Mark Osgatharp
New Member
I have not implied that God was punishing Job. I did say that God is the one who afflicted Job.Originally posted by TexasSky:
God called the attention of Satan to Job stating that God was pleased with Job. You have implied that God was punishing Job.
Yes, He did it at Satan's instigation. But the fact remains that God is the one who initiated Job's suffering by calling Satan's attention to Job and God explicitly said that He is the one who destroyed Job's life. I quote,
"and he[Job] still holdeth fast his integrity, although thou [Satan] movedst me [God] against him to destroy him without cause."
But you said,
Yes, there is plenty of the purification process because in the end Job repented in sackcloth and ashes, not for some sin that brought on the suffering, but for speaking without knowledge and challenging God in the midst of it. It becomes crystal clear that God's purpose in bringing Satan down on Job was to refine the character of an already godly man.None of the purification nonsense you talk about.
But you said,
Go back and read this whole thread and you will find that I already said we cannot always know why God does what He does and that all suffering is not to be considered punishment.don't assume you can play God by proxy by deciding why anything happens. It tends to annoy God.
The fact still remains that whatever happens in the "natural" realm is by the hand of God - for whatever reason He has, whether known to us or not. Why don't you address the fact that Jesus plainly said that God,
"sends the rain on the just and unjust."
As for annoying God, I find that He is very annoyed when men rob Him of His glory by giving credit for something He did to someone or something other than Himself. As He told the Assyrians, who were but pawn in His hand,
"Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood."
With that Scripture fresh on your mind, perhaps you'd like to tell me just who - or what - was shaking all those trees and buildings down on the coast yesterday?
Mark Osgatharp
Lakeview Missionary Baptist Church
Wynne, Arkansas