“THE SERPENT WAS MORE CRAFTY” Job 1:6–12

Introduction: Reminder of the presence of sin from previous sermon (the need for sacrifices, Job 1:5). Our world is different than the innocent world in which Adam and Eve emerged.

Our world is filled with sin and suffering. And, as we discussed in our first sermon, our world is bigger than we may think of on a daily basis. We are spiritually embodied beings that inhabit a physical world.

We have souls that will never die, which makes us unique among all the creation of God. For there are spiritual beings, angels and demons, that we will begin to talk about today. And although they appear to us in visible form and inhabit physical bodies, their primary abode, if you will, is spiritual.

All the life we see, both plant and animal, inhabit physical bodies in a physical universe. We, as physically-embodied beings, walk on ground, sit in seats, drink water, eat food, and lie down in beds.

The sweet picture of peace and prosperity in 1:1–5 is about to change drastically. Unknown to Job, though, a series of events transpire in the realm of God’s throne room, and God allows us through the inspired Scripture to get a peak into this throne room, giving us a “behind the scenes tour” of the spiritual world.

In receiving this glimpse, it is not the astounding agreement between Satan and God that stands out. To many, that is the focus. However, as we reflect upon sacred Scripture, this passage should solidify in our minds the absolute sovereignty and goodness of God.

It should cement God’s absolute control over creation, all creation. It should also reorient our understanding of God’s goodness and His glory.

The Devil is crafty under the sovereign hand of God for our good and His glory

I. THE SONS OF GOD AND THE ANGELIC REALM- 1:6

The phrase “the sons of God” is used in Scripture in six places. In five of those six places it is referring to angels, sometimes good and sometimes evil (a point we will consider momentarily.

The writer of Job simply enters into this scene with little explanation. It is presented matter-of-factly, which throws us off our balance, especially considering the normal and earthliness of 1:1–5.

We have a glimpse into the Divine, or Heavenly, Council. That is, into the throne room of God where He, as Creator, works with His creation.

A. The Divine (Heavenly) Council

We see this in Genesis 1:26 at the creation of man. No doubt the Trinity is at work, but this does not mean that angels would not be present for the creation of man (cf. Job 38:1–7).

There are a couple of passages in the Psalms that present this idea of a divine council (Psalm 82:1, 6 and 89:6, 7).

These angels enter the presence of God, “to present themselves.” They were reporting to their Master, not because He needed to know something He did not, nor to evaluate matters that were outside of His scope.

They worked with God to accomplish His sovereign will. We see angelic activity all throughout the Bible, especially at the birth of the Lord Jesus.

However, an interesting note is added: “and Satan also came among them,” in other words, there is the presence of evil in the Divine Council.

B. The Presence of Evil

Habakkuk 1:13 “13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”

Habakkuk 1:13 and 1 John 1:5–10 both speak about fellowship, not governance. The Almighty God is not fellowship with Satan, but is sovereignly ruling over Him. Martin Luther has famously said He is “God’s devil.”

You will notice that God initiates the conversation with the Devil, not the other way around. Just as the righteous angels serve a purpose, so too the evil spirits and demons do as well.

Just to mention one example, God allowed the evil spirits to oppress and harm Jewish people during the life of Jesus so that His almighty power would be put on full display.

This thought provides us with a nice segue into our next consideration this morning, the Supremacy of God over good and evil.

II. THE SUPREMACY OF GOD OVER GOOD AND EVIL- 1:6–12

We will address Job’s role in all of this in a moment. For now, notice that Satan, when asks, obeys God. When God allows Satan the opportunity to destroy Job’s physical blessings, Satan does just that and no more. God is in complete control of the situation.

At times, we can get the impression that, because Scripture depicts our existence within a realm at war, spiritually speaking, that it is like any other war in which there are two sides fighting with similar strengths.

If God were taken out of the equation, that would still not be true, for the Devil is the most powerful being in Scripture (Jude 9 “9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.””).

However, it is a spiritual war with God, and since God is Almighty, not even the Devil stands a chance against Him. In fact, the Devil must receive God’s permission to do anything. Just as every earthly king’s breath, and for that matter every human being’s, is in God’s hands, so too is the Devil’s existence.

The sons of God and the angelic realm and God’s supremacy over both brings us to the man, the character and importance of Job.

“But YHWH gives permission for an ordeal to proceed in which Job will be given every earthly reason to give up on God.” Eric Ortlund, Piercing Leviathan: God’s Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job, 17

“The Satan is not bullying God, nor is he offering him a casual wager, as though Job’s sufferings were just to see who wins a bet in Heaven. No, the Satan, for all his malice, is doing something necessary to the glory of God. In some deep way it is necessary for it to be publicly seen by the whole universe that God is worthy of the worship of man and that God’s worth is in no way dependent on God’s gifts.” Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, 44

“And yet Satan is so held and governed by the Almighty that he can only strike where permission is given. Evil, as represented by him, us under the control of Divine wisdom and goodness. He is the vassal of the Almighty.” Robert Watson, “Job,” 702

III. THE CHARACTER AND IMPORTANCE OF JOB- 1:8, 12

God draws Satan’s attention to Job. God issues the challenge to Satan, not the other way around.

We must not fail to appreciate Job’s righteous character.

First, God calls Job “my servant.” This phrase is used to describe some remarkable men in Scripture: Abraham, Moses, Caleb, David, and the nation of Israel. Most remarkably, Isaiah uses it to describe Christ. That is pretty good company! By the way, keep this Christ-connection in mind throughout our study.

Furthermore, God expands on Job’s character. God plainly tells Satan, “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Satan’s only thought, being a creature so turned in toward sin and self, that the only reason Job serves God is because of the blessings. Eric Ortlund describes it well.

Satan’s accusations against Job were, “Job loves the gifts but hates the Giver. Take away Job’s only motive for being in the relationship, the Accuser implies, and his real feelings about God will surface and he will irrevocably break his relationship with God.” Eric Ortlund, Piercing Leviathan: God’s Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job, 14

And God in His sovereign wisdom and goodness says, “All that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” Take everything from him away, but leave Job alone, and you will see that Job serves God for God.

Without going into detail, Paul endures a similar (albeit different) experience in 2 Cor. chapter 12. Speaking of that, and connected with our consideration of Job, John Piper writes,

“The wisdom of God appears more fully, and his superiority over Satan in every way, not just in sheer power, shines more brightly in the manifold ways he brings Satan to ruin…It must infuriate Satan that God’s ways are so pure and brilliant that Satan not only fails to obstruct them but unwittingly serves them….If that makes Satan look like a fool, it should.” John Piper, Providence, 280–281

Satan is partially right—Job is serving God for blessings. But Satan is completely wrong, because Satan assumes Job’s understanding of blessings are tied solely to physical blessings.

Job is serving God for the blessing of God Himself. Job’s response, which we will unpack at another time, is evidence of this.

“Clearly, Job’s love and loyalty to God are in now way tied to ancillary blessings: every secondary blessing from God remains secondary for Job, pure gift and subordinate to God himself.” Eric Ortlund, Piercing Leviathan: God’s Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job, 18

In other words, Job’s heart matches Asaph’s in Psalm 73:25 “25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

So, the Serpent was more crafty and tried to divide Job from God. It’s all a show, the devil says. But in this account, we learn much about the “behind the scenes” events driving the unseen world and engaging in our own.

How do we apply these things?

Application

There are many events going on outside our knowledge—we need to trust God.

“The glory of God is more important than your or my comfort.” Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, 37

God uses all things for His glory and our (and others’) good- Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 1:3)

God is the good (cf. Psalm 73:25)