2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
God directs me to continue discussing Satan's character profile as "combat intelligence" that He wants us to have from the Scriptures. It is appropriate at this time of the year when we are remembering the passion of Christ in preparation for Easter that we should look at the book of Job to see what we can learn about Satan's strategy in spiritual warfare. Job is a man of profound faith, who is the subject of a bet between God and Satan. In JOB 1: 8-12, Satan bets God that he can cause Job to lose his faith by leveling pain, suffering, and loss his way. God agrees to let him try with one limitation, Satan may not actually kill Job. While our Lord Jesus Christ is never mentioned in the book of Job, the events of this book point forward to Christ's death and resurrection. Now, let's see what God teaches us about Satan's strategy. It would help a lot if we read JOB 1: 1-2: 10.
JOB 1: 6, "When the day came for the heavenly being to appear before the Lord, Satan was there among them." Looking into REV 12: 7-8 gives us a deeper understanding of the significance of this Job verse. "Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer." You'll remember that the dragon, the devil, or the serpent are other names for this fallen angel, Satan [REV 12: 9]. It is also brought to mind that EPH 6: 12 has told us that "we are not fighting against human beings, but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age."
We also look at JOB 1: 7 to see what Satan had been doing once he and his followers were cast down to earth. "The Lord asked him, 'What have you been doing?' Satan answered, 'I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.'" If we remember that Satan is the "father of lies" [JN 8: 44] and that "he has come down to earth filled with rage, because he knows he has only a little time left" [REV 12: 12], we can see his roaming as that of a lion wanting to devour mankind [1 PET 5: 8]. Satan is full of hate for both God and man. His greatest delight is to blaspheme God and cause pain and suffering for mankind.
Satan's primary target is righteous people like Job. His time to do evil is limited by God, and he knows it. MT 24: 21-22, [referring to the Tribulation] "For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. But God has already reduced the number of days; had He not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of His chosen people, however, God will reduce the days."
Satan knows where we are vulnerable and where we live. That is how he is able to bring us the pain that he does. However, when we go back to Job's example and see the loses and pain Job had to face, we get a view of Satan's methods and strategy. JOB 1: 15, "Suddenly the Sabeans attacked and stole all of Job's donkeys. They killed every one of your servants except me (the one who was carrying the message to Job)." JOB 1: 17, "...Three bands of Chaldean raiders attacked us, took away the camels and killed all your servants except me." With JOB 1: 18-19 came the report of a storm blowing the house of Job's eldest son at which all his children were having a feast, killing them all. JOB 2: 7 tells of Satan bringing Job sores all over his body. Job's friend come to him but don't have any comfort to offer initially. When they finally do talk, they assume that all this evil has befallen Job because Job has sinned, as a punishment from God. In reality, Job never wavered in his faithful obedience to God. His friends simply didn't get it! We must remember that Satan was deceiving himself all along that Job only served God because it profited him. The reality is that God built a hedge of protection around Job and was allowing Job's faithful response to all this pain and loss to be a lesson for us and motivation for us to remain obedient, trusting, and faithful to Him. God never stopped loving Job, even when Job complained to Him. But it was important that Job confessed his weaknesses, just as it is for us to confess ours today. We know that in the end, Job's health, wealth, and good life were eventually restored to him [JOB 42: 12]. Compare this to the protection God offered His Son, Jesus Christ, in raising Him from death to life [LK 24: 51; JN 3: 16] and to us in telling us that "Christ is the first among many brothers" in RO 8: 29.
Dear Ones, Satan is a loser. While it is true that 1 PET 5: 8 describes him as "like a lion roaming about looking for someone to devour," it is preceded by 1 PET 5: 7. "Leave all your worries with Him [Christ], because He cares for you." Is this a reason to be alert? Of course. Is this a reason not to lose sight of God's supremacy and sovereignty while enduring pain, suffering, and loss? Of course, it is. Is this a reason to fear Satan? I think not!
PRAYER: O Lord, You allow Satan to exact his evil, but only for a time. When we question why You allow this, You lead us to understanding that everything that is negative that happened to the people in the Bible and that happens to us today is to teach us Your ways. You never allow Satan to operate without righteous limits that You impose on him. The story of Job is a great example of that. Your ultimate justice and compassion is seen in the story of Christ's passion and His resurrection. You reassure us constantly that when we endure in our faith, You will see to our protection and eventual reward. You gave the Psalmist these words in PS 97: 1-6 to keep us in touch with Your attributes and the big picture of Your plan of salvation. "The Lord is King! Earth, be glad! Rejoice, you islands of the seas! Clouds and darkness surround Him; He rules with righteousness and justice. Fire goes in front of Him and burns up His enemies around him. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees it and trembles. The hills melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all the nations see His glory." Through the Holy Spirit, You ask us to claim this verse today: PS 46: 1, "God is our Refuge and our Strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." Our suffering is never in vain when we are obedient and faithful to You throughout it, as Job was. Help us to have the strength, endurance, and courage of faith to do this and never lose sight of Your long term purpose for us. We confess our sins before You today in humility and offer You our eternal adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving for being Who You are in our lives. In Christ's name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to go on writing about how Satan's target is righteous people. We will get more illumination from the Scriptures about how Job's response and God's sovereignty impact the devil in his attempts to do evil. It is true that I end each of these messages with something to say about God's love for each of us. Amidst all the pain, suffering, and loss that we experience, it is critical that we never forget about that. God never does evil, but He does allow a limited amount of it to be done by Satan and his followers to teach us lessons we need to have. His purpose is to bring as many people as possible to life in Christ and eternal life at that. How clever of God that He finds a way to use Satan's malevolence and meanness as a teaching tool for us! And even more, how loving of God that He enables His Son to provide a way for salvation to us and to wrest dominion over the earth from Satan's evil hands, so His Kingdom can be established. Our God is both just and awesome! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn