The Truth about Job

      Many Christians miss interrupt the book of Job. God does not take back his blessings or turn us over to Satan without cause. That unjustified act would make God just as evil as Satan. Yet, that is exactly what many Christians believe God did to Job. To refute that false belief, let's review what God really did in the first chapter of Job. Unfortunately, this verse in Job 1:9 is mistakenly interrupted by most people as permission granted to Satan, by God, to steal Job's "stuff". Yet, in this verse, all God is really doing is correcting Satan's lie. God simply states the facts as they already exist, and reiterates to Satan that he is not to touch Job's "person". God said, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon him put not your hand". The verb "is" denotes a "state of being" which already exists in the present tense. In other words, God is simply correcting Satan's lie by saying, "Satan, his "stuff" is already in your power. In Job 1:3, the author had said that Job’s substance was large enough to make him the greatest man in the East but what the author didn't say was just as important. The author did not say that Job's vast wealth was a blessing from God. Satan was the one who said that in Job 1:10. However, we cannot take Satan's words to be factual. Why? Because Satan is a liar and the father of lies. There is not a single quote from Satan, in the entire bible, where he did not twist the truth into a lie! He lied to Eve. He lied three times to Jesus, in the desert. He also lied to God about Job's situation here. In John 8:44, Jesus says there is no truth in Satan. He says Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Plainly put, Jesus said that Satan is incapable of telling the truth. Why, then, should we believe anything that Satan has to say in the the book of Job? We shouldn't, yet many Christians allow his words being spoken here to distort a deeper understanding of the Book of Job.

      In the first chapter of Job, not only was God correcting Satan's lies, but God was also initiating a much bigger plan and using Satan as his "fall guy". You see, God knew that these so called blessings, which were in Satan's power already, were not really blessings at all. Instead, they were from Satan's own tool box and being used to deceive Job into thinking he had a relationship with God when he really didn't. They were the stolen resources of this world used by Satan to manipulate and apease Job into distancing himself from the most important relationship he would ever have. This stunt is no different than the stunt Satan pulls on many Christians today. It's a stunt designed to provide us with good "stuff" but at the same time its the wrong "stuff" in our lives which keeps us separated from God instead of bringing us closer to him. You better believe that Satan knows how to reward Christians with the stolen resources of this world under his power to separate us from God.

    Remember, pilgrim, the entire world is under sway of the evil one and he can sway the resources of this world toward or away from anyone he choses. (1 John 5:19) He was willing to sway the entire world in the direction of Jesus if he had just bowed down and worshiped him. (Mat. 4:8-9) Job's counterfeit blessings were actually preventing Job from receiving the true blessings which God had for him. Now, that's quite a "statement of fact" and one which many Christians miss. Again, I say that God was simply setting the record straight with Satan, by reminding Satan of the fact that everything Job had was under Satan's control already. Job's wealth and even his children were in Satan's grasp. Job, however, was deceived. He believed that every time he did something good, he would receive a blessing from God. He even falsely believed that his good works could cover the sins of his children. (Job 1:5) Job had a "give to get" relationship with God, just like many Christian have today. When God allowed Satan to take away from Job, that, which had been keeping him from growing closer to God, it felt awful. This happened to me and it was a very painful experience. I am sure it has felt the same for many other Christians as well. God knew that Job's acquired wealth and even his godless children were a hindrance, and not a blessing. When Satan removed these hindrances, he was actually doing Job and God a big favor. Though painful, this emptied Job's hands allowing him no place to go, except to God or die. Though it took a while, Job's eyes would finally be opened to the truth. Unfortunately, many Christian's eyes remain closed, not realizing that they are closer than ever to a grand breakthrough. They become bitter or worse, chose to die. That's a shame because victory is closer than ever before, if we will only draw nearer to God. (Job 42:4,5)

     Satan used the same type of scheming tactic during the second meeting between he and God. This time it had to do with Job's health. Satan, again tried to trick God into believing that Job's health was in God's hands. God corrected Satan again by saying in Job 2:6 that Job's health was already under Satan's spell. Backing up several verses, God started this second conversation, by calling attention to Job's faithfulness, even after Satan had so vilely destroyed his world. (Job 2:3) Once again, this verse is also widely misunderstood by many Christians. They believe that God is telling Satan that he, Satan, had convinced Him to destroy Job. Here is what I believe is a major reason for misinterpreting what God is saying here. The old English verb "movedst", in the Kings James, or "incited" in the NIV, is routinely taken out of context. This causes many to interpret the last sentence in this verse to mean that God actually was convinced by Satan to destroy Job, for no reason. That's not what this verse is saying. The Hebrew word for "movedst" is "cuwth", which means, "lure, incite, entice or instigate (in a bad sense). Yes, Satan did "entice" God to destroy Job without cause, but that doesn't mean that God did what Satan was enticing Him to do. Obviously, He didn't do what Satan wanted Him to do, because Job was not destroyed. Instead, he wound up in a better position than ever before.

      What the story of Job is actually telling us is this. Instead of Satan using God, God used Satan against himself, to free Job. At the beginning of this story, the deceptions of Satan, through the adding of wealth and the absence of attacks on Job's health were lures from Satan, not blessings from God. These lures keep Job from drawing closer to God. Each time Job made a sacrifice, Satan throw him another bone, making him think his self-righteous good works were actually paying off and buying him favor with God. It was only when God tricked Satan into removing these barriers, that Job's unfailing commitment to God, was able to finally allow him to recognize that God had a much richer relationship in store for him. In short, Job had to be emptied of that which kept him in bondage to Satan's deceptions, before he could receive the true blessings of God. Since I, myself, have traveled down a similar path, I can assure the reader that it is not a pleasant journey. However, it is a journey which can produce enormous benefits. A closer relationship with God, himself, is first on that list of benefits. Job 42:5 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee".              

     His written word confirms everything I am saying here. Yet, I realize that what I am saying here is contrary to what many bible teachers teach. I too, like many other Christians, believed on God for years, but knew very little about him. I, like Job, was caught up, in a self-centered way, of relating to God. I had been born of His Spirit, but I wasn’t knowledgeable enough in His word to begin to understand Him. We humans easily become so intent on chasing the tangible things, of this world, but fail to spend enough time, developing the most important relationship we will ever have. Christians, hear about God from their parents, from a pastor, from an evangelist, in a church meeting, or summer camp, and over the years, begin to think they know God. The fact is, most Christians know very little about the nature of God. Satan is a master at giving Christians enough rope to hang themselves by twisting the truth just a little. Most Christians receive God’s saving grace, but afterward spend very little time learning about who God is. The bible is about him, not us! We, too often, spend our time, on self-improvement programs, centered on improving our position in this world, instead of the world to come. All too often Christians use their self-righteous performance, as a measuring stick, instead of using the perfect pattern of Christ. I know I fell into this trap, and still do, in some areas of my life. In this void, created by ignorance, as we become wrapped up in self-improvement projects, ever learning, but never coming to the realization of the truth, it becomes very easy, just like Job, for us to mistake the stolen enticements, offered to us, by Satan, for the blessings of our Lord. Remember, he enticed Jesus with a gift of the entire world, and he would, no doubt, have given him everything, that he, himself, had stolen, in order to derail his destiny. As a Christian, do you think you would be able to turn down control of the entire world? Don’t lie! Most of us would be justifying acceptance of this Trojan horse, by telling ourselves how much we could do for God, if we controlled the entire world. I used to tell myself this very thing until one day the Holy Spirit ask me the following question. "Really", He asked, "Then why did Jesus turn down that same offer?"

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Wayne Wade