Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

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.

The narrative that we read today is from the record of a "man" that the Lord would allow Satan to test to the point of death. The book of Job was written some 500 years before Moses wrote the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. This makes Job the oldest book in the Bible. It also places Job as a Biblical personality that dates back before Moses.

Most likely Job would have been a contemporary of the patriarchal age and most likely alive at a time before Moses. The main character of the book, Job, was known as a man who "feared God" with a reverential fear, a fear that is actually the beginning of real wisdom. The truth of the matter is that Job was a man greatly respected in his home region and known as a great man, one who detested evil.

In a later devotional we shall learn more about Job, but suffice to say Job was a man that God had a special relationship with and a man the Lord would allow to be put to the test of faithfulness to the God of creation. I mention creation because in a future look at Job in another devotional God will ask him where his servant was when the Lord brought the worlds into existence, Job 38:4-7.

Our extended reading reveals that the devil has access to God and even the "good angels". The "sons of God", verse 6, would witness a meeting between God and Satan. This is of interest because since the fall of the angels, the ones who followed Lucifer in rebellion against the Lord of Heaven, the "evil angels" have not had access to the presence of God. Only Satan has daily access to God for a period of time that he spends accusing the brethren, Revelation 12:10.

Several things to notice about what God does with Satan. God allows Satan to be the instrument of affliction and to apply all the affliction he wanted on Job, short of taking his life, verse 12. This narrative also tells us that though Satan is the "king of this present world", God still has the controlling power over him.

Job was a righteous man, but notice affliction came upon him, allowed by God. Many today get into this philosophy that God makes us healthy, wealthy and happy. In the end Job loses his health, wealth and happiness, but is still a righteous man who is in the perfect will of God. This truth is "in the face" of much of the preaching today.

A true study of Job will bring about a sobering understanding of the ways of God in our lives. By the way, Satan will have his power until Jesus Christ returns to defeat him and cast him into the Lake of Fire, Revelation 20:7-10.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to love and obey You dear Lord, as Job did, even in the face of either physical, economic or spiritual troubles.