Hey Jonathan.
I’m reading Job 1 and 2 over again, and I notice there seems to be (at least on the face of it) an internal contradiction.
Verse 11 says, “But forth YOUR hand now (this is Satan talking to God), and He will curse you to your face.” … then immediately in the next verse it says, “And the Lord said, Behold all that he has is in YOUR power; only upon himself do not touch.” …
Italics and bold for emphasis. So at first Satan is saying it’s God’s doing, then in the very next sentence, God is giving all that Job has IN Satan’s HANDS.
So I’m not sure how to resolve this issue which seems to give contrary information.
The same thing happens again in chapter 2, starting with verse 5, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.”
Then God says, “Behold he is in YOUR hand; but save his life.” … then proceeds to say, “So went Satan from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with terrible boils form head to toe.”
So who is doing all this damage too Job? Is it Satan or God? Well by way of analogy it’s not really an “either-or” question.
Consider this … a six-year-old girl makes the statement, “God made my baby brother.” Then a scientist responds to her, “No he didn’t! Your parents did!” Which is one is right? Well their both right … God is ultimately responsible for her baby brother, and her parents did conceive her baby brother, too. Both parties were involved.
In another instance, in Genesis 1, on Day 1, it says that God separated the Light from the Darkness and called one Day and the other Night. Yet on Day 4, it says that God made the Sun and Moon to divide the light from the darkness … so who is doing the dividing? Is it the luminaries or God?
Both would be correct. God is ultimately responsible for everything, though he may use secondary causes, he’s the one pulling all the strings.
This is an excellent question, Jonathan, and really deserves a whole other thread. Through out the entirety of the Bible, God is the sole entity responsible for the good things and the bad things that happen in this world … he uses his creation and nature to bless and to curse.
God allows some entity (whether divine or just a human opponent) to do harm to Job. Unless I’m misunderstanding the verses I’ve quoted … which is possible since they seem to be contrary to one another.