Yes, but the cross (Part 1b) 3

 in Bible

Dear Friends,

This is for anyone who has suffered horribly and asked God “Why?”

Open series outline

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The Problem Of Evil: The Prequel

We presented various 20th/21st century descriptions of the Problem of Evil last time, by way of introduction.

Today, we introduce the all-time most profound treatment of the Problem of Evil…and it shows up in a Biblical book written thousands of years ago. In fact, (and this makes it even more fascinating) Job is widely considered to be the oldest book in the Bible (1).

Have you been hurt?

Have you been exploited? Lied to? Physically or verbally assaulted? Let down? Robbed? Ravaged by a painful disease? Laid off? Fired? Betrayed? Socially rejected? Bereaved? Had to watch a loved one suffer?

My dear friend, I want you to know that Job also experienced horrible suffering, and he has a message for you.

Principalities and Powers

Job was a good man. He had great riches and ten children.

This is how he lost it all:

One day, God was bragging on Job in a conversation with Satan. Satan responded that Job only obeyed because God had blessed him, and that if the blessings/protection were removed, Job would curse God to His face.

So, God removed the “hedge” of protection, and Satan rushed in with all his malevolence. A great wind destroyed Job’s son’s house and all Job’s children inside, Job’s servants were killed, the animals were killed or stolen, and, sadly, his wife advised him to respond exactly the way Satan wanted.

To top it all off, Satan hit him with a painful skin disease covering his entire body.

The problem

How is it with you, my friend?

When you struggle to reconcile the suffering in the world with your understanding of God, do you question His goodness or His very existence?

Last time, I presented modern-day challenges to God’s goodness and His existence, but for Job, it was all about God’s goodness…or lack thereof. He never cursed God to his face, but he did enter into an extended, bitter struggle with the Problem of Evil.

Job’s reasoning went something like this:

  • I am an upright man
  • God is not going to bless me anymore
  • God does not reward good works
  • God rewards evil works
  • So, I question God’s goodness

Job v. God

Job thought he was ready for a legal showdown with God:

[Job 23:2-4 KJV] 2 Even to day [is] my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. 3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! [that] I might come [even] to his seat! 4 I would order [my] cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

Here are some direct quotes from Job to flesh out the bullets from the previous section:

  • I am an upright man
    • [Job 12:4 KJV] 4 I am [as] one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just UPRIGHT [man is] laughed to scorn.
    • Also, chapter 31 is Job’s extended treatise on his own innocence
  • God is not going to bless me anymore
    • [Job 7:7 KJV] 7 O remember that my life [is] wind: mine eye shall NO MORE see good.
  • God does not reward good works
    • [Job 9:29 KJV] 29 [If] I be wicked, WHY THEN LABOUR I in vain?
  • God rewards evil works
    • [Job 12:6 KJV] 6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand GOD BRINGETH [ABUNDANTLY].
  • So, I question God’s goodness
      • [Job 30:21 KJV] 21 Thou art become CRUEL to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.

Taking the problem of evil by the horns

Last time, we presented Yehuda Amichai’s atheist take on the Holocaust (“After Auschwitz, no theology…”).

Amichai contemplates one of the most horrific events in human history, and plunges into atheism; but there’s a sense in which Amichai takes the easy way out.

Which universe is more horrifying to you? A universe with No God or a universe with an evil God?

See, atheism was not even on the table for Job; rather, he was struggling with a far more terrifying concept: A God Who was on the bad guys’ side.

That’s what I like about the Bible….it never pulls any punches. It confronts ALL the evil:

  • The evil done by evil people
  • The evil done by evil angels
  • The evil done by good people who lose their way
  • And yes, even the evil that we perceive God to be doing or supporting

The Bible takes the problem of evil by the horns.

Hang on tight… 

TFOTF

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3 thoughts on “Yes, but the cross (Part 1b)”

  • Reply ↓
    Ed Long

    Looking forward to the conclusion, Brother. Job is a wonderful study, and can be encouraging / discouraging at the same time, depending on our attitude and demeanor when studying. Like all the Bible, when we study through the lens of Jesus, we can see our own failures in the flesh and the daily grace and mercy of God in the life of Job. Thankful to God for your study and writings. Peace and Love.

    • Reply ↓
      TFOTF Post author

      Brother Ed, thank you so much for those thoughts and your encouragement.

      Yes, we are so blessed to have the lens of Jesus to look at the Bible and the universe through. Elder Gowens put it something like this: “God may not give us a why, but he gives us a Who.” Good enough for me!

      God bless you and yours.

  • Reply ↓
    Matt

    It’s good to see your writing. Recently I’ve noticed an interesting contrast to Job’s way of questioning God about the suffering and evil in the world. Habakkuk asks God many of the same questions: “how long” will you permit the wickedness that exists in Judah? God reply’s that he is waiting for the Babylonians to rise in power and take over Judah. To that Habakkuk asks, how can you judge us with a nation that is far more evil and wicked than Judah? Interestingly the name Habakkuk comes from the idea of embracing. Habakkuk is struggling to understand God’s involvement in this world, but he is honestly seeking to embrace God. He stands upon his tower questioning God, but he also stands prepared to be reproved – not to correct God and justify himself (Hab 2:1).

    The answers God gives him does not satisfy him. Instead, God teaches Habakkuk that the just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4), and shows him a precious promise of one who will come and will not tarry. That one will save his people by wounding the head out of the house of the wicked (3:13). We will not understand all of God’s way (they are so far above our ways), but we can live by trusting his character and his promise of redemption. In the person and work of Christ we see clearly his fidelity, goodness, mercy, love, righteousness, and holiness together in harmony. When we see, by faith, God’s character clearly in the person of Christ we can trust him regardless of the circumstances of life (Hab 3:17-18).

    I thought Habakkuk was an interesting contrast to Job in how they question God. Thankfully the Lord, in his mercy, instructs both men in a better way.”