Second, fire from above burned up the sheep as they were feeding, as well as the servants who were caring for them. This storm of fire was brought down by Satan for the purpose of causing this very destruction. The text reads, "The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them." Job 1:16. This was the language of the messenger, giving an account of the disaster as he understood it. By a reading of the twelfth verse we can not avoid the conclusion that these calamities were not sent by God, but were the means the Lord permitted Satan to use in his effort to destroy the integrity of Job. Third, three bands of Chaldeans fell upon the camels, and carried them away, and slew the servants who were keeping them. These Chaldeans were idolaters, hence were servants of Satan, and were led and influenced by him in this raid upon the property of Job. The four great calamities that came upon job. Fourth, a wind from the wilderness smote the house where the sons and daughters of Job were eating and drinking, and killed them all. This awful bereavement was the last of the four great calamities brought upon him at this time. In this instance the winds obeyed the will of Satan, so justifying the statement made by Paul, that Satan is "the prince of the power of the air." Awful disasters and terrible calamities are abroad in the earth to-day. As wickedness is increasing in the land, God is removing His restraining power, and Satan is having a freer hand to do the work in which he delights. Satan is a hard master, for he takes pleasure in bringing disaster and suffering and misery upon even his own subjects. This is in sharp contrast with the loving, tender care which God delights to manifest toward His people. When Israel was in bondage in Egypt, and that land was afflicted because of the hardness of the heart of the Egyptian king, God preserved His people; the plagues did not come near them, and there was peace in their homes in the land of Goshen. As we near the close of probation, a short time before Christ comes, awful plagues will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth, of which the plagues upon Egypt were only a shadowy type. See Rev. 16. These plagues will be visited upon those who have stubbornly refused the offers of God's mercy. The prophet Daniel speaks of this as "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time." Dan. 12 I. OD is good. God is God is merciful. in this world, comprising a part of the universe which He created and controls, and in which His power is unlimited and absolute, sin, suffering, and death have borne sway for nearly six thousand years. Why does God permit sin and its author, Satan, to exist? This cry has for thousands of years gone up from the lips of a multitude of sufferers. It is a question that to many minds is a source of great perplexity. God has the power to destroy sin and all its attendant evils. Yet He permits it. Some have asserted that because God permits sin He is therefore responsible for it. Where lies the answer? In the establishment of the great government of God, every intelligent being is a free moral agent, with full power to obey or disobey. God could force obedi ence, but that would not develop a symmetrical character. On the other hand, forced obedience could only foster rebellion. Hence angels, as well as all other created beings, were placed upon probation. Willing, glad obedience to the demands of a just Creator would give them a sound, perfect character. It would fit them for eternal life, with all the joys that heaven could bestow. Pride, love of self, and all other sin, if cherished, would develop a character out of harmony with heaven. Such a character God cannot tolerate, and the fiat has gone forth, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Some glad day the test of character will be complete throughout all the creation of God. Then the faithful and true, with a life record which has stood the test of trial and temptation, will be forever free from the wiles of sin and Satan. A REASON FOR SIN. On this subject Dr. Charles Beecher has made some very sensible remarks. He says: The origin of sin cannot be explained. No excuse can be given for its existence. "Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it, is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin." Yet of one thing we may be sure; a careful study of the Scriptures will show abundant evidence that God is in no way responsible for the entrance of sin. But while no reason or ex "If such was the original condition of the universe, the question arises, How could sin possibly enter? Some minds have felt the difficulty on this point so strongly that they have rejected the Bible account of the matter, and denied the existence of any such sinless state of the universe. "But the answer to the question is simple. Sin is, in its own nature, anomalous, and therefore mysterious; it is, in its own nature, an unaccountable thing; for, the moment that we admit that it is properly accounted for, i. e., the moment we have assigned a good and sufficient cause for it, that moment it ceases to be a sin. A good and sufficient cause is a good and sufficient excuse; and that which has a good and sufficient excuse is not sin. "To account for sin, therefore, is to defend it; and to defend it is to certify that it does not exist. Therefore the objec tion that it is inconceivable and unaccountable that sin should enter into such a perfect universe, amounts to nothing but saying that sin is exceeding sin ful, inexcusable, and destitute of the least defense or justification. "Sin is a violation of all law, a departure from all original nature, a thing essentially lawless, anomalous, and mysterious. We can identify the fact of its existence, we can describe the manner, we can discover the occasion, but the cause, the good and sufficient cause, God Himself and the judgment seat will demonstrate cannot be shown, for it does not exist."- Redeemer and Redeemed, pp. 82, 83. cuse for sin can be given, its history may be easily traced. About the time of the creation of this earth, Lucifer, one of the most powerful and beautiful of all the heavenly host, allowed pride and rebellion to come into his heart. He was not satisfied with the high position which he held, but aspired to a place by the side of Jehovah, upon His throne. He said, "I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14: 14. Because such a demand could not be granted, Lucifer openly rebelled against the government of God, and led millions of heavenly angels into rebellion with him. Then there was war in heaven, as a result of which Lucifer, or Satan, and his rebel host were "cast out into the earth." * Rev. 12:9. The wisdom of God in allowing the rebellion of Satan to develop is well set forth in the following quotation:— "Even when he was cast out of heaven, Infinite Wisdom did *For a detailed account of Lucifer's sin and fall read chapters in this book, entitled, "Lucifer, Son of the Morning," "Celestial War," and "Prince of the Power of the Air." |
