One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. Job 1:6
Sounds Tolkienesque, doesn’t it? Angelic beings are called to the court of the great God, Jehovah. The vast multitude stands in awe before the throne. Cue state-of-the-art lighting and sound effects and soaring music as the evil one insinuates himself into the crowd.
How can we even comprehend this event? The writer doesn’t try—just goes right to the scene.
Here at the beginning we must nail down the point that God had something in mind. Unless we trap that thought, this book will bound off in all directions like a rabbit with its tail on fire.
God is never taken by surprise.
And I agree with C.S. Lewis that there has never been a war between God and Satan. The evil one has only taken on the likes of the archangel, Michael. There is no force or being or power in any universe known or unknown that can, of its own volition, oppose God.
What God allows occurs.
So, was Satan ordered to come, or did he think he was sneaking in? Let’s assume he was simply allowed to attend and permitted to observe. God actually initiates the conversation with this former angel of light, reminding us that everything to come is entirely under His control.
- You accuse Job of being a man who only serves Me to keep the blessings coming.
- You sneer that if the blessings are taken away, he will actually curse Me.
- Take the stuff.
- I will even allow your evil hand upon his family.
- I will even allow your evil hand upon his health.
- This man will endure.
Which begs the question: Am I living a life in which God can have absolute confidence? The Book of Job plumbs dark depths and asks many hard questions.
This quote by Philip Yancey sums up, I think, the lens through which we might—from the start—view this journey of exploration into difficult spiritual territory:
The point of the Book of Job is not suffering: where is God when it hurts? The prologue (chapters 1-2) dealt with that issue. The point of the Book of Job is faith: Where is Job when it hurts?
Where am I when it hurts? Am I, as Job asked, willing to accept good from God—as well as adversity?
And it isn’t just personal pain and crisis. Living in a broken world where antipathy toward the gospel is on the rise, where, in many places, there is a consuming hatred of Christians and they are being murdered almost daily (Nigeria), or where there is simply a casual dismissal of the Bible, it’s going to take more than lip service or our own casual approach to the Christian life. Time to drive those pylons of faith into the bedrock of faith. Time to shore up the wobbly places. Time to make irrevocable decisions in favor of complete submission to Christ. Then we won’t perish in a spiritual ash heap when adversity strikes.
Lead on, Book of Job.