February Calendar Page

God and Satan Make a Deal

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1)

Job had a big, prosperous family. They were rich in cattle, sheep, camels, and servants. God says he was the greatest of all the men of the East. Above all, Job was very careful to give praise and honor to God.

On one of those special occasions when the angels are called to stand before God, the fallen cherub Satan also came to visit. God asked him, “Whence comest thou?” And Satan answered, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
Since Satan had assumed the role of tearing down anyone that loved God, and Job was a faithful man, God took a moment to brag on Job, saying to 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?”

Satan told God that the only reason Job loved him was because of his material blessings. Satan asserted that if God stopped blessing Job, then Job would stop loving him. It was a challenge to God’s honor. So God accepted the challenge and allowed Satan to attack Job by any means, but he could not kill him. Satan sent storms to destroy his property and bandits to steal and kill his children. Job was left with nothing, but he still worshipped God.
Then Satan came visiting God again. God brought to his attention that Job remained faithful. Satan told God that if Job was afflicted with a nasty disease, he would cease to give thanks. But when homeless Job sat on a pile of ashes, scraping his running sores with a piece of broken pottery, he still gave glory to God. And Job had no idea that this was a battle between God and Satan.

Satan left defeated, but then Job’s righteous friends came to explain how his misfortune was a result of his sin, and that he should repent. They were worse on Job than Satan. After Job endured months of condemnation from his friends yet still glorified God, God lifted the curse on Job and blessed him abundantly with more children and cattle. God told the self-righteous friends that they needed to have Job pray for them.

And we have Job’s painful yet totally enlightening story to teach us about the strange occasion when Satan made a deal with God and how far God allowed Satan to go with one of his children. Do things like this still occur? It is certainly a case of the paranormal.

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