Sermon Tone Analysis

God’s providence is supreme, and therefore sovereign … He is the sole arbiter of events and destines … So that it is as clear that God rules alone as that he rules at all, that he rules everywhere as that eh rules anywhere; that he governs all agents, all causes, all events, as that he governs any of them.

To surrender in whole or in part his control of the universe would be to admit that he was not God.

—William S. Plumer

Can anyone summarize our working definition of providence?

God’s secret working in and through the free acts of men, directing all events in order to accomplish his will.

What are some potential problems that might arise in our theology of God’s providence?

Where does sin fit in?

If God is working in and through the free acts of men, directing all events in order to accomplish his will, where does sin fit into the picture?

Does it fit anywhere, or is sin outside the realm of God’s providential control?

What part does Satan play on the stage of providence?

How does God providentially maneuver through all this murky terrain of free will, sinful impulse, human wickedness, and Satan’s prompting without becoming sullied Himself?

The Problem Illustrated:

Compare these two texts:

Who “moved” David to number the people?

God or Satan?

The answer is “yes.”

That answer may not satisfy all our curiosities, but it is the only thoroughly biblical answer.

What Does the Bible Say?

One of the best contexts from which to address the problem of God’s providence is the Book of Job.

When “bad” things happen, is it God or man or Satan?

Who’s Responsible for This?

Who is responsible for what happened to Job? God or Satan?

Whose hand is being described in v. 11? God’s hand

Whose hand is being described in v. 12? Satan’s hand.

Whose hand is doing the stretching out against Job?

Remember back to our study on Joseph- who is ultimately responsible for EVERYTHING that happens to us?

God must be if He is both just and omnipotent.

If something “bad” happens that we do not understand, we are immediately tempted to question God.

What attributes of God do we call into question?

Omnipotence- how?

Why didn’t you prevent that God? Were you unable to prevent it?

Justice- How could you allow that to happen?

That’s not fair!

Which one did Job call into question?

God’s justice!

Think about the calamities that happened in Job’s life.

Was Job merely the target of nonmoral “natural” disasters?

To whom are these catastrophes to be attributed?

God or Satan or natural causes?

Was Job also the victim of sin?

So now who is in charge, God or Satan?

Who was in charge of the natural calamities?

Who was in charge of all the suffering as a result of the sins of others?

Truth- God cannot be the originator of any sin or temptation to sin.

How do we know that?

But, who, if anyone, was ultimately responsible for what happened to Job? Were God AND Satan jointly in control?

Do they share the responsibility/blame? Who is ultimately in charge?

You incited me?

Satan incited God? Satan moved God?

You incited me against him?

Satan moved God against Job?

You incited me against him to destroy him without reason?

Satan moved God against Job to destroy him without reason?

How can that be?

A Closer Look at a Key Verse

Job 2:3 is a crucial verse to understanding the book of Job, and to understanding our problem of providence.

Let’s dissect the terms of the text that are central to our problem.

Job 2:3 (ESV)

3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?

He still holds fast his integrity, although you INCITED me against him to destroy him without reason.”

"Incited” (סות)- means “to allure, entice, incite, provoke.”

It is used 18x’s in the OT in different senses.

Sometimes people do this to other people in an evil sense of seducing or enticing them to do something wrong.

Jezebel incited Ahab to do evil:

Ahab induced Jehoshaphat to join him in battle:

A friend or relative might entice someone to serve idols:

Sometimes people do this to other people in an innocent sense of motivation.

Achsah urged her husband to ask Caleb for an inheritance:

Sometimes God does this to people in the sense of prompting or direction, either directly or through secondary means.

He drew Israel’s enemies to leave Jehoshaphat alone in battle:

He incited David against Israel to number them:

Only once does anyone ever do this to God.

Job 2:3 (ESV)

although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

Only here, in Job 2:3, is God the object of this verb.

By God’s own admission, Satan incited/provoked/motivated/persuaded Him against Job to swallow him up undeservedly.

God Himself admits that He has been “moved” by Satan to dot this to Job.

To do what?

Job 2:3 (ESV)

you incited me against him to DESTROY him without reason.”

“Destroy” (בַלְּע֥)- is a graphic word that literally means “to swallow up” or “to gulp down.”

God admits that what He did to Job was not unlike the earth swallowing up houses or the fish swallowing up Jonah.

Why did God say He was moved to do this?

To what end?

For what cause?

Job 2:3 (ESV)

you incited me against him to destroy him WITHOUT REASON.”

“Without Reason” (חִנָּֽם)- can mean either “without compensation” or “without cause, undeservedly.”

Saul sought to destroy David without cause:

David refused to offer a sacrifice from that which cost him nothing:

Most instructive is this Messianic reference:

This prophetic reference to Messiah’s suffering focuses on the single event of history that puts all our suffering, even Job’s, into proper perspective!

Was there any other suffering that was more undeserved than that of the spotless, holy, harmless Lamb of God?

How should Jesus’ suffering cause us to gauge our own suffering?

We must always gauge our attitude toward our own suffering not by the experiences of other by by the experiences of Christ!

Back to the Question

Who did all this to Job? God or Satan?

The answer is YES.

God placed Job in Satan’s hand or power.

Then who is responsible for all this?