“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’” Job 1:7
I find the first two chapters of Job intriguing. The idea of God and Satan having a conversation seems somewhat bizarre and surely God knew where Satan had been anyway.
When we think about this conversation along with Paul’s words, “His (God’s) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10), we begin to realize that there is a lot more going on in the heavenly realms than we know. God wants to display his manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. It seems there has always been a whole drama being played out in the heavenlies that’s hidden from us. It’s certainly not about us, yet somehow we’re an immensely important part of it.
Satan challenges God with the question, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9) Satan is suggesting that Job only honours the Lord for the blessing and protection he provides. God allows Satan to test Job. Ultimately Job continues to trust God despite his many questions and complaints and God rewards him with double his previous blessings.
Amongst other things, this incident tells us that the question, “Does Job fear God for nothing” is deeply significant. The question now falls to us. Do I only honour God for what I get out of it, blessings, protection and eternal life? Or do I honour God for no other reason than he is God?
