Championing Jehovah’s Godship in Spite of Babylonish Hostility

“Jehovah went on to say to Satan: ‘Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth?’”—Job 1:8.

 1, 2. (a) Is there a challenge that has existed, and what does it involve? (b) What evidences will be featured in this study, and why?

FROM Adam’s time to our day a challenge has existed as to who rightfully exercises Sovereign Godship universally, over heaven and earth. If the Almighty God, Jehovah, does so, then can he choose reliable witnesses on earth to champion His Sovereign Godship with integrity? Also, will such chosen witnesses be able to uphold His Sovereign Godship with endurance against taunting hostility? Remember, it is written: “‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and I am God.’”—Isa. 43:12.

² In the days of Nimrod, some time after the Flood, Satan began to generate a powerhouse of apostasy stemming from the ancient city of Babylon. From there Babylonish false religious thinking developed and spread to the four corners of the earth. With respect to this Babylonish development the Bible records the dramatic history of Job of the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries B.C.E. with its remarkable heavenly and earthly tableaux. Therein are preserved for us scintillating evidences of Babylonish false religious thinking that has stirred men to manifest hostility against the true worshipers of Jehovah God. From this ancient source, Satan has generated a flow of cunning apostasy to perpetuate an agelong controversy between those guided by Babylonish false religious wisdom and those guided by pure wisdom that flows down from the true God Jehovah. (Jas. 3:17) Our attention will now be focused on these flashes of Babylonish religious activities employed by Satan down through the corridor of history to taunt Jehovah God by keeping in question whether there is a Sovereign God affecting the affairs of men or not.

THE BOOK OF JOB

 3. Can it be said that the book of Job is reliable, and why?

³ Now that the “day of vengeance on the part of our God” (Isa. 61:2) nears for the grand settling of this issue of Sovereign Godship, modern higher critics of the Bible continually attempt to discredit the Job account in an effort to blind men as to its application and progressive fulfillments. ‘Moses was not the inspired writer,’ say they, ‘nor was Job a historic person,’ but, they assert, ‘the book of Job is merely a beautiful poem of wisdom literature composed between 600-400 B.C.E.’a The higher critics ignore the abundant internal evidences involving nomadic society of great wealth that could only match the period of the patriarchs of the seventeenth century B.C.E. and not that of the fifth century B.C.E., where urban life of national states with their regimentations would make unlikely a Job of such wealth and pastoral operations as the Scriptures describe. The antiquity and reliableness of the book of Job are well established.b Job, as part of the Sacred Scriptures, serves well as a sound basis for the study of the challenge respecting Godship in these last days.

THE ANCIENT JOB

 4. Who was Job? What was his relationship to Abraham, and what course like Abraham did he follow?

⁴ Now let us turn to the contents of the book of Job to observe how it clearly sets out the issue of Godship through events in the life of Job as a supporter of Jehovah. Job, a very wealthy man blessed with seven sons and three daughters, lived as a descendant of Uz to the east of the land promised to Job’s distant granduncle Abraham. (Gen. 22:20, 21; Job 1:1) Being a servant of the same God, Jehovah, as Abraham worshiped, Job came to prominence some time before his distant cousin Moses became Jehovah’s prophet to the Israelites during their Egyptian captivity in the sixteenth century B.C.E. Properly, then, Jehovah could refer to his witness Job as “the greatest of all the Orientals” or “sons of the East,” saying also, “there is no one like him in the earth,” that is, then contemporaneously living. (Job 1:3; 2:3) Long before Job’s time his forerelative Abraham had made an exodus out of the religiously Babylonized territory of Ur of the Chaldeans. (Gen. 11:28, 31) Behind him Abraham had left the pagan idolatry and apostate religious rituals of Babylon that had saturated Abraham’s hometown of Ur. (Gen. 15:7) In fact, in later times, the terms Chaldeans and Babylonians became interchangeable. (Ezek. 23:15) Not only had Abraham refused to become Babylonized religiously in his youth but he also had rejected the spell of its thinking and spirit. In order not to share in Babylon’s sins and resultant plagues, Abraham had wisely come out of Babylon’s influence to settle in Canaan, the land of promise, under the direction of Jehovah, the true God. (Rev. 18:4) Though Job, too, lived in the East where Babylonish religion dominated, he, like his distant granduncle Abraham, also refused to become Babylonized as to religious thinking. In integrity he held his heart fast in support of the Sovereign Godship of the true God, Jehovah.

TESTING BY SATAN PERMITTED

 5. Prove that the word “Satan” particularizes an individual, and whom.

⁵ Our view now shifts to the opening tableau of the book of Job where there is an unfolding of the majestic court scene in heaven. Angels are drawn up before the true God Jehovah. Strikingly the issue of Godship is dramatized by letting the one entitled “Satan” also be present. It is worthy of note that at Job 1:6 and thereafter Jehovah’s great resister or adversary, also man’s greatest enemy, is identified as a personality and by title at that. The Hebrew verb satán means “to resist,” and is first used by Moses at Numbers 22:22, 32.c But at Job 1:6 the Hebrew uses the noun satán with the definite article ha affixed to it, thus reading has-satan or The Satan in English.d The definite article, therefore, particularizes Satan as a person and makes impossible the view held by many that Satan is abstract evil, resistance or opposition. In this manner Satan is established in the Bible as a definite personality, with the word “Satan” as one of the proper titles to be used in identifying him.—See also Zechariah 3:1, 2.

 6. What divine ability does Jehovah possess, and how is this seen?

⁶ Jehovah, the tester of his jewellike servants, can read the hearts of angels and men. “I, Jehovah, am searching the heart . . . to give to each one according to his ways, according to the fruitage of his dealings.” (Jer. 17:10) “Jehovah is making an estimate of hearts.” (Prov. 21:2) In view of this divine ability we find Jehovah reading the inmost thoughts of Satan’s heart. “Jehovah went on to say to Satan: ‘Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man [1] blameless and [2] upright, [3] fearing God and [4] turning aside from bad?’” (Job 1:8) Here is also indicated that Jehovah was accurately reading Job’s heart, because all four of the above commendable points mentioned by Jehovah as found in Job are fruits stemming from the treasury of a clean, pure heart. “A good man brings forth good out of the good treasure of his heart, but a wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of his wicked treasure; for out of the heart’s abundance his mouth speaks.”—Luke 6:45.

 7. (a) What does Satan falsely charge as to Job? (b) What does this indirect evidence indicate?

⁷ This prologue scene in heaven continues. Satan next charges that Job worships Jehovah for what he selfishly gets out of it, namely, wealth, and not because of his integrity of heart nor because of his love for God. “Satan answered Jehovah and said: ‘Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? Have not you yourself put up a hedge about him and about his house and about everything that he has all around?e The work of his hands you have blessed, and his livestock itself has spread abroad in the earth. But, for a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch everything he has and see whether he will not curse you to your very face.’ Accordingly Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Look! Everything that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do not thrust out your hand!’ So Satan went out away from the person of Jehovah.”—Job 1:9-12.

UNDER SATAN’S HAND

 8. (a) Explain the figurative uses in the Bible of the words arm and hand. (b) What power is granted Satan by permission?

⁸ The human hand as well as the arm is commonly used as a Biblical figure of speech to convey certain meanings. The arm figures the ability to generate, develop or amass strength or power. For example, in man’s arm there resides the ability to generate great power, strength or force to hurl an object such as a ball. But it is the hand that pictures applied strength or power. It is the hand that applies the power generated by the arm to certain specific points. In pitching a ball it is the hand that determines how the strength produced by the arm will bring about the curve or path or spin of the ball. Jehovah’s arm of generated strength is described at Isaiah 51:9-11, whereas his hand of arrangements of applied power is referred to at 1 Peter 5:6. Now as to Job, Satan proposes that Jehovah reapply his hand of power toward Job in the form of persecution. Jehovah agrees only for the time being to shift his hand to permit Job to come under the resisting hand of Satan’s applied power for bringing about calamities.

 9. (a) How does Satan begin to apply his hand? (b) What Babylonish evidences are here indicated?

⁹ The second tableau opens with a scene of earthly happenings. Satan of the realm of the invisible next brings about tremendous adversities upon Job. Satan’s hand of applied power is now at work. For some time Satan had Babylonishly trained bands of agents on earth to become available for deeds of hostility. First, Job’s wealth begins to be slashed by Satan’s dupes, the Sabaean marauders, stealing Job’s large herd of cattle. Incidentally, the Sabaeans were apostate worshipers of heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, deriving such from the Babylonians.f (Isa. 47:1, 13) Job himself was openly opposed to such worship of the sun and moon. (Job 31:26, 27) Job’s riches continue to be obliterated by destructive fire coming from the atmosphere to destroy Job’s great flocks of sheep. (Eph. 2:2) Finally, his wealth is wiped out by the three bands of Chaldeans robbing Job of his large number of camels. Note that Chaldeans, who were a Babylonish, religiously controlled people, were also agents used by Satan to make war upon Jehovah’s true witness Job. There being “three” bands is early evidence that Babylonish religionists were emphatically anti-Jehovah, three being a numerical symbol of emphasis.—Job 1:13-17.

10, 11. (a) How does Job react to Satan’s further blows? (b) What are the sources of persecution, and why are such permitted?

¹⁰ Not enough—Satan’s adverse hand continues. Job’s ten children must be killed by a great storm wind generated by Satan’s arm and then put to death by Satan’s hand of applied power. (Heb. 2:14) What news of destituting blows! (Job 1:18-20) Though he did not know why all this adversity came upon him, Job’s heart held fast in loyal support of Jehovah’s Godship. In his being brought very low Job said: “Jehovah himself has given, and Jehovah himself has taken away. Let the name of Jehovah continue to be blessed.”—Job 1:21, 22.

¹¹ Here is demonstrated for all time that the source of persecution and adversities upon Jehovah’s faithful witnesses never comes from the direct hand of Jehovah. Rather, it always comes from the permitted hand of Satan and his associate resisters, demonic and especially those religiously, Babylonized humans. Jewels, when put to the test, show their quality. So it is with the tested hearts of Jehovah’s faithful witnesses. (Jas. 1:2, 3) Jehovah knows how to supply spiritual encouragement and food necessary to build up the heart. Jehovah knows how to give the right heart training that provides one with the endurance to withstand supernatural satanic pressures as were withstood by Job.—1 Cor. 10:13.

TRUE TO JEHOVAH’S SOVEREIGN GODSHIP

12. What further calamity is brought upon Job, and why?

¹² Satan having failed to prove Job materialistic in his devotion and service to Jehovah, the third tableau shifts us back to heaven again where Satan next charges: “‘Skin in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul.g For a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch as far as his bone and his flesh and see whether he will not curse you to your very face.’ Accordingly Jehovah said to Satan: ‘There he is in your hand! Only watch out for his soul itself!’” (Job 2:4-6) Once again with his hand or means of applied power Satan produces, this time, suffering as an instrument to bring about torment to Job personally. “So Satan went out away from the person of Jehovah and struck Job with a malignant boil from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he proceeded to take for himself a fragment of earthenware with which to scrape himself; and he was sitting in among the ashes.” (Job 2:7, 8) Thus the fourth tableau now sets in, the scene on earth of a prolonged ordeal in which Satan seeks to prove his challenge of Jehovah’s Godship by testing Jehovah’s worshiper Job to the limit.

13. How did Job’s trials affect Job’s wife? Explain.

¹³ The scene of trials continues. Job and his wife had no spiritual television arrangement such as we now have in the completed, inspired, Scriptural account of Job, to see with ‘eyes of the heart’ what was back of Job’s afflictions. (Eph. 1:18) While there were many things Job could not understand as to his testing, yet his faith was strong to hold true to champion Jehovah’s Godship all along. Another blow—the faith of Job’s nearest and dearest, his wife, weakens. She says to him: “‘Are you yet holding fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’h But [Job] said to her: ‘As one of the senseless women speaks, you speak also. Shall we accept merely what is good from the true God and not accept also what is bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”—Job 2:9, 10.

THREE COMPANIONS BABYLONIZED

14. (a) Whom was Satan next to use to test Job? (b) What Babylonish background do Job’s three companions appear to have?

¹⁴ By the seventeenth century B.C.E. Babylonish religious thinking had influenced all the peoples in and about Palestine. Evidences now scintillate to indicate that the so-called friends of Job had become addicted to Babylonish apostasy. Such false friends were now ready for Satan’s special pressures against Job. To make Job’s sufferings jab deep into his heart, Satan maneuvered these three Babylonized agents to employ philosophical wisdom to wear down Job mentally in his loyalty to Jehovah. The fact that there were three of such pretended comforters emphasizes Satan’s all-out attempt in this subtle fashion. The first false one was Eliphaz, the Temanite, indicating he was a descendant of Abraham through his apostate grandson Esau. (Gen. 36:2, 10, 11) The Temanites became famous for their apostate wisdom since they had not held fast to the true religion of Abraham. (Jer. 49:7) Bildad, the Shuhite, was the second false companion, being also a descendant of Abraham through Abraham’s sixth son, Shuah, by his second wife, Keturah. (Gen. 25:2) Bildad, too, had become an apostate from the true religion of Abraham. His name Bildad means either “Son of Contention,” or, “Bel has loved,” which latter meaning could indicate the strong Babylonish background of his parental training, since Bel was the title of Marduk, the chief god of the Babylonians. (Jer. 50:2)i The third of this trio of trying “comforters” was Zophar, the Naamathite, betrayed by his speeches also to be an apostate from the true religion of Abraham. The Septuagint refers to him as “Sophar king of the Minaeans,” an Arabian people, the Arabs being generally considered as descendants of Abraham.

15. What do the seven days of silence seem to indicate, and why?

¹⁵ When the three “companions” arrived they opened their ‘program of comfort’ with a period of silence for seven days and seven nights sitting in the presence of Job. (Job 2:13) While it is true the descendants of Abraham, at the time of Jacob’s burial, conducted mourning rites with heavy wailing for seven days (Gen. 50:10), yet there is no evidence of a custom of seven days of silence amongst the Israelites. So the seven days of silence seem to correspond with a Babylonish practice of imploring the invisible powers of Satan and the demons for suggestions as to what conditions indicated.j At least by the end of seven days these three manifested themselves as part of Satan’s plot to weaken Job’s support of Jehovah’s Sovereign Godship.

TITLES THAT INVOLVE GODSHIP

16. Trace the uses of the Hebrew words for God (a) as to the pagans, (b) as to the true worshipers of Jehovah.

¹⁶ Let us now examine further evidences that Job’s three false comforters were uttering Babylonized wisdom with the sibboleth of apostasy rather than consoling Job by means of pure wisdom with the shibboleth of the true religion. (Judg. 12:6) In other words, their Babylonized wisdom sounded attractive and very similar to the divine wisdom but it did not quite have the ring of its genuineness. Since the basic issue is Sovereign Godship, it is noted that all three claimed to be monotheists or believers in one deity. These three deflected descendants of Abraham used the terms “Almighty” (shaddái) and “God” (el; or, elóah, the singular, or elohím, the plural form of excellence), as did their forefather Abraham and as did Job. (Gen. 17:1; Job 4:17; 6:4; 8:3; 11:7) But now comes the test! From the time that idolatry started in the days of Enosh men began to call their idols god (el or elohim). The Targum of Palestine comments on Genesis 4:26 as follows: “That was the generation in whose days they began to err, and to make themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the name of the word of the Lord.”k After the deluge of Noah’s day the Babylonized pagans did the same by referring to their apostate gods also by the plural form of excellence, elohim, god. (Note this as to the god Dagon at Judges 16:23, 24; and the god Chemosh and the god Milcom at 1 Kings 11:33 and the god Baal-zebub at 2 Kings 1:2, 3, 16.) Observe that in Noah’s history recording the days of Enoch, after idolatry had become practiced, the true worshipers frequently put a definite article ha before el or elohim to indicate “the true God” Jehovah as distinct from the false gods who were also being referred to as el or elohim but not as ha-el or ha-elohim.l—Gen. 5:22; 2 Ki. 1:6, 9.

17, 18. Contrast the difference in the way the words for God and Jehovah were used by (a) Abraham and Job, (b) the three companions. How does this affect the issue of Godship?

¹⁷ Abraham followed this practice from Enoch’s time by also referring to Jehovah by the delicate, differentiating form of ha-elohim (as at Genesis 17:18; 20:6, 17 and Ge 22:9). For discriminating students of the Sacred Scriptures the New World Translation preserves all the uses of ha-el and ha-elohim in the Hebrew texts by translating such accurately as “the [true] God.” Job in his speeches follows Abraham’s practice by also championing Jehovah’s Godship as apart from the pagan gods by occasionally using ha-el and ha-elohim. (See Job 2:10; 13:8; 21:14; 31:28.) But in the speeches of Bildad and Zophar, they follow the practice of the Babylonish religionists by just using the general form, el or elohim for God. Even Eliphaz, the claimant of orthodoxy (Job 15:10), only once uses ha-el, “the true God,” at Job 22:17 and then only sort of disparagingly with reference to those who hold to Jehovah as the true God.—Job 22:15.

¹⁸ Following another Babylonish practice of hiding the personal name of the Deity, the three false comforters do not use the divine name, Jehovah, once in any of their many speeches, whereas Job uses the name Jehovah five times. (Job 1:21; 12:9; 28:28) In the account of Abraham their forefather the name Jehovah is used some seventy times from Genesis chapters 12 to 24 inclusive. Then, too, Job is the only one to devotedly refer to Jehovah as the “Holy One.”—Job 6:10.

A SPIRITISTIC EXPERIENCE

19. Explain what is demonstrated by Eliphaz’s spiritistic experience.

¹⁹ Another characteristic evidence of Babylonish religion is that of communicating with the spirits or demons. Such spirits or demons were unable to materialize like the faithful angels did in communicating with Abraham. (Gen. 18:1-8) This meant that the demons had to resort indirectly to divination and oracles. “In inspirational or natural divination the agent is professedly under the immediate influence of some spirit or god who enables the diviner to see the future and to utter oracles embodying what he sees. . . . It can be proved that among the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians the view prevailed that not only oracles but also omens of all kinds are given to men by the gods and express the minds of these gods.”a Note that in Eliphaz’s first speech he appeals to one of his Babylonish-like, spiritistic experiences to support his argument. (Job 4:15-17) Never did Abraham or Job have such demonistic experiences to deny the Godship of Jehovah who guided them directly.

MAN, THE MORTAL—RESURRECTION HOPE

20. Show how Job had accurate knowledge as to what man is. How does Job express his hope for the future?

²⁰ Job in his counterarguments uses the expression “mortal man” (Hebrew, enósh) many times. He understood man to be a living soul. He rejected the Babylonish view that man has an immortal soul. Job believed that man is mortal and, when man dies, he is dead. (Job 7:1, 17; 9:2; 10:4, 5; 13:9; 14:1, 2; 28:13) Job further shows that upon death man has expired. (Job 10:18; 14:10; 27:5; 29:18) His having the right view on this basic matter made it possible for Job to allude to his hope of a resurrection, the coming to life again of himself as an individual on earth. (Job 14:13, 14) It is noticeable that his three false companions were silent on the matter of resurrection.

BABYLONISH PHILOSOPHY

21. Present some of the hostile sentiments expressed by the three false companions against Job.

²¹ The trio of “companions” with religious variations present the Babylonish materialistic philosophy that only the wise prosper and the guilty suffer adversity. (Job 4:7, 8) Lyingly they claim that Jehovah ‘has no faith in his servants.’ (Job 4:18) An orthodoxy appeal is made by them to heed traditions of previous generations. (Job 8:8, 9) They advocate to keep religion simple and not to go too deeply into knowing things of God. (Job 11:7) It is complained that Job (one of Jehovah’s witnesses) conceitedly claims to know more than the religious sages of the past. (Job 15:9, 10) As to Job’s unwavering stand of integrity for the true Godship, his “companions” resent by contrast their being represented as standing unclean. (Job 18:3) Say they: ‘Job, you take your religion too seriously in trying to maintain a righteous stand before God.’ (Job 22:2-4) From outward appearance Job must be a “badman” and so God must judge him adversely. (Job 22:5-10) Bluntly, finally, it is claimed by these Babylonized wisemen that it is impossible for Job, who calls himself a “mortal man” (Job 7:1, 17), to obtain a righteous, clean standing before God.—Job 25:4.

JOB LOOKS INWARD

22. How was Job forced to look upon himself, and what did he say?

²² So by these three lengthy rounds of arguments of materialistic philosophy this unholy trio force Job to defend himself personally and to look inward upon himself to keep declaring his own soul righteous rather than extolling the rightness of the true God in conducting this case as to His Sovereign Godship. Deep down in Job’s heart this jabbing, testing process occurred, with questions and answers flowing from him. “If I have sinned, what can I accomplish against you, the Observer of mankind? Why is it that you have set me as your target, so that I should become a burden to you?” (Job 7:20) “I myself well know that my redeemer is alive.” (Job 19:25) “O that I had someone listening to me, that according to my signature the Almighty himself would answer me!” (Job 31:35) Yes, by means of this long duel under the permitted hand of Satan through his earthly dupes, Job was tested to the very core of his heart, yet his heart proved to be true, clean, full of hope and trusting in God.

ELIHU’S ASSESSMENT

23. (a) What was Elihu’s assessment of the lengthy religious controversy? (b) How did Jehovah step in, and what was Job’s reaction?

²³ Finally the neutral watcher, Elihu, spoke up and presented the right assessment as to the true and false schools of wisdom that had concluded their arguments. “Against Job his anger blazed over his declaring his own soul righteous rather than God. Also, against his three companions his anger blazed over the fact that they had not found an answer but they proceeded to pronounce God wicked.” (Job 32:2, 3) So on the issue of Godship the three false comforters proved to have utterly failed, whereas Job had become sidetracked upon himself although never failing in his integrity to the true God. Then the drama ends with the tremendous display of wisdom from the true God by his speaking out of the windstorm. There Jehovah demonstrated his overwhelming Godship by referring to creation’s marvels and to natural things pertaining to the earth far too wonderful to be grasped by the mind of mortal man. (Job, chapters 38-41) To this amazing shower of heavenly wisdom, Job’s clean heart quickly responds: “I have come to know that you are able to do all things, and there is no idea that is unattainable for you. That is why I make a retraction, and I do repent in dust and ashes.”—Job 42:2, 6.

24, 25. (a) What was Jehovah’s judgment as to the two sides of the Godship controversy? (b) How does the Job drama conclude? (c) What question arises, and how will it be dealt with?

²⁴ Then Jehovah confirms Elihu’s reprimand of the three false companions by saying: “My anger has grown hot against you [Eliphaz] and your two companions, for you men have not spoken concerning me what is truthful as has my servant Job. And now take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job, and you men must offer up a burnt sacrifice in your own behalf; and Job my servant will himself pray for you. His face only I shall accept so as not to commit disgraceful folly with you, for you have not spoken concerning me what is truthful, as has my servant Job.” (Job 42:7, 8) Thus the apostate religion of these Babylonized wise men became exposed by Jehovah himself, twice declaring them as ‘not truthful.’ Their so-called wisdom turned out to be foolishness. Satan miserably lost the contest resulting from his challenge. The three “companions” had to make a climb-down, reform themselves and submit their lives to the priesthood services of Job by accepting the true religion. As to Job personally, “Jehovah himself turned back the captive condition of Job” and blessed him with twice the material wealth he had lost at the beginning. As to his family, he came to have seven sons and three beautiful daughters even in the old age of himself and that of his aged wife.—Job 42:10-15.

²⁵ Surely Jehovah proved to be the true God who can choose reliable witnesses to champion his Sovereign Godship on earth. Job was thus the vindicated champion of his day. Does this drama have prophetic fulfillment or application of interest for men of true wisdom in later times? Evidences in the affirmative will be presented in the succeeding articles.

[Footnotes]