We can conclude from reading the Scripture that the earth is extremely ancient, millions of years older than the creation of Adam and Eve (in spite of the non-existence of the “years” as we understand it now).  The Scripture informs that Adam was created only six thousand years ago.  But the earth was created several millennia before that, as we understand the saying of God, directed to His Son, “Of old hast thou founded the earth” (Ps 102:25).  The six thousand years in question is not considered “of old”, because: “For a thousand years, in thy sight, are as yesterday when it is past, and as watch in the night” (Ps 90:4; II Pet 3:8).  But how about us, the humans?, the Scripture says in Job 8:9: “For we are [but] of yesterday.”

The sons of God are the angels.  That is because they were developed by a direct creation from God (See Job 1:6; 2:1).  The morning stars, on the other hand, are a higher order of bright and shining angels.  The Devil before his fall was one of those morning stars, perhaps even the highest of them all, as we discussed in the previous chapter.

This statement is based upon:
First: The destruction of earth, which is related to the fall of the Devil, as we will explain later.
Second: The abhorrence of the Devil towards Adam, to whom God had given the renewed earth, and his diligent attempts to confiscate authority from Adam.  This is exactly what has happened when Adam fell.
Third: The earth being the dominion of the Devil’s movements and mastery at the present time (See Job 1:6; 2:2 and John 12:31)

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews affirms this by saying: “By faith we apprehend that the worlds were framed by [the] word of God,” (Heb 11:3).

That creature, who was one day a “morning star” became “authority of darkness” after his fall (See Col. 1:13 and Lk 22:53).

God, in His everlasting grace, gave us, the Church of Christ and the members of his body, this great privilege of being always with the Lord in heaven. (see John 14:1-3; 17:24; I Thess. 4:17, …etc.)

The stars of God are something like the stars of heaven.  It includes planets and other heavenly bodies, as well as the angels who were assigned to care for them.  In other words, it includes both domains: Material and Spiritual, i.e., the bodies that are visible (even with optical instruments) and those who are not i.e. the spirits and the angels. (See Deut. 4:19 and I Kings 22:19)

Some Expositors(10) believe that the North, in the Scripture, symbolizes the Heaven of God, the place of His dwelling.  Their reference here is the fact that north was not mentioned in Psalm 75:6, where the “wilderness of the mountains” is interpreted as South (as mentioned in Darby’s translation).  Similarly, there are other indications pointing out to the “Exalted One” associated with the North (See Job 23:9; 37:22 and Psalm 48:2).  Also the word “north” equates a word in Hebrew pronounced: “Tsaphoon” which literally means “the hidden” or “the mysterious.”(11).  Also, there is an attractive biblical indication, which had been proved by modern science that the North is vacant of any star or any other heavenly body, it is just an empty space(12), (Job 26:7).

There are but one hundred references in the Bible combining the clouds with the presence of God and His glory.(13)  (For example, see Deut 33:26 and Ps 104:3)

The demons that possessed the man with the unclean spirit shouted: “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”  (Mk 5:7).  On the other hand, the female slave, having a spirit of Python, cried saying, “These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16: 17).

* See II Samuel. 8:18, where the phrase “David’s sons were chief rulers” means that they had the right to approach the king.

One of the respected brothers(15) said once: “The best answer to the question WHY is what The Lord Christ had said, “Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight.” (Mat. 11:26), So, the wise Father willed for that to be the way it is.

This is one of the characters of the old serpent, the Devil, as is depicted in Gen 3:1 “And the serpent was more crafty than any animal of the field which Jehovah Elohim had made.”

The word “another” in this verse, “And I saw another strong angel coming down out of the heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow upon his head, and his countenance as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire,” (Rev 10:1), means in the Greek origin of the script “from a different kind”.  Obviously, that different kind is no one but Christ Himself.

“The purpose of the Lord” in NRSV translation.

The Source of Sin and Pain

“Jehovah hath wrought everything on his own account,
yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”  (Proverbs 16:4)
The Holy Bible offers an answer to the eternal human problem, which is pain, in the Book of Job, which some consider it the oldest book of the Bible.  That is why we will dedicate this chapter to study the lessons learned from that precious book.
The book is about a person by the name of Job, who lived approximately 2000 years BC.  Job was not a member of the earthly people of God, i.e. the Jews, which is a deviation of the general theme of the Old Testament.  A possible reason for this deviation is perhaps that the problem of pain is not only one of the oldest problem facing humankind, but also it is the problem of all races, regardless of ethnic origin.
The jest of the book as a whole is highlighting the righteousness of God and His love to mankind on one hand, and the mischief of Satan and his hatred to mankind.  The end is, of course, the triumph of God.

The Mischief of Job

The book starts with depicting Job as a pious and morally upright man.  It also emphasizes his worldly riches and his great fortune.  Then it moves to present a heavenly scene where a dialogue takes place between the Lord and Satan.  It needs no emphasis that Job was not aware of that dialogue.  Indeed it seems that Job did not even have any knowledge at that time that a person called Satan even existed.  He did not know that this Devil is the real enemy of God and man.  That is why it was not as easy to him, as it is for us now, to understand what was happening in the realm of unseen.  When the angels (the sons of God) attended before God, and the Satan came with them, God directed a question to this one fallen angel, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and abstaineth from evil?” (Job 1:8).
Satan could not deny the righteousness of Job, but he started to falsify the motives of Job toward being so upright.  He said, “Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is spread abroad in the land. But put forth thy hand now and touch all that he hath, [and see] if he will not curse thee to thy face!” (Job 1: 9-11).  God then allowed Satan to do whatever he pleases to Job’s belongings.
The rest of the first chapter speaks of how Satan had departed the presence of God to make plans for his mischievous blows against Job, hoping that every one of his blasts would be the knock-out.  He then directed the people and events to execute his evil, so the Sabeans raided, the Chaledeans invaded, fire fell from heaven, and devastating wind blown.  In a horrible succession of events Job lost everything he had, from the wealth and all possessions to the sons and daughters, and everything in-between.  What a catastrophe!
Once again we move into a heavenly scene where Satan appears again in the presence of God.  The Lord once more directs a question to him, but Satan cannot deny how Job is grasping tight on his virtue.  But Satan, in his terrible hatred and malice is asking for a second chance, assuming that what he has done the first time, within the limits of God’s permission, was not enough.  Then God allows him to extend his flagitious actions to the flesh and bones of Job himself.  Then Satan inflicts harrowing ulcers on Job, from head to toe.  Job, who lost all his possessions yesterday, today appears very sick, and he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.
How terrible?!  All this happens to the man with most integrity and righteousness in his days, attested to by God Himself?  Is this life a tragedy or a comedy?  At best, it is a puzzling mystery.  Let us, at least, not forget that the discussions that took place between God and Satan were totally unknown to Job.

The Human Interpretation of Pain

The friends of Job heard about the evil that inflicted their friend suddenly.  They came to show how sorry they were for him and to express their sympathy.  But when they came, they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens. And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that [his] anguish was very great.
Job then started to talk.  Following Job, his friends talked one after the other.  From chapter 3 to chapter 31 of the book the debate continues in a giving-in fashion at one instant and resisting at the other.  In this long-winded part of the word of God, the friends were trying to justify the catastrophe with a belief, on their part, that there must be a huge evil and tremendous cunning in the life of Job that were not evident to them before.  Job was defending himself with all the might that was left in him.  Under the crushing pressure of his friends questioning, Job was obliged to interpret his calamity as injustice from God, so he would depict himself as innocent.  The altercation continues between Job and his friends, without reaching a verdict explaining out the mystery of pain and agony.
The logic of Job’s friends was the same human logic we heard, two thousand years later, from the disciples of Jesus, when they questioned Him about the man who was born blind: “Rabbi, who sinned, this [man] or his parents, that he should be born blind?” (John 9:2).  The disciples thought that sin must be punished in this life, and, therefore, every tribulation is but a punishment for evil works.  This logic implies that God is the source of all calamities.
After the argument of Job’s friends stopped, there appeared Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram.  Even though he did not offer a convincing interpretation to the mystery, he, at least, provided a prelude to one.

The Lord Speaks

When Job and his friends failed to explain-out the problem of pain, and after it was apparent that the problem was deeper than mankind can decipher and interpret correctly, God Himself spoke.
When the Lord spoke, He did not provide sufficient answers to the multitude of Job’s questions:  Why did what happened take place?  Why was Job hit so hard in his possessions, his sons and his own body?  Why was Job born into this world in the first place?  God reverted to a different style altogether, when He in turn had innumerable questions of His own, all of which point to the greatness and majesty of the Creator and the triviality of man.  The striking inability of the limited to comprehend the limitless.
The discussion between God and Job is divided into two parts.  This division is very important, in the opinion of the writer, because it sheds light to the fact that this debate is not simply a continuation of the previous one, but there was an obvious new idea that entered into the picture.
The first part of the discussion, depicted in chapters 38 and 39, shows how did God explain out to Job His omnipotence that shows in His creation:  The earth, the sea, the snow, the rain, the gems, the beauty, the powers, the life ……etc.  The emphasis is on the fact that the creation of God does not only reflect His power but also declares His mercy.  This mercy is observed in His care for His creation, from the very small (little birds) to the least intelligent (swans).  Is it possible, then, that this omnipotent and merciful God is the source of misery and suffering of the pious?  This seems impossible! But, if He is not, who is the source of this agony?
I believe that the second part of God’s speech provides an answer.  After God had mentioned to Job the rage of wrath and the evil power of the sinful (ch.40:11), He describe in details two great animals, the behemoth and the leviathan.  In these two animals we find a vivid and accurate portrait of Satan, the secret behind distress and misery. 
What indicates to us that these two animals were God’s portrayal of Satan is the fact that there are no animals in all creation that look like, or behave like, them.
If mentioning these two animals was only meant to illustrate their valiant power with respect to Job’s timidity and weakness, there would be no good reason to add them in the speech, after the description given in the first part of the lion and the wild ox, or the horse and the hawk. Also, why was there a need to separate the first and second parts of His speech? (ch. 40:1-5).  We believe that by now there is a new idea God wants to present, beyond the depiction of His power and His mercy (which were the subject of his first speech).  He gives here an image of the enemy of God and man, a terrible enemy, who is the mystery behind calamity and chaos everywhere, and who is a symbol of evil force and pride, pictured simply by these two animals: behemoth and leviathan.

Behemoth

God speaks of this giant animal He made (v 15) and assures his power (v 16-18) to the extent that all creation yield for him (v 20-22), the field of his movement is everywhere (v 21,22), there is nothing that he fears, not even the river Jordan, river of death (v 23).  But God says that nothing overpowers him except his Maker (v 19,NRSVA).  Then God mentions that he is the first of God’s ways, or the first among His creation (v 19), meaning that he is the first personality to show the ways of God, or the love, wisdom and power of God,… etc.

Leviathan

It is possible to divide the Scriptural description of leviathan as follows:

• Verses 1 to 11, God presents seven debauching questions to illustrate the power of this beast, and the inability of people, individually or even in groups, to overcome his power.

God explains how power was combined with beauty in this animal, since his power did not diminish his beauty (v 12), which is the same outcome of what we have already seen to be Satan according to Ezekiel. 28.
In (v 15-17) the Scripture speaks about his steadfastness and hardening and says, “The rows of his shields are a pride, shut up together [as with] a close seal.  One is so near to another that no air can come between them; they are joined each to its fellow; they stick together, and cannot be sundered.” This indicates the impossibility of penetrating his shields (scales) even with spears or darts.  Who then can overpower this beast?
This powerful beast has a solid heart, “His heart is firm as a stone, yea, firm as the nether [millstone].” (v 24).  Isn’t this what Job experienced in his horrible tribulation and his successive disasters?  If Satan had a permission to do even more, he would have not hesitated.  How far that is, then, from the works of our Lord, who always showed mercy and love for the poor human being.
From verse 25 to 31, the Scripture describes his fearful appearance and his vastness and says, “When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid.
In verses 31 and 32 we find a description of his enticing man to attract him to the sea and the depths.  He attracts souls to the world (the sea), which he beautifies in man’s eyes, picturing it as having fullness for hunger (like a pot), and having remedies for ailments (a pot of ointment), having wisdom and experience (He maketh the path to shine after him: one would think the deep to be hoary [having white hair, i.e. wise and experienced]).  But the only destination for whoever is attracted behind this beast, longing for fullness of hunger, good health and wisdom, is to drown in rot and doom.
The narrative is concluded with phrases that are typical of Satan, characterizing him with arrogance, pride and narcissism, “Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things; he is king over all the children of pride.”
This is the horrible arrogant enemy.  Indeed he is the king of all proud.  He is the very origine of misery and affliction.  But no one seems to blame Satan when disaster strikes.  It is amazing that many people blame God for great fires, destructive earthquakes and devastating floods !!

Job Finally Speaks

Job uttered a lot during his journey, but this time he speaks differently (chapter 42).  After the Lord conceded to speak with him personally, Job now says: “know that thou canst do everything, and that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine.”  Thus, Job learned, the hard way, that it is well within the ability of God to deter evil before it happens and if he so desires.  The Lord God is not like us, weaker than Satan (40:11,12 & 41:10).  He is not only Omnipotent, but also integrally wise.  When we interfere with his wisdom by our own confined thoughts, we utter what we do not discern, with wonders above what we have knowledge of.  The knowledge of the Omniscient is above us, but it is also beyond our comprehension (Ps 139:6), “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully, wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well.” (Ps 139:14).

The Lessons We Learned

Now, what is the message learned from that marvelous book, the Book of Pain?
It is indeed three important lessons explained by the following:
First Lesson:  Whatever happens on earth is a reflection to heavenly events, and, the true story of the earth does not occur on earth, but rather in Heavens, in the realm of unseen.  But notice that who started the discussion was not Satan but God.  God does not react to events but initiates it and directs it.  How reassuring it is to know this fact, since it fills the heart with peace.  Our happenings are not resulting from spontaneous chances, and are not the making of mankind, but it is in the controlling hands of God “with whom we have to do.” (Heb 4:13).
Second Lesson: In the reply of Satan to God, we smell the odor of defiance to God, more than defiance to Job.  Satan sounds as if he accuses God that the relationship between Him and Job is not built upon true love, but it is some sort of trade.  As if all of God’s community consist of mercenaries who serve God only to seek wages.   The poor Devil does not know any better.   In spite of Satan’s vast knowledge, yet there are matters that he does not understand.  He understands nothing about love or about grace.  When he speaks falsehood, he speaks of what is his own. (John 8:44).
Therefore, the combat is not between us and Satan, but the real conflict is between God and Satan, which in itself is our own assurance that Satan must be conquered and we must triumph.  Our confidence in the validity of this principle makes us play the tune of faith with the Godly instrument, singing to our Lord and saying: “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou didst break the heads of the monsters on the waters: Thou didst break in pieces the heads of leviathan, thou gavest him to be meat to those that people the desert.” (Ps 74:13, 14).
Third Lesson: It may appear to the superficial observer that Satan scored a victory when we hear Job, in his distress, saying: “Wherefore did I not die from the womb,—come forth from the belly and expire?.. Wherefore is light given to him that is in trouble, and life to those bitter of soul,” (Job 3:11, 20).  These are groans, like which millions have uttered over the ages, when people are milled under the stone of troubles and disasters, which were the making of that abhorred creature with hardened heart.  In fact, if the command of things was not in the hand of God, it would have been much better for us not to be born (die from the womb) and not see light, become forever folded in forgetfulness and darkness so we would diminish into nothing.  But, far from it, faith in the heart of Job made him say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth;” (Job 19:25).  And, when he says, about our Savior, that He is the Last, then this implies as well that He has the last word.  That is exactly what happened with Job, since, “Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).
This does not apply to the story of Job as a special case at all, but applies equally well to all of God’s ways.  Contemplate, for instance, the cross, the tragedy of all ages in view of mankind, but it is indeed the greatest blessing in history for God or for man.  In the cross, there was a final and fatal blow to Satan.
Therefore, even though Satan had dominion over things temporarily in the Book of Job, which tells us the story of mankind afflicted by agony, but he, in the end, had lost the battle, and will lose it till doomsday , because, God is love.
Who can read the history of mankind from that viewpoint?  None of us now really! But the faithful will be able to replay their lives in front of their own eyes, when they stand before the Judgment seat of Christ, and see what could not cross their minds before.  Hence, how longing do I feel for that standing before Christ and being able to see His everlasting wisdom, and the godly grace that bonded with us all our lives.   The wisdom and the grace that allowed at times, and disallowed at others.  Granted at times and held back at others.  Gave at times and collected at others.  But at all times, the name of God was always blessed.
Then we will sing with the chanter “How manifold are thy works, O Jehovah! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Yonder is the great and wide sea: therein are moving things innumerable, living creatures small and great. There go the ships; [there] that leviathan, which thou hast formed to play therein.” (Ps. 104: 24-26).
Let Satan then make a fool of himself, and not preoccupy ourselves with him, because, “Jehovah on high is mightier than the voices of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea.” (Ps 93:4).