Is God in control? Look around you before answering that question. So, I ask again: “Is – God – in control?” I say, he is, and proof of this is the fact that God isn’t frantically trying to correct the wrongdoing we see all around us. The fact that men are free to do as they please, and this doesn’t upset God to the point that he believes he **must** do something about it, tells me that he is in control. Moreover, the something, which folks believe is needed to correct the problems we see all around us, has already been done in sending Jesus! So, with this question behind us, what was God thinking when he accepted Satan’s wager:
“Is it for nothing that Job fears God? Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land. But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!” (Job 1:9-11)?
Why didn’t God simply brush off Satan’s remark by saying he (Satan) didn’t know what he was talking about, and simply move on? Why did the Lord say Okay, all that Job has is in your hands, but don’t kill him?
Interestingly, God doesn’t unambiguously answer that question, does he? In other words, in the context of Greek culture the question never gets answered. As inheritors of Greek culture, we like things black and white. We like the answers to our questions in clear explicit terms. “Don’t play around. Give-it-to-me-straight” – type of answers! Nevertheless, the Bible is written according to Jewish cultural understanding. Ancient Hebrews weren’t so much interested in straightforwardness, as they were in signs. They weren’t so much interested in logic, as they were in pictures or experiences. Consider what God told them after bringing the Jews out of Egypt. The Lord commanded that they keep a seven-day festival called the Days of Unleavened Bread, and this was to commemorate their being taken out of Egypt (Exodus 13:6-9). Moreover, they were to sacrifice the firstborn of every animal they possessed, and this was to commemorate the fact that the Lord slew the firstborn of every Egyptian, whether humans or animals, but saved the firstborn of all the Israelites (Exodus 13:13-16).
Another example, and perhaps a better one, is the time the Lord commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to him. Human sacrifice was not uncommon in the time of Abraham, but why did God test Abraham in this manner? I submit that God did it for two reasons. First of all, God already knew he wasn’t going to allow Abraham to sacrifice his son. Therefore, in not permitting Abraham to conclude the act would show Abraham and his descendants, convincingly, that he, the God of Abraham, does not ever require human sacrifice. Secondly, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son to prove his faith in God. In other words, both Abraham and all who would come after him would understand and realize that he had unwavering faith in God. How do I know this? I can say this unequivocally for two reasons. First of all, the New Covenant text tells us that Abraham understood that God had promised he would not only make Abraham a great nation through his son, Isaac, but he would also bless the world through his son. So, if God took Isaac before he did that, God would have to resurrect him, if he intended to be true to his word (cp. Hebrews 11:19).
In additions to this, Jesus claimed that Abraham rejoiced to see his (Jesus’) day (John 8:56). When did Abraham see Jesus’ day? Where in the scriptures did Jesus see that? Just before the Lord commanded Abraham to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-2), the scripture immediately preceding this shows Abraham planting a grove (Genesis 21:33), and the text says: there he called upon the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. That is, Abraham called upon the God of the ages. It was the first time the term everlasting is used with God in scripture. It seems that here, in Beersheba, Abraham had a revelation that his God was the God of all ages, eternal, and was able to see all ages. If this is logical and true, this seems to be the place where Jesus pointed, when he said Abraham saw his day and was glad. He was glad, because he knew Isaac couldn’t be taken from him, if the Lord commanded that he be slain in a burnt offering.
God has a purpose in the things he does, and his wager with the one called Satan in the Book of Job is no different. The enemies of the righteous could say all they wish and do all they want, but God’s word is true and at the end of the day, it will be proved. Abraham proved his trust is in the Lord, and when this trial is complete so will Job. Nothing diminishes that faith, though Job is brought to the end of himself, and his very foundations are tested, because he looks to be redeemed by God (Job 19:25). Thus, the question is answered for all time, and, although all the righteous will suffer, no one else ever needs to go through what Job experienced in order to prove he trusts God. He is righteous, whomsoever God says is righteous, and taking away all his blessings or even taking away his health won’t change that fact. God knows those who are his (2Timothy 2:19).
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