Job - Understand The Beginning

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” [Job 1.6-8]

If we miss the meaning and implications of some of the opening statements in the book of Job, we are left then to our own devices to understand the rest of the story. In other words, if we get it wrong at the onset, how can we ever hope to have a right understanding in the end?

Here is what I see that we must understand from the very beginning of the book of Job: God asked Satan the question: “Where have you come from?” And then, shortly thereafter, God asked another question: “Have you noticed my servant Job?"

So, why would God - Almighty Omniscient (ie. all-knowing) God - ask Satan a question? It was certainly not because God didn't know the answer and therefore needed information from Satan! No, from the very beginning of the book of Job, we can see this story starts off implying that Satan was in the wrong (just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when God asked, "Where are you?"). God knew the answer. God's question revealed that the one being questioned didn't know the answer!

Note: Any time God asks us a question, we should immediately consider what it is we are missing!

As it turns out, Satan still didn't get it and the conversation recorded above was repeated in chapter 2!

One day the members of the heavenly court came again to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” [Job 2.1-3]

It is no real surprise that Satan still didn't get it the second time God asked the exact same two questions!

Okay, so just what was God trying to point out to Satan? I mean God did highlight the fact that Job was righteous - more so than anyone else - but that was only part of it. And, that was the only part Satan saw and assumed that was all there was to it. Obviously, God saw something in Job that Satan (the Accuser) wasn't seeing. 

The rest of Job's story would detail what it was that God saw (and Satan didn't). Job was indeed righteous. However, Job was also very self-righteous. It was this self-righteousness that Job had to work through eventually coming to a place of repentance... Read the story - it's all there.

Harsh as it was, Job's hardship enabled him to finally see the error of his self-righteous ways. Self-righteousness is probably the hardest sin to detect in ourselves. So, if we can see it, this fact should give us great hope in our own hardships! But we must always remain humble and willing to repent.

Father, guide me through the book of Job again this year and help me see Your truth all the way through it!