Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10Have you not put a hedge around 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. 11But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.”
Job 1: 9-12, ESV
8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3: 8 NKJV
In the cosmic conflict, in other words, the war between Good and Evil, or between God, the Creator and the devil, a creature, where the collateral damage sufferers are human beings there are rules of engagement. What do rules of engagement mean? Google defined it as: “a directive issued by a military authority specifying the circumstances and limitations under which forces will engage in combat with the enemy.” Like, “Do not kill your enemy when he surrenders by waving a white flag or hands up in the air”. Sometimes, though, those are ruses to deceive the other, so this rule is violated many times, too often by both sides. God cannot resort to these tactics to win his battles because He is righteous and the embodiment of love. Satan, though, has no scruples and will use every illegal means to achieve his purpose. But God did tell Satan, “Just a minute. You cannot go beyond what I let you do”.
The story of Job is a good example of the cosmic conflict where the rules of engagement went into effect. The whole story came in two parts, Job chapters `1 & 2, Let us read them prayerfully and let God show us wisdom. In each episode, God put limits on what Satan could do. “Satan alleges that God’s protection of Job (the hedge) is unfair and makes it impossible for Satan to prove his allegations… God responds to Satan’s accusation before the heavenly council by allowing Satan to put his theory to the test, but only within limits. He first grants Satan’s power over all that he has, but prohibits personal harm to Job (Job 1:12) . Later, after Satan claims that Job cares only about himself, God allows Satan to afflict Job personally, but Satan must spare his life. (Job 2: 3-6). Satan brings numerous calamities against Job’s household, yet in each case, Job continues to bless His name, falsifying Satan’s charges.
“We learn many things here, such as that there are rules of engagement in the cosmic conflict. There are parameters in the heavenly court within which the allegations raised against God can be settled but without God violating the sacred principles inherent in love, the foundation of God’s government and how He rules the universe and the intelligent beings in it. These heavenly scenes in the book of Job offer us fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy and how it is played out here on earth.” (Sunday lesson, p. 118)
Now, how could we defeat the devil. On our own? No way! He will have us for his dinner very quickly. If we have Jesus with us, Satan will be high-tailing it as fast as he could. You see, Jesus beat him at the Cross. From that time on Satan is a persona non grata in heaven because the angels saw his real character. He was a murderer from the beginning and also the father of lies.
But we have recourse to God, and that is through prayer. We are going again to pick the brains of Brenda Walsh. In her book, Moments with God, we have “God Answers Prayer”. She begins with this text in 1 John 5: 14-15, ESV. “And this is the confidence that we have toward hi,, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
The Bible says in Matthew 21:22 that whenever we approach the throne room of God, we need to have faith that God can and will answer our prayer. It is also important to pray in Jesus’ name because there is power in the name of Jesus. We are told in Philippians 2: 9-11(NIV) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name , that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Just the mere mention of the name of Jesus causes the devil to flee and tremble!
“When we pray, let us remember to pray believing, not begging. We need not beg God to listen to our prayers. He is our Father who lovingly listens, intently and earnestly to His children. He not only listens, He answers! It may not be the answer we are waiting for or the timing we wanted, but He always with our best interest at heart. God always hears and answers prayers.”
To contact us: Our website is www.abundantlifeadventist.ca. Worship with us every Saturday Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Genesis 2: 2, 3, Exodus 20: 8-10, Isaiah 58: 13, 14; Isaiah 66: 22, 23; Matthew 5: 17-19; Revelation 22: 14, John 14: 1-3, Rev. 6:6-12
