The Reality Of Deception

“This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty. They may have many children, but the children will die in war or starve to death. Those who survive will die of a plague, and not even their widows will mourn them. “Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing. But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide that money. The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches. The wicked go to bed rich but wake to find that all their wealth is gone. Terror overwhelms them like a flood, and they are blown away in the storms of the night. The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away. It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power. But everyone jeers at them and mocks them. [Job 27.13-23]

Could Job not see here that he just described himself?

The reality of deception is that deceived people cannot see that they are deceived.

It is worth remembering that Job never mentions a "destroyer" or "Satan." This is noteworthy because in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, it is very clear that Job uses wording very similar to the Creation Story in Genesis (which was likely not written anywhere as of yet, but was only oral history). Compare what Job said to the Creation account.

Job said:

He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night. [Job 26.10]

The Creation Story said: 

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. [Genesis 1.6-7]

The significance of Job quoting the Creation Story is that he does not mention a very key player in that story as it unfolded... Here is some more of that Creation Story:

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” [Genesis 3.1]

The inherent problem of inadvertently leaving Satan out of the Creation Story, manifests in failure to acknowledge the fallen nature of man. Ironically, Job continued to stand by his innocence even though he almost described himself perfectly in his description of "the wicked." He spoke nothing of Satan and the sin that infected mankind at his bequest.

Is it any wonder then, that God so severely rebuked Job and Job confessed?

Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? [Job 38.1-2]

Then the LORD said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” [Job 40.1-2]

Then Job replied to the LORD, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.” [Job 40.3-5]

You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. [Job 42.3] 

I immediately think about all I have written myself about Job's story... Am I as full of baloney as Job? In a word, yes. Before God, our knowledge is severely lacking at our most academic best.

Why did Job not mention Satan? If he knew the Creation Story, there is zero possibility that he did not know about Satan... unless of course he (Job) had ruled in his own mind that Satan's accomplishments were of no consequence to himself - that the sin Adam and Eve were deceived into committing had no effect on him. Job's insistence upon his own innocence and his convenient exclusion of Satan from his defense leave us to conclude that Job's pride was also the result of deception. Again, deceived people cannot see that they are deceived. AND, they will exercise great measures to ignorantly defend their innocence!

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that He paid the price for our fallen nature thus securing eternity in heaven with God. However, a couple things are required for us to enjoy the benefit of Jesus' actions: 1) We must acknowledge our fallen nature and the inescapable sin attached to it, and 2) We must accept that Jesus is God's remedy for our condition. In other words, we must simply repent and believe.

Father, thank You today for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it is found today in Job's story. May we all understand that Satan is real and his deception is undetectable except through our constant perusal of Your Word - "...a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path..." May Your Truth, Father, constantly set us free! So be it!