Job 2

To me, there are two very interesting things regarding evil in the first and second chapters of Job. The first one involves how Satan perceives the spread of evil in the world: he blames God. Did you notice that? Check this out from chapter one: "'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.'" (vs 9-11)

When Satan talked to God about the possibility of Job experiencing suffering, he said that if God would stretch out His hand to strike Job, Job would curse Him. But we know that’s not what happened. It was Satan who inflicted the terrible losses on Job.

Again, in chapter two, he says nearly the same thing: "'Skin for skin!' Satan replied. 'A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.'" (vs 4-5) Once again, Satan depicts God as being the one who causes suffering, yet when Job met with painful boils, it was Satan who had inflicted them on him (vs 7).

I think this says something about the way Satan views God. He sees God as the one responsible for causing evil, sin, and suffering. He blames God for his own misfortunes and, at least in this circumstance, we see that Satan is even willing to blame God to His face for the suffering he knows he is going to cause.

Of course, we know that God is not responsible for sin and suffering. There is plenty of evidence in Scripture to indicate that sin breaks God’s heart. He doesn’t want to see any of His children suffer or ultimately lose them to sin’s self-destructiveness. However, though God is not to blame for sin and evil, the first two chapters of Job make it clear that He does have control over the extent to which Satan can inflict pain and suffering.

In the first chapter, God put a very clear limit on what Satan could do to Job: "The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.'" (Job 1:12) God allowed Satan to have access to Job’s possessions, but he wasn’t allowed to do anything to Job himself. Again, in the second chapter, God put another limit on Satan: "The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.'" (vs 6) This time, God allowed Satan access to Job’s health, but he wasn’t allowed to kill him.

Far from causing or sponsoring evil, God is restraining evil all the time. If Satan had his way, we’d all be suffering immensely (or dead). But, although he thinks he’s the ruler of this world, Satan still can’t make a move without God’s permission.

What does this mean to me? First, that nothing can come to me without God’s knowledge. Crisis doesn’t surprise Him. Our suffering doesn’t catch Him off guard. Second, it also means that God won’t allow anything to come to me that He knows I’m unable to deal with. I’ll admit that this is sometimes hard to believe, since there are a lot of things I’ve dealt with in life that I’d rather not have gone through! But, just as God set boundaries with Satan when it came to Job, I believe He sets boundaries with Satan when it comes to me and you. If something unsavory comes to me, it means God has seen it, allowed it, and will work it out for my best good. And that means I’m okay with it—whatever it is.

Satan accused God of putting a hedge around Job (Job 1:10). The truth is, each of us has two hedges around us: an inner hedge and an outer hedge. Our outer hedge is people and things. Our inner hedge is faith and trust in God. In this continuing war, God allows Satan to trample on our outer hedge at times, but He will never allow Satan to do anything that He knows will destroy our inner hedge. That’s why He is in the business of restraining evil.