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!

Have you ever watched one of those home improvement shows? The ones where they take an old house that is just about falling apart and they remake it into something amazingly modern and beautiful? I have not only watched this on TV but also lived it. Noemi and I did such a renovation on our house in Naples. It is an amazing feeling when the work is finished and you stand back and see the end result.

Now, do a fast rewind to several months before. All of the work that was done at that time can be described by the words of the Lord to Jeremiah, “pull down, destroy, and throw down.” Hammers, crowbars and saws are gutting this whole house and it seemed we were bent on its destruction. This is the demolition phase of a renovation.

Now, just for a moment put yourself in the place of that house. If a house could think and reason, what would it be thinking? Can you imagine how it might despair at the horrible things it is enduring at the hands of those it sought to serve? Let me ask you one more question — have you ever felt as if God was doing just that in your life? As if God is bent on pulling down, destroying and throwing down everything in your life? I know I have felt that way!

Well, here’s the truth we need to learn about building and about planting—neither can happen without some destruction or rooting out. Even in the case of new construction this is true. The house I now live in was built for us in 2003. Prior to that our lot was full of trees and rocks, nothing more. Machines had to come and take down all the trees, dig into the ground and uproot all of the root systems of those trees and remove any large stones that there may have been in the ground. The same thing happens when planting. Noemi loves to plant; she has an amazing “green thumb.” But each time she has to plant something, we have to dig into the ground, remove sod, stones, roots; we have to prepare the ground. She does this because she has a plan, a blueprint of a beautiful garden. The truth is that quite often, the better the quality of what is being built, the deeper and more radical the demolition must be.

So if, as I said earlier, it seems that God is “pulling down, destroying and throwing down” everything in your life, please be encouraged by this: if God didn’t have a plan to do something beautiful and precious in your life, He would have just lit a stick of dynamite under you and been done with it. The fact that He is strategically pulling things down, means that He will tenderly and lovingly build on that very place. The fact that He is strategically uprooting, means that He will lovingly plant on that very place.

Listen to the words of Peter in 1 Peter 2:5, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” God is building you up to be a spiritual house; the very temple and place of His dwelling. Now I know that during the demolition phase it may seem a waste that perfectly functional things are destroyed and thrown out. But think of a beautiful new kitchen with gorgeous new cabinets, new floor, new lighting and a twenty-year-old refrigerator. It may still work but, boy what an eyesore!

Listen, I do not make light of what we go through during these times. The pain, the frustration, the time spent wondering if maybe we have done something wrong and are being punished; all of that is very real when you are going through times like these. However, I want to encourage you with the words of Paul in Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Hang in there, God has the blueprint for glory in your life and mine, and the day will come when you see the finished product and say, “Yes, it was worth it!”

Have you ever been frustrated by the smallness of your faith? Have you ever been frustrated by the smallness of a loved one’s faith? I have to admit that I have on both accounts. But one day, the Lord showed me something precious in His Word and I wish to share that with you today.

In Mark chapter 5, Jesus had just returned from the region of the Gadarenes where he had ministered deliverance to the man with the legion of demons. As Jesus steps off the boat, a man by the name of Jairus comes to Him in a highly agitated state. He falls at the feet of Jesus and begs Him earnestly for the life of his daughter. I want you to pay close attention to Jairus’ request. He specifically asks Jesus to “come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and live.”

Just about that time the Bible tells us that a woman that “had a flow of blood for twelve years” heard that Jesus was in town. She comes behind Him, pushing her way through the crowd, desperate to get to Him and do ONE thing-to touch His garment. Why on earth would she do that? Because she repeatedly (the Greek tense indicates this) said to herself, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

So far, we have two people; one says, “Come and lay Your hands on her,” the other says, “If only I may touch His clothes.” Now let’s take a parenthetical break and see a third person. This man is a Roman Centurion. He is not even a descendant of Abraham. In Matthew chapter 8 we read that this Centurion had a servant that was “lying at home paralyzed, [and] dreadfully tormented. ”

Jesus tells the Centurion, “I will come and heal him.” But the Centurion tells Jesus that he is not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof. Then he makes an unusual request, “Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” The Bible tells us that Jesus absolutely marvelled at the kind of faith this Roman showed. Of course, He spoke the word and the servant was healed.

Now let me share what the Lord revealed to me through these three people. Of course, the Centurion’s faith was amazing! “Only speak a word,” he said, and he had faith to believe that Jesus could heal this way. But, when I put him side by side with the woman that had the flow of blood and with Jairus, there is one thing that stands out to me. Jesus met each one at their point of faith without condemning any for their smallness of faith. Imagine if after meeting the Centurion, Jesus went around rebuking people that wanted Him to lay His hands on them. “O you of little faith, haven’t you heard, I healed the Centurion’s servant WITHOUT having to lay hands on him. Why can’t you have that kind of faith.”

Of course Jesus did not and would never do that. So don’t condemn yourself for smallness of faith. Don’t condemn a loved one if their faith is not at strong as yours. The truth is you cannot believe the Lord at the level of someone else’s faith anymore than David could fight Goliath in Saul’s armor.

In practical terms, where the rubber meets the road in my life, what does this mean? Well, we have all read books or heard testimonies of people that have believed God and received amazing results. Have you ever tried to do what they did only to fall flat on your face? I sure have! So, whether it’s a family situation, a physical healing need or a financial problem, get with the Lord through His Word. Find out what you can believe Him for, and do it, at your level of faith. You know what I think? I believe that after a few victories you’ll see your faith grow to levels you never thought possible.

You want your faith to grow; the Lord wants your faith to grow. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a winning combination!