Question:
Answer:
The book of Job is the one book in the Bible that pulls back the curtain on what happens in the spiritual realm. As humans, we cannot see God, the angels or the demons, who are all invisible to us. So we have no idea what happens between them, but the book of Job gives us a little glimpse of the interaction between God and the devil.
When Lucifer rebelled against God, and decided that he wanted to be worshipped in place of God, he started his campaign by telling lies about God. We can see this by how he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden. First he suggested that God was withholding something from them, by forbidding them to eat of the one tree, ignoring the fact that God had given them thousands of fruit and nut trees for food. And then he basically called God a liar, when he told her that they would not die if they ate the fruit. He also said that God was withholding extra powers from them, to understand good and evil, and that they would become like God, if they ate the fruit. He carefully ignored the fact that they had originally been created in the image of God, so they were like God already! God allowed Satan to live after all the accusations against His character, so that time would show what the devil’s way would bring, and that the lies against the character of God would be shown to be false.
In the book of Job, Satan arrives at a heavenly board meeting, representing Earth, implying that he was in total control there. When God mentioned His servant Job, who was faithful to Him and wanted nothing to do with the devil’s way, Satan again made a false accusation, saying that Job only worshipped God for what he could get out of the relationship. If God took away his possessions, the devil claimed, Job would turn against God. The accusation was not against Job, but against God, saying that God was buying Job’s loyalty by giving him wealth and protecting him against harm. So God gave Satan the go-ahead to take everything from Job, but to spare his life. This would show whether Job was serving God in whatever circumstances he was, good or bad, or whether it was true that God was just buying Job’s loyalty.
Throughout the next few months, during which Job lost everything that was dear to him – ten children, all his wealth, his position in society, his health, as well as the support of his wife – Job nonetheless stayed faithful to God. His friends all accused him of doing something wrong, which caused all his problems, but he denied any wrongdoing, and stayed in his relationship with God. He did complain, asking God what the reasons were for his problems, but he never wavered in his faith in God. His total trust in God is given in the following text.
Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
In the end, God was proven to be right about Job, and the devil wrong. God was willing for Job to clear the accusation against Him, by his behaviour throughout this terrible time, and his continued trust in Him. And Job did not disappoint God, but stayed faithful, in spite of not understanding the reason for his many problems.
We too, in our behaviour and our relationships with God, must show what we believe God’s character is like. Can we, like Job, make it through times when it seems as if God has totally deserted us? Our actions can show the universe that we believe that God is just, fair and trustworthy, and that the devil’s accusations are all lies, which one day will be proven to be completely false. God trusts us to clear his character, while most of the world has swallowed the devil’s lies, and believe a false picture of God. Are we up to that trust?
I hope that this makes sense to you. God bless as you study it!
