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Today, we’re going to draw a lesson
from the Bible book of Job.
And the lesson is this:
In spite of God allowing
the Devil to be “the ruler of the world,”
the book of Job builds our confidence
in Jehovah’s supreme authority.
And when we have confidence
in his supreme authority,
that helps us to endure.
In fact,
Jehovah is referred to as “the Almighty”
32 times in the book of Job,
which is more often
than all the rest of the Scriptures.
The Bible not only tells us Job’s story
but it reveals the “understory,”
what was going on behind the scenes.
It peels back the heavens and teaches us
big lessons on Jehovah’s superiority.
Let’s take a closer look.
If we open our Bibles now to Job chapter 1
—Job chapter 1—
we can begin in verse 6:
“Now the day came when the sons
of the true God entered
“to take their station before Jehovah,
and Satan also entered among them.”
Well, the appearance of Satan here
is only by Jehovah’s permission.
Jehovah tolerated Satan’s presence
so that a moral issue could be settled.
But we need to remember that Jehovah,
as the Sovereign of the universe,
was not threatened by Satan’s presence.
Jehovah stayed in control.
He called the shots,
and his supreme authority
was never in danger,
as we will see in the next verse, verse 7:
“Then Jehovah said to Satan:
‘Where have you come from?’”
Jehovah has the upper hand.
Jehovah asks the questions.
Satan gives the answers.
He’s in control.
Jehovah knew the answer to that question,
“Where have you come from?”
But by permitting Satan to speak,
it now gave opportunity for the Devil
to reveal to everyone else
what Jehovah already knew
—that he was “roving about on the earth,”
and he was up to no good.
Well, now let’s go to verse 8
and see what Jehovah does next.
He stays in control and begins
to squeeze Satan—verse 8:
“[And] Jehovah said to Satan:
‘Have you taken note of my servant Job?’”
Or as the footnote highlights:
Have you “set your heart upon” Job?
Jehovah calls Satan out.
He knows what’s going on.
But Satan, like a coward,
didn’t even bring up the matter of Job.
Jehovah raised the subject,
knowing that Satan
was stewing about it the whole time.
We find Jehovah reading
the inmost thoughts of Satan’s heart.
In other words: ‘Let’s get it out.
Let’s get it out.’
And out it came.
There in verse 10, Satan says:
‘Well, you’ve put up a protective hedge
around him
and you blessed everything in his hand.’
‘That’s right.
And you can do nothing about it.’
You see, the fact that Satan
could not remove this hedge
shows his inferiority
and Jehovah’s superiority.
And Jehovah has every right
to protect the interests of his people,
and he uses his power to do so.
In the garden of Eden after Adam’s rebellion,
what did Jehovah do?
He took immediate action
to control the garden of Eden
and that tree of life
by setting two cherubs there to protect it.
Satan could not do anything about that.
And in the Flood of Noah’s day,
what did Jehovah do?
He washed away the Nephilim,
Satan’s earthly civilization.
The Devil could not prevent that,
again highlighting Jehovah’s superiority.
And now in chapter 1 and verse 11,
Satan says:
“Stretch out your hand [he says to Jehovah],
and strike everything he has.”
Satan wants Jehovah
to stretch out his hand and strike Job?
No.
That’s not going to happen.
Jehovah maintains his position
and doesn’t even stoop to a debate.
He doesn’t take orders from the Devil,
nor does he afflict his people.
But he does allow Satan
to test Job up to a point.
And that’s in verse 12.
But, again, notice how Jehovah
exercises his superior position.
In verse 12,
he lets Satan persecute Job to a degree,
but he says:
“Do not lay your hand on the man himself!”
And that’s showing that he puts
specific limits on Satan,
and Satan obeyed demonstrating to all
that his control was not all-embracing.
Jehovah shows him up
to be a sham sovereign, a helpless inferior.
And the very thing Satan craves the most
is something he will never have,
that there’ll always be someone on this earth
who clings to true worship.
Well, there’s chapter 1,
and Satan has shown up to be an inferior,
and Jehovah’s superior power is obvious.
And now in chapter 2,
we have round two,
or another assembly, part two.
Satan shows up again in verse 1,
but again, notice verse 6,
when he wants to again accuse Job
of not being loyal.
In verse 6, Jehovah says:
‘Yes, he’s in your hand,
but you do not take his life.’
Again, one more time,
Satan recognized his impotence.
Jehovah put him on notice,
and he followed the rules.
Satan complied.
Well, again it showed Jehovah is almighty.
And that’s the point of this discussion.
It builds confidence in us
and helps us to endure
knowing Jehovah’s superior power.
But now the master stroke is in chapter 42
and verse 10
—42:10.
Now Job’s trial was within a few months,
his suffering, perhaps less than a year,
and then it was over.
But look what happens in verse 10:
“After Job had prayed for his companions,
Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation,”
or “turned back” that captive condition,
as the footnote highlights.
So, again, here we see that Jehovah
—once that trial served its purpose,
once it was settled—said, ‘Enough!’
The gavel went down.
It’s over; it’s finished.
And the Supreme Sovereign
took immediate action
and turned back that captive condition.
He had Satan on a short leash the whole time.
And why is this important?
Because, again,
understanding Jehovah’s superior power
instills confidence in us
that he will not allow this system
to go on any longer
than is necessary.
So let’s put it all together
in line with Romans 15:4.
These are the things
that fortify us to endure
and that remind us that our trial
will not go beyond what we can bear.
These are the things that convince us
that Jehovah has the upper hand
and that whatever he permits
is in line with his purpose
and that Satan is nothing
but a pseudo sovereign.
These are the things that prove to us
that our heavenly Father
is eager to turn back our captive condition.
Yes, these are the things
that were “written for our instruction.”

Mark Noumair: We Can Endure Like Job (Rom. 15:4)