We have special seats as we watch the drama of Job unfold. God
has, by this opening chapter, invited us into the balcony to watch the
whole thing from a heavenly perspective. We get to see from the view
of God and Satan, and who knows how many millions of celestial
spectators. It is a sort of cosmic, SMILE YOUR ON CANDID
CAMERA, set up. We are all in on it, but Job has no idea what is
going on. We know that all of the dirty tricks of Satan are deliberately
designed so we can all see Job's reaction. We also know that when the
entertainment is all over Job will be rewarded for being a good sport
through it all.
In this analogy Satan is the Allen Funt of the spirit world who goes
about constantly trying to dream up new ways to reveal human
responses to trying situations. All of this could be great fun if God
would just call Satan off on account of unnecessary roughness. If
Satan would have been less violent the whole drama could be
enjoyable. Had he just plotted for all his possessions to be robbed,
that would have been an interesting thing to watch. But Satan pulled
no punches. He wiped Job out and without mercy saw to it that the
vast majority of his servants and all of his children were killed. This
spoils the whole show for those who are not sadistic.
Many have felt that God made a bad deal with Satan. Robert Frost
has God explaining later to Job: "I was just showing off to the devil."
Job responds, "That was very human of you." Carl Jung, the famous
psychiatrist, goes so far as to say that God felt guilty for what He let
Satan do to Job. The reason he says God sent His Son into the world
to die on the cross was because He felt so guilty about Job. The cross
was not only to atone for man's guilt, but for His own. This is
certainly as extreme a view as ever uttered, but what it reveals is man
questions the justice of God in allowing Satan to treat Job like He did.
It just does not set right with man that God would give this much
freedom to the forces of evil. He should have put more restricted
limits on Satan. This is man's biggest problem with evil. Why does God in His
sovereignty not stop evil from being so powerful. The feeling is, if God
is forced to permit evil, He is not all powerful, and if He freely permits
it, He is not all good. God is forced, it seems, to give up one or the
other of these attributes. Since all of Scripture however reveals God
to be both all powerful and all good, man is forced to try to figure out
how this can be when God permits evil to be as powerful as it is.
One of the answers to this dilemma is, God can allow evil to be
powerful if the end result is greater good. In other words, God is
justified in permitting any degree of evil that He, in His sovereign
power and wisdom, can turn to good. For example, God allows Satan
to buffet Paul with his thorn in the flesh, because that evil of suffering
will help Paul escape the greater evil of pride that could ruin his whole
ministry. Here is a clear case of God giving Satan freedom to do what
He could use for good. This means that the reason God does not
destroy Satan and cast him into the lake of fire is because, in a fallen
sinful world, the works of Satan can be used for the purpose of God.
God allows Satan freedom because it is useful for His own ultimate
goals. God is in control, therefore, and evil will not be able to do
anything that God cannot overcome, and make count for good in the
long run. This being the case, God is off the hook, and He is justified
in permitting evil.
This truth is easily perverted into error. Some conclude that evil is
not real. If evil is used for good, they reason that evil is really a part
of the good. If the good can only come by way of evil, then evil is
good. If good can come of evil then evil is not really bad, and,
therefore, not genuinely evil. This kind of thinking leads to the
Christian Science conclusion that evil is not real at all, but is the result
of false thinking. The Bible makes it clear, however, that evil is real,
and that it is bad and not good. God can use it for good, but it is evil
and destructive, and not His will. The fact that God is superior to evil,
and able to counteract it's negative power does not mean that evil is
not real and awful. The fact is some evil will persist forever, and that
is why hell is a reality. We must avoid the superficial conclusion that
all is really good if we only understand everything. Because evil is
real, there is much in life that is worthless and meaningless.
Those who think that evil is really good do not realize that by
denying the reality of evil they make God responsible for all that we
see as evil. The Bible makes it clear that evil is real and God hates it,
and is not the author of it. Sometimes Christians feel that God
sovereignty means that He controls everything that happens in this
universe. If that was the case, then there is no such thing as freedom,
and God is totally responsible for all evil. If God controls all that we
do, then all of our sin must be His doing, and, therefore, His will. God
then is responsible for all sin, for if He controls everything, who else
can be held responsible? Since that conclusion is totally at odds with
the Biblical revelation, we must go back to God's sovereignty and
come up with another view of it that does not make Him the author of
sin.
God's sovereignty means that He is the only Person in the universe
who can take the risk of creating free willed beings because He is the
only Person who has the power and wisdom to make sure that the risk
of evil will not outweigh the good. He can end up with a universe of
free willed creatures and much good and love that could not otherwise
exist. God's sovereignty does not mean He does everything. It means
that even though millions of beings do things He does not will, He is
able to work in all things for good to those who love Him and who are
called according to His purpose. God's will is not done on earth daily
by millions, but because He is sovereign, His will will eventually be
done in spite of all the sin and evil and rebellion.
This is one of the powerful messages of the book of Job. Satan set
free to do his worst was not able to destroy Jobs relationship to God,
and God's final reward and blessing of Job. Paul in the New
Testament said nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. The book of Job had already made this truth clear.
Life, then, from the Biblical viewpoint is a comedy, and not a tragedy.
A comedy is a story that, no matter how tragic the events, ends well.
Job is, therefore, a comedy, and all of human life is a comedy, however
many tragedies there are to endure.
Now all of this helps us to see suffering in a different light. All of the
values and blessings that come out of suffering are real because God in
His power and wisdom is able to use evil to bring forth good. The
suffering itself is evil. It has its origin in evil powers and wrong
choices, and it is evil in itself, for it will not be allowed to be a part of
God's eternal kingdom. Evil has no intrinsic goodness at all and so
cannot be eternal. The cause of suffering is evil, but the consequences
can be good because God can work in everything for good.
God is not the cause of any defect in the body, for the body of the
Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Just as you would not come
into the sanctuary of your church and destroy the pews and the walls
or windows, and just as you would not throw garbage all over to make
it a place of filth which would be repulsive to God and man, so God
does not smash His temple in planes, trains, cars, or bikes, nor does
He spread cancer and other diseases through His temple to make the
body repulsive. All of the good that come from Christian suffering
these things are because God will work in everything (however evil
and repulsive) to bring forth good. If men will cooperate with God,
there is no evil that cannot be overcome to produce good. But do not
conclude that this means the evil or suffering is good, or that God is
the author of it for good. Both of these conclusions lead to the false
concept that evil is not real, and that God is the author of evil.
Anything that leads to these conclusions is not Biblical thinking. God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. It is impossible for God to
sin, or to tempt anyone else to sin.
There are some Old Testament text that lead to confusion on this,
for they seem to be saying that God is the author of evil. Amos 3:6
says, "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"
The prophet is simply pointing out that God does punish sin by
judgment, and that judgment is called evil, because it is from man's
point of view the worse thing that can happen. It is an evil to come
under the wrath of God, but when God does judge it is in reality not
evil but justice. God never judges unjustly or unfairly, and so there is
no real evil in His wrath, but the Old Testament often refers to it as
evil from the Lord. It is the result of man's evil, and when he reaps
what he has sown, it is an evil crop of suffering, but in no way does this
mean God is the author of evil. He prefers mercy, but mercy rejected
leads to justice, and justice for the sinner is an evil consequence.
Understanding all of this helps us avoid the agony of misconception.
So many Christians look at the tragedies of life and Rom. 8:28, and
struggle to figure out how everything works together for good. They
watch their loved ones die, and suffer months and years of loneliness
and heartache, and all the while wonder how they are suppose to see
any good in it all. This is a futile struggle and frustration based on the
misconception that evil is not real, but that all is good, and that all is
of God. You owe it to yourself, and to all the body of Christ to avoid
giving anyone this superficial view of life. Evil is real and it hurts, and
it is not good, nor can God Himself make evil good, but He will work
in all things, even the most evil things, to bring forth good.
But the fact remains, that is the back door to blessing. It is best to
come in front door and experience blessing without having to endure
the evil. Many a man's drunkenness has lead him to the gutter where
he looks up for God's mercy. That is good, but better is the way of
man who seeks God's mercy without ever ending in the gutter. Job
had great blessings when it was all over, but I wonder if Job would
have had his choice, what would he decide? Would he choose to go on
with his ideal family and wealth, and social prestige, and right
relationship to God, and avoid all he had to suffer, or would he choose
to endure the agony he did for the sake of possessing more? We don't
know what Job would do, but most people in his shoes would, I am
sure, choose the easiest route and avoid the battle.
Since we don't have a choice, however, we need to be ready for the
battle. But let's not be simple and think the battle is not real, but only
a good we don't yet understand. Evil is real, and life is a battle with
real bullets. It is not all a mere play where we all go out to celebrate
afterwards. You have seen too many good people suffer too believe
that. You have witnessed too many broken homes and hearts to think
that way. Jesus would not have wept if all was for the best. All is not
for the best. He tried to prevent the destruction of Jerusalem, but he
was rejected, and he wept over the folly of the people that would lead
them to such great suffering. It was not for the best; it was evil.
Suffering is not good, but thank God this not good cannot keep us
from God's best if we, no matter what, remain loyal to Him. Suffering
is not good, but thank God He will work with us, even in that which is
not good, to bring forth what is good.
