence, honor, and family had become her identity instead of God. She was hopeless and tried projecting her depressed hopelessness onto Job. ‘’Dost thou still retain thine integrity?’’ she asked. ‘’Curse God and die’’, she mourned in faithless accusation. (Job 2:9) Job’s faith was stretched well-nigh to breaking, as we can see later in his responses to the arbitrary mixture, of wisdom and guessing accusations, being hurled like darts randomly thrown at a dartboard but in hopes of a high score, by his three ‘’best friends.’’
Why do such bad things happen to innocent people?
With no claim of being exhaustive, let us consider four realities shown to us in the book of Job and upheld by the rest of Scripture.
God is the Giver of Peace and Blessing.
Satan is the author of confusion, deceit, and calamity.
God allows the infusion of confusion, deceit, and calamity for His own purposes, which not even the righteous always understand.
Though lacking in understanding, we can yet trust that God does understand, and that His purpose—His Goal—makes sense of what He allows.
While the belief that ‘’the end justifies the means’’ is as surely corrupting to mortal man as absolute power is which corrupts him absolutely, not so with God, whose end is always just and His means always the best available for the situation. For God, though having Absolute Power, has the boundaries of His Holiness. He ‘’cannot lie.’’ (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18) And in giving us the freewill of choice, He has limited Himself, He has limited His ability to intervene. While Satan, having cast off all restraints, uses lies, whether overt or covert; and, as we have seen in the book of Job and in the inhuman torturous persecutions brought even upon the faithful—in history and to the present day—Satan uses all manner of force and destruction, not so with God.
God calls us with the Power of Love. And of a sound mind. In doing so, He allows us to sense, and at times to experience, the hatred coming from the other side; the powers of darkness.
God is not the author of confusion nor of any evil. But He allows it. There is a purpose to this madness.
Life Matters!