There are things in Job you don’t find in any other book of the Bible. A few of those things are a look into heavenly protocol, a conversation between God and Satan, Satan’s plan of attack, Satan’s attack, and God’s relationship with Satan.
Job 1:6, One day the sons of God (angelic beings) came to present themselves before the Lord. In heaven there is a time when the angels account to God. They have a relationship with Him and present themselves to Him. …and Satan also came with them. Even though Satan had been kicked out of heaven, he still had access to God. He had access to God when the other angelic beings presented themselves to God. Do you see how important that is? God did not go to Satan. Satan wanted an audience with God, and Satan had to wait until the angels met with God first.
I bet that was awkward standing in line waiting with the angels he once communed and served with just to have a word with God. I can see it in my mind Satan standing at the back of the line having to wait his turn while the other angels get to have some face-to-face time with their Creator. I wonder if the angels were keeping an eye on Satan.
I also think it’s weird that God would allow Satan to step foot back into His presence again. Am I the only one?
The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” God knew where Satan had been. This statement appears to be more along the lines of, “You were not invited. What are you doing here?”
Satan’s answer should make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. From roaming through the earth…and walking around on it. 1 Peter 5:8 says, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Satan tells us. Peter tells us. Satan is roaming this earth. He’s walking around on two legs among us.
God’s response causes many of us heartburn. Have you considered My servant Job? I don’t know about you but there are times in life when I like to fly under the radar, and this would have been one of those times I would have preferred to lay low. But God chose to raise Job up. 2 Corinthians 2:14, But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
God was proud of Job. He loved Job. God claimed Job as My servant. Job was God’s delight. He bragged on Job as a father brags on his son. But still, if God puts His prized servant before Satan, what does He hold in store for me? Isn’t that what you’re thinking?
And of course Satan knew Job. Revelations 12:10 calls Satan the accuser of the brethren, and he lives up to that description. He tells God Job fears for nothing because God protects him. He’s insinuating if God removed His protection and Job was forced to deal with the harshness of life and what Satan can dish out that Job would give up on God. Satan wants God to do the dirty work. Job 1:11, But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to Your face.
God didn’t strike Job. Satan wasn’t in control. God gives Satan parameters in which he can test Job.
So Satan strikes Job. Satan repeatedly attacks until he has taken everything Job had. Rapid firing – 1 messenger escapes the Sabeans to tell Job they took the oxen and donkeys and killed the servants, 1 messenger escapes a lightning storm that kills the sheep and more servants, 1 more messenger escapes the Chaldeans who raided the camels and killed servants, and the final servant escaped a powerful wind storm that collapsed the home and killed all of Job’s children and remaining servants. He gets these messages one right after the other, right after the other, right after the other. No time to breathe. No time to think. No time to let the loss sink in before the next one hits. And this is just the first test.
What was Job’s response? He grieved – tore his robe and shaved his head. He worshiped – He fell to the ground and worshiped. He acknowledged he came into this world with nothing and would leave with nothing. And he acknowledged God was the one who gives and takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh. To be able to worship and praise God when everything falls apart is without a doubt perfect integrity.
Job 1:22, Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything. WOW! I just don’t know that this could be said of me if I were in Job’s shoes.
Do you see how this book is different from the others found in the Bible? Do you see how valuable it is? We may not always understand God’s reasoning, but we need to work on our integrity and trust His heart.
Some think the theme of Job is suffering when according to James 5:11 the themes are endurance and the end intended by the Lord. So keep reading and studying. Endure through the book of Job and let’s discover what the end was the Lord intended.