“Job – The original Dragon slayer,” or “Free will on Trial”
- Isaiah 27:1
Forty years ago, I was an impressionable sophomore at Florida State University. Due to
simultaneous unusual events which I will
specifically address shortly, I formed these thoughts about the book of Job.
As
a premed student, I was the president of a biology club that had provided
science speakers for our small group of biology students where we heard many
interesting talks. At one particular meeting, the professor decided to offer
his "testimony" as proof of spiritualism as manifest to him. His
family had moved into a small community near Apalachicola, called Sopchoppy. He bought an old, abandoned Church to
renovate into a home. Brilliant really - the best cost per square foot
available.
After
a period of time living there, he began to have "visions" of a
"spirit being" at night. The little club drew in close as we wondered,
was this guy mental or something? His descriptions were very specific as a scientist’s
would be. He described the beings as having no distinct form, however, having a
definite outline. He went on to say the being spoke to him out of the darkness. It was a
communication indicating there was a spirit world.
As
a Christian, I decided to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) as it says
in the Bible, so I asked the professor if he believed the spirit was from Jesus
Christ. The Bible indicates a demon is prohibited from representing Christ. Surprised at my question,
he would not speculate on the spirit’s origin. He skirted around the question
like a deer caught in the headlights. I
knew the spirit was demonic.
He
did try to interpret its meaning; he was acting as a false prophet interpreting
false demonic dreams. After the talk, many of the club members (especially the
secular ones) were encouraged by the message he gave. I was astonished. How could they as materialists consider
spiritual beings?
The second simultaneous event I had
in college
involved a humanities class I was taking.
It was led by a
strongly atheistic professor. As it turned out,
I grew up with his son. My father was a coach and professor, and many professors' children went to FSU's high school just
off campus.
The professor was a third
generation Harvard graduate and proud of it.
He relished bringing up topics which caused
controversy with Christians in his class and took every opportunity to cause
them to question their faith, which is
good on one level if it's in the true collegiate spirit of learning, but bad if
you’re interested in proselyting. Fortunately, it helped me, as "iron sharpens iron." With this in mind, he assigned us Goethe’s
theatre adaptation of Dr. Faustus based on Christopher Marlowe's original work. I had seen the movie years previously with Richard Burton but never realized Faustus was
a significant polemical argument. In the recent movie Tombstone the play
was performed. Someone asked Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) what he thought? He famously
said, "who’s the devil?” He was right Goethe portrayed God as a serendipitous
God betting the devil and using man.
Many regard
the famous German atheist and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as having the
highest IQ in human history. Dr. Faust (the protagonist) was an ancient alchemist
who wanted to possess "all scientific knowledge." Satan placed a bet
with God that he could lure Faust away from God, and to do this he would temp
Faust to sell his soul to the Devil for this knowledge.
As a student of the Bible, I recognized that this play had similarities to the
book of Job, so I decided to see what
parallels I could find for my midterm
paper. Remarkably, my professor missed this obvious connection and gave me, a professed
Christian, a perfect grade.
Things
fell into place
as I read Job. Using the "opposite view" of Goethe helped
me determine the "correct view" of Job. Goethe says that man is just
caught up in a "bet" between God and Lucifer over man’s free
will. The book of Job says Lucifer was allowed
to blame God by proposing man had no free will. At the same time, he tried to
vindicated
himself and the fallen angelic hosts with
the proposition that the fallen has no free will, rather God willed
their fall. In philosophy and theology, this is
called the "argument from evil.” It is the strongest argument the atheist uses. To advance the argument
from evil, Lucifer
sought to bring the maximum amount of evil to Job in order for him to lose hope in God and for
him to ask, “Why even try to do good as God
appoints us to futility?”
Satan's Fall
Many books attempt to interpret Job as to "why bad things happen to good people”,
otherwise known as undeserved suffering, while simultaneously
overlooking
this great debate. To be sure, undeserved
suffering is occurring, but the reason why is everything. Suffering for
suffering’s sake is an insufficient premise. Instead, Job’s undeserved
suffering is Lucifer's attempt to exonerate himself.
At the heart of this debate is how God in His perfect righteousness deals with both mankind and the angelic hosts.
Does God “hem” us into our decisions? Are we truly free moral
agents? Do any decisions we make merely reflect God pushing our neuron’s
synaptic chemicals
around or is there such a thing as free will?
The
average brain has more connections than all of the combined computers in the
world, plus it's a quantum computer. We are not simply led by our DNA. The Oxford dictionary
defines free will as “ the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at
one's own discretion.”
From a theological point of view, did God
create us in His image in order to have the free will to accept or reject Him?
Recall that man is made in the image of God, not angels. However, this doesn’t
mean that angels don't have free will. I
believe this is the crux of this book, not unfair suffering. Is there a
such a thing as free will?
This debate is being waged between Lucifer in the midst of his fallen
comrades in the presence of the elect angels, and God to the effect that
God made Lucifer fall. Lucifer blames God for his volition and he presses this argument by claiming that God finds fault in His own creation without taking the blame Himself (Job 4:18).
To set up Job, we have to establish certain facts.
Lucifer and his angels had not fallen until
the establishment of the earth.
· Job 38
“The LORD Speaks..
"Where were you when I laid the earth's
foundation?
...while the morning stars sang
together
and all the angels shouted
for joy?”
God says that the Angelic host were created in
perfection and “singing together” at the creation of the earth.
Also, in
· Ez 28:13 it says, "You were in
Eden, the garden of God."
We
conclude that
Satan fell after Eden was created. Geologically speaking, this may have been a relatively
short time before Adam was created.
But what happened? What caused
Angels to turn from God?
One can only speculate as it is not recorded in the
scripture. It could have been that they didn’t like something that they saw in God's creative work on the early earth. Nevertheless
Lucifer, via his "wide spread trade" and
having the highest rank and also privilege to God's presence, was caught up in his own beauty and felt he could be like God.
· Ezekiel 28
" 'You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in
Eden,
the garden of God.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub..
You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So, I drove you in disgrace
from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom "
Notice
how he was expelled from the mount of God in heaven, but not the garden. Some
think his position of guardian of the garden was turned over to Adam and this
seems reasonable. So it was when Adam sinned, he lost this position. Recall Job
1 after Lucifer arrived late to the meeting, insulting God’s authority:
Job
1:7
“The Lord said to Satan, ‘From
where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From roaming about
on the earth and walking around (his earth) on it.’
Lucifer’s
walking about implies rulership.
He was expelled in disgrace
and stripped of his title. But then what happened? Was this to be the end of it
or was he to be punished further?
It would appear Lucifer had "time” to
convince other angels to choose to also reject God. Time is in parentheses, as
heaven is in relativistic-like construct. Angels have one foot in our universe’s
actual time and heaven’s "time.”
His
argument might have been along the path of, “How can a perfect, omnipotent god
judge me? I am his creation, destined to do his will. Surely, he is unfair otherwise,
how can I resist his will? If I fell, it ultimately was due to him causing
me to fall.”
Lucifer
might have convinced the angels that God is going to take inevitably charge of
them. After all, if God could charge his highest-ranking angel (Lucifer), then
God will certainly do it to them. Of course, this is pure speculation.
Whatever
Lucifer's deception, it worked. One-third of the host fell with him. –
Revelation 12:4
A revolt was
on.
"The condemnation of Lucifer and the fallen angels; and Lucifer’s Appeal to
this charge."
What did God
do with this revolt? He must have brought up charges against all those who revolted against His sovereign will.
A sentence was
made.
Condemnation and eternal judgment were levied. This is borne out
by the fact He made the Lake of fire before
He made man.
Mathew points this out when God is separating the
unbelievers immediate after the tribulation to be placed in the lake of fire, which was already
prepared for the fallen angels in the past.
· Matthew 25:
41 “Then He will also say to
those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire
prepared (beforehand) for the devil and his angels.”
The
lake was already made. If the Lake of Fire was made beforehand, what kept Lucifer’s sentence from being carried out then?
The
angelic conflict can be viewed as a legal trial where
both sides raise points of order. I wonder if God allowed Lucifer to defend himself and his followers?
But would a sovereign God allow an appeal? If He would, He holds Himself
to a higher
standard, His Word. If He acted by
His omnipotence, he would immediately penalize
them. Yet if He held to the reputation of His Word, He would be a fair
judge, considering their free will.
A
question arises: Are angels made in the image of God like man? Does this flavor
their free will? In fact, many times angels take on God’s image in the form of
a lion or eagle, even man (Christ) therefore it’s assumed that they do have
free will, lest we not explain their fall.
Lucifer must have made arguments on his behalf and
that of his fallen comrades, mainly that we have no real free
will. We were forced to fall and God is really to blame for their condition. If
God holds himself to a higher standard, he will show it to us. His Word must be glorified.
Lucifer
in essence, challenges this Psalmist verse.
· Psalm 138:2
"I will bow down toward the temple of thy holiness, and celebrate thy
name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified
thy word above all thy name."
As well, the gospel of
John begins "In the beginning was the Word.”
Lucifer must claim that God does not magnify His Word above His name. In other words, he's saying God is a "might makes right" God. By His might, not justice and love, He makes His judgments.
He must have also claimed there was no such thing as forgiveness,
loving kindness or grace in God's attributes.
It's questionable how these attributes
apply to the angelic hosts as they don’t experience grace as we
understand it. Grace is, by definition, an unmerited favor for a fallen being. That being accepts this grace by faith and seeks the unmerited
love of God. That being would a gradually dying entropic mortal being living by faith, something an angel is immune to.
However, it is through this grace attribute of God by which Lucifer’s argument is crushed.
In other words, God is not a "might makes right" God. He does not jealously guard equality with God, but empties Himself lower than the angels to show His Word is the only source of praise and glory- Philippians 2:6.
But is there any other evidence that this might have
been Lucifer’s appeal?
The
answer is yes. We don’t have to speculate because we have the direct appeal as
presented in the book of Job.
First,
however, recall my two experiences, the scientist seeing a "spirit"
and the humanity professor’s emphasis on Goethe.
In
this passage we see both of these experiences join together. Look at the dark
spirit and his appearance to Eliphaz.
· Job 4
12 “Now a word was brought to me secretly,
There's
never a case in the Bible where God's messengers (angels) don't declare their
identity.
And my ear
received a whisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the
night,
When deep sleep falls on people,
14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,
And made all my bones shake.
15 Then a spirit passed by my face;
The hair of my flesh stood up.
16 Something was standing still, but I could not
recognize its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 ‘Can
mankind be righteous before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18 He puts no trust even in His servants;
And He accuses His angels of error.
19 How much more those who live in houses of
clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
20 Between morning and evening they are broken in
pieces;
Unregarded, they perish forever.
21 Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them?
They die, yet without wisdom.’
Lucifer
is making the appeal in front of the Angelic hosts that "God placed no trust in his servants” and furthermore, He (God) serendipitously "charged them with error”. In essence, Lucifer is claiming that God made Angels with predestined imperfection,
that God had
never really trusted them and was merely waiting for the
manifestation of this imperfection and would pounce on them, charging
them with error. This is an attack on the
sovereignty of God as holding His power as first and His Word second. Just like Goethe's Dr. Faust, it's all just a bet
between God and Lucifer.
We
know this was not true. God made Lucifer his anointed Cherub; it was Lucifer’s own
sin which brought him down.
Many
theologians do not want to address who this aberration was. I feel I’m on safe ground to
say it is Lucifer himself. First of all
in Job, it’s a contest between God and Lucifer directly. Only in the first chapter does
Lucifer speak. In the second appearance
before God, Lucifer is once again the only one who speaks. And finally in the end of the book of Job, God makes references of Lucifer as Leviathan to Job and shows how he is the main
protagonist in this argument for the "sons of pride" (the fallen
hosts).
"Gods allowance of Lucifer’s appeal"
What
then is God's decision based upon in Lucifer's appeal? Immediately throw the fallen angel’s into the Lake of Fire?
No,
He delays. What further arguments can be made in the
realm of angels? They were apparently able to make a decision once and for all to follow or not follow God. There is no turning back. God’s
word compels him to reveal his justice to them affirming their free will while
justifying their condemnation.
Angelic
beings are under no illusion as to the attributes of God. They exist in a realm
of power and status where they can observe God in ways we can not.
Nevertheless, one of
these beings became inflated in his own eyes and managed to fall away from God
and draw others with him.
One
wonders if it was something that he observed in God's
creation of the early earth which caused his arrogance? We know that laws of entropy existed. Stars were created and then burned out, 98% of early life which was created became extinct. Many catastrophic events occurred on the
earth in those early times. 2nd Peter 3 says, “The present heavens and the earth by his Word,
are laid up in store,” and further, all the elements will one day be destroyed. The Angels knew these things
were going to happen to this universe.
Did Lucifer say to himself, “I could do better?” Surely God had the right as
a creator artist to make all sorts of temporary beings. These early earth
beings were not spirit filled beings, but maybe this is what
fried Lucifer’s noodle. Maybe he felt that
God shouldn’t
have made temporary beings that died. This is complete
speculation, however, it is interesting to note that today, man worships the creation
via the power of Lucifer rather than the creator. Could Satan be the original
environmentalist?
"The need for man to solve this conflict."
Going back to the appeal of
Lucifer, God must have chosen to create a lower being that could be under the
influence of the Angelic Hosts. If these inferior beings were obedient to God, then the Angels would know
that God was fair in His dealing with the angels. He
would prove the claims of Lucifer to be false.
On
the other hand, if all mankind rejected God outright, Lucifer would win his argument that God was serendipitous. Note God points out that no
one is like Job. In his test, Job represents suffering for all mankind, perhaps
paralleling Christ’s future role. In addition, as he made sacrifices for his
children and ultimately for his errant friends, he acted as a shadow of things to
come for future priest functions.
God
knew in His creation of man that man would fall, just as He knew in His creation that some Angels would fall.
Many people struggle with this philosophically. One might ask,
“If God is self content, why make beings that would fall only to suffer? Isn't He perfectly content without such beings?”
However his word or
wisdom knew the possibility of lessor beings falling and was compelled to share
his word with them for it's maximal glorification. God and beings were destined
to glorify his word.
· Job 28:20,27-28
"Where then does
wisdom (Gods word) come from? And where is the place of understanding?
Then He saw it and establishing
it; He established it and also searched it out.
"And to man He
said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is
understanding.”
If it were a matter of
God’s omnipotence there would be no reason to create lower beings. However, if
he places his word first then it requires maximal glorification and
therefore these beings.
Again,
this is an area of speculation. It might be tied back to
the verse that God does hold Himself to a higher standard in His Word and that He was willing to create man
and angels with the same obligation to that
standard, even if it meant they might reject it. In
doing so, all created beings can come to know the surpassing
riches of the Word of God and share in His perfect happiness.
Many
atheists argue that God had no such right, even though acceptance of God is as close as their tongue is to their mouth. Christopher Hitchens, a
famous atheist, claims that if presented to God, he would say, "I made an honest
mistake, but one I’m particularly proud
of."
In order to demonstrate to the angelic
beings that God holds himself to His
Word and
that He does allow for a true free will, He was willing to show them how far He would go in testing Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
No
created being will be tested to this level. No created being had so much to
lose.
When he discovered his general
relativity equations, Einstein declared that our universe came into
being out of nothing and that there must be a God. He
also, however, rejected a personal
God. Einstein reasoned that such a God must be purely mechanistic, otherwise how could there be evil in the world? He (God) must
just wind up the watch and let it run. But what if such a God was
personal and took on the evil propagated by a hidden adversary onto his own
body as a substitute for mankind’s imperfections? God effectively said, “All you must do is acknowledge
what I have done for you and I will place you in union with me forever.” What argument would the most brilliant scientist of our time have? He
would have no argument and he would have
no excuse for
rejecting such a God. Sadly, Einstein probably did just that.
One
more philosophical point of contention might arise in that God created man knowing that
he would be
tempted to the point of falling. In the world of mankind, what would that do?Again Christ’s sacrifice solves
this. But what of man's suffering? Heaven
far outweighs this plus Christ wipes the memory of this from their eyes in the
end.
·
Revelation 21:4
“and
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes”
Man
did not need to propagate in the garden. He was happy with the woman to the
point of choosing to fall with her rather than doing without her. It was the
greatest yet tragic love story as Adam ate of the tree to eventually die with
the woman he loved. He knew exactly what would happen. He could not have known
the tragic history of man though.There is little evidence that man even had much interest in the
tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve apparently did, as she even came up with her own theory about it; that if she touched it, she would die. In addition,
she spent an unknown amount of time listening to the deceptive serpent, which she either kept to herself or asked the Lord about and ignored His advice to shun his being. But Lucifer caught her by using misdirection, just as in the Job 4 passage. When asked about the fruit, Eve
replied, “We
can’t even touch it, lest we die.” Lucifer had her. He showed her that touching it
was not deadly to her and he convinced her that by eating it, she would be like
God, knowing good from evil.., which was the same thing that Lucifer wanted for himself
(being like God).
As an aside, many
interpret the tree of good and evil to be Gods good and Satan’s evil. It's not.
It's Satan’s good and evil plan for man as a substitute to Gods grace. For example
after his fall Adam put on fig leaves. Christ asked who told you you were naked?
It was Lucifer. Why? The leaves represented man by his own efforts gaining
God’s approval – human (Lucifer’s) good. It's the basis of all
religions. When evaluating a religion ask, "where’s the fig leaves?” Also Lucifer
wanted man to die off. What better way than to wrap him in fig leaves. Some
Christian sects hold the flesh is so carnal they avoid sex.
Satan’s evil is
the intensification of that good by arrogance. Example when God
rejected Cain’s human good offering of a fruit basket for salvation his
arrogance against his animal "murdering” brother led Cain to murder him,
the first human sacrifice -human (Lucifer’s) evil.
Returning to Job, we must conclude that God
did have the will to create beings and we must conclude that in order for them
to be truly free they had to have the option to reject him. In fact it would be
necessary that in their creation many would reject him but many would accept him as well.
God
could not have made them truly free without the ability to reject him.
It
was clear man would eventually fall given time by Lucifer. But was this an
irrevocable fall? If it was it would be unfair as man would have been pushed as
Lucifer claimed God did to him. But no it was not irrevocable. Man could
change his mind with God's grace
salvation.
Job precedes Paul’s
Romans 8 by 3,500 years. Job deals with free will in general but doesn’t
develop the Pauline concept of foreknowledge. In Romans 8 we see foreknowledge
precedes predestination which precedes calling which precedes election. God
sees all possibilities in his omniscience but establishes only one. In it he
foreknows who might believe in him given the free will to do so. His holy
spirit makes that free will choice effectual.
In Ch.1 Job is already saved
and in constant fellowship by his sacrifices. Satan infers God hemmed in to
this salvation at the same time ignoring Job’s free will offerings according
his salvation and maintained righteousness.
Being
a lower being and having lost his spiritual relationship with Christ he (man) was
subject to Lucifer and his hosts at this point. What could God do to equalize
this desperate situation? He reveals in prophecy to the serpent that he will
bruise his heel (Christ) but he (Christ) will crush his (Satan's) head.
He
makes other promises including that he (Christ) will be made lower than the
angels to redeem man and that one day man will rule the
angels.
So we can see a whole series of phases in history where Christ acts through
different agents for salvation but all arguments and rebuttals will be heard in
history starting up in the book of Job (the real first book of the Bible) and
ending in the book of Revelation.
God
would be able to show through man that he does hold his word above his name - Psalm 138:2 and further that he has attributes of love, grace
and forgiveness which the angels are not purveyed to in their current nature as
it would appear angels do not change their minds.
· Job 41 says: (God speaking)
3 Will he (Leviathan - Satan) keep begging you for mercy?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he make an
agreement with you
for you to take him as your slave
for life?
In
this God is telling Job that Leviathan (Lucifer) will never change. To do so
would be tantamount to slavery in his view as he completely rejects God
at this point.
And
so there must be no grace salvation for the fallen hosts. They can only
try to disprove God as unjust in hopes of an acquittal.
"Open of the great
debate"
The stage, God the Elect angels, the Fallen Angels and Lucifer arriving late as a sign of disrespect. He's roaming the earth as a victor
in his mind.
· Job 1
1 In the land of Uz there
lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared
God and shunned evil.
4 His sons used to take turns
holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat
and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course,
Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice
a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have
sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Job was righteous
by the offering of sacrifices (belief in the future sacrifice of Christ,
imputed righteousness) for his own sins but felt he might be able to intercede
on behalf of his children which may have been into major sin- brother with
sister.
· 8 Then the LORD said to
Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on
earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns
evil."
Notice God considered
Job before He allowed Lucifer to get involved. Why did Job get any
consideration if he had no free will? Why does God weigh hearts before dealing
with people? Because true love must be voluntary.
·
9
"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10
"Have you not put a "hedge" around him and his household
and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his
flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out
your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your
face."
Lucifer
points out Job was "hedged in" by God serendipitously. Job is not
righteous, God made him this way. Lucifer
did not point out the sacrifices Job made for his family and himself. God would
have simply countered, "these sacrifices are ordained for mans
righteousness before God.” They point towards Christ’s future work.
· Job 1:5,
“Job would send and
consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings.”
These offerings point to
Job's "fearing" or "respecting" God. Lucifer skips the
sacrifices to attack the "fearing" of God as if Job did this by Gods
hand with blessings. In other words, God unduly influences our relationship
with him by bribing us.
More importantly Lucifer
rejects the sacrificial system of grace God established for man. Lucifer must
think this is an unfair "do over” for man only.
On one level he is
correct, but on the level that God does it regardless of mans free will,
he is incorrect.
Note
Lucifer challenges God to strike Job but God will not do this rather he allowed Lucifer to do this. This affirms that Lucifer must agree
that the trial phase must be fair and that human agents have free will which can be influenced. On one level the angelic hosts
are demonstrating the very thing they deny. They can unfairly cause evil
for man yet at the same time claim God caused them to commit evil.
One
might ask, was it the right of God to challenge Lucifer? Was he
"baiting" him in a way? In fact
he was in a way as he later tells Job.
· Job 41
1 "Can you
pull in the leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a
cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
In
other words Lucifer (Leviathan) " bit" on God's challenge (have you
considered Job) only to be "hooked" and lose the argument. It's of
note "Leviathan" has parallels to a crocodile as well. When they bite
a bait with a cord they roll around to escape only to entangle themselves. However this crocodile is sentient.
· "Will he make many pleas to you,
Or
will he speak to you gentle words?"
Lucifer
tries to show Job has no free will rather simply reacts to his circumstances, Gods unfair determining of Jobs reactions.
·
Job 1:11 "But now stretch out your
hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
Lucifer destroyed everything Job had (but his wife). Note Lucifer tries to get God to do this but God allows
Lucifer to do this.
·
Job 1:21 "Naked I job from my mother's womb, and naked I will
depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In
all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Lucifer loses round one. He retreats for a while to
try a different approach.
"Second round"
· Job 2
"1 On another day the angels
came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to
present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan,
"Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through
the earth and going back and forth in it."
· 3 Then the LORD said to
Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like
him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he
still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him
without any reason."
4
"Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for
his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his
flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but
you must spare his life."
Interesting enough
Lucifer wasn't late to this meeting. I wonder if they served popcorn!?
God
points out that Lucifer incited God against Job for no reason. This alone defeats Lucifer’s argument for
he demonstrates his free will in hurting Job.
This is the very
argument Lucifer claims God did to him. He was just walking along minding his
own business and violence was found in him without any cause. But as we
know arrogance is the source of this violence, a lust to be equal with God
without qualifications.
·
7 So Satan went out
from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the
soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of
broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
8 His wife
said to
him, "Are you still holding
on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
10 He replied, "You are talking like a
foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not
trouble?"
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job holds onto his
integrity (imputed righteousness combined with fellowship
sacrifices plus walking in that righteousness) then and through the whole book. Satan loses this round as
well. Job uses his free will to glorify God.
"Enter Jobs 3
worthless physicians.' -Satan's
useful idiots.
It is of interest that in his lament Jobs' friends did not know what to say. They sat
for seven days with Job with no basis to say anything. It was only when the ‘spirit”
appeared to Elizpaz that
they had a basis of argument by which to judge Job.
But
first Jobs laments
· Job 3
8
May those who curse days curse that day,
those who are ready to rouse
Leviathan.
"Why
is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,
23
Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
Job himself was cursing the day and ready to rouse
Leviathan. At this time Leviathan was an ancient sea serpent and Job identified
him as the source of his misfortune. Little did he realize just what
Levitation really was. How powerful he was and how God would not let him (Lucifer) subdue Job.
Job asks the deep question of why life is given if only to experience evil. Or does God give us life and hedge us into a hidden path. For
a brief minute Job is confused to Lucifer’s view of "hedging” but it's due
to his not knowing this was caused by Lucifer. Through out the new testament we
are reminded Lucifer is our real enemy.
Along
comes Job's "friends” to help him out.
As
Satan lost round one and two, he realized he needed some "useful idiots". This term was coined by the USSR in the 1970's concerning American protestors against nuclear weapons. They protested against their own government based on propaganda
fed to them without their knowledge by the USSR. One soviet spy boasted he could get 500 protesters on the streets in 30
minutes.
·
Job 4
1
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
15 A spirit glided past
my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.
16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:
17 'Can a mortal be righteous
before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18 If God places no trust
in his servants,
if he charges his angels with error,
19 how much more those who
live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more readily than a moth!
Again, recall the chemistry professor's description of the "spirit"
that appeared to him. It's exactly the same. It's invisible with a faint
outline. Plus recall Goethe’s claim that God is serendipitous with his creation.
Man and Satan are only pawns.
First
Lucifer uses misdirection in Job 4:17 “can man be righteous before God?” That was never at issue, what is at issue is can we be righteous
before God and is it attributed to us or is it simply God's forcing us into
such a position. But due to grace God imputes his righteousness to us.
But
here is the real statement Satan makes.
·
18 "If God places no
trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,"
Again, Lucifer claims God didn’t trust us
(angels). We
are not to blame. Furthermore he “charges his angels with error.” How can he do
this unless he didn’t trust us to begin with? Do we
{angels & humans} really have a "free
will” choice?
This
is the only place in the Bible which states the trial phase in the
angelic conflict. We know why Satan fell but not why he was not judged
immediately. There must be an appeal, one that mankind is the solution via his
free will choice for God. Free will plus grace salvation defeats Satan's claim
of no free will.
Lucifer
goes on to say it’s even worse for man. He makes Goethe’s argument to a tee as
he says we are simply cannon fodder. We are clay pots to be
dashed living in houses of clay.
·
19 "Between dawn and dusk they
are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever."
Again, this theme about man being made out of
inferior entropic material seems to be part of
Lucifer’s argument against God. The earth and its temporary entropic creatures might not have been to Lucifer’s approval. But again, this is conjecture yet Paul
states God will rescue the creation from this state.
· Romans 8:20-22
For the creation was
subjected to futility (entropy?), not willingly, but because of Him who
subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself
also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of
the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the
whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
So, after all these days of sitting with Job and not knowing what to say,
the spirits revelation directed them to be
"useful idiots" attacking Job.
This
same misdirecting creature that caused Eve and the angelic hosts to fall had to
cheat to keep this case or appeal alive.
His friend’s reason if Job, a clearly righteous
man, could be treated so unjustly, surely Job must have deserved it.
This may parallel the fallen angel’s conclusion about Lucifer!?
Eliphaz
is convinced that this false "spirit" is a message from God to help
Job. He concludes Job must not be righteous or have some hidden sin he must
atone for.
Eliphaz
says:
·
Job 5: "But if it were I, I
would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
17
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
But
Eliphaz has no idea of the greater battle going on here, much less the angelic
conflict.
So
Job responds
·
Job 6
4 The arrows of the Almighty are in
me,
my spirit
drinks in their poison;
God's terrors
are marshaled against me.
10 Then I would still have this
consolation—
my joy in
unrelenting pain—
that I had not
denied the words of the Holy One.
29 Relent, do not be unjust;
reconsider, for
my integrity is at stake
20 If I
have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of
men?
Why have you
made me your target?
Have I become a
burden to you?
Job is confused momentarily as maybe
Eliphaz is correct but can not think of any sin he did. He feels the arrows
of the lord are in him but criticizes Eliphaz for judging him. He regains his
thought by realizing the “Holy “one” Christ would be his consolidation as he
did not deny his words.
In
steps Bildad
· Job 8
1
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied
4
When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
5 But if you will look to God
and plead with the Almighty,
6 if you are pure and
upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.
Bildad
is indicating that Jobs' children were subdued due to their sin and was
probably right but maintains Job must have some hidden sin.
·
Job 9
1 Then Job replied
2 "Indeed, I know that
this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
Bildad
said in ch 8 "if you are righteous." But the "spirit"
already said we can't. Job points this out by taking their point of view. In other words how can Bildad tell Job to be righteous
as we can not if it's up to us.
Job
believed in imputed righteousness from God by offering sacrifices as an
act of that faith.
Job
goes on to say if man (by his own efforts) was righteous before god how could
he appeal to that god?
Remember
Eliphaz said we can appeal to God.
·
Job 5: 8 "But if it were I, I
would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
But
Job correctly points out that at this time in history we can’t.
· Job 9:
Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
14
"How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
15 Though I were innocent, I
could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16 Even if I summoned him and
he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
32 "He is not a man like
me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If
only there were someone to arbitrate (Christ) between us,
to lay his hand upon us
both,
34 someone to remove God's rod
from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up
without fear of him,
Job
makes the prediction for Christ as a necessary being for man to become
righteous before god. That God must have both
aspects of a man and God i.e. Jesus Christ and can
be a mediator on our behalf.
"but as it now stands with me, I cannot."
Job
points out that God is not like man trying to catch him in his faults. This is
antithetical to what Lucifer said that God was ready to pounce on them when
they fell.
Zophar
did not believe Job to be innocent and wished God would give him a talking to.
Little does he realize God will talk to Job but say to his friends ``Who is
this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" I used to
think this was directed to Job however God clearly says after this Job spoke
right. In essence this verse was to Lucifer and to the "friends” as well.
Job was counsel and the others "darkened counsel (Job) without knowledge.”
· Job 11
1 "Then Zophar the
Naamathite
4 You say to God, 'My beliefs
are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.'
5 Oh, how I wish that God
would speak,
that he would open his lips against you."
Zophar
is convinced of Job's guilt but he will get his wish. God will speak to Job and
it will not go well for him (Zophar).
·
Job 12
1 Then Job replied:
2 "Doubtless you are the
people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I desire to speak to
the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
4 You, however, smear me with
lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!
19 Can anyone bring charges
against me? (Jesus gave this same defense
with the Pharisees)
If so, I will
be silent and die.
22
Then summon me and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you reply.
23 How many wrongs and sins
have I committed?
Show me my offense and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?
·
Job 14
14
If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal to come."
Job
knows he is righteous and he will wait to the end for his rereward.
Job says,"Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!”
This is arguably the greatest insult in the Bible.
·
Job 15
1 "Then Eliphaz the
Temanite replied:
5 Your sin prompts your
mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
14 "What is man, that he
could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?
15 If God places no trust in
his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
16 how much less man, who is
vile and corrupt,
who drinks up evil like water!"
Again
Eliphaz is quoting Lucifer's " spirit" saying man can not be righteous
before God. But he can not by his own means however
he can by
accepting the imputed righteousness of God.
Also
a remarkable thing is revealed. The phrase "if even the heavens are not pure
in his eyes,". Eliphaz adds this phrase not in Ch. 4. If Satan said this it would
parallel the strong atheist, Christopher Hitchens, who criticizes the universe.
He exclaimed how Andromeda would hit our galaxy one
day as a criticism of God's imperfect creation.
It's
possible that Satan was communicating through Eliphaz that the universe is
entropic or wearing down. As opposed to the area the angels reside which is
eternal and perfect.
·
Job 16
1 "Then Job replied:
9 God assails me and
tears me in his anger
and gnashes his teeth at me;
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes."
Job
has a momentary break when he ascribes God as assailing him and turning him
over to evil men.
"11 God has
turned me over to evil men
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
19 Even now my witness is in
heaven;
my advocate is on high."
My intercessor is my
friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as one pleads for a friend.
Job
however knows he has an advocate that will argue his innocence in heaven.
·
Job 16 20 My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to
God;
21 on behalf of a man he
pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend."
Job believes God is his friend and will intercede on his behalf.
·
Job 18
1 "Then Bildad the
Shuhite replied:
21 Surely such is the dwelling
of an evil man;
such is the place of one who knows not God."
Bildad
still thinks Job has hidden sin. He does not understand Jobs' imputed
righteousness.
·
Job 19
1 "Then Job replied:
4 If it is true that I have
gone astray,
my error remains my concern alone.
Job rightly points out
they have no basis to publicly judge him as we must all deal with our sins
before God.
5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,
6 then know that God has
wronged me
and drawn his net around me.
Job points out if we
equate misfortune with Gods judgement it leads to judging the believer to exalt
one’s self. If they are exalted then God would be wrong as Job was innocent.
Another reason to avoid judging as we do not know the hearts of man and it
leads to self righteousness.
21 "Have pity on me, my
friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Why do you pursue me as God
does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23 "Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
This is a prophecy as God does record this first book of the
Bible. If you look at the history of man as a subset of the angelic conflict
even before the book of Genesis you see the audience of the angelic beings watching man. Then you go to the last
book Revelation and you see intense angelic activity at the end of human
history.
Job is the Bible’s
oldest book and as such should be the first book of the Bible especially as it
gives the history of the angels - "the Sons of God singing together.”
24 that they were inscribed
with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
25 I know that my Redeemer
lives,
and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been
destroyed,
yet in my flesh, I will see God;
Job
is aware of the second coming of the messiah and the end time resurrection of
believers in God.
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!"
· Job 20
Zophar
29 "Such is the fate, God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by
God."
Zophar
continues to hold to a sort of predestined view that some are appointed
to unrighteousness. Very similar to Satan's
first argument when he said Job was hemmed in.
· Job 22
Eliphaz
2 "Can a man be of
benefit to God?
Can even a wise man benefit him?
3 What pleasure would
it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were
blameless?
Notice
it takes Ch. 4 and adds in imputed righteousness as worthless to God. Ch.
4 says we can't be righteous but Ch. 22 asks so what if we were righteous, God
wouldn't care. This is likely the greatest second argument next to
Lucifer’s. The first is God serendipitously charges us with error and the
second so what if God allows imputed righteousness. Lucifer argues through
Eliphaz that both are superfluous.
·
Job 25
Bildad
“Dominion and awe belong to
God; He establishes order in the heights of heaven. Can His forces be numbered? On whom does his
light not rise?
How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
5 If even the moon is not
bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,
6 how much less man, who is
but a maggot—
a son of man, who is only a worm!"
Bildad
again picks up on chapter 4 by questioning how can a man be righteous before
God, Lucifer’s claim. If God only acts
from his "might makes right” sovereignty than man does not have the free
will decision to accept Gods imputed righteousness by faith. God would not
credit our faith as free.
“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
Gen 15:6
Bidad expands on Eliphaz's
statement about the stars in comparison to the moon and says it's not pure
before God.
This maybe pointing to
the entropic nature of the universe.
As Paul says, "Romans
8:20
“For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected
it, in hope.”
Nothing is pure before
God. He can assign what he wants to things because of their impurity.
We now know that this
entropic disorder is necessary for human like. We can't eat food or walk up a
hill without it. Stars can not burn.
Interestingly in Revelation
21 a non entropic universe is described. No burning Sun God provides the light.
Entropy limits sin as it
prohibits eternal living in sin with a transfer from life to heaven or hell. It
also ends this universe in what scientists refer to as the "big rip.”
Again, this makes you
wonder if Lucifer disliked the idea of entropy and God’s sovereign right to
subject it to futility. Up till the creation of the earth 10 billion years
after the Big Bang everything was copacetic. However, after dying organisms
were created, he changed. Maybe due to mass extinction or maybe man's entropic
nature.
Recall in Genesis 1 man
was created "very good” but not perfect outside of entropy. As a result,
God created the "Tree of Life” to sustain his lifeindefinitely. Scientists have discovered there
is a code that sits on our DNA (epi (on top of) genetics) that causes aging. It's
felt in 10 years we might be living 140 years.
· 2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the
elements will be destroyed.
Interestingly Bildad compares man to a maggot
and the son of the man a worm. One wonders if this is a harbinger of Christ to
come who was crushed like a worm
·
Job 26
1 Then Job replied:
4
Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your
mouth?
13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent (Leviathan)"
Job is pointing to
the spirit as Lucifer in Ch. 4 and following. He's close to realizing that its
Lucifer however God confirms this in Job 41.
Job
27
2
"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of
soul,
5 I will never admit you are
in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity (imputed righteousness).
6 I will maintain my
righteousness (sacrificial fellowship offerings)
and never let
go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I
live.
·
Job 28
11
He searches the sources of the rivers
and brings hidden things to light.
12 "But where can wisdom
be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
20 "Where then does
wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
23 God understands the way to
it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of
the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
27 then he looked at wisdom
and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
God knows all
possibilities but establishes one tested by his wisdom.
28 And he said to man,
'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.' "
Job 29
Job’s Final Defense
·
14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my
robe and my turban.
This in reference to
his continual guilt sacrifices he made to maintain fellowship with God. He had
God’s imputed righteousness at salvation as we all do but he kept his daily
fellowship righteousness by sacrificial offerings.
Today as priests we do
this by following John’s instruction, "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9- the spirit filled life.
Job 30
18
In his great power God becomes like clothing to me,
he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.
20
"I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you merely look at me.
35 ("Oh, that I had
someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer
me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing (the book of Job!!)
Job suffers one
last sophomore (wise fool) -Elihu
As typical with
sophomores he gives a long winded six-chapter response. God doesn't acknowledge
him in the end only the 3, friends Job offers a sacrifice for.
· Job 32
Elihu
1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he
was righteous in his own eyes.
2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became
very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was
also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job,
and yet had condemned him.
But not one of you has
proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.
9
'I am pure and without sin;
I am clean and free from guilt.
10 Yet God has found fault
with me;
he considers me his enemy.
Elihu makes the case
that God merely imputes fault to man despite his actions.
14 For God does speak—now one
way, now another—
though man may not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a
vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds
Again, he references the
spirits message as from God.
16 he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
Job 33 - Elihu
23 "Yet if there is an
angel on his side
as a mediator, one out of a thousand,
to tell a man what is right for him,
Elihu equates Lucifer’s one out of a thousand message as an angelic
warning. He's right that it was an angel but a fallen one. By one out of a
thousand he implies God is prejudice in his warnings to man. He warns some but
not all. In essence Job was lucky. Again a God of favorites.
24 to be gracious to him and
say,
'Spare him from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom for him'-
This implies angels can ransom us; an idea later held by Jewish theologians.
7
What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?
8 keeps company with
evildoers;
he associates with wicked men.
9 For he says, 'It profits a
man nothing
when he tries to please God.'
12 It is unthinkable that God
would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
23
God has no need to examine men further,
that they should come before him for judgment.
Elihu echo’s Lucifer and
the three that God merely finds us guilty. He doesn’t need to judge us for our
free will decisions.
24 Without inquiry he
shatters the mighty
and sets up others in their place.
7 If you are righteous, what
do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?
Again, it matters not if
we have faith to imputed righteousness as it's considered as something we
give to God. It's not, faith is non meritorious and by it God gives
us His righteousness.
Finally, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room speaks - God
Job
38
The
LORD Speaks
2 "Who is this that
darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
This is often confused as to Job only but later God says Job spoke right
of me. Therefore, this message is to Job in a minor way but in a major way to
Lucifer and the audience established in Job 1. In this way God corrects the
whole audience through Job who is innocent and righteous.
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
God is telling Job to "walk it off” in essence while He privileges
him with this incredible science lesson.
·
Job 38:6-
"Who
laid (the Earth's) cornerstone,
When
I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band,
14 the earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like
those of a garment.
Only in the last 10
years we have astronomical
evidence for this process yet here’s God telling of it 3,500 years ago.
Job
40
1 The LORD said to Job:
2 "Will the one who
contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!"
Again, this likely applied in a minor way to Job but in a larger way to the
audience, especially Lucifer.
3
Then Job answered the LORD :
4 "I am unworthy—how can
I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no
answer—
twice, but I will say no more."
Job takes credit for his minor error but again Lucifer is in the audience
and the angels are looking at him perhaps to see his wincing as his argument
fails.
8 "Would you discredit
my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
This must be Lucifer who claimed the fallen were serendipitously
condemned.
9 Do you have an arm like
God's,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with
glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your
wrath,
look at every proud man and bring him low,
12 look at every proud man and
humble him,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust
together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I will admit to
you
that your own right hand can save you.
This is a challenge to Lucifer to
create his own universe while sustaining his essence and by doing so judge it
rightly by your own "right hand.”
God the father calls Christ his right hand. Lucifer instead is left with
criticism of God's creation. He can only
attempt to be like the most high God.
This must really upset Lucifer as he cannot even sustain his own existence much less a
new universe. Nor does he have the ability or right to judge it.
Job 41
1 "Can you pull in the
leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down his tongue with a rope
2 Can you put a cord through
his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he keeps begging you
for mercy?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he agrees with you
for you to take him as your slave for life?
Here God compares
Lucifer with a crocodile-like dragon. The first question in Job 1 to Lucifer
caused him to bite and roll but it was too late. Like an
alligator that bites a trap he starts to roll i.e. miss direction.
God can win the argument
with the first question - the queen’s gambit.
8"Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle; you
will not do it again!
9"Behold, your
expectation is false;
God tells Job he has a cord around his snout so
lay your hand on him in victory. I've been to alligator farms and seen some
huge alligators. I wouldn't put my hand on one even if their snout was tied.
Will you be laid low even at
the sight of him?
10"No one is so fierce
that he dares to arouse him;
Recall Job did arouse
Leviathan in Job 3 though he thought it was a mythical creature.
Who then is he that can
stand before Me?
11"Who
has given to Me that I should repay him?
Again, this applies to
the audience including Lucifer. In a sense it claims we can not give God
anything but it does not mean we can't ask him for imputed righteousness by
faith in him.
Whatever is under the whole
heaven is Mine.
12"I
will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or
his orderly frame.
24"His heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower
millstone.
He is king over all the sons of pride."
Lucifer is incredibly powerful and hard hearted. He rules the sons of
pride - the fallen angels. This confirms Lucifer is the main angelic
protagonist thus the spirit in Job 4.
·
Job 42
1 Then Job replied to
the LORD:
2 "I know that you can
do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, 'Who is this
that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'
Surely, I spoke of things I did not
understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
Job is claiming any
error on his part but we have to know the audience is included. Once again as 1
John 1:9 says confess your sins keeping short accounts.
4 "You said, 'Listen
now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.'
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."
Job called for Gods
appearance and he was honored with his appearance. Throughout the Bible when
God appears to man, they feel totally inadequate. Ezekiel claimed he was
covered in dung.
7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he
said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends because
you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
Note God simply ignores
Elihu’s four chapter rant as to say, "sorry Jr the adults are talking.”
We have to know it might
appear that God was displeased with Job, rather God was instead honoring him by
directly addressing him.
God clearly says Job was
right. Job still found error in his minor discretions under the confusion of
what Lucifer did to him. Indeed it seems God overlooked them by stating he
spoke right of God.
Summary
We can see Lucifer tries to
exonerate the sons of pride by claiming they really had no free will
rather Gods Sovereignty unfairly assigned them to error.
For 10 billion years before
the earth was completed the angels did not change. In addition, 4.5 billion
years of entropic dying beings occurred.
Who knows if this contributed to Lucifer’s fall.
Lucifer points out in Job 4 it follows a fortiori (Latin) - with
even stronger reason, “that the same applies to man.
But as the
Psalmist says, "
"I will bow down toward the temple of thy holiness, and celebrate thy name for thy loving-kindness
and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." -Psalm 138:2
As John says, "In the
beginning was the word.”
Therefore, God judges
according to His Word first. But his sovereignty includes his word.
By the choices he gives us we
can choose to believe in his salvation work on the cross resulting in his
imputed righteousness.
What a fair and great God we
have.
Peter
says, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation
he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. - Acts 10
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