Job 1: 12
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.”
I promised you last week that I would attempt to make sense out of Job’s misfortune. How could God allow His man to be exposed to such devastation? What does this mean for us?
The story of Job is really the story of the human condition. Job represents us all. There are two sides of this coin, as I hope you saw last week. First, when Satan gained authority through Adam and Eve’s failings, it exposed us all to his machinations. However, the other side of the coin is that God gave us authority in the earth (Psalm 115) and the power to deal with Satan’s tricks and ploys. So, where did Job go awry?
The answer is found early in the book of Job. Job 1: 5 paints a picture. Jobs children would gather and feast on each other’s birthdays. Job, though, went to the tabernacle and offered sacrifices. That sounds good until you learn that Job gave sin offerings, and not because his children had sinned but rather because he feared they may have “sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Observe, the offerings were not made because of anything the heirs did, but rather because of Job’s fear. Job feared they may have sinned, so he made sin offerings for each of them. You know the next part of the story: that the children all died and Job lost most of his servants and livestock as well.
When I prayed about this series of events recently, I knew my understanding was incomplete. How do we explain or answer God giving Satan permission to “test” Job? Interestingly, most Bibles translate those words differently. I only found one version that puts forward the idea that God allowed Satan to test Job. All the others read as above, that God gave Satan permission to affect Job’s belongings.
Why, you might ask, would Yahweh allow Satan any power over Job, his children or his property? This is where we need understanding. When you read the first chapter of Job, it sounds like God and Satan are playing games with Job as the pawn, and that is distasteful. Furthermore, that is not in keeping with the Father I know. Therefore, I questioned Him on it because I knew there had to be more to it.
As I dug deeper and talked with Yahweh about it, I realized that God didn’t give Satan exclusive rights to Job’s life and belongings. Who else had authority over Job’s children and possessions? Job did. God didn’t give Satan authority. Satan only gained access. Job had the power and authority to cut off that access at any time.
This is the exact situation we find ourselves in. The original sin allowed Satan a foothold in the earth. That never meant that he had unfettered power. Furthermore, as you look at Satan’s power and the names he is called by, you understand that his only power is trickery. Isn’t that what he used in the Garden of Eden? He is a liar and the Father of lies. He is a tempter and accuser. The way Satan messes with us is to trick us, getting us to do something stupid or negligent.
This is where God showed me that if you need an answer to verse 12, you must go back to verse 5 where we find Job offering sin sacrifices. Job had power and authority in this earth and certainly over his legacy and possessions. What happened here is that not only did Job not protect what was his, but rather even gave into Satan’s whispers. Fear never comes from heaven, never, so, from where does it come? You got it in one. It is a weapon of the devil.
Job should have been at the temple giving thanksgiving offerings and praise offerings. He should have been glorifying God for all his children and his wealth. In Job 22, verse 28 is a powerful statement, “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you.” This shows the power we have. Job should have been declaring how righteous his children were. His mouth should have poured out praise for all the blessing God had poured out on him. Instead, he gave way to fear. Not only did he have fear in his heart, but I am sure it came out of his mouth “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart,” (Matthew 12: 34). What’s worse, though, is that Job acted on it. In his heart he feared his children may have sinned. Then he probably wrung his hands and told his wife or friends of his fear. He probably complained to God. As if that wasn’t enough, he went to the temple and made sin offerings. He actually acted on his fear.
So, what, exactly did Satan do? He didn’t have to do anything. Job did this to himself. He even said,“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me,” (Job 3: 25). You see, Job had the answer in his hands all along.
This, then, is the final point I wish to make. Whatever you put your mind on is what you draw to yourself; it is what you will attract. If you let fearful thoughts run around in your mind, then you are going to attract the very thing you fear. If you think uplifting thoughts, guess what, you are going to feel uplifted.
Here is a key for you though, and this is important! You cannot battle fear with fear. What do I mean by that? Maybe there is something in your life which does cause you heart palpitations. You can run around all day long saying, “I will not fear, I will not fear” but you will not have much success. Fear is always overcome by faith. May I say that again? Fear is ALWAYS overcome by faith. You may say, but I don’t feel very full of faith. I just feel fear. I get that, and I can help you. So, let’s use Job as an example.
Job was worried about his adult kids; he was fearful about what they were up to and even the thoughts they had. His language would have mirrored that. So, instead of saying, “Oh God, I am so worried about my kids. Maybe they have sinned. Maybe they have cursed you in their hearts,” let’s have Job say, “Yahweh, my Lord and protector. You have been good to me. You surround me day and night with your goodness and blessing. You have given me many children. I praise you and thank you. Keep them, O Lord, in your love and protection. Wrap them in your cloak of safety. Bless the work of their hands.” You can go on and on, but you get the idea. In this way, Job would have given glory and praise to God and put his children in God’s hands. Instead, Job resorted to works. He tried to protect them by what he could do instead of what God could do. He tried to protect them with his hands, instead of the hand of God. So, as harsh as it is, the reality is that Job was the author of this calamity, which he finally came to realize in the end.
Now for the good news, no matter how badly we blow it, God is standing there waiting. He has His hands of goodness full and ready to pour out. As soon as we see the light and invite Him to be God, He sails in and mends and heals. If you read the end of the book, you will find that everything Job lost was restored.
I hope this has been a blessing to you and that you will see Job’s plight differently now. I hope you see that God has prepared a way for you to be blessed and protected.
