Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Job 1.1 and following. Indeed, thebook of Job is different from those that precede it. It is a poetic book; it is very old; finally his characters are chosen from outside the people of Israel. For the lesson it contains concerns not only the family of Abraham but all creatures. Let’s ask God to teach us this at the same time as Job. “It was not helpful to give us a long account of Job’s prosperity; on the other hand, the Holy Spirit tells us in detail all that took place during his trials. It was worth it, and this story will benefit God’s children for the rest of time.” The first verses (1 to 5) therefore briefly teach us who this man is, what he possesses, what he does for his own. The following reveal to us what is happening in heaven about him. The Fearsome Accuser enters the scene (Rev 12:7-11). But let’s note two reassuring facts: (1) It is God who initiates the action first. (2) The permission he grants to Satan is strictly limited. Finally, let’s never forget the question of Rom. 8:33… (Rm 8:26-39. We will see that “all things” – trials after prosperity – work together for the good of those who love God.
Until now, Jehovah had surrounded his servant Job with a hedge of protection (v. 10). An invisible barrier thus protects believers both from attacks from outside and from their own tendency to leave the place of blessing. The children of Christian parents, for example, are cared for by the teaching received at home and in meetings. Let them not deliberately topple this hedge! (Ec 10.8). Satan was given permission to act (Luke 22:31-34). He chooses the right day and, with an eagerness that underlines his hatred, he strikes the unfortunate Job with four successive blows. At one point our patriarch, without having been able to catch his breath (9:15-18), finds himself dispossessed of all his prosperity and deprived of his ten children. Standing in the midst of these ruins, he is not shaken, showing that his confidence was not in the goods received, but in the One who had given them. “Is it for nothing that Job fears God?” had insinuated the devil (v. 9). By grace, Job proves him wrong; even when he has nothing left, he continues to fear God. Satan had said, “For sure, he will curse you in the face” (v. 11).
May the name of the Lord be blessed! – Job cries out when everything is taken away from him (v. 21). He puts into practice the exhortation that is particularly difficult to carry out: “Give thanks in all things” (1 Thess. 5.16-22). In the first place, however, Job himself is placed before us. We see in him a sincere, true and blameless man; he enjoys all the elements of happiness on earth: he is blessed in his circumstances, as well as in his family, and usually walks in the fear of God. The fact that he was “greater than all the sons of the East” gives all the more importance to his trial. But wasn’t he blessed by God? Yes, to an abundant extent. He had seven sons and three daughters. He had a very large share in the goods which, in the early days and in those lands, constituted the wealth of men. It is therefore not a pilgrim and a stranger that we find in Job. This was what God had called the patriarchs to; but Job was not one of them. He was outside the covenant made with Abraham, though blessed by God and in an express and obvious way. So here we find Job in the most marked position of a man, blessed by God in all that his heart could desire. It is not necessary to recall that this blessing would not have been stable if the divine element had been lacking; in this case, there is only trap and disappointment. What did this element consist of according to God? Job was “perfect and upright, fearing God and withdrawing from evil” (Job 1:1). He was not a man with sharp angles, biased, defective in some ways and remarkable in some qualities. He was upright and wholeheartedly hearted for God; this moral character was based on the fear of God and had as its distinctive feature the rejection of evil. His inner life and his outer life were both blameless.
We will add another remark in passing. It may seem peculiar to some that Satan can come among the sons of God in heaven, but this comes from ignorance of scripture. At first glance, this fact seems out of place: Satan appearing among the sons of God, which, no doubt, means among the angels in the presence of God! But it seems certain to me that anyone who is well founded in the knowledge of the Word will understand that this is part of the “mystery of God” (Rev. 10:7), according to which He takes patience so far, for the highest purposes, before taking away evil. Whoever is nourished by the thought of God revealed in the Scriptures will understand that this is precisely what we could expect. Who was Satan and what was his first condition? Was he not in the beginning among the sons of God? He was one of them. This helps us to understand how it is that a similar being, though fallen, can have access to god’s presence until the hour of judgment has come. It was not the man alone who fell. There was a fall before his, the fall of a creature higher in dignity. It’s a fact, although there are men bold enough to give career to their unbelief, denying the fall of man, as well as the existence of Satan. We should not be surprised. Men easily refuse to believe what they do not like; but the truth of the fall is offensive to their pride, and even more so to that of their bondage of Satan through sin.
But why is the fact of the fall of angels and men so repulsive to the human spirit? Because it is proof of the guilt and ruin of the creature. This truth also demonstrates the weakness of the latter and the necessity of dependence on God. The first condition of fallen creatures before their fall bears manifest witness to God’s goodness, before evil existed, either in heaven or on earth. Despite this the creature has abandoned its origin. In these terms, we get to know Satan, the tireless leader of disobedience. He is powerless to seduce the holy angels chosen; he can accuse the saints with an appearance of truth. Here the first and last divine revelation meet. Thus we cease to consider as a singular and incomprehensible thing the fact that the Adversary appears among the sons of God in His presence. Alas! we also learn that he knew very well the privilege of being there in completely different conditions. He had once shone among the sons of God. What was it now? A rebellious and miserable being who had made the self his object, instead of God being. Now the self giving him no satisfaction, he unleashes his malice against all, especially against the objects of God’s love. All his activity is aimed at opposing God by hating man and especially all those in whom He finds his delights.
First, Satan himself recounts his incessant activity here and there on earth, and the journeys he tirelessly makes there. God then finds it good to point out his servant: “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is no man on earth like him, perfect and upright, fearing God, and withdrawing from evil?” What does the Adversary do? He uses God’s blessing to insinuate an accusation: Job does not fear God for no reason; he has selfish motives; it is only for the sake of the benefits that it can reap. A perverse mind cannot conceive of motives other than its own: “Don’t you have it surrounded on all sides by a hedge of protection?” You have blessed him in every way. “But stretch out your hand and touch everything he has: you will see if he does not curse you in the face.” This was to be the first test.
We soon see on earth the results of divine permission. The rest of the chapter presents us with the picture of disasters that follow one another with speed. We do not see the hand of the Enemy appearing; and yet it is in all this. These are earthly events performed by ordinary instruments, probably taking place with extraordinary speed, which is not the least part of the ordeal. It would not have been enough for Satan to let a prolonged interval elapse between his blows. Everything is very cleverly arranged by him so that these calamities take the form of ruthless judgments sent from God, and yet by external and human means. So, first of all, one day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking in their elder brother’s house, a messenger came to announce an attack by the Sabaeans on cattle. “They hit the young men by the edge of the sword.” The hand of Satan the Destroyer was manifest in this. “I escaped, alone, to announce it to you.” So there is only one survivor, so that the terrible news will surely arrive, and the ordeal will be made more poignant. If, in each blow, there had not been an escape, the account could not have been given in this way. Evil is consumed; yet Job felt, as we would have felt, that everything was under God’s gaze.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The first tests of Job:
- Righteousness, examples
1 Kings 15:14 But the high places did not disappear, although the heart of Asa was entirely to Jehovah throughout his life. Jb 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uts whose name was Job. And this man was upright and upright; he feared God, and turned away from evil. Luke 1:6 Both were righteous before God, keeping all the Lord’s commandments and ordinances in an irreproachable manner. Lk 2:37 Remaining a widow, and eighty-four years old, she did not leave the temple, and she served God night and day in fasting and prayer.
- Fear of God, examples of men dominated by the
Neh 5:15 Before me, the first governors overwhelmed the people, and received from them bread and wine, in addition to forty sicles of money; their servants themselves oppressed the people. I did not do so, out of fear of God. Jb 1:8 Jehovah said to Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one like him on earth; he is a man of integrity and righteousness, fearing God, and turning away from evil. Acts 5:11 A great fear took hold of the whole assembly and all those who learned these things. Acts 9:31 The Church was at peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, rising and walking in fear of the Lord, and she grew by the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
- Earthly riches, gift of God
Dt 8:18 Remember Jehovah your God, for it is He who will give you strength to acquire them, in order to confirm, as He does today, His covenant which He swore to your fathers. 1 Ch 29:12 Wealth and glory come from you, you dominate over everything, strength and power are in your hand, and your hand has the power to enlarge and strengthen all things. Ec 5:18 But if God has given a man wealth and goods, if He has made him master to eat it, to take his share, and to rejoice in the midst of his work, this is a gift from God. Hos 2:10 She did not recognize that it was I who gave her the wheat, must, and oil; and the silver and gold I lavished on her were devoted to the service of Baal.
- Glorifying God, the duty to
-By praise Ps 22:24 You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All of you, Jacob’s posterity, glorify him! Tremble before him, all of you, posterity of Israel!
-Through the good works Mt 5:16 May your light shine before men in this way, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
-Bearing fruit Jn 15:8 If you bear much fruit, this is how my Father will be glorified, and you will be my disciples.
-Through spiritual unity Rom 15:6 so that all together, with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-By a complete consecration 1 Cor 6.20 Because you have been redeemed at a great price. So glorify God in your body and mind, which belong to God.
From all of the above, we note that if Satan’s hand was hidden behind these distressing blows, God’s was above his. What a great and sure consolation! Then, by mysterious ways as before, comes the rest of the ordeal. “He spoke again, that another came and said: The fire of God fell from heaven (lightning no doubt) and burned the sheep and young men, and consumed them; and I escaped, alone, to announce it to you. This one spoke again, that another came and said: The Chaldeans (an enemy coming from a completely different direction) formed three bands, and threw themselves on the camels and took them, and they struck the young men by the edge of the sword; and I escaped, alone, to announce it to you. This one was still speaking, that another came and said: Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother, and behold, a great wind came from beyond the desert and gave against the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men and they died.” Thus, on all sides, the hurricane went wild, causing not only the destruction of Job’s property, but the most terrible loss of all, taking away to the letter everything he possessed. Didn’t he have sons and daughters? Everything was torn from him and in a way that was deeply painful for his heart. Wasn’t God above everything? Isn’t he interested in everything that’s going on here on earth? Had this fact not characterized the story of Job’s life, God’s interest and blessing, not only in him, but in all that he had? And now, in one day, all that the divine blessing had given had disappeared and in the most painful way. Had God forgotten? Had He not been careful? Job said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked I will go back.” So spoke this just, after tearing his robe, shaving his head and throwing himself to the ground, for he felt the blow as he should feel it. But then he prostrated himself and said, “The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken; may the name of the Lord be blessed!” In all this Job did not sin, and did not attribute to God anything that was inappropriate, nothing abnormal and that was unworthy of Him. The first assault had been completely missed. Stripped of everything, Job did not sin. Job was a rich man, but just and pious. God allowed Satan to take away his wealth, his family, and his health from the job. With his three friends, Job raises the following problem: why does a just God allow the suffering of a just and innocent being? The three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Tsophar, did not understand these ways of God. According to them, God punished Job because of some sin; these men did not see that God also uses suffering to purify and instruct believers. Desperate, Job opposes his three friends with his own righteousness and righteousness. He feels that he is being treated unfairly, but hopes that God, eventually, will receive him. Elihu then intervenes. He is the lord’s messenger and type (Job 32:8; 33:4). He explains that God uses discipline towards man in order to purify him and bring him closer to him. With his words, Elihu shines the light in the darkness and leads Job into the presence of God. All of Job’s conclusions were wrong, because he did not understand that God wanted to get him to probe himself to the depths of himself. When God then speaks directly to Job, He finally recognizes, “My ear had heard of you, now my eye has seen you: That is why I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5, 6). God can then bless Job again. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Second Scene in Heaven with Satan ” (Job 2).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.