He Gives and Takes Away... or Does He?

I had a discussion on Facebook with a friend of mine regarding the Haitian earthquake. He had linked to a video in which a Haitian pastor quoted Job 1:21:

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

My friend was impressed with the pastor’s spirituality, and even made this statement: “Everything is by God, through God, and for God’s glory.”

Perhaps you agree with that. I don’t. The problem with The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away is that it cannot be applied to the situation in Haiti. Let me explain why.

Job had a covenant with God and, if you recall, Satan made this accusation about Job:

“…stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and surely he will curse you to your face.”

You see, God specifically allowed Satan access to Job in order to prove that Satan’s accusation was not true. And while many religious leaders have come forth with their opinions on why it happened, this cannot be the case with Haiti, because the nation of Haiti is not in covenant with God.

Others believe that is God is “dealing” with Haiti’s sin, because of voodoo. But there’s a problem with that as well: God is currently “not counting men’s sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19). There will come a day when God will judge men’s sins (Acts 17:31), but that day is not today.

Romans 1:18-32 clearly states how God pours out his wrath — by giving Men over to the sinful desires of their hearts, to shameful lusts and to a depraved mind. God does not pour out his wrath in the form of earthquakes or natural disasters. Nor does he allow man-made disasters, such as 9/11, to occur to punish a nation’s sins.

The problem with getting our theology from the book of Job is that most of it consists of Job and his friends expounding incorrect doctrine. Verses like, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away,” are often quoted as examples of the proper attitude we should take in the face of tragedy. Yet if we are to accept these words from Job as “the true nature of God,” then what about the other things he said about God, such as:

You formed me with your hands; you made me,
yet now you completely destroy me. (Job 10:8)

You have become cruel toward me.
You use your power to persecute me. (Job 30:21)

God hates me and angrily tears me apart.
He snaps his teeth at me
and pierces me with his eyes. (Job 16:9)

If I hold up my head, you hunt me like a lion
and again show your terrible power against me. (Job 10:16)

When a plague sweeps through,
he laughs at the death of the innocent.
The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,
and God blinds the eyes of the judges.
If he’s not the one who does it, who is? (Job 9:23-24)

Why is it that pastors never quote these verses as an accurate description of God’s character? Could it be because they sound more like a description of Satan rather than God? (See 1 Peter 5:8.) Scripture calls him the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and says that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)

That’s why I disagreed with my friend when he wrote, “Everything is by God, through God, and for God’s glory.” James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” There’s nothing “good” or “perfect” about what’s happening in Haiti right now.

God will certainly use tragedies like this to his greater glory, but I do not believe that he in any way ordains them for the purpose of building the character of his saints, judging the sins of unbelievers, or furthering his glory.