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Job 1:8 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?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 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.

Introduction

The fact that Christ tells us that His words are all to be fulfilled in “this generation”, tells us that the “synagogue” of His day is the spiritual type of orthodox Christianity of today. “

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

“This generation” means the generation of His day as well as any generation since His days on this earth in the flesh. But this next verse reveals that very few of “this generation” will know or understand how “all these things [ are] be[ ing] fulfilled” in any generation since Christ. Nevertheless Christ’s words are true and do not “pass away” in any generation.

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

This entire chapter of Mat 24 is provoked by the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world?”
What Christ is telling us is that “the end will come” only to those to whom it is given to understand what they are reading. “The end” is not yet except for those to whom it is given to ‘read and understand’. Paul makes clear what Christ is telling us here when he explains for us the meaning of “the end of the world” with these words:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

I repeat, “the ends of the world” come only on those to whom it is given to understand what they read concerning both “the abomination of desolation”, “the end of the world”, and everything else Christ refers to in Mattew 24. It is all spirit simply because they are Christ’s Words.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Once again, we need to remember that all of God’s Word, all of the Bible, is spirit to those who are spiritually minded, and what do we know of those who are not spiritually minded? What is the one thing we know for certain of the man who is naturally minded?

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Every orthodox seminary in the world teaches its students to take the words of scripture literally, unless there is no way to take it literally. Seminary students are generally taught that a seven- headed, ten- horned beast with ten crowns on his ten horns, is most likely a spiritual symbol of a physical man. So even when they acknowledge that there is something spiritual about God’s Word, they have no ability whatever to “compare spiritual with spiritual” so as to receive instruction from the holy spirit.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual

The book of Job is an important part of “the things… we speak [ which are] not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the holy spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”. So we will always be considering “the sum of God’s Word” as we “spiritually discern… the things of the spirit”.
So our study of this book will not be with words which man’s wisdom will understand, but “the sum of God’s Word” will demonstrate that the spirit and power of these words are realized only by “comparing spiritual things with spiritual”, right here in this book of Job.

1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Those who understand what they read “speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world to our glory”. That is why the natural man can read this story, and can witness exactly how God “works all things after the counsel of His own will”, and yet cannot see that Satan cannot lift a finger to scratch his nose, without being caused to do so by Him who is working all things and making “even the wicked” for Himself.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

God “makes all things for Himself” with His hand. Now let’s see how the spirit reveals God goes about “putting forth His hand [ and] working all things after the counsel of His own will”.

Job 1:8 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?

The natural man will not understand that God asks Satan this question for the specific purpose of giving His elect the understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, which is being birthed within His elect, while at the very same time blinding the eyes and ears of those who are called of God but are not chosen of God to be His “faithful… to the end” elect.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Job is one such “prophet and righteous man” to whom it was not granted “to hear the things which you hear”. Job’ generation was never given to know that Christ would come and dwell within His people, even as they lived in these vessels of clay. This was completely “hid from ages” and is only “now [ since Christ] made manifest [ only] to His saints.”

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

We will miss the revelation of God’s sovereign work if we fail to note that it is God who is bringing Satan to Job. Up to this time, God has kept Satan from trying Job. God had “hedged” Satan out of Job’s life, until the time appointed for Job to be tried, just as he refrains Satan from trying us until the appointed time for our trials. It is all written and authored, every day of our lives, in God’s book, before we are ever born.
But we must note that God does not begin His work expecting His baby children to lift heavy loads. God’s children begin their relationship in with Him in a garden that has everything an untested child needs to survive. He holds his new- born sons in spiritual “swaddling cloths”, close to His bosom, just as any father holds his new- born son. So we are told about Job:

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

This is common to us all. We would not be here today if we had not first been immature, “carnal… babes in Christ”. That is a concept, completely foreign to the natural man, which teaches us that we go straight from Egypt into the heavens, bypassing our necessary ‘ten rebellions in the wilderness’, our wars in the land, our Babylonian captivity, and our long arduous journey out of Babylon and back to the land where we must again do battle with all those who do not want to see the temple of God rebuilt.

Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
1Co 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

The natural man can see that God “grew the tree… that we might be free” to quote a song that is sung in the churches of Babylon. “He grew the tree that He knew would be used to make that old rugged cross”. Why is the natural man able to see that “God grew the tree that He knew would be used to make the old rugged cross,” but he cannot see that “He made the wicked man for the day of evil”? Why do the synagogues of this world emphasize God’s sovereignty over trees, but not over all of mankind?

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The answer to that question is that if mankind acknowledged God’s sovereignty over “Yes, even the wicked”, he would, in effect be dethroning the beast within himself. But without Christ and the mind of Christ, this is our attitude toward the beast within us:

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

In our submission to our flesh, we “worship the dragon” who was given our dust for his nourishment.

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

But the serpent is nothing more than an instrument in God’s hand. He is a necessary adversary who God uses to exercise His elect, just as any athlete exercises his body by working against the forces which oppose his athletic prowess. Let’s pose two questions. Who put forth His hand to destroy Job, and who put forth His hand and had our Savior crucified? What do the scriptures teach us?

Job 1:11 But put forth thinehand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 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.

Satan here demonstrates for us that he has no power to effectuate anything without God’s instructions. Satan says “Put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face”. Did God know Satan would say that? Yes, of course God knew what Satan’s answer would be, just as surely as He knew what Adam’s answer would be when He asked Adam, ‘Where are you?’ God asked Satan that question for our sakes.

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

As we saw last week, all evil spirits in the final analysis, are nothing more than instruments of God to ‘make us to err and to harden our hearts from our fear of God’, just as we see in the garden of Eden; just as we saw in the case of Joseph’s brothers, and just as we saw with Ahab’s prophets.

1Ki 22:20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he [ the Lord] said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

In both 1Ki 22 and here in Job, God asks the evil spirit what that spirit has in mind, and then He signs off on the plan. Then we are told “Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord”. What is the fact of the matter? This is what the scriptures declare, in both cases, to be the plain facts. In the case of Ahab’s prophets, this is what we are told: “ the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets,” and in Job’s case we are told the same thing:

Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

Who are we told sold Joseph into Egypt? Was it really his brothers, or did it simpl appear that way?

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Truly God is “working all things after the counsel of His own will, and we on earth and the host of heaven, all the realm of the spirit, are merely instruments to accomplish “the counsel of His own will”. We are all given an evil experience, not willingly, but by reason of He who has made us subject us to vanity, not by our choice but in hope of a resurrection to more abundant life.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

We have no say in the matter because it is God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will, not ours.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

That statement in Rom 8:20 is just a summary of what Paul had said in the previous chapter of Romans”

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Twice Paul tells us the same thing Joseph told his brothers. “It is not I that do it but sin that dwells in me… it was not you but God that sent me here… [ It is] a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me”. Who then is that “one law giver” who “makes us to err”? What does the scriptures teach us from Genesis to Revelation?

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

So what God is telling us here in this study of the book of Job, is the same thing He tells us throughout His word. He wants us to know that He is sovereign over all things, and that everything that occurs is His work, either by good spirits or by evil spirits.

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

“From the rising of the sun, and from the west” means from everything in the light of day, and from everything in the darkness of night, “there in none beside me, I am the Lord and there is none else. I form light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things”.
All the ‘great men of God’ of this world, will declare from the tops of the mountains “God does not create evil”; nevertheless, the scriptures declare that God is sovereign over all things, and that if there is any evil anywhere, in the final analysis, “the Lord has… done it”.

Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Conclusion

In conclusion we have thus far seen that neither Job, the spiritual type of each of us, nor Satan had any power to engage one another. Their paths are both being directed by Him who is working all things after the counsel of His own will. Satan acknowledges that he can do nothing but what he is sent by God to do. He does exactly what he is commissioned to do and refers to himself as “thy [ God’s] hand”. He can do not one whit more or less than what is God’s Words of instruction. He is a very obedient serpent because he was made by his Creator “a waster to destroy”, in the service of that Creator.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

God did not create a “waster to destroy” if He did not know exactly how that waster would be used and what He would have Him to destroy. Yes, Satan is the “father of lies”, but God is “the Father of spirits”.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Satan’s commission is to destroy God’s elect. His commission is to lie to and to lie about God’s elect. He is the waster who God created for that very purpose, and God as the “Father of spirits” empowers Satan to do what He has given Satan to do.

Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Even the death of our Lord as the work of the adversary, orchestrating the evil deeds of “Herod… Pilate… the Gentiles and the people of Israel was in reality, all what God’s hand and God’s foreknowledge determined before to be done.

Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Once again Satan was sent to tempt our Lord, but could not lay a hand upon Him until Christ’s hour had come.

Joh 7:30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see just how true are those words, “shall there be evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it”, as they apply to Job and to each of us. We will, if we are given eyes that see and ears that hear, understand how the evil that befalls Job equates to the striking down of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Both are types of how God drags each of us to our Lord, ‘not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected each of us to vanity in hope’.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

God is using Satan as His instrument in molding us into the image of His dear Son. Here is a type and shadow of how He goes about doing that:

Job 1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
Job 1:14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
Job 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.