I’m sure we’ve all read and heard sermons and heard songs recite similar words pulled from Job chapter 1.
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
At first glance at the shimmery surface, it would appear that Job’s tearful cry bears much truth and revelation into the spirit realm. But does his claim hold water? As we read Job 1, we notice that Satan (the devil) must approach God (Judge and King) so as to accuse Job and get God’s permission to attack the man. That is the protocol for the Courts of Heaven — to approach God as Judge.
We read that Satan went out from the presence of God and and immediately laid waste to Job’s children, flocks, and livestock in short order. The Sabeans stole the oxen and donkeys and killed the servants. Next, the Chaldeans absconded with the camels while having killed those servants. Then a wind came and leveled the oldest brother’s house, where Job’s sons and daughters were partying, ending all their lives. Notice, also, how Satan allowed one survivor from each catastrophe to escape so Job would hear the horrible news.
Also notice that, though he took the lives of the sons and daughters, Satan did not take the life of Job’s wife. Before Satan’s second attack, the devil claimed:
“Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
God knew Satan still possessed the legal right to attack Job, so He responded:
“Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
Giddy with the prospect of attacking the man, the devil goes after Job’s skin. “Skin for skin,” right?
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Why did Satan let her live when he took the lives of all their sons and daughters? Because ‘she was on his payroll,’ as I like to say. He thought she might be instrumental to his ultimate goal of utterly destroying Job.
Imagine your spouse having the heart of Job’s wife! She literally tried to convince her husband to say the words that Satan told God that Job would say if he were struck like he was! So, yes, she was ‘on his payroll.’
In that sort of situation, wouldn’t a good spouse wrap their arms around their devastated spouse and rally around each other? Wouldn’t that be the time a healthy relationship could become unbreakable?
Yes, she was devastated from the loss of their kids, and on some level, about the loss of their livestock, but she wasn’t attacked as was Job with this second wave of evil — she still had her physical health. Why would she have been okay with losing him?
“Curse God and die!”
Seems like she might have had a contingency plan. Maybe she thought the only way to live a life with a shred of decency from such devastation, and the subsequent social shame, was to be rid of the one she thought was to blame … to make him a scapegoat, if you will. You’ve heard of honor killings. Maybe she was thinking there’s no way out of this, so Job might as well curl up in a corner, curse God with his final breath, and die.
What will the neighbors think?
You see, some people think if a man has to endure this level of crap in their lives, they have deserved it — and they would be right … most of the time.
“What you sow is what you reap.”
So, yes, Job was at fault for this. God didn’t allow Satan to attack Job because God is a nasty, bloodthirsty pirate. He had to allow Satan to attack Job because Job had given the devil a legal right to attack him. It’s called ‘sin.’
Unconfessed/unrepented sin and abuse are the main reasons why Satan has legal rights to attack each of us. Job’s sin? Self-righteousness. In his lengthy discourses in the chapters that follow, Job claims his innocence before God and challenges God to state His case against him. If we ever think we are innocent before God, we have fooled ourselves. Yes, the Blood of Jesus makes us clean, but the things we do not confess before God are not brought under the Blood. Make sense?
Over and over, since I became a Christian, I have noticed people saying in songs and sermons that ‘God gives and takes away.’ It is abundantly clear who is behind all the stealing, killing, and destroying in Job’s life.
“The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Imagine the One who gives us all things wanting to steal from us, as well. What want does He have of us? His Kingdom does not depend on us, we depend squarely on His grace, mercy, and love.
“... for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”
Once God gives us a spiritual gift, He will never, ever, never, ever take it back. It’s up to us to determine how we will utilize these gifts and calling. Could you imagine right in the middle of ministering to someone, God deletes a gift so you can’t help that person anymore? That sounds a whole lot like something the devil would do, doesn’t it?
So, clearly, God doesn’t ‘give and take away’ at all.
CONCLUSION
We can take what happened to Job and apply that same spiritual wisdom to our lives. If you are dealing with depression and any other form of trouble, know for certain Satan is ultimately behind it and you have given him the legal right to attack you. Now, it’s time to deal with those legal rights in the Courts of Heaven!
Prayer
My Lord and my God, You are the One who helped Job get his life right again. I come before You and ask that You would do for me what You did for Job. I need a breakthrough like he had. I need a breakthrough like Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, as well! I confess that I have (what He has brought to your mind) and those things have created legal rights for the devil to attack me as he has. Father, I implore You, in the name and blood of Jesus, to free me from this depression and the corresponding bondage I am experiencing. You are my Deliverer and my Healer. I trust in You to set me free from the tricks of the devil and the demonic strongholds of believing lies. Please expose the lies I have been believing so I can have a clear mind as Your Word tells me I should have with You! I apologize for thinking that You ‘gave and took away’ making You out to be little more than a common pirate and hater of my soul. Please forgive those who perpetuate this lie in sermons and songs and enable them to have the same awakening I have just experienced.
In Jesus’ holy name I pray, amen!