Victorious Life

The Crime:

Officers arrive at the home of one, Job, a resident of the land of Uz and take the following statement:

¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; ¹⁴ and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” -  Job 1:13-19 [NKJV]

The Initial Suspect:

According to one of the eyewitnesses, a servant of Job, it was Elohim (God), a.k.a. YHWH, a.k.a. YHWH Jireh, a.k.a. El-Shaddai, a.k.a… well you get the picture. This witness identifies the fire that killed both sheep and servants as “the fire of God (Elohim).” Apparently the victim, Job, concurs with the eyewitness by his own statement:

²¹ And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.” – Job 1:21

Now, in any criminal investigation, it is necessary to establish three things in order to determine if anyone is a viable suspect; these are means, motive and opportunity. Let us apply this test to Elohim. First, did He have the means to accomplish the crime? Well, we find that Elohim is omnipotent; He is all powerful, so certainly He had the means to accomplish the events that have occurred. Second, let us consider opportunity, here also we find that Elohim is omnipresent; He is everywhere at once, so once again He had the opportunity to perpetrate the deeds in question. Last, let us apply the test of motive. Did Elohim have the motive to commit this attack upon the victim, his servants and his family?

With minimal investigation we were able to gather character witnesses that testified the following regarding Elohim:

David, arguably the greatest king of the nation of Israel states:

“Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
- Psalm 35:27b

John, disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and leader of the church in Ephesus states:

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
- 1 John 4:8

and again,

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” – 1 John 4:16

James, half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ and leader of the church in Jerusalem states:

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” – James 1:17

At this point we have to simply state that countless witnesses have come forward and unanimously gone on record to bear witness to the fact that Elohim is good, kind, merciful, full of grace, forgiving even to the point of giving His one and only Son that even those who had been His enemies could be reconciled to Him. Conclusion–there is no possible way that Elohim passes the motive test in this case, we must look elsewhere.

Another important factor to establish in any investigation is M.O. (modus operandi). Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines modus operandi as “a method of procedure; especially: a distinct pattern or method of operation that indicates or suggests the work of a single criminal in more than one crime”.

In the book of John we are introduced to a particularly unsavory individual that Jesus identifies as “the thief.” Let us examine this thief’s modus operandi.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” – John 10:10a

Let us examine the crime in light of this M.O.:

1. The thief does not come except to steal.

“a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away” – Job 1:14-15

“another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away’” – Job 1:17

Theft is clearly part of the M.O. in this crime.

2. The thief does not come except… to kill.

“the Sabeans… have killed the servants with the edge of the sword.” – Job 1:15

“fire… fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants” – Job 1:16

“The Chaldeans… killed the servants with the edge of the sword” – Job 1:17

“the house… fell on the young people, and they are dead”
- Job 1:19

Once again, we find that killing is definitely part of the M.O.

3. The thief does not come except… to destroy.

“Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell” -Job 1:18-19

Yes! Elementary my dear Watson, we have a complete M.O. in the case. Through this virtual fingerprint of M.O. we can safely determine that the perpetrator of the crime against Job and his family is one Lucifer, a.k.a. the devil, a.k.a. the thief, a.k.a. Satan.

Now, to finally put this case to rest we must find the answer to one final accusation. Certain people, yes even some theologians have suggested that Elohim “allowed” the events that transpired on that fateful day. Whether they realize it or not this is a serious
accusation against Elohim as this would make Him complicit in the crime. Complicity, according to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary is “association or participation in or as if in a wrongful act”. This accusation, if true would also make Elohim a party to conspiracy to commit the acts perpetrated against Job and his household. Here is a legal definition I found in www.associatedcontent.com regarding conspiracy.

“In some aspects of criminal law, you can commit a crime without ever lifting a finger. Conspiracy is the act of planning to commit a crime, which can actually be as punishable as the commission of the crime itself. For example, conspiracy to commit murder can carry an equal sentence as murder itself.

“When two people get together, discuss a crime, and plan its commission, those two people have committed the crime of conspiracy. Even if they never get around to actually doing what they have planned, or if they are caught before they are able, they can still be prosecuted under conspiracy law.”

So, did Elohim give permission to or allow Satan to commit the aforementioned crimes when it was in His power to stop him? Some have pointed to the statement uttered by Elohim Himself in 

“Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” - Job 1:12

They assert that this is Elohim’s consent in the matter–He allowed Satan to kill, steal and destroy all that Job had. It seems incriminating but let us dig a little deeper.

We know from Satan’s own statement that, Elohim “made a hedge around him [Job], around his household, and around all that he has on every side” (Job 1:10) and Satan was unable to penetrate this hedge. So, was Elohim’s hedge weak in any area? Did Elohim open the hedge?
Or was the hedge opened by another means?

In order to answer this, we must understand how the spiritual realm operates in relation to our faith and our fear. We read in the book of Hebrews:

“without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6

Faith is the means by which we humans are able to reach into the spiritual realm and appropriate and receive the good things that God has for us.

But have you ever thought of the inverse of that statement? It would go something like this, “but without fear it is impossible to please Satan.” You see, as faith is the absolute conviction that God’s promises will manifest, so fear is the absolute conviction that Satan’s threats (to steal, to kill and to destroy) will undoubtedly manifest! Jesus says, “Be it done to you according to your faith”; Satan says, “Be it done to you according to your fear.”

Now, let’s examine Job’s own testimony about the events that came upon him on that fateful day:

“For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me.” – Job 3:25

It was Job himself, through his fear, that opened the door for Satan to come in and wreak havoc in his life! So, what about Elohim’s statement (“all that he has is in your power”)? I submit to you that Elohim’s statement was not one of consent; it was a statement of
fact. He was not saying, “I give you permission to do what you want”; He was saying, “Quit your bellyaching Satan, you can see Job has already put everything in your power.”

Conclusion:

We can safely bring an acquittal of any charges against Elohim. After all, He is our heavenly Father, He loves us, He cares for us, provides for us and He is the One that protects us.

Never be afraid that He will “allow” Satan to do bad things to you! Our Father will protect us with all of His omnipotent power; He has given us His Word, His Spirit and even His angels are ministering spirits that will work on our behalf (see Hebrews 1:14).

No, we have the ability to open the door to that old thief by our fear. No wonder there are so many “Fear not’s” in the Bible. So, whatever it is you are facing this week, remember Job’s lesson and what ever you do, DO NOT FEAR!

Filed under: Faith