Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out The Story Isn’t Over!
The Questions
1) What does this passage teach us about Satan’s relationship to God?
2) Why does Job have a “hedge of protection” and “blessings” from the Lord?
3) What would it have meant for Job to “curse” God to His “face”?
Job 1:9-12
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Original Intent
1) What does this passage teach us about Satan’s relationship to God?
It first tells us they actually have a relationship in that God does not “ignore” Satan or his evil workings; God is intricately involved and has full knowledge of all Satan’s schemes. Additionally, Satan is very much under the control of the Lord God; Satan does not have any power that is not first allowed by God. It’s important to know that while Satan is the archenemy of God, they are not on equal footing, not even close! When comparing power and authority, The Lord God holds all of it, only allowing Satan to have a certain measure of power because of the current fallen state of the world we live in. Our world is sinful because we, as humanity, have chosen it. The Lord graciously allowed humanity to have “free choice” in who we would worship, either God or Satan. In our sinful, arrogant ways, when left to our own choice, we choose to worship Satan by pridefully loving ourselves more than God.
2) Why does Job have a “hedge of protection” and “blessings” from the Lord?
The word “hedge” has a cross-reference (noted by a subscript letter that correlates to other Scripture verses) to Psalm 3:3 and Psalm 34:7. Both of these, and their surrounding verses, refer to God sheltering, shielding, delivering, and saving His children because they cried out to Him, trusted Him, and feared Him (as in, stood in awe of Him and His authority). Protection from what? The Enemy and his attacking schemes. This hedge is precisely what Satan is referring to in regard to Job. In essence, Satan is saying, “Of course Job trusts You, God! You are protecting Him with Your power and impenetrable shield!” Satan argues with God that if the hedge were removed and the blessings God has given Job were taken away, Job would easily fall prey to Satan’s desires for Job to curse God and be spiritually separated from God.
3) What would it have meant for Job to “curse” God to His “face”?
To curse, or blaspheme, God is to discredit Him and speak irreverently about God, His Word, or His character. Job made it his regular habit to intercede for his children, praying for them in the event they had “cursed God in their hearts”. To curse God “to His face” carries significant weight. The psalmist writes in Psalm 10:3 of cursing God as being equal to renouncing Him entirely, this would be similar to what Satan is describing here to God about his hoped-for-response from Job if blessings were removed. This would be a complete abandonment of the relationship with God from Job’s perspective. God used similar language in Isaiah 65:2-3 in describing Israel’s rejection of God. Later in Job’s story, his wife urges Job to simply “curse God and die”, as the result of cursing God would be death. (Job 2:9)
Everyday Application
1) What does this passage teach us about Satan’s relationship to God?
Do you fear Satan? Are you ever afraid of what the Enemy might do, or ways he might attack you or the ones you love? Only the Lord God has the power and authority to see all things, know all things, and be present everywhere at every moment. Satan has none of those powers. The Enemy cannot know your thoughts, but God knows every intricate detail about you including your thoughts, your words, your motives, and the hairs on your head. (Psalm 139:4, Luke 12:7) Satan cannot do anything beyond the extremely limited amount of power the Lord God allows, which means that we can live free of fear from Satan and his attacks. Hide yourself in the shelter of the Most High God and cling to the truth that He alone is our stronghold. (Psalm 91:1-2, Psalm 59) If God is for us, as Christ followers, who can be against us?! (Romans 8:31)
2) Why does Job have a “hedge of protection” and “blessings” from the Lord?
God’s nature is to protect and defend and guard His beloved. Sit with that for a moment. Do you ever worry that you’ve made God angry so He will no longer protect you, as if He were a fickle parent or friend? He will not abandon His character based upon your choices; His love for you is unchanging and unconditional. He loves to protect His own and He loves to bless us and give us good gifts. (Matthew 7:11) However, like Job modeled, we cannot associate God’s physical blessings in our lives with God’s presence. God is a gracious, generous, protecting God, but He never guarantees our safety or the permanence of physical or relational blessing. In this passage, we see God lift a portion of His “hedge” of protection, and later, even Job’s family died and blessings were removed from Job’s life, but God never once abandoned Job nor did His good character change. Take it from Job, enjoy the gifts of God, praise Him for them, fear Him only, trust Him whole-heartedly and He will faithfully protect you. But when His protection looks different than you expect or His blessings are removed for a time, trust His character and His good Father heart!
3) What would it have meant for Job to “curse” God to His “face”?
Cursing God to His face is a stubborn insistence that we hate Him, we reject Him and despise Him; it’s a total renouncing of God Himself. This is clearly Satan’s end goal, not only for Job, but also for every created person, past, present, and future. For anyone to renounce God spells victory for Satan, but utter loss and destruction for a soul. The truth is that each of us, in our core, have renounced God to His face. We have each stubbornly chosen to set ourselves as rulers over our lives. But the gracious, good news of Jesus Christ brings hope! While we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6-8) He sacrificed Himself, even as we spat in His face, cursing Him. That is radical love! By His grace, He offers us a path of restoration, a way to come home. When we acknowledge that yes, indeed, we do want to be our own god. We would rather choose sin over God’s ways. And yes, we see how that sin does separate us from a Holy God, we have come to a place where we can ask Jesus to save us from ourselves and span the gap with His own righteousness in place of our sinfulness. Saying Yes to Jesus, frees us from the curse of Sin and unshackles us from the dominion of Satan!
What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with The Story Isn’t Over!
Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
Digging Deeper Community
Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!
Our Current Study Theme!
This is Screenshot Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!
Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
Memorize It!
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.
Words of thanks to Briana for sharing her vulnerable story, one full of hope and inspiration. Briana story reminded me that our deepest sorrow in time will meet up with the full redemption of God’s gace. Walking a faith walk is often very different than we assume. Life is a journey of good and bad, pleasant and hard things. Thanks for reminding us there is joy in finding God’s mercy new each day.!
“our deepest sorrow in time will meet up with the full redemption of God’s grace.”
What a beautiful truth! What an incredible God!