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The book of job


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Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

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25 minutes ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god God to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

Hi Lotus Blossom, 

WELCOME TO WORTHY

Just briefly the suffering of Job illustrates:

  1. The Godly are tested.
  2. The Godly are accused.
  3. The Godly are delivered. 

I know you want more discussion than this so I hope others will pick up on this important topic.

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46 minutes ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

Does Satan have to get God's permission before he can attack us?

Satan God's permissionaudio

Question: "Does Satan have to get God's permission before he can attack us?"

Answer: 
There is no biblical proof that Satan always needs God’s specific permission in order to act against Christians every time he wishes to attack them. We know that Satan needs permission at least sometimes. Job 1 shows that Satan was not able to afflict Job without God’s permission. However, consider Satan’s argument before God: “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” (Job 1:10). Satan is obviously familiar with who Job is and is aware of Job’s special protection and blessing by God. How could Satan have known of Job’s protection, unless he and/or his demonic minions had not already tried to work their will against Job? What Satan is really asking is for God to remove Job’s protection; of course, in asking that the protection be removed, Satan is essentially seeking permission to attack Job. Does Satan have to seek such permission every time he attacks us? The Bible does not say.

Another relevant passage is Luke 22:31–32. Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Clearly in this case Satan had asked God’s permission to test Peter and the other disciples. Jesus tells Peter that He has prayed specifically for him so that Peter’s faith would not fail and so that Peter can strengthen the other disciples when the test was over. The implication is that Peter and the rest would be sifted in whatever way Satan intended. So God allowed the harassing of His disciples, within limits, but He had a higher purpose in mind—the strengthening of them all.

In Job 38:11 God says that He limits the waves of the sea: “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt.” In the same way, it seems that there are boundaries and rules that Satan must abide by. He can go so far but no farther. As the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), must he stop and ask God’s permission for every step? Or does he only need to ask special permission when he runs into an obstacle to his hatred? There is no real biblical proof either way. Job and Peter were hedged about by the Lord—Satan couldn’t get to them without the Lord’s first removing a measure of His protection. We know that God cares for all of His children, so it is reasonable to assume that God has a measure of protection surrounding each of us. And we know that, ultimately, God controls everything in the universe, including Satan. “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

www.gotquestions.org/Satan-God-permission.html

Edited by missmuffet
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1 hour ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

It doesn't make any sense to us - but this is the whole point of the book of Job. It asks the question: if God is good and just, why do bad things happen to good people? 

Job is a very good man – as good as a man can possibly be – and yet he suffers as much as any man can possibly suffer (short of dying). As a result, he starts to question everything that he has previously believed. 

The whole scenario is actually rather unsettling. Does God really need to ‘experiment’ on poor Job, in order to prove His point? It's an extreme (and possibly hypothetical) situation that serves to raise an important issue: what is the point of being religious? Do we believers worship and serve God because that is simply the right thing to do, or because of what we expect to get out of it? To put it bluntly, do we do what we do for love, or are our motives purely mercenary? 
 

There are no easy answers - and this book doesn't give us any. It's a book to wrestle with, to rebuke us for our tendency towards 'cut-and-dried' theology. In reality, God's ways are often inscrutable.

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32 minutes ago, Deborah_ said:

There are no easy answers - and this book doesn't give us any. It's a book to wrestle with, to rebuke us for our tendency towards 'cut-and-dried' theology. In reality, God's ways are often inscrutable.

Sorry you feel that way, Deborah. Every time I read and study the Book of Job I am edified and encouraged. For one thing, whilst there are people like Job's comforters who think because bad things happen to faithful Christians that they must have ticked God off, the Book of Job dispels that error, and makes me glad it is not so in my life.

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3 hours ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

If one approaches a good understanding of God's character, then a Job would say: "Even though He slay me, yet will I bless Him".

Job had a very good understanding of the Lord, this did not stop his somewhat self-righteous attitude, but nevertheless, he knew the Lord our God and trusted Him. That is probably the main reason God chose Job to poke ha-satan in the eye!

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1 hour ago, Michael37 said:

Sorry you feel that way, Deborah. Every time I read and study the Book of Job I am edified and encouraged. For one thing, whilst there are people like Job's comforters who think because bad things happen to faithful Christians that they must have ticked God off, the Book of Job dispels that error, and makes me glad it is not so in my life.

Michael, I didn't mean to sound so negative. The book of Job is highly edifying - but it maybe doesn't give us the answers that we expect. I know that a lot of people struggle with it.

I think that perhaps those of us who have suffered (and have been on the receiving end of "Job's comforters") find it easier to understand than those who haven't, and are looking at the problem of suffering from a more theoretical viewpoint.

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8 hours ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

Satan didn't destroy Job's life, he had a long life. God does allow trials for ALL people, not just some people.

It is not out of character for God to allow trials in our lives. It is part of God's character to test people.

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9 hours ago, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

That is difficult to answer, I think. I trust, though, that the Lord knows what he is doing. I do know that we need to learn to live righteous lives, and that might require testing.

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On 7/25/2019 at 6:32 AM, Lotus blossom said:

Does it seem out of character for god to agree to let Satan destroy a righteous man's life.  Can you make any sense of this?

God allowed satan to attack Job knowing things will be recorded for our understanding and benefit. God purposely allows all different types of situations to happen in the bible so we can learn from them and spiritually grow.

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