Learning About The Permissive Will Of God

Everything was going great for Job and his family. His children celebrated life and Papa Job prayed for them. But ominous things awaited.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 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?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. - Job 1:6-12 ESV

There are a number of difficulties with this passage from the ancient book of Job.

1. What or where is the setting for this story? 
2. Who are the "sons of God"? 
3. Since when does "Satan" get to come along to present himself before the LORD, especially since in other parts of Scripture we read that he was cast out of heaven (Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:7-9; 20:2). 

We will deal with the first two questions today and take up the second in detail in the next post. 

Who are the sons of God? 
Normally a son refers to a physically descended child:

"The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. - Gen. 5:4 ESV

However, the word can refer to both male and female children:

Job 8:4: "If your children (same Hebrew word: beni) have sinned against him. . ." - Job 8:4 ESV

Sons can also refer to members of a nation or group: "... I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword. - Zec 9:13 ESV

Jar of Quotes

Thus when the book of Job uses the phrase sons of God it refers to the group or class of mighty beings we know as the angels. Read how the LORD rebukes Job out of the whirlwind:

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? - Job 38:4-7 ESV

The sons are sons of Elohim (Hebrew) in this passage. Elohim is not always translated as God. So see Psalm 89 where sons of Elohim (Hebrew) is translated as heavenly beings or the sons of the mighty. 

• For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, -   89:6 ESV. The HCSB and NET all translate the phrase as the heavenly beings. 
• NKJV, ASV, YLT, DBY and NASB all translate the phrase as the sons of the mighty 
• In Num 25:2 elohim is translated as gods:"These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods (elohim), and the people ate and bowed down to their gods (elohim). - Num 25:2 ESV 

Translation of elohim depends upon the context. Thus the various translations quoted above suggest a class of heavenly, mighty beings, sometimes mistaken for gods. These mighty ones are also known in Hebrew as the malakim, the messengers or in Greek as the angeloi. The point is that the phrase sons of God in Job 1 likely refers to the heavenly beings, the mighty ones, the angels. It does not suggest that they are descendants of God, i.e. sons of God. To be  sure the Creator of heaven and the earth is known as ELOHIM, as we read in the first verse of Scripture:  "In the beginning, ELOHIM created the heavens and the earth," Gen. 1:1, etc. Certainly the angels did not create the universe. In the Genesis vv. the noun Elohim refers to the Almighty, the Maker of all things visible and invisible. But in other contexts the noun Elohim  refers to that class of mighty beings we know as the messengers, the malakim or more commonly by the Greek translation, the angels.

So we begin a study of the mystery known as the permissive will of God. We read in Job 1 how He gathered the mighty ones, the angelic hosts, the elohim, before Him who is THE ELOHIM and we learn how the LORD allowed even Satan, the Adversary, the leader of the rebels among the elohim, to challenge the LORD to allow him to test Job's faith.

We struggle with why the LORD allows these mighty, but evil, angels to continue their rebellion. That is a topic for the next blog. For now the most direct answer is that He allows Satan and his host to test our faith and to teach us to mature in faith. In His prayer Our LORD Jesus teaches us to pray: Deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:13) And in faith we know that He will for He permits such tests for our good (Rom. 8:28).

But more about that the next time.