Job 1:9-10 – DOTH JOB FEAR GOD FOR NOUGHT
Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Satan has appeared before God and God has pointed out to Satan that Job is a righteous man who feared the Lord and hated evil. Satan’s reply is that of course Job fears the Lord because of the way the Lord has protected Job. Satan claims that the only reason Job fears the Lord and hates evil is because God has protected him and blessed him in a spectacular way.
We know that just because God blesses and protects a believer, it does not mean that they fear the Lord and hate evil. Look at the nation of Israel. They saw miracle after miracle of the Lord protecting them and blessing them in a supernatural way. Nonetheless, the nation of Israel did not fear the Lord and hate evil. As soon as Moses was gone for a prolonged period of time, the nation of Israel made a golden calf that they started to worship.
Satan knew that there was something special about the life of Job, but he figured if God would open up the hedge and allow him to attack the personal possessions of Job, then Job would not have as close of relationship with God as he currently had. Satan had seen how Job prayed for his children and surely if he took Job’s children from him, that would cause him to curse God.
Job loved his children in the same way that Abraham loved his son Isaac. Just as Abraham had to go through a test in losing his son Isaac, so also, Job was about to go through a test where he did lose his children whom he loved.
God tests each one of us in different ways. God tested Abraham and Job through their children. In one case God actually allowed the children to die whereas in the other situation God spared the child. You do not have any control over how far you must go to prove your faithfulness to God. God may actually require that you give up the thing that you love and it will be up to HIM whether or not HE actually gives it back to you.
Satan ended up attacking the wealth of Job, the family of Job, and eventually the health of Job. Just because you have seen the protection and blessing of the Lord in a certain aspect of your life, it does not mean that God will not allow you to face trials in those areas in the future. Will you still trust the Lord if HE takes away HIS blessing from certain areas of your life? Will you still trust the Lord if HE stops protecting you in certain areas of your life?
We are told that Job is an example to us of patience. Your character is not proven based upon the good times in your life but instead, it is proven by how we respond to the trials in our life. Just because everything is great and wonderful in our life, it does not mean that we have reached our destination in spiritual growth. Instead, life is like a journey on mountain roads, there will be ups and there will be downs. Our true character will be revealed based upon how we respond to the obstacles that we face in our life.
You may be in the middle of a trial or you may be in the middle of a time of great blessing; regardless of where you are at in your life, you must understand that God is first in your life. You should fear the Lord regardless of whether you are in a trial or a time of great blessing. You should hate evil regardless of whether you are being protected by God or whether your entire life is in turmoil. Do not be a fair-weather friend of God as Satan accused Job of being.