Tags
Abraham, Abram, Consideder, doubled, Genesis 13:14-15, Job, Job 2:2-3, LORD, Satan, strife
Job 2:2-3
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 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? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
The LORD asked Satan, “whence comest thou?” First of all the LORD is omniscient. He knew exactly where Satan had been and what he had been doing. The LORD wasn’t asking because He didn’t know. He was asking for the purpose of causing Satan to think about a certain thing. Satan’s answer was, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
In Genesis 13:14-15 the LORD had said to Abraham, “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”
Satan had been out walking to and fro, and up and down in the earth, looking for those who were living in God’s covenant and possessing their inheritance in the LORD. After Abraham separated from the strife of his situation with Lot the LORD gave him new territory to possess. Likewise it was time for Job to learn to overcome a new level of strife in his life and so the LORD provoked Satan to test Job, and to cause Job’s weaknesses and frailties to show their self. The omniscient LORD God of all heaven and earth knew what Job’s ultimate choice would be and He knew that He was going to bless Job and double all of Job’s substance in the end. Thus Job was doubled in all he had and thus Satan was also witness to God’s grace and love in Job’s life as Job walked through the things that Satan did.
No, the LORD does not do bad things to people. However when we learn to rise above the wickedness and evil of this world and choose to embrace a loving God we will begin to possess new territory in the Kingdom of God and the strife of this earthly life will begin to diminish in the light of God’s glorious love.