King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, January 05, 2024
Chapters: Job 1-3
Message: Job: God Allows Satan to Afflict Job
Hello My Friend,
Now, that my mom is doing much better one of my goals this year is to get back into a church where I can be apart of the church. While it is a great blessing to have live streaming services for those housebound, there is something about being in a church service, serving, and interacting with like minded brothers and sisters in Christ that stirs the spirit. We as a family made plans to go to a church that we were familiar with and Satan did everything in his power to keep us from leaving on time and even going, but we pressed forward and did not let him defeat us. Let me tell you, the closer we get to Jesus returning the more Satan is going to attempt to get God’s faithful to go against Him, but God is always one step ahead of him.
[1 Peter 5:8-10 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.]
To show that God had not given up on the world completely and that there were Gentiles who worshiped God, we take a pause from the reading of Genesis to learn about Job. The Book of Job is the eighteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and the oldest book, it contains forty-two chapters, and was written to all believers. The timeline is around the time of the Abrahamic Covenant, and the events recorded cover a period of about one year. The writer is unknown, but is likely Job and was written around 1520 BC. The purpose of the book is to explain the reasons behind the righteous suffering. What we are to learn from the book is that God has a purpose behind all suffering that we are faced with, and knows the way that we take, [But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. – Job 23:10]
Job, was well aware of God, feared and worshiped him, and taught his wife and children to do so as well. This was a time when there was truly a distinction between the children of men and children of God. Those who followed God did so wholeheartedly and while they had no written word to guide them, they lived their lives by faith and integrity and God took note to it.
[Job 1:1-2,4-5 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.]
To fear God means to love, honor and respect Him like we are to be with our own fathers. To eschew means to shun or avoid evil. Job, may not have had the written word to guide him, but he did his best to not only keep himself from evil, but his family as well. This is all we can do, even if we do have His written word to guide us, the Holy Spirit inside us will show us what to do, [Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]
Since Job was a Gentile yet is pronounced upright, this declares that among the heathen God gave all the opportunity to come to Him. We need to understand that Job was not perfect in the sense that he never sinned, but as long as he was faithful to God and repentant he was perfect in the eyes of God, which God goes on to describe him as when Satan of all people showed up at the gate of heaven to talk to God.
[Job 1:6-9 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?]
People often wonder why the devil is allowed to go up to heaven, but heaven has three levels, this was not the third heaven in which God and the angels resided, it was likely the gate of the second level known as paradise, because Satan, who was an angel at one time, was cast out of when he attempted to overthrow God, [Isaiah 14:12-14 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.]
It is another wonder in itself as to why God does not just deal with Satan and cast him into hell already, but think about it, we as a human race are capable of being just as wicked as Satan is without his influence. However, this passage may help us understand a little better, [Romans 9:21-23 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
God, often uses Satan to send judgment on the wicked, but He also uses him to prove His people, not in the sense that He does not know their heart, but to prove to Satan that His faithful cannot be moved. Job, was greatly blessed with wealth and prosperity, Satan, was certain that if he lost everything he had that he would curse God so comes out and says the only reason why Job is faithful to Him is because of his wealth.
[Job 1:10-12 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.]
Satan, is the epitome of pride and envy between God and man, and cannot stand that God goes through such great lengths to defend them. In other words, God allowed him to take away everything he had, but did not allow him to touch him. Here is the thing about Satan, you know the saying, “Give them an inch and they take a mile.”, this is what Satan does, he goes completely overboard and in this case, literally destroyed everything that he had in one day.
[Job 1:14-16 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.]
Do you see how Satan made it look like it came from God by sending fire down from the heavens? While God can definitely bring fire down from heaven, this is actually made to look like God was to blame. Satan, is like that with all of us, if he can get us to doubt God by thinking that something wicked came from Him, then he has done his job. And just in case taking away his substance did not do the trick, he took things further by taking away his children as well, all ten of them were killed in one night.
[Job 1:18-19 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.]
Now, I do not know about you, but if this were me I would literally be on my knees begging God for forgiveness. There is something about the faithful Christian whenever they go through what I call Job moments that gives the opposite affect of what the world and Satan expect, it draws them closer to God rather than further away. This is how Job reacted.
[Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.]
It is easy to blame God for bad things that happen to us, especially when we realize that He allows Satan to afflict us, and this is where a lot of people do walk away from God. However, true and faithful believers come to understand that we bring nothing into this world when we are born and certainly take nothing out of it when we die. These were all natural evils that Job was afflicted with, but Satan’s evil plot to take away everything that Job owned did not cause him to curse God. Satan, meets up with God a second time.
[Job 2:1-5 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.]
God, was not saying that He was against Job, the word move in this case means, [To excite tenderness, pity or grief in the heart; to affect; to touch pathetically; to excite feeling in.] God, was referring to his using the natural forces of nature against him not to destroy him, rather his happiness for no reason. God, is the giver and taker of life, but Satan will always be the destroyer, but he can only destroy what God allows. God, did allow Satan to afflict Job’s health, but not kill him.
[Job 2:6-10 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.]
We know that everything that we go through has a reason and purpose, but sometimes it is a little too hard to swallow and this is where the true test comes. Job’s wife was not heartless, she was in pain, grieving and mourning the loss of her children, and everything they possessed. From the sound of it, this was not her talking either, Satan was in her head. Job, reminded her that we cannot only trust God when things are good, we must trust Him at all times. We are not promised a life that has no more pain after we are saved, but we are promised that there will come a day when we will never be in pain ever again, [Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]
We do not like affliction, but it is affliction that actually keeps us perfect and upright. And you can always tell who your true friends are when you are being afflicted without cause. If you think that Satan was done, he was not, if he could not get Job to curse God, he was going to put words in his friends heads.
[Job 2:11-13 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.]
Job, just laid there for a week in silence, some of his friends sitting there with him in mourning for him. Did you ever watch someone deteriorate as they start to give up on life? Their appearance goes downhill rather quickly. I believe they thought that he was about to die, but at this point the best thing they did was keep quiet and try to comfort him, which is sometimes the best option, [2 Corinthians 2:2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?]
The worse thing about our being in pain and not being able to do anything about it is that it takes a toll on our spirit, all of these doubts and fears, not to mention questions as to why it is happening comes to mind. This is what Job and actually his friends were doing for a week, then all of a sudden Job speaks out in grief.
[Job 3:1-4,23-26 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2 And Job spake, and said, 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.]
While Job did not curse God, he did curse the day that he was born. I had a boil once under my arm it was one of the most painful things I had ever experienced so I could imagine how Job felt having his entire body covered in them. ob, did not know what was going on, but he did know that there was a much better place than he was at right now, one that will not bring any evil. That is all we can ever hope for, []
Satan, may not know what is in our heart, but he definitely knows our fears, in fact, he knows exactly what our weaknesses and vulnerabilities are as well. This is why so many Christians are actually bound by Satan. You see, he is not after the reprobates, he is not even after the ones who get saved, and continue living their lives without Christ, he is after God’s perfect and upright for they have the power to stop him in his tracks, [2 Corinthians 12:7-9 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Those of us who acknowledge that You are God, who are perfect and upright through our faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, know that everything is in Your hands. We are blessed with something much more than wealth upon our faith, we are given eternal life for our soul. Now, we know that Satan has no power over our soul, and can only afflict us with Your permission. Lord, Lead us and guide us, glorify us, fill us with Your power, mercy, and grace to endure every bit of evil that Satan afflicts us with. Let us not question why, rather trust that everything is under Your control, and that You will bless us through the suffering. Give us Your help to endure and when we are afraid, be our courage to keep going. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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