Dr Paul Allen

  JOB 4.  The first speech of Eliphaz takes up two chapters. In the first part (Job 4), Eliphaz gives shape to his argument: (The opening lines are seductive (Job 4:2-4). One might almost think that Eliphaz is respectfully pursuing permission to offer helpful counsel to Job, in the same way, that Job in times past has offered helpful counsel to others. But that is not it at all. Eliphaz is not asking permission; rather, he is fixing the blame on Job because he is discouraged. It turns out, Eliphaz says, that the great Job who has helped others cannot cope when he faces a bit of trouble himself (Job 4:5). The next verse transitions to the heart of Eliphaz’s argument: “Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?” (Job 4:6).  In other words, if Job were as pious and as blameless as many had believed, either he would not be in this fix, or else he would at least be able to live above discouragement. The disasters that have befallen Job, and Job...

Behemoth and Leviathan - they sound like an alcohol brand or words on a tee-shirt, even a TV show. But those names are in the Bible. One of the most challenging passages in the Old Testament book of Job comes in the Lord's second speech (40–41). The characters and the reader have waited a long time for the Lord to speak—only to read what is traditionally interpreted as a long description of a hippopotamus and crocodile (Behemoth and Leviathan).  The stakes are very high:  Is God right to run the world in such a way that allows such terrible suffering for one of his most loyal servants?  Is Job right to keep trusting God in the midst of much criticism?  Is it difficult for modern readers to avoid a sense of frustrating anticlimax as the book ends? The Behemoth and Leviathan are better understood as symbols of cosmic chaos and evil—that a supernatural interpretation fits better exegetically within the book of Job and within Job's ancient Middle Eastern context. It also...

A Look into the Heavens The scene has shifted from earth (Job 1:1–5) to heaven (Job 1:6),1  from “continually” (Job 1:5) to “a day” (Job 1:6), from Job and his family to God and “the sons of God.” Job’s God, or at least the God of the book of Job, is “the Lord,” the covenant God of Israel.2  Is God in the business of giving authority to Satan? Worse still, is God in the business of giving Satan power to do evil to good people? The answer to those questions is “yes.”  Based on their actions and access to God, “the sons of God” are supernatural beings (perhaps angels) 3 who apparently serve on what could be labelled the parliament of the universe. Ps 82 indicates they are spirit beings not angels. Within this honourable cosmic cabinet, we are introduced to someone who is, or will become, the least honourable character in the Bible—the “Satan.” 4 “Satan” (Hb. satan) could be translated “adversary,” but he seems to function here not as a direct enemy but as an opposing ally....

Why is there a Satan? Why does a being exist whose name means accuser — a “devil,” which means slanderer, a “deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), a “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), a “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV), a “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), a “Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:24)? Where does he come from? How did it come about that he ever sinned? The letters of Jude and 2 Peter give us clues. Jude 6 says, “The angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.” And 2 Peter 2:4 says, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” It appears, then, that some of God’s holy angels (we may assume, in principle, that Satan is included, whether these verses refer t...

It’s only a matter of time before life falls apart. The loss of a job, a diagnosis of cancer, an unfaithful spouse, abuse from a leader, the betrayal of a dear friend. It doesn’t matter how suburban our lives are at the moment, if we haven’t already, we will all come face-to-face with the tragic. Suffering is the common human experience; our ability to relate to each other’s grief and lament binds us together. The Old Testament character of Job—the man who loses everything—isn’t a person to pity. We are Job. Truth be told, most of us would rather not be Job. We’d prefer a more triumphant character to identify with. Perhaps David who, despite some significant sin, is still heralded as a man after God’s own heart. Maybe out of humility we choose a lesser known character, like Gideon. A little afraid. A little timid. But ultimately one who rises to the challenge. Job tends to be the last person we want to align ourselves with. Identifying with Job means one thing: We know suffe...

Have you ever wondered how God and Satan could be engaged in a genuine cosmic struggle? Since God is all-powerful, and Satan is a limited being, how could they be in any genuine conflict at all? To solve this dilemma, some have offered cosmic dualism, the idea that God and Satan are equally powerful beings vying for rulership of creation. But Scripture utterly rejects this idea through teaching that God is omnipotent . God has the power to wipe out Satan. And someday He will (see Revelation 20:7-10). The conflict must be of another kind. Questioning the Character of God In  Theodicy of Love by John C. Peckham he made the astute observation that the conflict between God and Satan is not concerning power, but over the character of God. According to Peckham the conflict “cannot be won by the mere exercise of power but is met by an extended demonstration of character in a cosmic courtroom drama” (p. 88). As Peckham notes, Satan has been disparaging the character of God since the Ga...

How do I find God ’s will for my life? It’s always a pressing question on the college campus , and especially in our day of unprecedented options. Like never before, in an anomaly in world history , students loosened from their community of origin, “going off” to college, now make decisions about their future with minimal influence or limitation from their adolescent context. Before asking, “Where is God calling me?” we would do well to first ponder, “Where has God already called me?” — not that your current callings won’t change or take a fresh direction in this formative season of life, but for a Christian, our objective calling from God always precedes our consciousness of it. If it is from him, he initiates. He makes the first move. This is true of our calling to salvation, and also true of any “vocational” assignment he gives us in the world. Consider Three Factors For the college student or young adult who may feel like a free agent — considering options and determining for y...

“There was a man in the land of Uz , whose name was Job.” ( Job 1:1 ) Uz was a son of Aram and a grandson of Shem ( Genesis 10:22-23 ). Shem’s first son, Arphaxad , was born two years after the Flood, and his remaining sons would have been born in some reasonable sequence thereafter, probably around 36 years apart ( Genesis 11:10-26 ). It is unlikely that Aram, Uz’s father, was born past the first century after the Flood. The events at Babel took place during the fifth generation (the generation of Peleg ), and Uz would have been alive then. The land of Uz is later associated with the territory of Edom ( Lamentations 4:21 ), which is near the area southeast of the Dead Sea , toward the upper reaches of the Sinai Peninsula , east of Egypt and just north of the Red Sea. Although that area is not very pleasant now, at the time of Abraham it was “well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah , even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou...

Do you believe that God can author pain or suffering in your life for your good? Could affliction, from a larger, longer perspective, be a carefully, lovingly chosen method for blessing? Some say absolutely not. If our heavenly Father brings pain, he would be an abusive parent. And so they are offended by statements like this : Suffering is one of the great instruments in God’s hands to continue to reveal to us our dependence on him and our hope in him. God is good to give us the greatest gift he can give us, which is more of himself, and he’s good however he chooses to deliver that gift. For some facing excruciating pain or loss, they’re some of the sweetest words they’ve ever heard. For others, the same vision of God makes them sick to their stomach. At least part of the problem is how this vision of God’s goodness in bringing suffering is often presented. Sadly, some of us have been guilty of entering a painful situation, rattling off Romans 8:28, and expecting everyone to fe...

What we really love and trust aren’t truly seen until we are tested by loss.  This is essentially the point that Satan made when talking to God about Job. In that odd scene in the first chapter of Job, when Satan presented himself before God, God said to him, “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?” (Job 1:8). Satan’s response was, 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. (Job 1:9–11) Yeah, God, of course Job “fears” you when his life is full of blessings. But take away the blessings and his trust will turn to cursing. Note the irony here. In this manipulative moment, Satan inadvertently pointed out the core e...

“And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.” ( Genesis 9:11 ) When God gave Noah this promise, the world had just been through the devastating cataclysm that flooded the entire globe and destroyed all except those on Noah’s Ark. The world was fearful and barren and there seemed nothing to prevent another such flood from coming on the earth. Nevertheless, God’s promise—not only to Noah but also to the animals ( Genesis 9:9-10 )—has been kept for years. God later reminded Job of this promise when He told him that He had “shut up the sea with doors. . . . And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed” ( Job 38:8 , 11). The psalmist also referred to this covenant. When the whole earth had been covered “with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled. . . . Thou...

King David in Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Let’s say you’re praying with a suffering friend who blurts out to God , “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me.” Would you wince? He just accused God of being cruel! Yikes. Would you want to quickly pray a correction? “Lord, we’re just so thankful that you are sovereign over everything and for the reality of Romans 8:28!” Well, your prayer might be biblical, but so would be your friend’s prayer. In fact, your hypothetical friend’s prayer is actually in the Bible (Job 30:20–21) and came out of the mouth of the man God considered the most blameless and upright on earth in his lifetime (Job 1:8). Thank God the Bible Is So Honest Let’s read Job’s frank prayer again: “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me.” Doesn’t reading that anguished prayer of a godly man make you thankful? I love how hon...

English: Their are thousands of artworks created in the art world depicting St Paul. This painting was created by the famous artist called Rembrandt. It hangs on the walls of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When we describe God we use words like: Omnipotent . Omnipresent. Omniscient. He is all-powerful, all-present, and all-knowing. Where do these words come from? These words express the upper limit of our ability to understand power, wisdom, and time. When Scripture tells us about the power, wisdom, and eternal nature of God, how else could we describe him? Here are some of the ways the Bible helps us understand our awe-some God: 1. Isaiah 55:8–9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Verse eight is “a direct statement about God’s transcendence. His natur...