Results 1 - 2 of 2
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Why does God bet with Satan in Job? | Bible general Archive 1 | Birdee | 71711 | ||
I am a Christian and have started studying the book of Job and I am dumbfounded right at the beginning. Why does God take on a challenge from Satan? God doesn't need to prove anything, especially to Satan. Why did he tell/give permission to Satan to do what he did to Job? Jesus did not give in to Satan's temptation in the desert and prove to Satan who He was, so why did God do this? | ||||||
2 | Why does God bet with Satan in Job? | Bible general Archive 1 | EdB | 71822 | ||
Birdee Is God really betting with Satan or is God allowing man to be tested? Satan said Job only loves you because you give him everything. God allowed Satan to test Job to see if that was true or not. God knew the answer Satan did not. Now Satan, all of heaven, and we, since the Book of Job has been written, see that Job's love for God is based on more than what physical possessions God gave him. Job then becomes an example to us all, on our love for God and why bad things happen to good people. I like what John MacArthur has to say about this. The major reality of the book is the inscrutable mystery of innocent suffering. God ordains that His children walk in sorrow and pain, sometimes because of sin (cf. Num. 12:10–12), sometimes for chastening (cf. Heb. 12:5–12), sometimes for strengthening (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7–10; 1 Pet. 5:10), and sometimes to give opportunity to reveal His comfort and grace (2 Cor. 1:3–7). But there are times when the compelling issue in the suffering of the saints is unknowable because it is for a heavenly purpose that those on earth can’t discern (cf. Ex. 4:11; John 9:1–3). Job and his friends wanted to analyze the suffering and look for causes and solutions. Using all of their sound theology and insight into the situation, they searched for answers, but found only useless and wrong ideas, for which God rebuked them in the end (42:7). They couldn’t know why Job suffered because what happened in heaven between God and Satan was unknown to them. They thought they knew all the answers, but they only intensified the dilemma by their insistent ignorance. By spreading out some of the elements of this great theme, we can see the following truths in Job’s experience: 1) There are matters going on in heaven with God that believers know nothing about; yet, they affect their lives; 2) Even the best effort at explaining the issues of life can be useless; 3) God’s people do suffer. Bad things happen all the time to good people, so one cannot judge a person’s spirituality by his painful circumstances or successes; 4) Even though God seems far away, perseverance in faith is a most noble virtue since God is good and one can safely leave his life in His hands; 5) The believer in the midst of suffering should not abandon God, but draw near to Him, so out of the fellowship can come the comfort—without the explanation; and 6) Suffering may be intense, but it will ultimately end for the righteous and God will bless abundantly. MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Job 1:1). Nashville: Word Pub. Understanding Job will reveal many of the lies so common in many of today's false teachings. EdB |
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