I started reading the book of Job this morning. Admittedly, it’s a tough read. The grief and loss Job experiences in the opening chapters staggers the imagination, and I doubt any of us read it without wondering, “How would I react?” We learn some very key things about the Adversary in these chapters, however.
1. Satan is not omnipresent. Job 1:7 says he had come from walking back and forth on the earth. Regardless of how he may pass himself off, he is a finite created being. Only God is infinite.
2. Satan is the accuser and slanderer. (1:9, 2:4-5) He attacks Job’s motives, Job’s character and his integrity, yet, all his claims were false. He was flat wrong about Job. Everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie. Everything. God is truth.
2. Satan knows us by name. When God pointed Job out, Satan knew him (1:9-10), and what kind of life he had. God knows us before we are even born.
3. Satan does not know the future (1:11). He assumes how we will react based on his own preconceptions. Unfortunately, he is right many times. This gives the impression that he knows more than he does. Only God knows the future.
4. Satan can only operate within the boundaries God sets for him. (1:12, 2:6) Any time God allows Satan some latitude, it’s for a greater purpose that God has.
5. Satan cannot read our minds or our hearts. He has a lot of experience with humans, and that makes him a good guesser. God knows. In 2:3 God says that Job holds to his integrity. That means Job’s actions match his heart. Only God could know that.
Satan would love for us to believe he has more power and authority than he does. It’s all an illusion. The book of Job testifies to the uniqueness of God. He is so different, so set apart from anything else He created. That’s the conclusion Job reaches. Only God is God.
Jamie Miles says
Thanks for that — esp. part about Satan. That he does not know the future and is only acting on how we have been shown vunerable in past. Also that he does not read our thoughts. You are right, he certainly knows our names. But thanks for reminding me that our God has the upper hand in a big way.