A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
Job 2:1-13: "On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him. 2And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' Satan answered the Lord, 'From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.' 3Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And still he maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.' 4'Skin for skin!' Satan replied. 'A man will give all he has for his own life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.' 6The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.' 7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' 10He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. 11When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was."
This amazing drama, with scenes both in heaven and on earth, helps us make sense of some of life's most troubling questions.
On earth, we see the prosperous home of a godly man named Job. As the story unfolds, various disasters turn his life into pure misery. Behind the scenes, we glimpse God's throne room and a confrontation over Job's life between the two principal figures in history. The first is God the Creator, who governs the world with his Word and is fully committed to us. The second is Satan, a creature who has rebelled against God and now appears as Job's accuser and tormentor. In his misery, Job (representing humanity) has a choice: to keep living in relationship with God, loving Him no matter what the circumstances, or to turn from Him in search of an easier path. As Satan attempts to lead Job away from God, the pressure grows intense. The battle is real.
In gut-wrenching conflict, our choice to love God simply for who He is, is very significant. We are allowed to see behind the scenes of Job's suffering in Job 1-2, a privilege Job himself does not have. But despite his lack of understanding and Satan's cruelest efforts, Job remains faithful, and God brings good out of evil.*
Food for thought: What was the key to Job's ongoing faithfulness in difficult circumstances? Ask God to strengthen you in this area.
Dig Deeper:
Zechariah 3:1-7: "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?' 3Now joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.' 5Then I said, 'Put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. 6The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: '7This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.' ' "
Romans 8:28-39: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestines, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. 31What, then, shall we say in respinse to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any6 charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Revelation 12:7-12: "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.' "
*Sherman, Dean. Spiritual Warfare for Every Christian: How to Live in Victory and Retake the Land: YWAM Publishing, 1990.
