Page 34 - Job

Reading JOB to Know God

Chapter 4 What the Bible says about Satan

Fourteen times in Job chapters 1 and 2, his name is called Satan. Fifty-two
times in the whole Bible he is called Satan. Sometime you will see the
word, devil, in the Bible. As a matter of fact, thirty six times in the Bible
he is called devil. Now, as far as the meaning of the word is concerned,
there is no difference between Satan and devil. The fact is, devil is the
Greek form and Satan is the Hebrew form, but it is the same word. The
word Satan means adversary, enemy, accuser.
The first question is: Who is Satan? Here is the answer. He is the accuser.
He accuses in two directions. First of all, look at verses 9 and 10 of
chapter 1. Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for
nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and
all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Satan
accused Job of being religious because of what he got out of it. The pie in
the sky.
In other words, Satan is an accuser, and the first one he accuses is man.
He accused Job. He said, Job’s idea of God is that He is a cosmic bellboy.
That is, he runs all His errands. When he wants anything, he says, give me
this, give me that, do this for me, do that for me. When he is in trouble, he
says, rescue me out of this trouble. Satan said “If You were not a
benefactor for him, if You would not do so much, he would never serve
You. He would curse You to Your face”.
He says Job regards God as a patron saint, one who gives gifts. A saint,
that you could pray to when you lose your purse, when you lose your
wallet. Somebody that will help you find it. Some kind of a good luck
medallion to hang around your neck. Some kind of a magnetic image to
put on the dash of your car to prevent accidents. Job served God because
of what God does for him. That is Satan’s accusation. That God was a
glorified Santa Claus. That God gave him gifts. That God was watching
over him. He kept a list and checked it twice to find out who is naughty
and nice. That is what Satan was saying about Job, that he is selfish.

The word that is used to describe that kind of a thing is mercenary. He
says Job is a mercenary. He married God for his money. The Bible word

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