What the Devil Knows.

Job 1:9-22

The devil May be a dummy, but he's a pretty smart dumb-dumb. He knows more than he lets on or that we will give him credit for. He knows how to do maximum damage. And so, we are warned to not be ignorant of his devices.

1. He knows infinitely more than we know, even about ourselves. He is experienced, well-placed, observant, wickedly wise, practiced.

2. He knows that the way to get to God is through His kids. If God had a chunk in His armor, it is you! You know, the whole "weak link" thing.

3. He knows that God is awfully good to us. (9) He knows that most of us would buckle if God removed His hand from us. He knows that if we lost it all, we may be inclined to not realize that we still have Him, and that's all we really need.

4. He knows that God protects us. (10) That we are hedged in on every side and protected by God. He is our shield, our fortress, our refuge, our high tower. He has given His angels charge over us.

5. He knows how blessed we are because we are special to Him. (10b)

6. He knows that he has to have God's express permission to work on us. (12). All testing is okayed and filtered by heaven.

7. He knows how to hit us hard, right where it hurts, and to hit us often. 13-20

8. He knows that some of God's kids can survive His onslaughts still praising God and staying true. 21-22.

Now that you know some of what the devil knows, perhaps you'll be sober and vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, is walking about today, just as in Job's day, seeking whom he may devour.

Job's Perfection

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job was called, the greatest man in all the east. Satan recognized him as blessed by and special to the Lord

But following is God's appraisal and summary of Job:
(And obviously, this is most important)

*He was worthy of testing - "have you considered my servant Job?"

*He has no equal in all the earth - "There is none like him in all the earth." Notice that we are individually appraised by God in matters of faith and righteousness.

*He was perfect and upright. Now we know that technically, no man is perfect. Here is the take of one commentator:  "perfect--not absolute or faultless perfection (compare Job 9:20 Ecc 7:20 ), but (in) integrity, sincerity, and consistency on the whole, in all relations of life (JFB).

*He reverences God! - "One the feareth God." As we know, this character trait is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes extols wisdom's value above all else.

*He hates evil. "One that escheweth evil." Job had the ability to agree with God about sin. He saw its ugliness, its power, its destruction, and therefore, hated it.

Look, every one of us has at least partially related to the sufferings of Job, few to the extent of that righteous man's woes, so why not attempt to relate to his greatness?

Here's a man esteemed by man, extolled by God and revered by Hell. Rich in every way, righteous in Heaven's eyes, and unRivalled in the earth. We may not clear the high bar set by Job, but we surely ought to attempt it.

Esther in a sentence

Thanks to Hadassah from the Harem,

Her Holiness, and a Hangover of the

Hasty Hierarchy, Haughty, Hateful,

Hard-Hearted Haman of Hammedatha

Hung High in the Heat. It's a roll of the

dice and the Hand of Heaven.