Divine Council

Once in a while we get a peek above the clouds. And, when we do, we don’t find an old man pulling levers. Instead our wonder is enlarged and our sense of understanding is challenged. Job 1:6 and 2:1 are two different moments like this.
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”

What is this gathering? Who is there? Why do they meet? Many have called it the Divine Council. Wikipedia says “A Divine Council is an assembly of deities over which a higher-level god presides.” It draws this definition from a multitude of religious backgrounds of which the Hebrew has the most references.

It turns out that our Bible mentions this sort of thing a number of times. Psalm 82:1, 6; 1 Kings 22:19-23; Ex 15:11; Isaiah 6; Rev 4… Dr. Michael Heiser offers some helpful explanation (click here) as well as Dr. Tim Mackie of The Bible Project. (Podcasts on “Theme: God”)

There seems to be a world of the unseen that is connected to what we do see. There is more to the story! Isn’t this hinted at in Eph 6:12? “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

If our experiences on earth are linked to real things in heavenly places then things like spiritual warfare seem more tangible and prayer seems more important. If my challenges in life are linked to supernatural things then asking for help from the supernatural King of kings is my best option.

When God questioned the accuser in Job 1 & 2 about where he had come from, the answer was “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” What is that? Interesting that this same sort of language is used of God in 2 Chr 16:9, Jer 16:17, Zech 4:10, Heb 4:13. Are the heavenly hosts watching us?

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about this topic. But I do think that the book of Job is calling us to pay attention to this reality.

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