January 18 Daily Discovery

Read Job Chapter 1

Considering Job

The Hebrew word translated "considered" elsewhere is translated "to sum", "appointed" or "to place".  God is going to ask Satan "How do you place my man, Job?"  What do you think about him.  How do you rate him?

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

⁷ And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

⁸ And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

~ Job 1:6-8

Life is a TEST.

God's dialogue with the devil results in Satan challenging Job's devotion to Him.

Job, the Model Godly Man

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

⁷ And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

⁸ And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

~ Job 1:6-8

Job was a good, stand up kind of man.  He feared God and he avoided or refused evil.

The Attack of the Adversary

The LORD is the supreme ruler over heaven and earth, but His enemy is the overall god of this present world.  His enemy is referred to as Satan, Lucifer, the devil, the great and red dragon, the prince of the power of the air and "the god of this world."

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

~ 2 Cor. 4:4

The enemy gained this rulership over the earth by right of conquest when he "defeated" Adam in the garden by successfully tempting him to rebel against God.

When God asks Satan, "Where have you been", Satan says, from waking up and down and back and forth in the earth.  The earth is his.  Consider when Satan was trying to tempt the Lord Jesus, he offered Jesus "all of the kingdoms of this world."

Jesus did not offer "this is not your world" as a rebuttal.  Why?  Because it was his world!

⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

⁷ And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

⁸ And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

¹⁰ Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

¹¹ But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

¹² And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:6-12

The Principalities Over the Nations

God had originally divided the nations to be under the rule of the "sons of God." The KJV translates the phrase "children of Israel."  

When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

~ Deut. 32:8

This could not have been referring to the nation of Israel, because it didn't exist, and the division was made in the present of that day.  (See Gen. 10:32)

This "table of nations" in the book of Genesis numbers 70 nations.

The translation is accurate in the KJV, but we must use Israel literally for it to make sense.  The name Israel literally means "power with God."

The first time Israel is used in the Bible, the Bible itself affixes the meaning.

²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

~ Gen. 32:28

So "the number of the children of Israel" referred to the number of the angelic overseers, being seventy as recorded in what is called the table of the nations in Genesis 10.

We see this borne out clearly when we read in Daniel about the "prince of the kingdom of Persia".

¹⁰ And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

¹¹ And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

~ Dan. 10:10-13

Daniel had been fasting and praying for understanding and God dispatched an angel to take a message to Daniel.  This was the angel Gabriel.  This prince of Persia was fighting with the angel Gabriel, and it was a statlemate!  Not until Michael, one of the chief princes of God, came along to help was Gabriel able to get through to Daniel.  

This heavenly battle lasted for 21 days, the entire time that Daniel was fasting and praying.

Having an understanding of how things work in the spirit world will eliminate a lot of confusion in the physical world.

OK, Go After All that is Job's

God allowed Satan to take away what He had given Job in order to prove that Job loved God for who He was, not for what God had given him.

God said, "you can do anything you want regarding Job, but you can't touch his body."

So Satan did just that.

¹³ And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

¹⁴ And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

¹⁵ And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

¹⁹ And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

~ Job 1:13-19

Job's Integrity

After all of this, Job STILL worshiped God.

²⁰ Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

²¹ And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

²² In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

~ Job 1:20-22

His only error was believing the suggestion that God had done this to him.  (See verse 16, "the fire of God has fallen." and Job's own statement: "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;.

This was not a loving God's direct work, it was a result of the hatred of the adversary.

We can acknowledge God is Sovereign, but we should NEVER blaspheme His character.  Yes, God did ALLOW Satan to test Job, knowing that he would work this out ultimately for Job's good.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

~ 1 Peter 1:7

This became Job's own testimony as well.

⁸ Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

⁹ On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

¹⁰ But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

~ Job 23:8-10

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Continue Your Search

In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?

See: Berean Fellowship Bible Study Method