There was no logical explanation for his presence in the queue. He had no reason to be there. He wasn’t one of them. For sure. He was an outsider. Long ago his treasonous self had been eternally ousted from the chorus of heavenly beings. This wasn’t his territory. Yet there he was, strutting in like he owned the place. His head was high. His back straight. His sharp eyes made piercing contact with anyone who dared look askance at his presence. His posture invited confrontation. He’d love that. His work in the world had become increasingly mundane. The people he attacked were easy targets. He was bored. He wanted more. He needed a challenge. That’s why he was there. Satan wanted permission to bully someone new. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; Luke 10:18; Job 1:6)
Nearing the front of the queue, a closely watching onlooker could see him don a facade of humility and defeat. His shoulders slumped. His gaze tracked downward. He drug his toe along the ground as if uncomfortable to be standing where he was. It was all a lie. A ploy for sympathy. Or pity. Or simply an effort to gain a longer leash. His hands were tied without the King’s permission. His entire existence sat in the palm of God’s hand. What he could do. What he couldn’t. When he could act. When he couldn’t. How far he could go. How soon he must stop. It was all up to God. One simple thought from the Almighty could immediately halt his entire evil operation. As much as he hated it, it was true. He wasn’t in charge. He needed to tread very carefully. So Satan chose false humility. It seemed to be the best track. For today.
Approaching the throne of God, Satan dipped his head in feigned obeisance. It wasn’t effective. God wasn’t fooled. He’d never been confused by Satan’s ridiculousness. Not when he’d tried to exalt himself above God. Not when he’d infiltrated the Garden of Eden. Not in all the times he’d tried to overthrow the work of the Almighty. God had always been several strides ahead of Satan. Nothing had changed now. He wasn’t taken in by the pretense. Pity didn’t tug at His heartstrings. Sympathy didn’t creep into his voice as He began the conversation. No. Ignoring the act, God simply got straight to the point, “What have you been up to?”
It must have been a courtesy question. God already knew the answer. He knew the evil one was looking for a new target. He’d seen him wandering around the earth, trying this scheme, testing that plan, pushing the limits, plotting his eventual coup. God didn’t have to give him the time of day. He could have immediately kicked him out. He didn’t. He asked a question. One to which He already knew the answer. The true answer. It would do no good for Satan to lie. God already knew exactly why he was there. So he answered. In a whiny tone we’ve all heard from a wheedling, cajoling child intent on manipulating us, Satan answered. He’d walked the entire earth over and over, but couldn’t find anyone to play with. There was no one fun to bother. He was bored. He needed something more challenging. Could God help him out with that?
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m amazed at the audacity. Did Satan literally come to God, the Creator and Sustainer of all the earth who cherishes the people inhabiting it, and ask Him for someone to heckle, annoy, abuse, and bully? Seriously? Every time I read it, I feel the same level of astonishment. What has to break inside your brain to do that? What made him even give this tactic a shot? Even more astounding is the fact that it works. God gives him some direction. Tosses him a breadcrumb. Provides Satan something to do in his alleged free time. A little something to keep him busy. God sets him up to fail. Miserably.
Donning His own cloak of innocence through which the enemy could never see, God asks if Satan has thought to bother Job. He’s faithful, upright, of perfect integrity. He fears God above all and shuns evil at every turn. He’s well-respected in his community. He’s wealthy. His pastures and barns boast thousands of camels, sheep, and goats, as well as hundreds of oxen and female donkeys. He has a faithful wife, ten children, and a host of servants to tend it all. Job has been blessed with an abundant earthly existence. He’s comfortable. Very comfortable. By society’s standards, both then and now, it is easy for Job to be such a staunch and faithful follower of God. He’s not known a lot of hardship. He’s not been touched by loss. His family and holdings have been surrounded by the protecting hand of the Almighty. Nothing has been able to touch him. Yet Satan believes that if Job were to suffer tragic loss, he’d curse God. Quit the faith. Give up his integrity. Die. He’s simply never had the opportunity to test the theory. Until now. (Job 1:1-3, 9-11)
The opportunity dangles before Satan only for the barest moment before he accepts the parameters and snatches his moment to wreak havoc. He’s happy to spare Job’s life. He’ll take everything else. Rip away his possessions. Kill his children. Blame God in the process. By the end of the week, Job will be left with nothing. His earthly possessions will be obliterated. His faith in God abandoned. It will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby. Dancing out of God’s presence, barely containing his victorious chuckle from prematurely bursting forth, Satan fails to notice what should have been obvious given what he most certainly knew about the Almighty. God never asks a question without a reason. He doesn’t need to ask questions at all. God already knows the answers. Before the evil one ever darkened His heavenly doorway, God knew where he’d been and why he’d come. God had already devised a plan. A plan of failure for the enemy. (Job 1:7-8)
As the servants rushed in on the heels of one another, bearing worsening news to Job, Satan surely stood on the sidelines watching and waiting. A smirk twisted his lips. A twinkle lit his eye. His ears were tuned to hear the words of defection fall from Job’s lips. His hands rubbed together in great anticipation. He didn’t miss the moment Job, in great distress and overwhelming grief, stood to his feet, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He also didn’t miss the next moment. The one in which Job was supposed to curse God and give up his integrity. Because it never happened. Rather than rage at God and shake his fist at the heavens, Job fell to the ground and worshiped the One who both gives and takes away. His planned moment of victory stolen, Satan’s smirk turned into a snarl. It had all been a set-up.
It seems unlikely Satan’s demeanor was the same as he once again entered the queue for an audience with God. It is realistic to imagine tight lines around his frowning mouth. Anger steaming from his eyes. An echoing snap to his step as he approaches the Lord. Yet the second visit goes eerily like the first. The verbiage is nearly identical. Rhetorical questions. Obvious answers. Until God idly points out that Satan’s mischief lacked the desired result. Just as He knew it would. God didn’t offer Job up to be plagued and tortured and tempted because He didn’t care about him. God offered Job up because He knew exactly how Job would respond. With faithfulness. With integrity. With consistency. He knew Job wasn’t going anywhere. Ever. He might have some moments of questioning, wondering, or asking why, but Job wasn’t going to deny God. Not now. Not ever. God knew that. Amazingly, He offers Job up again. With only one caveat. Touch his body. Strike him with illness. Make him miserable. Only spare his life. Job would get through this. Alive. In body and soul.
Had Satan even a modicum of intelligence, he wouldn’t have missed that second round of questions. The same questions as before. He’d have paused and wondered if the use of those questions indicated the fact his plans would once again fail. He’d have learned from the first experience. Job wasn’t going to quit God. Obviously, Satan had learned nothing. Hope springing eternal, Satan skipped out of his audience with God brimming with renewed hope and vigor. He was going to do it this time. He was going to strike Job with such pain and torment that he would renounce everything just to escape the torture. His wife would despise him. His friends would believe the worst of him. His fatigue would trump his faith. With any luck, God would remain silent and Satan’s taunting voice would be the only one Job heard. For weeks. His strength would give out. His heart would give up. Job would finally give in to the temptation to quit. Satan would win. It was going to be the greatest moment of Satan’s life! Except it wasn’t.
For an unspecified amount of time, Job’s body was wracked in vicious pain. His mind was in constant torment. His heart mourned the magnificent loss of his children. He wrestled with the string of events that had brought him to this place, desperately trying to make sense of the chaos. He found no relief. Not in the words of his traumatized wife. Not in the diatribes of his fair-weather friends. Not in silence. Not in speaking. Nothing eased his suffering. Yet Job never cursed God. Never reneged. Never rescinded his faith. Never renounced his integrity. And Satan never got to do that carefully choreographed celebratory dance of victory over Job’s spiritual grave. Evil didn’t win. God did. And that, my friends, is cause for celebration. For Job then. For us now. There is hope in those words. God wins. (Job 1-31,42)
I hope you find the faith to believe them. I hope you remain faithful in the face of tremendous battles. I hope you continue to walk uprightly. I hope you choose to live with integrity. Now. Today. In this present, disheartening age. I hope you encourage yourself with the indisputable knowledge that God wins. Now. Today. When your soul is beleaguered with temptations and trials lasting longer than you have strength to endure. When the heavens are silent and the only voice you seem to hear are the vicious taunts of the evil one hounding your soul. When the circumstances of your life shift and change, shake, and falter, I hope you can anchor yourself in that absolute promise. God wins. Not just in the back of the Book, either. In the front of the Book as He delivered His people from slavery in Egypt. In the middle of the Book as He rescued Job from afflictions in mind, body, and spirit. In the lifetime of Jesus as He freed people from demons, diseases, and spiritual death. In my lifetime. In your lifetime. You don’t have to wait until the final, glorious chapter is written to see God win. God wins now! No matter what hardship you are facing. No matter the murky waters swirling at your feet. Regardless of how daunting the task before you. Your Mighty Warrior is with you. He has never lost a battle. He is faithful to the faithful. In His time. In His way. God wins. Yesterday. Today. Forever. God wins. Every time. (James 1:12-13; Psalm 84:11; Proverbs 10:9; Titus 2:11-13; Zephaniah 3:17; I Corinthians 15:25-26; Revelation 19-20; Exodus 12:29-42; Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:42-48; John 4:4-42; Psalm 18:25-26; I John 5:4; Exodus 17:15; Psalm 108:13)
Praise our AlMIGHTY GOD!!!