Job 1:8 Commentary and Bible Study

The Lord asks Satan if he has considered Job; lit. have you put your heart and mind – applied yourself – to Job? It is thus implied that the accuser scrutinises and probes, and that he has detailed knowledge of our lives. He restlessly goes to and fro in the earth (verse 7), or as Peter says, ‘Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). He is constantly devising some new plan to bring us down. He probes for weak points, watches to detect whether we are most vulnerable when alone (to depress the soul perhaps) or in the family circle (to provoke ill-temper perhaps) or whether we chafe when in need, or whether we yield to covetousness when prosperous. Satan carefully notes our affections, our likes and dislikes, planning always the temptations appropriate to our weaknesses.The Lord’s question also sets the scene for the whole book. The conflict between God and Satan is not going to be about whether Satan is guilty of wickedness. In a world in which God allows an evil Satan to continue to operate, that is a given. Nor is it about whether the whole world lieth in wickedness. Unconverted men and women do as they are tempted to do. The conflict is about whether the righteous, those who believe in God and obey him, are genuine or not. The battle is about the genuineness of the work of God in the hearts of his people. Are they serving him only out of self-interest, only for what they can get? Satan is in all probability convinced that that all conversion is a delusion, and that there is no such thing as a sincere believer. This is the energy behind his activity. He wants Job to doubt God’s care of him, and here God allows him a certain licence to test Job – first one licence, and then a slightly larger one.What is God’s purpose? It is like two generals facing each other. They do not actually converse, but it is as if they do. One general works one set of objectives and the other works another set. Each one is trying to figure out a winning strategy, arranging the battlefield, playing cat and mouse with each other. They do not actually meet or see each other, but in a sense they are having a conversation. This is how the Puritans saw it. God and Satan operate at great distance from each other, and the battle is over the spiritual integrity of Job. The question implies that Satan has already been doing his best to bring Job down and has failed so far. He has tried tempting Job but so far all his efforts have been repulsed. Satan knows this, but he is not for a moment going to give any credit to Job. His answer will be that the fight is rigged.