God's Faithful Servant

Good morning church. It is my pleasure to be here again with you this morning, although it’s for unfortunate reasons, as our dear pastor and his family have been fighting illness this week throughout their entire household. We’ll be sure to pray for their quick recovery this morning.

Today we’re going to continue on through the book of Job, so if you have your bibles, and I hope you do, please open them to Job chapter 1, verses 6-12, and if you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s holy word.

“6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. “

Thus the reading of God’s perfect, infallible, inerrant word. You may be seated.

If you were with us, last week we learned much about Job, his character, his wealth, his moral obedience and great faith, his family, and so on. As we move on to act two of this great book, we are transported into the spiritual realm. God has given us a glimpse behind the curtain, if you will, into what is normally hidden from natural man.

Verse 6 begins “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord” let’s stop there. The sons of God. Who are these sons of God? Well the son’s of God refer to a divine counsel, the angelic host (which we will see later in Job 38:7). They may very well be called this on account of their creation by the father of spirits, as well as their missions to mankind serving as messengers or mouthpiece’s of God. They may be called gods (lower case g here), or children of the Most High. Angels, sons of God, who surround the throne of God ready to obey His every command, which we see in 1 Kings 22 or Daniel 7.

So we have this picture now of God on His throne, surrounded by His divine counsel who have come to Him to give account of their doings. And the verse continues “and Satan also came among them.” Satan, referring here to who we commonly understand to be the Devil, is not his name. Satan, or “the Satan” is in fact a title. The word Satan, in Hebrew means “to oppose, obstruct, or accuse.” In Greek it literally means “adversary.”

The devil, the Satan, we know to be a high angelic being. One who, before creation, rebelled against God. He has been at war against all God’s creation since the beginning of time. He has many titles in scripture, besides Satan. He is called the father of lies. The accuser. The prince of darkness. And he isn’t some pointy horned, pitchfork wielding, ugly looking party DJ ruling over the gates of hell. But in fact the bible describes him as beautiful. He disguises himself as an angle of light. He wears a cloak of light. And he, with the other fallen angels, and all who die apart from the mercies of God, will be cast into eternal torment.

Furthermore, some of you may have heard the devil called the name “Lucifer.” This may come as a shock to you, but the word Lucifer does not appear in the original text anywhere in the Hebrew or Greek. In Isaiah 14:12 we see a poor translation of “O Day Star” as Lucifer, or light bearer, and it’s likely not even referring to the devil. We don’t know the actual name of the angel whom we call the devil, or Satan with any certainty, and that is okay.

So back to Job. This divine counsel of the sons of God have come before the Lord and with them is Satan. Verse 7 says “The Lord said to Satan, ‘from where have you come?’” It’s important to note here that God is not asking him this out of ignorance, as though God does not in fact know where Satan has been, for the omniscient God knows all things. Where every being is, what every being has done, is doing, and will do. Men and angels. The devil and the demons. More so, God has indeed actually decreed all things that come to pass.

Rather, God has asked Satan this question as a way of saying “state your business”, likely resenting him for coming among the sons of God. A rhetorical question, knowing full well what his answer will be. Furthermore this will bring out of Satan the answer God would have him speak for the sake of our understanding and good. For the edification of the listener. In fact there is a good reason to believe that this conversation did not take place in the literal sense, but rather is being explained to us in anthropomorphic language so that mere creatures could understand the spiritual interaction that took place in a way we have yet to understand or comprehend.

Satan answers back and says “from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” Satan has spent his free time searching out and exploring the hearts and actions of carnal men. This fallen angel surrounds the hearts of evil men in an attempt to persuade, deceive, steal, kill, and destroy. He says this boastfully as if he were some god of the world, as though he had any dominion over it. Taking notes and surveying what he thinks ought to be his. He states it as if he actually had liberty to go wherever he pleased, all while knowing full well he is at the whim of God’s sovereignty.

God then confidently responds in verse 8 “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.” God here is now repeating what was stated in the first 5 verses of chapter 1. That Job is a righteous, blameless man. God speaks as father “proud” of his son, endorsing his character and moral virtue among all the men of the earth.

God knows full well that Job has caught the eye of Satan, and so in a sort of sarcastic tone, he appeals to His servant Job as if to say “I know you know the character of this man and yet your snares and traps set before him have failed, for he is blameless and obedient and virtuous.” And of course God knows the following accusation about to be lobbed upon Job by the devil. Knowing the jealous and hateful character of Satan this was sure to infuriate him, leaving him with the only option he pursues. To accuse.

Verse 9 “Then Satan answered the Lord and said ‘Does Job fear God for no reason?” There is absolutely no questions Job’s faithfulness, and so Job makes an excuse, suggesting that Job must not fear God for it’s own sake, but rather has some ulterior motive. This self-serving devil cannot comprehend the idea that one would fear God out of love and obedience. And he cannot even point to any particular sin to which Job has committed, which ought to point to just how holy Job was. So, what is left but to launch an all out war against Job’s motivations.

He continues in verse 10 to say “Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and all his possessions have increased in the land.” And here begins this insidious attack of Job. Notice he does not outright make the claim that these are Jobs intentions but rather merely calls them into question. The devil is not God and is therefore not omniscient. He cannot know your thoughts nor read you mind. He, like us, is a creation bound within limits of time, space, and nature.

So he says “have you not put a hedge around him” - a hedge or rather a fence, a wall of protection. Satan’s first accusation is that God has protected Job from men and from demons, guarded by God’s mighty armies of angels so that he was unable to be hurt by the evils of the seen or unseen world. Satan’s frustration with Job’s holiness is that God has created such a hedge around him that the devil himself could find no chink in the wall, no way in, no way to do him harm apart from God’s explicit permission, and thus makes the accusation that this must be reason number one that Job fears God. Satan assumes that all men must at some level be like him.

The verse continues “and his house” - it’s important to understand that he isn’t speaking of the building in which Job resides but rather his children, his family, his wife - Job’s house has too been protected by this hedge of the Lord. We know of no lost or sick children, his wife remains with him, and they have, as we spoke about last week, have been successful and fruitful children, at the very least, in worldly gain. Job’s family has not been overcome by evil insofar as we can tell, nor have his children risen up against him.

Verse 10 goes on “and all that he has, on every side” - He moves on to Job’s material possessions. His sheep, his cattle, his servants, his land, his crops. To this point God has also protected Job’s provisions. Every single thing that falls under Job’s ownership has been sovereignly protected by the hand of the Lord, both for Job’s good and as a reward for his faithfulness.

The verse ends with “You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Now this doesn’t merely include the work which job had actually accomplished with his two mortal hands, but his servants and all those in his employ. God has blessed Job abundantly, and surely, the devil speculates, that because of God’s unbelievable blessings, that this must be why Job fears the Lord and keeps his commandments. Job must love God not because God is who He says He is, but because of the health and wealth God has given Job.

Now…did you catch that? I suspect not. Satan is not accusing Job, in reality. It is God that the devil is accusing. The father of lies is suggesting to his creator that God has manipulated His creation into loving Him through giving them health and wealth and prosperity. The audacity! To accuse the mighty God and your own maker of being a deceptive, manipulative fraud who coerces His beloved people into loving Him through other created means, is blasphemy of the highest order.

But…what do we expect from the fallen one?

Verse 11 - “Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” - Note here that Satan speaks as one with no reverence. As if he is commanding God to do something. He doesn’t speak as is expected of one before the Lord, addressing him as “My Lord or My God” but rather “you” and “your servant”. Satan makes his demands here, and his predicted outcome (which by the time we finish Job you’ll see that the devil also does not know the future, and is unable to rightly predict things to come), and he now awaits God’s reply.

Satan has essentially placed a bet on Job. He insinuates that should God obey Satan’s demands (ha!) and hurt Job, that Job would break out against God, murmuring at and complaining of his providence, despising his wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and sovereignty, and that he will ultimately apostatize from the faith altogether. Does anyone else find it rather amusing that this fallen created being, the devil, speaks to God as though he knows better? His arrogance truly is astounding.

Now listen carefully to the way God responds in verse 12. “The Lord said to Satan ‘Behold, all the has has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord” At first blush it may seem like God has submitted to the demands of Satan.

But if you look closer, it is not so. Satan’s demand was that GOD strike down Job and all that he has. And God pulls an uno reverse card on him and instead commands that it is Satan who shall stretch out his hand against Job. And furthermore, God has also set very specific limits on what the devil will be permitted in doing. He is permitted to touch all that falls under Job’s possessions, but he is not permitted to take his life. Job is not the one who holds his life, but rather God does. God alone holds the keys to life and death. Satan’s power here is limited to Jobs family and estate.

God’s sovereignty here is on full display. So often I have seen this idea that somehow God and Satan are two opposite but equal adversaries dueling it out in the cosmic battlefield, fighting over the world and it’s inhabitants. Team Jesus vs Team Satan. But that is the most absurd and ridiculous fantasy.

Satan’s power, rather his entire existence, is entirely under the will and power of God and His divine desires. He can do no more that God permits, and in fact, all he does do has been ultimately decreed by God since before the very foundations of the world and no wicked deed done by him, nor by man, is random and purposeless but rather permitted to the ultimate good of God’s people and the glory of the father. And every evil thought word of action every committed will be dealt with.

There’s a lot here in this short passage of scripture for us to think about. But here are some of the important things I want you to take away from this.

First, there is a seen and an unseen realm. The created world is not all that there is, and the universe is not just “stuff”. There is far more going on around us than we can possibly comprehend and you, Christian, need to be aware of that.

Second, there is a devil. Satan and his minions are very real, very powerful, and their desire is to do everything in their power to strip you from God and all that He has for you. Remember Ephesians 6:12 which says “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.” Church we are at war, there is a cosmic war going on and you must be equipped to fight it.

Third, and finally, have hope. For although we are at war, it is your God who is on your side. Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Every step your enemy takes is one that God alone permits. Make no mistake, you can certainly be hurt, fall, stumble, and fail. But the God who saved your will keep you and He shall not fall. You are in His hands. Stay strong, stay faithful.

Let’s pray.