The Power of a Question: Conversations With Satan – Job In the Middle
Diving right in, I’m doing a 3-week series on how through the power of questions, Satan seeks to get us off track by thwarting our thinking that God isn’t Who He says He is. God is a question asker, and looking at conversations that Jesus had in the Gospels, He too is a question asker. Jesus asks 307 questions in the Gospels, He is asked 183 questions and He only answers 3 questions. Questions get people thinking and they get to the heart of the matter, and Jesus is always trying to get to the heart.
Satan asked questions because he too knows the power of questions, and he continues to do this today to you and me. When we’re caught in temptation, trying to justify if what we want to do is right or wrong- that is him planting questions in our minds to question making a righteous decision or unrighteous decision.
We saw last week that Adam was a priest, a king, a covenant mediator, another type of Christ, the imperfection of the real One. Eve represents the people of God. And the garden represents the tabernacle, the temple. God entrusted Adam with the role of mediation to God’s rule, like a king would to the rest of creation. All of this is an example of how God wants families to look. Husbands are supposed to be priests and kings of their households- just as Adam is the head and Christ is the head. Wives are like the church, and in Ephesians 5 Paul connects Eve and the church. Eve is Adam’s bride, built from his body and the church is Christ’s bride, members of His body. Human marriage is modeled on the covenant relationship from Genesis 2:24.
The serpent knew the significance and power of all this. Satan hates God, he wants to be God, so because he can’t destroy God’s plans and purposes, he sought to taint it. With one powerful question to Eve, Satan was able to deeply affect God’s purposes for his first priest/king (Adam); for the people of God (Eve); and for their home the tabernacle/temple, where they worshiped God (Eden).
Lucifer
I don’t want you to forget Satan’s story so I’m going to briefly remind you of this spirit before he fell from Heaven. Ezekiel 28 tells us that Lucifer, which means “morning star” was the “anointed cherub” and had a high position in Heaven. Cherubim, are a type of angel and it is their and Lucifer’s responsibility to attend to God. What a privilege! He got total access to God, observing HIM, getting to know HIS character and personality. Ezekiel also tells us that Lucifer was perfect, the wisest of all God’s creatures, beautiful beyond description, and, he was the chief worship leader in heaven (see Ez. 28: 12-13). His beauty was compared to gemstones (Ez. 28:13). But all of that came to a head when he decided being a cherub wasn’t so cool, and he wanted to be God. He wasn’t content being a singer and leading the music, he wasn’t content being extremely beautiful, and he wasn’t content tending to the throne of God.
Conversation with Satan – Job in the Middle
Revelation 12:10 tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. And we see that in Job 1 and Job 2. In both chapters an interesting dialogue between Satan and God is going on, but you notice that both asks key and interesting questions. In chapter 1 verses 7 and 8, God asks Satan two questions:
“7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and from on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?””
And Satan replies with questions:
“9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!””
Then Job loses all his possessions and children.
We see the same dialogue play out in chapter 2:
“2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.””
Significance
In chapter 1, Satan is essentially saying he’s disgusted by Job’s blessing and if he can have his way with Job, then Job will forsake God and worship him [Satan]. We saw from last week that Satan hates God so much, and he planned to throw a monkey wrench in God’s creation of Eden by getting to Eve with a key question. Satan here is also trying to get to God through Job. It is implied that Satan wants to hurt God and get rid of Job. Job was just a weapon to hurt God.
In chapter 2, it’s a repeat of Job 1. But we see that Satan has to get permission from God to touch Job’s health. Satan can’t touch God’s children without God allowing it to happen. To a large extent are hedged (or protected) and we should thank God for that daily. A public display in front of heavenly beings and us reading this thousand-year-old account is going on, exposing God and Satan, who they really are. Both in a way are being put on trial. It justifies God and Jesus’ dealing with Satan’s rebellion, the truth of the law, and exposes the nature of sin.