A former friend of mine once said that as long as he wasn’t
sinning, the Devil couldn’t pick on him.
I asked him about Job and that started a conversation in which I got
judged and unfriended. His loss. Anyway, I’d like to see what the Bible has to
say about the Devil picking on God’s people, so grab your favorite version and
follow along.
Let’s start with Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve are first
created, they have no idea what sin is. They are completely innocent, naïve
even. They are told that they may eat of any tree in the garden, except one.
The tree of knowledge of good and evil.
At this point they’ve only had conversations with each other
and God. One day when Adam is off doing something else, a serpent (Satan)
starts talking to Eve and telling her how God knows that when she eats of the
forbidden fruit, she will be like God knowing good and evil. If you believe
that the Devil can only pick on you when you’ve sinned, then by what right did
Satan as the serpent, pick on Eve? For in tempting her to do that which God had
forbidden her to do, he was picking on her.
If we look in the book of Job, we read that Job was
“blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.” Job 1:1 (NAS) As
we read further, we see that Job had seven sons and three daughters. His
possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female
donkeys, and very many servants. Job was rich!
His sons would gather at one son’s house on feast days in
their turn and invite the daughters to join them for the feast. That says
something about Job as a father. His sons would take turns hosting the feasts
and would invite their sisters. How many of us would do that for our siblings?
Another reason he was such an amazing father is that he
would offer up sacrifices on behalf of his sons because they might “have sinned
and cursed God in their hearts.” This was a man who put God above everyone and
everything in his life and modeled that heart in front of and for his children.
The Bible goes on to tell us that there was a day when the
sons of God presented themselves before God and Satan appeared as well. When
God asked Satan from where he’d come, Satan replied, “From roaming the earth
and walking about on it.” Job 1:7 (NAS)
God asked Satan if he’d considered Job, for there was no one
like him. “He was a blameless and upright man, fearing God, and avoiding evil.”
Satan told God that Job feared God because God had put a hedge of protection
round about him on every side. God had blessed the work of Job’s hands and made
him rich. Then Satan claims that if God removed the protection and took away
all that Job had, Job would surely curse him. God told Satan that he could do what
he would with everything Job had, but he could not touch Job himself.
The next time Job’s children got together for a feast day,
Job lost everything. One servant comes in and tells him the oxen and the
donkeys have been taken and all the other servants were killed. While he’s
speaking another servant comes in with the news that his camels have been
stolen as well and he alone survived to tell the tale. Then still another
servant comes in with the news that fire fell from heaven and burned up all the
sheep and the servants except for the one standing in front of him telling him
of this most recent disaster. Then the final blow. A servant comes in and tells
Job that a great wind came and struck the four corners of his eldest son’s
house where his children had been feasting and they were all dead. Job’s
reaction? “He arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the
ground and worshipped.” Job 1:13-20 (NAS)
In chapter two we see that the sons of God are presenting
themselves again, and again Satan shows up. God asks from where Satan came and
Satan tells God he was “roaming the earth and walking around on it.” Job2:2
(NAS)
Now here’s where it gets interesting. In verse three, God
says to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like
him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from
evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against
him to ruin him without cause.” Job2:3 (NAS)
Let’s look at that last part again. Satan incited God to
ruin Job without cause. There was no sin in Job’s life for Satan to pick on. In
fact, Satan had to go to God for permission to pick on Job at all.
Eventually, Job loses everything, including his wife. His
friends have come to him and instead of offering comfort, insinuated that he
must have done something wrong to incite God against him. He’s covered in boils
and can only sit in a pile of ashes scraping at the boils with a piece of scrap
wood or pottery. At every point where God allows Satan to pick on Job, Job has
been blameless and upright. Despite all that Satan did, Job did not curse God
and die.
In the end we see that God restores to Job everything he had
and then some because Job stood firm in his faith and did not curse God.
Let’s also look at Jesus, THE Son of God. Jesus led a
blameless, perfect life while he walked this earth. He did his father’s bidding
no matter the cost. When he spent 40 days in the desert fasting and praying,
Satan was right there tempting him and picking on him. Anything to get him to
turn away from God. Mark 1:12
So the next time you’re being picked on by Satan, remember
that there’s more than one reason that he could have an opening in your life. While
it could be because of sin in your life, it could also be because you are
trying to walk with God the best you know how or because you have unhealed
wounds in your heart. Satan hates to see anyone walk with God and will do
everything in his power to stop you.
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