Is God only good?
“We accept good from God, so shouldn’t we also accept evil?” (Hi 2:10).
That God could even remotely have anything to do with evil contradicts us. Job, however, clearly expresses that he also accepts evil from God. And the judgment on this is, “In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.” Thus, it is as clear as day that he did not impute anything wrong to God. But how can we understand this?
Many Christians think that “God is only good” and He has nothing to do with evil. Jesus says it slightly differently. Indeed, he says, “Only God is good” (Luke 18:18-19). This is an important difference.
Many Christians think that “God is only good” and He has nothing to do with evil.
Job, like all Bible writers, knows that without exception everything is of God (Hi 1:21, Hi 2:10, Jn 1:3, Rom 11:36, Col 1:16). That really says it all. The prophet Isaiah clearly testifies that God created* evil (Isa 45:7. *create = hb. bara), as He also creates the destroyer to destruction (Isa 54:16).
Perhaps it would not be so thoughtful to immediately want to absolve God “of all evil”, although nothing “evil” is to be imputed to Him. Let’s take a few steps back and try to understand the statement. In my opinion, the Bible writers hereby state that nothing is excluded from God’s rule and action. The Bible writers do not make reservations. So let’s not make reservations where the Bible does not.
It is an expression of trust, of knowledge about God’s nature and work, when we confidently leave everything in His hands. God does not let Himself be upset by evil, so to speak, because it never falls outside His jurisdiction – as the very Book of Job demonstrates. Thus, salvation history is never about whether evil is defeated, but how our God and Father achieves this.
Job comes to the following conclusion at the end of the book:“I have come to know that You can do all things, and that no plan is impossible for You” (Job 42:2). Job’s questions and uncertainty were transformed into confidence and certainty.
Empathy
Empathy is “the ability of a person to grasp another person from the outside (without crossing personal boundaries) as holistically as possible, to understand their feelings, but without necessarily having to share them, and thus to become clear about their understanding and actions (Wikipedia).
When all these terrible things happened, three friends of Job come to visit:
“Now Job’s three friends had heard of all this calamity that had come upon him. Then they came, each from his own place: Eliphaz of Teman and Bildad of Shuach and Zofar of Naamah. And they agreed to go together to express their sympathy and comfort him. But when they lifted up their eyes from afar, they no longer recognized him. Then they raised their voices and wept, and they tore each his outer garment and sprinkled dust heavenward on their heads. And they sat with him on the earth seven days and seven nights. And no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that the pain was very great.”
Hi 2:11-13
Job’s three friends show great sympathy for Job’s suffering. It moves them. They are empathic. First of all, it moves them towards Job in a very practical way. They set out together. When they see what Job has become, it shocks them. And finally, when they realized how great the pain was, they did not speak another word, and sat with him and were silent with Job for seven days, because they saw that his pain was very great.
“A friend loves at all times, and as a brother for need he is born.”
Prov 17:17
In the municipality
Compassion for others also has a place in the community. And in all life situations:
“It is to rejoice with the joyful, to sob with the sobbing.”
Rom 12:15
“And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it.”
1Cor 12,26
Empathy is always lived, it is always practical, and it can do well without words. As marked in bold in the Bible passage about Job above, it is all about “activities,” an active attitude, even where sitting still and waiting.
Jesus
The Son of God is empathetic as God Himself is empathetic. There are several examples from the life of Jesus. The shortest verse in the Bible consists of only two words: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). It was an expression of a strong emotion. Lazarus, a friend of his, a brother of Martha, had died.
Empathy lives not only in these two words, but also practically in what happened there afterwards. He who just before said “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) speaks before the tomb of Lazarus:
“Lazarus, come forth! Then the deceased came out, his feet and hands wrapped in burial cloths and his face bound with a sweat cloth. Jesus said to them: Unbind him and let him go!”
John 11:43-44
In a figurative sense: empathy engages, gives life and new freedom.
Deepening
Questions to share:
- If I want to give empathy, what do I want to pay attention to?
- If I want to be a friend, what do I want to look out for?
- What does this teach us about the nature of God?
- Does God have everything in hand for you? What can you learn from Job’s story?
- Can we ourselves perhaps grasp some things only through experience?
- Do you know insecurities in life? How do you deal with it?
