Skeptical - Week 3
How can a
Good God allow Suffering and Evil?
The Point: God is good, even when life is not.
Job 1
Job’s Character and
Wealth
There was a man in
the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one
who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons
and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen,
and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the
greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast
in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three
sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run
their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in
the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For
Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed[a] God in their
hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
Satan Allowed to
Test Job
6 Now there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and
Satan[b] also came among them. 7 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.” 8 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?” 9 Then
Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will
curse you to your face.” 12 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.
Satan Takes Job’s
Property and Children
13 Now there was a
day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest
brother’s house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were
plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them
and took them and struck down the servants[c] with the edge of the sword, and I
alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came
another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and
the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While
he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three
groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants
with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he
was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, a
great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house,
and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped
to tell you.”
20 Then Job arose
and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21
And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job
did not sin or charge God with wrong.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Job 1:1-22.
Study
Notes:
Today’s
conversation will be centered around evil and suffering. Sounds fun right? The
truth is that all people, even faithful believers, sometimes struggle with the
fact that a good, loving God has allowed evil and suffering into the world.
As people who
believe that everything the Bible says is true (last week set the foundation
for us in this)—we are faced with a difficult tension. The Bible is so clear
about the fact that God is all loving (1 John 4) and perfect in every way
(Psalm 18:30). The Bible is also clear that God is in control (Psalm 135:6). If
those things are all true, then it means we have to believe that God has
allowed suffering and evil to come into the world AND this allowance is
actually loving and good.
Job teaches us what living faithfully in this tension actually looks like. He’s had everything taken from him, and God allowed it. He experienced so much suffering, and it would be natural for Job to blame God. Instead Job recognizes that God was in control when he had plenty, and God was still in control now that he had nothing. If he trusted God in the plenty, he ought to trust God in his suffering too. This kind of faith requires the belief that God knows more than we do, and He sees more than we see. To trust God even when it doesn’t make sense requires us to admit we have a limited perspective. We don’t actually see the big picture. God sees it, and we can trust Him with it.
Another concept
that could be helpful to you in this discussion is St. Anselm’s “Best Possible
World” theory. Doing some additional research on this idea could help further
your discussion if you feel it would be helpful for your group. In short, St.
Anselm believed that God, being perfect, could do nothing but create the best
possible world. The thing that would make this world the best it could possibly
be, would be for God to get the maximum possible glory in it. So, St. Anselm’s
argument is that a world with evil and suffering must lead to God’s maximum
glory. Here’s how this applies to our lives: God’s maximum glory in your life
is the best thing that could ever happen to you. God might be allowing
suffering in your life so He can be more greatly glorified in your life. And if
that’s the case, nothing could be better for you.
We must understand
three key things:
1) God is in
control.
2) God works in
suffering.
3) God can be
trusted.
Questions for Discussion
Why would God allow
Job to suffer in this way? Why would he allow us to suffer?
What are some
obstacles to us trusting God in the midst of so much evil and suffering? What
makes faith hard in these circumstances?
How does Job’s
faith model the perspective we should have in suffering?
If anyone fells
comfortable sharing, what are some things you have gone through that have
tested your faith? How did you keep going? How did you see God’s hand in the
midst of your circumstance?
What questions do
you have about this tension between God’s character and the suffering and evil
He has allowed in this world?
END
