Satan - who was he in the book of Job?

[face2face]

So who was Job's Adversary? (called Satan)

He was a mortal member of the community, who harbored envious thoughts of Job’s prosperity and happiness, not unlike similar situations today. He was not the devil (false accuser) of apostate Christianity, or an evil angel in heaven. He was outwardly religious, but he came to the general assembly with his own form of worship, exactly like Cain, whose envy of Abel led to hatred and murder. He was a personal adversary to Job, who despised and rejected his humility and craven submission to God, and was bent on exposing His presumed hypocrisy, and bringing him to ruin.

The Lesson we take — We are not all equal now in talents or temporal possessions. We must trust God and believe that the angels know what they are doing in our individual situations, and that we are being trained by it for eternity.

 

[face2face]

God sets forth Job in the hope of redeeming this lost son.

Have you considered my servant Job?—implying he should reconsider and change.

1. My servant Job—if you would be my servant follow his example.
2. None like him on the earth—his obedience is genuine and total.
3. Blameless and upright—without reproach [the 3 friends failed to recognize].
4. Fears Elohim—has respect and regard for His Word.
5. Shuns evil—rejects it, refuses it, turns away from it.

God here is reaching out to the sick hearted believer in the hope of bringing him back within the fold.
God acted in a similiar way with Cain who killed his brother Abel.

 

[face2face]

Sadly like Cain he would not believe the Word of God and justified his ill feelings toward Job.

Does Job fear God for nothing?

1:9—Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

Implying that Job’s great piety was self-serving; that his real motive for fearing God was self-benefit; that he was well paid for his right living. He was scoffing at Job’s faith, but also at what he perceived to be God’s method of making sons—by rewarding faithful service with bountiful prosperity in this life.

TBC.

 

[breathofdesire]

What you have said is a very honest approach at a difficult subject. But a story is a story, and I think it's what you learn from it that's important.

You seem to have a deeper understanding now of Job, than when you first started that other thread. But this is exactly what the Bible is supposed to do, give us a deeper understanding.

This can't be done by looking at everything in the Bible as literal and wooden. I would think that there's room to view Gods word as expressive and dynamic.

For it is the living word.

 

[pia]

He was a mortal member of the community, who harbored envious thoughts of Job’s prosperity and happiness, not unlike similar situations today. He was not the devil

Hello there. I am puzzled as to how you could come to such a conclusion, as in the book of Job, it mentions him as satan, and coming before the presence of the Lord. So you're thinking that the mortals of the day could enter into the presence of the Lord and have power over humans to bring death, destruction and even boils upon their bodies?????
Very peculiar view indeed, upon reading the first chapter of Job !

 

[face2face]

Hello there. I am puzzled as to how you could come to such a conclusion, as in the book of Job, it mentions him as satan, and coming before the presence of the Lord.

Correct.

"Now there was a day when the sons of God (like you and I) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary) also came among them.

So we have God's children coming before him in worship and an adversary in their midst who has ill feeling toward Job.

So you're thinking that the mortals of the day could enter into the presence of the Lord and have power over humans to bring death, destruction and even boils upon their bodies?????

We have already well and truly established God as being the one who brought evil upon Job. Job 42:11

Very peculiar view indeed, upon reading the first chapter of Job !

There is only two logical viewpoints of the nature of the adversary that I know off.

1. A fellow believer in Job's community
2. An angel

Point 2 isn’t plausible because this adversary is envious of Jobs prosperity.

You might like to read the 6 pages of comments on the other thread which flesh this out a lot more.

F2F

 

[face2face]

The Adversary protested that Job’s trial had not gone far enough.

Job 2:4—Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

Again God is the one afflicting Job!

The Adversary accused Job of being utterly selfish—willing to suffer the loss of his family and possessions if he could save his own skin!

Of course Job's wife ended up suggesting Job curse God and bring an end to the madness...but still Job would not let go of his integrity.

F2F

 

[face2face]

So Job is now tested to the uttermost!

Job 2:6—The LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

The Adversary was convinced Job’s devotion to God would vanish if He extended the trial to his person. Job would then find no further profit in God and would renounce Him.

Faced with intense suffering and certain death after prolonged pain, would he hold fast his confidence firm unto the end?

 

[face2face]

Job's wife:

If a demonic being was known to be involved Job's wife would have taken a very different view of the situation.

Rather Job's wife was not a helper when he needed her the most.

2:9—Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!” [Keep on serving God and die!] But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

The trials sit squarely with God - in fact it was one of the problems Job had Romans 11:22 in mind - he knew he had recieved only goodness in his life and knew to truly understand God and His righeousness he must learn obedience by things suffered (like Jesus).

Powerful lesson!!!

 

[pia]

@face2face ..... too many sentences to reply one by one, but I most certainly do not agree with some of what you have written here. As for one thing...... Where is God going to get evil from to put upon Job ? Are you suggesting that God is both God and satan, both good and evil ? If so, Genesis is certainly very wrong, as it says that God created mankind in His own way of being, so if you're right about that, there would have been no need for Adam and Eve to have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because they would have already been like that, eh?

 

[Dan57]

The adversary was certainly Satan.. God allowed the evil, but Satan dished it out.

 

[face2face]

The adversary was certainly Satan.. God allowed the evil, but Satan dished it out.

All knew that God had brought the evil upon Job.

All of Job’s afflictions were controlled by God with great precision:
the Sabeans, lightning, Chaldeans, tornado, leprosy.

 

[face2face]

@face2face As for one thing...... Where is God going to get evil from to put upon Job ? Are you suggesting that God is both God and satan, both good and evil ?

God uses evil for His own purposes. (Genesis 50:20; Psalm 119:67–71).
There is no supernatural agent of evil.

 

[face2face]

Job's suffering is unremitting; he protests God’s inexplicable treatment.

Job 7:3,11,17—I have been allotted months of futility, nights of misery have been assigned to me. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. What is man that You make so much of him, that You give him so much attention, that You examine him every morning and test him every moment? Will You never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You made me your target? Have I become a burden to You? Why do You not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? (NIV)

Again no mention of the supernatural evil ONLY what God is doing to Job.

 

[breathofdesire]

God uses evil for His own purposes. (Genesis 50:20; Psalm 119:67–71).
There is no supernatural agent of evil.

Oh there is face2face, and what many fail to see is that satan is but the number of man.

The human body fallen and twisted by sin carries the very demons of satans kingdom. The war is between the good and evil, both thinking that the knowledge they possess will conquer the other.

But both are unclean.

 

[breathofdesire]

Now for something completely different:

 

[mjrhealth]

All knew that God had brought the evil upon Job.

So God is evil and we are worshipng teh devil??? good one, God cannot be both love and evil so which is He.

 

[face2face]

So God is evil and we are worshipng teh devil??? good one, God cannot be both love and evil so which is He.

He is the One who brings trails (seen as evil) upon those He loves - many consider Him offering His Son in a sacrificial death as evil...are you one of those?

 

[face2face]

Do you think God is evil because it pleased the Lord to bruise his Son?

Maybe your view of God has been perverted by the knowledge of mythological beings.

Don't speak in absolutes but read the Bible carefully and ask sound questions.

Why did God bring evil upon Job?

Job 42:11

 

[breathofdesire]

Do you think God is evil because it pleased the Lord to bruise his Son?

Maybe your view of God has been perverted by the knowledge of mythological beings.

Don't speak in absolutes but read the Bible carefully and ask sound questions.

Why did God bring evil upon Job?

Job 42:11

God didn't bruise anyone but himself, what no one could do he himself did.

The son was just his earthly body, but his spirit was God himself.

It was God hanging up on that cross.