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.

By Faith We Understand That Life Was Created By God

The writer to the Hebrews begins chapter 11 by defining faith. He then continues to encourage his readers by giving examples of how believers exercise their faith. Interestingly he begins with us, his readers.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. - Hebrews 11:3 ESV

What is his point? Is there another way of understanding how the universe came to exist? Obviously. In our day modern science does not want to allow for this understanding at all. Lets look at what he says in more depth.

Use your mind, he says, and keep using your mind. Think about this over and over again and keep on thinking about it some more. It is what Jesus' disciples did not do after he had fed about 4,000 people with seven loaves and a few small fish and after they took up the leftovers they still had seven large baskets full. Then he and his disciples went across the sea to the other side. Now, for some reason they forgot to take any of those leftovers along. So when they got to the other side they tried to figure out what to do about food.

And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" 

They said to him, "Twelve." 

"And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" 

And they said to him, "Seven." 

And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" - Mar 8:17-21 ESV

In so many ways, we are quite naturally like those disciples when it comes to "the universe." We don't use our minds. We act as if it were not created by the word of God. By the way, the word translated here as "universe" is not what the original Greek has. The Greek word, aeon,  is much more comprehensive. It refers to life itself, all life. Originally it was related to the Greek word for breathing. Then it came to refer to the length of time that such life exists, an era or age. Then by substituting what is contained (life) for the container (universe), you end up calling aeon the universe.

And that's the whole point. How do you explain not just the physical universe, but the fact that there is life in this and other possible universes? We see this stuff we call atoms, molecules, protons, electrons, whatever. Our sciences have all sorts of names for it. But who can explain where life came from without faith?

Oh, there are many attempts. Some try to say chance. Life just somehow happened. It is the natural outcome of the evolution of cosmic matter —whatever such scientific babble means. Some confine the discussion to planet earth and say that some asteroid from somewhere else crashed into this planet and brought primitive life that evolved. Of course that only puts off the origin question. Where did that life come from? Marcelo Gleiser, in an NPR related blog, writes,

Molecular biologists like Gerald Joyce, from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, and Nobel laureate Jack Szostak from Harvard University, among many others, are making spectacular advances toward understanding life. They can manipulate RNA and DNA and coax them into enacting the game of life, that is, respond and adapt to environmental pressure as the theory of evolution dictates; they can strip away cellular structures and genes from living cells to search for the minimum living system; Günter von Kiedrowski in Germany was able to construct auto-catalytic chemical sets that show self-replicating abilities. 

These experiments are not yet creating life in the laboratory. But they are certainly steps in the right direction. Even if we will not be able to explain exactly how life emerged on Earth, science still offers the only pathway toward understanding.

"The only pathway toward understanding"? Faith, based upon God's revealed Word, understands that life "was (and is) created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." And what are those things that are invisible? What is at the bottom of all life is intelligent design. Life works. Life reproduces. Beneath the tiny world of the atom is information. That is what makes it all work together and beneath the information is intelligence, a mind, THE MIND!

I join the LORD Jesus to ask, "Do you not yet understand?"

God Has Put Eternity In Our Hearts

Yesterday I opened up—again—the question of parallel universes by suggesting that the term heaven or the heavens may be a reference to that concept. I did suggest that we who believe in the authority of Holy Scriptures as our Creator's revelation of Himself and His plans for His creation must approach these discussions with caution, especially since scientists are not always objective. Like the rest of us, they bring with them assumptions not supported by objective studies and mathematics.

In yesterday's blog I made the following statement: 

Scientific studies during the past century have radically broadened our concepts of the universe or universes. So much, so very, very much remains unknown. We have only to read books like The Hidden Reality—Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene to realize how little we know and how vast creation may be.

I referred to Greene, because I've only now begun to read his book (listen to the audio version). Early in his book he acknowledges that some attempt to explain life as arising from some soul, spirit, etc. outside creation, but he personally doubts it. Then he proceeds to outline one theory that our universe is but one of an infinite number of universes stretching on forever!  In that scenario, our universe, our world and each one of us is repeated endlessly in an infinite number of other universes! 

Whoa horses! Greene has suddenly reduced everything to . . . a meaningless infinity! There is no beginning, even as there is no ending. And there is no room in that model (at least as presented in the first two chapters of his book) for a Creator. You and I are not unique creations. We are simply an assemblage of matter, repeated endlessly in an endless array of worlds in an infinite number of parallel universes. Life is a matter of chance and it has no meaning and no purpose. It is nothing but a cold assembly of matter and energy. That's all you are. That's all I am, along with the infinite other me's in those infinite other universes. 

And all along I thought only GOD was infinite and without beginning or ending! That's what I read in His revelation. 

• In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. - Gen 1:1 ESV
• Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. - Pro 8:23 ESV
• He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. - Ecc 3:11 ESV
• He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, - Mat 19:4 ESV
• But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' - Mar 10:6 ESV
• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. - Jhn 1:1-2 ESV

The Hebrew word for beginning, Re'shiyth, is used elsewhere to speak about the firstborn, the first fruits in the harvest, the first fruits offered in the temple (i.e. Gen. 49:3; Exod. 23:19, etc.). 

The Proverbs passage refers to R'osh, often translated as head. As in Genesis, it implies a beginning. 

In Ecclesiastes Solomon tells us that God has put eternity into our hearts. Eternity or 'Owlam points to undefined time with an unknown beginning or ending. We know about time and learn here the wonder that everything is beautiful in its time. And beyond time we are intrigued by eternity. What is it? What does it mean? However, there is a darkness about 'Owlam. We will never be able to plumb the depths of it. Ed Welch puts it this way:

While God has created all the “times” of life (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8), each appropriate in its time (v.10), He has obscured humanity’s knowledge, placing darkness in their hearts, so that they cannot discover His divine program (v.11). But why? Because God wants humanity to enjoy the work He has given them (vv.12-13), to trust in His sovereignty and fear Him (v.14). (Gault p.57)

Focus on your task at hand; trust God for the future. That would be the message of the verse, and it fits the message of the larger book. It is simple and wise advice.

In the Gospels we read about the Lord Jesus referring to the beginning of creation. The Greek word there is archē, a word that absolutely speaks about the beginning of all things, again emphasizing that only God is eternal. Jesus, who is God, was in the beginning. Again, only God is eternal. Everything else has its source in Him. Without Him nothing exists. The very idea of an infinite and endless number of universes fights against that revelation. 

Without faith brilliant scientists are ready to posit an infinite number of universes, visible or invisible, yet theoretically available to math, research and science. In faith we turn to the God who called us and our earth and the heavens (whatever that implies) into being. In faith we acknowledge that it all has its beginning in Him. So the Hebrews letter states, 

By faith we understand that the worlds (aions) were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. - Hebr 11:3 NKJV

Once In A Blue Moon

Some of us attending a birthday party recently got into a discussion about the Blue Moon. Katy said that August, 2012 was one of those months to have two full moons and so that meant the second full moon was a Blue Moon. But, wondered another woman, why is it called a Blue Moon? No one seemed to know. Would the moon actually be blue? I had no answers. I only knew of the expression "once in a Blue Moon". I had never thought about what a Blue Moon is. So I did a little research.

The next Blue Moon is August 31, 2012 : August, 2012 is a month with two full moons. And, by popular acclaim, that means it’s a Blue Moon month—but it’s blue in name only. That’s because a Blue Moon is sometimes defined as the second full moon in a calendar month. The first full moon is August 1. The second full moon is August 31, 2012. There are two more definitions for Blue Moon. It can be the third of four full moons in a single season. Or, someday you might see an actual blue-colored moon. For details check the link.

But what has that to do with anything? The Bible often refers to the moon. From the beginning we read,

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. - Genesis 1:14-15 ESV

And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, - Genesis 1:14-17 ESV

What does it mean to rule the night? The Psalmist urges us to thank the LORD for the moon. The rule of the moon is part of the steadfast love of the Lord of lords.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; ... the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever; - Psalm 136:3, 9 ESV

For a detailed study of the moon's importance check out The moon: the light that rules the night by Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati. He reminds us that the moon is critical to life here on the earth. It is over a quarter of the Earth's diameter. If it were smaller it wouldn't have enough gravity to maintain its spherical shape. It orbits the earth about once a month in regular cycles of 29½ days. This fact made calendars possible and helped people to plant their crops at the best time of the year. The entire Biblical calendar is based upon these phases of the moon. 

The moon also controls the tides. As the moon orbits the spinning earth it causes a cycle of two high and two low tides about every 25 hours. Tides are vital to life here. They cleanse the ocean's shorelines, keep ocean currents circulating and prevent the ocean from stagnating. Our shipping channels and sewage discharges are scoured out. It some places people exploit the enormous tidal energy to generate electricity.

Ethan the Ezrahite sings about the steadfast love of the LORD for His people, comparing that love to the ongoing rule of the moon.

Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies." Selah - Psalm 89:37 ESV

All this is part of God's good and wondrous creation. We recognize it as we gaze upon the moon, but there is a dark side of the moon. By this I do not refer to the fact that the moon does not rotate like the earth. I refer to the worship of the moon as the Queen of heaven, as well as the idea that the moon causes lunacy and is related to ancient and current views about werewolves and vampires.

More on this next time.

Genetics And Human Responsibility

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted a statement at its August, 2011 Assembly: Genetics, Faith and Responsibility- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The following is from the Prologue:

Genetic science includes a range of disciplines that deal with biologically based characteristics and their inheritance. The developments stemming from genetic science and its applications illustrate the abundant gifts of God's creation. Breakthrough discoveries and cutting-edge technologies evoke a sense of awe and provide insights into the human place within the web of creation. They unlock unprecedented power to diagnose and cure diseases and to address agricultural and environmental problems. 

These developments also exemplify how contemporary human knowledge and technology are creating a different relationship between human power and life on this planet. Genetic science extends human powers over the fundamental processes of life in unprecedented and qualitatively different ways. It enables human beings to shape directly and rapidly the characteristics of living beings, including human beings 

The collective effects of these new powers mean human beings increasingly bear the moral burden for the shape of nature and the very existence of future generations. The cumulative force of such unparalleled power and choice promise great benefit but also present qualitatively new levels of danger and ambiguity.

In this and future posts I will share my views about these powers and dangers. I encourage you to read the entire ELCA statement. I especially like these comments further into the prologue:

• Genetic knowledge and its applications are not morally neutral. They require diligent and sustained attention in order both to direct their potential good and to limit potential harm.

• Individual and collective decisions must take into account the long-term impact of genetic science and technology as well as the character of the world today as a global village.

What we Christians especially bring to this dialogue is an understanding of what God in His Word tells us about how we are to use these powers. The Word also warns us about the dangers we face, especially since we are by nature sinful and rebellious. Let's start with a brief review of how we stand in relation to our Creator. Luther's Small Catechism teaches us in a simple, but profound manner how all creation depends upon God.

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him.

Notice that this statement affirms that God continues to provide us with all that we need to support our lives. He protects, guards and preserves us from those things that might harm us. For instance, when Sylvia and I huddled in the hallway of our home back in 2008 as Hurricane Ike came storming in from the Gulf of Mexico, we could only pray that our Father in heaven would spare us, because neither we nor anyone else had the power to control or divert the storm in its fury. And spare us He did, out of "pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy." We were without electrical power for weeks, but beyond that we were OK. For all this we give Him thanks and praise. In this we join the Apostle as he says, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). God's providence and protection is evident all around us. This is further affirmed by the Apostle in his letter to the Colossians,

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Col 1:16-17 ESV

The all things means just that and includes hurricanes, squirrels, dolphins, fleas and we humans, alongside everything else. All these things were created, says the text. The verb were created is passive; these things did not—and do not—create themselves. In that sense our Father continues to create. He is continually creating, causing them to exist. They are utterly and completely dependent upon Him for their existence. As Luther's Catechism says "God has made me and all creatures."

Take me as an example. I am unique, am I not? Certainly. There has never been another quite like me. True, I look quite a bit like my father—and a bit like my mother, but I am not merely a clone of either of them. Nor will I, the unique person that I am, ever cease to exist now that I received a "new self, created after the likeness of God" when I was taken with Christ into death and raised with Him to new life (Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). He who first caused me to come into existence through the union of my parents has continued throughout these years to preserve my life. And beyond that, when I was baptized, He re-created me, giving me a new self, remade in His image and likeness. And His creative activity continues within me.

This continuous creating activity of God is everywhere, in trees, streams, the air we breathe, and the universe that surrounds us. "In him all things hold together." He upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).

The fact that we creatures exist only and always by His Word of power does not mean that we are in any sense the same as God. The creatures do not equal the Creator. This teaching does not in any sense suggest pantheism, the idea that the sum of all that exists is God. He remains the Other, the Holy One, above, beyond and outside His creation. Yet within His creation, this natural world, there is an incredibly complex interplay and extensive sublime order. Tides rise and fall, water satisfies our thirst and planet earth continues to revolve around the sun. Modern science in all its varied disciplines reflects an ongoing discovery of this amazing order. We even dare to say that this order reaches out into the universe, the UNI-verse, not the MULTI-verse. All created things are UNIFIED, everything interplays with everything else. We affirm this because we believe there is but ONE God by whom and for whom all things exist. "In Him all things hold together."

Since we humans are interdependent with this amazing creation and given the vocation to oversee it, our task is to respect God's creation and to assist it to flourish. This is certainly part of what the Bible means when it teaches that we are created "in the image of God" (Gen.1:26-28).

Thus we must ask what this stewardship, this management responsibility implies in the amazing discoveries our scientists are making about genetics. We'll look further into that next time.