OUT TO GET THE JUDGE
Satan answered the Lord, "Has not Job good reason to be God-fearing? Have you not hedged him round on every side with your protection?"
The encounter between God and Satan in the book of Job has all the essential features of the final judgement. There is conflict between two great protagonists in the universe-wide conflict. On the surface it appears their conflict is over Job. God has said that Job is a good man; Satan has countered with another opinion.
However, the conflict has a much deeper dimension. We begin to realize that Satan cares hardly at all what becomes of Job; his real target is God Himself! And Satan has in his countercharge a twofold attack against Him. First, he implies that God really doesn't know what He is talking about. God has placed His confidence in Job as a worthy example of His restorative power, certain Job will remain loyal to Him. But Satan asserts that if God really knew hearts, He would find how fickle Job is, given a change of his pleasant circumstances.
In his second charge Satan is essentially asserting that no one would place his faith in God wholly on the basis of who God is. He claims that we humans are selfish through and through, and that the only way God could ever draw us to Himself would be to appeal to that selfishness. Job, he claims, is an example of purchased loyalty, not of faith. Faith that is rooted entirely in an appreciation of God simply doesn't exist, Satan claims, because God just isn't worthy of such confidence.
What would happen if Job were to crumble under the test? What would the universe think of God? About His ability to know the hearts and motives of His creatures? About whether anyone really will worship God for God's sake alone? The judgment here is not primarily focused on Job. From Satan's point of view, what's one puny human, more or less! He is out to get the Judge!
It's exciting to see how God handles the charges. He could have said, "You've got no right questioning My opinions. After all, I am God!" But He didn't. Without any defensiveness He simply said, "Let's let the matter be decided on the basis of evidence. Go ahead and take away all those blessings that you assert have purchased Job's loyalties."
We know the outcome. God concluded that Job spoke of Him what was right (Job 42:7). Can He say the same of us?
Satan answered the Lord, "Has not Job good reason to be God-fearing? Have you not hedged him round on every side with your protection?"
The encounter between God and Satan in the book of Job has all the essential features of the final judgement. There is conflict between two great protagonists in the universe-wide conflict. On the surface it appears their conflict is over Job. God has said that Job is a good man; Satan has countered with another opinion.
However, the conflict has a much deeper dimension. We begin to realize that Satan cares hardly at all what becomes of Job; his real target is God Himself! And Satan has in his countercharge a twofold attack against Him. First, he implies that God really doesn't know what He is talking about. God has placed His confidence in Job as a worthy example of His restorative power, certain Job will remain loyal to Him. But Satan asserts that if God really knew hearts, He would find how fickle Job is, given a change of his pleasant circumstances.
In his second charge Satan is essentially asserting that no one would place his faith in God wholly on the basis of who God is. He claims that we humans are selfish through and through, and that the only way God could ever draw us to Himself would be to appeal to that selfishness. Job, he claims, is an example of purchased loyalty, not of faith. Faith that is rooted entirely in an appreciation of God simply doesn't exist, Satan claims, because God just isn't worthy of such confidence.
What would happen if Job were to crumble under the test? What would the universe think of God? About His ability to know the hearts and motives of His creatures? About whether anyone really will worship God for God's sake alone? The judgment here is not primarily focused on Job. From Satan's point of view, what's one puny human, more or less! He is out to get the Judge!
It's exciting to see how God handles the charges. He could have said, "You've got no right questioning My opinions. After all, I am God!" But He didn't. Without any defensiveness He simply said, "Let's let the matter be decided on the basis of evidence. Go ahead and take away all those blessings that you assert have purchased Job's loyalties."
We know the outcome. God concluded that Job spoke of Him what was right (Job 42:7). Can He say the same of us?
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