Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an 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 increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
The book of Job is one of the earliest books of the Bible. In this book, God reveals many things to the readers. As we see in this passage, the devil is evil. He is walking up and down in the earth, trying to see what kind of trouble he can cause. The Bible tells us that he is the accuser of the brethren.
It is sad that the devil has nothing good to do. He is wasting his time and energy to try to cause trouble wherever he can. His end will be in the lake of fire.
The phrase: “sons of God” is in reference to the angels of God. This does not mean that every time we find this phrase, it is in reference to angels. The context will show us who it refers to. This is the second time now that the devil is called “Satan”. The other time thus far is in I Chronicles 21:1. Since the book of Job is one of the earliest books of the Bible written, this would be the first time the devil is called “Satan”. The books of the Bible are not placed in chronological order.
We also see that God is referred to here as LORD. God is the all powerful, all knowing God. He IS, and He cannot be interfered with.
In verse 7 the LORD asked Satan a question. Satan is answerable to the LORD. The devil will one day be cast into the lake of fire. The LORD could have cast him into the lake of fire already, but he allows him to try to cause interference. We also know that Satan is limited in what he can do.
We also know that man is given the ability to choose. The contrast between the choices is so vast, and yet most people choose to follow the devil. We are all born as lost sinners. We need to be saved in order to be different. Only God can change us in this way. Job was one who chose to listen to God’s work of drawing him to Himself. Thus, Job had the fear of God in his heart.
In verse 7 Satan needed to answer the LORD’s question into what he had been doing. We need to keep in mind that the LORD knows everything. He is giving the devil the opportunity to be truthful about his activities. Satan stated that he had been busy roaming around the earth. He is not omnipresent like God is. He can only be one place at a time. He has devils who assist him in his evil deeds. There are many fallen angels. Many people refer to them as “demons” but the Bible never uses that word.
The devil had been busy walking to and fro upon the earth. He needed to get around to see what is going on. He is not all-knowing as God is.
The LORD challenged Satan in verse 8. He knew what kind of a man Job was. He knew that Job would seek to be obedient to the God he feared. The LORD spoke highly of Job in verse 8. Job was different than most of the people of his time. Job was an example of the blessings of the LORD in the life of His children.
In verse 9 Satan falsely accused God. Satan has no shame. He is arrogant and foolish. He obviously had already been observing Job. He accused the LORD of pampering and sheltering Job. He did not know the true character of a saint. Satan fell and he assumed that all people would remain lost. He accused God of protecting Job and that was why he was such an upright citizen.
In verse 10 Satan revealed that God does bless His children. There is nothing wrong with Him doing that. He provides His children with the ability to do great things for His glory.
In verse 11 the devil challenged the LORD to take away the blessings that He had given to Job. Satan assumed that born again Christians only follow God because of His external blessings. He thought that Christians are being bribed. Satan cannot be saved. He does not understand the blessing that salvation is. The blessing of being delivered from the bondage of sin is greater than anything else. Satan tried to accuse the LORD of being unjust. The devil had no way to prove his false accusations, but that did not stop him from making it anyway. Jesus reminded us that the devil is a liar.
In verse 12 we read that the LORD gave Satan permission to attack Job’s family and his possessions. Job’s body was protected from the attacks of the devil at this time. He was not unjustly sheltered by the LORD. He chose to follow God and God showed Him the blessing of knowing the true God. Satan falsely assumed Job would cave in if his circumstances would be different.
There are many people today who make excuses for their sin. They claim that if they had a different environment and better access to funds, they would be better people. This is a lie from the devil. Many people believe that lie, even though they have nothing to prove it to be so.
It is important to note once again, that when a person is saved by God, their nature is changed. Christians can and do sin, but born again Christians are saved and held in the powerful hand of God. Paul reminds us:
Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
God fundamentally changes the heart of the saved person. The temptation to sin is there after salvation. The Holy Spirit indwells the true child of God. Other saints are also called upon to remind one another of the “narrow way”. That is what Paul was instructed to do many times. Faithful saints must remind other saints that they cannot pursue a life of sin. God has many ways through which He works in His child to bring about the peaceable fruit of righteousness. I Corinthians 11 also reminds us that there are Christians that are sickly and others who die before the normal time because they choose to ignore God’s way. Christians do not need to apologize for being saved. They need to be taught to glorify God because they are saved. If a person is saved, their “inner man” will desire to glorify God. They need to be taught to live as that child of God they have been made in Christ. The Bible does not teach that His children have a split personality. He teaches that the heart needs to dominate over the mind. The mind needs to be changed by consistent and constant Godly teaching. The saved person has the power, given to him by God, to accept and to build on His truth.
In verse 12 the LORD gave Satan permission to take away all that Job had. He was not allowed to hurt Job’s body. The devil was content with this opportunity. He would get right to his attacks on Job.
What a sad state of affairs. Satan cannot do anything good. His life is destruction.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Satan will be cast into the lake of fire one day and there will be no trial. He has proved his wicked nature to every generation. That is all he knows how to do. The LORD would protect Job’s body in this first encounter. The LORD knows what He is doing and He will never allow one of His children to be tempted beyond their ability to deal with the temptation. Job would prove the reality of his fear of God. He would stand alone in his faith but he would not turn to the wishes of the devil.
It is important to have a right foundation and it is important to build properly on that right foundation. God’s way is always right.
Pastor Bartel
