Last night I was speaking to a Jehovahs Witness about the devil, we got discussing about the devil in the book of Job.
We both had very different opinions on who the Satan was.
In her opinion Satan was a fallen angel testing jobs faith in God.
In my opinion satan is the personification of the the friends pride as they oppose Gods pronouncement of Job being a righteous man, they are rebuked by God at the end of the book.
God pronounces a truth, the satan opposes and God rebukes the Satan.
However no matter how much we pushed each others views and opinions neither of us were swayed we both though we knew the correct interpretation.
Then it struck me.
Jobs friends say to him “we have examined this and it is true. So hear it an apply it to yourself” in other words listen to us job we know what Gods doing here.
We have the answer.
They had an assumed knowledge and they were proud of it.
This of course gets Job really angry and he says that they’re totally wrong and he actually disproves them and their ideas, he says “come on again” and they throw the same ideas at him by the end of it all Job is fuming and now full of his own self righteousness like the friends at the start he thinks he knows exactly what’s going on and what Gods doing and is very proud of it.
I could feel myself in a similar situation.
So when God speaks he uses lots of figurative language to describe Jobs pride.
Can you tame wild animals?
Were you there when the earth was created?
Can you make the proud humble?
Can you set boarders for the sea and tell their proud waves to halt?
No…no I can’t. Says Job but doesn’t quite get it he says “I will put my hand over my mouth” I will shut up and you can just boss me around some more since your so mighty!
God then makes it a bit more obvious with his description of the lethiathan a untameable creature so huge and fierce that lives in the prions waves.
What God is saying is this pride of yours Job is too much for you to handle don’t fight it on your own. It will devour you.
You need to trust me. Only God can bring the proud low.
This is what Jesus does in his wilderness temptations he falls back on Gods word not his own strength. He does the opposite of fight and he flees sin there is no “come on again.”
Job didn’t need to argue with the pride of his friends he just needed to wait on the Lord.
“lean not on your own understanding fear the Lord and depart from evil” proverbs 3
Just walk away.
I’m not saying the JW’s are evil and we should run away from them but the confrontations we have trying to prove a point because of our own understanding are not encouraging or uplifting just frustrating and they just feed the pride we have in our own knowlege.
Instead pray, wait on the Lord. Serve one another Trust God that his truth will shine through.
Make sure we know for ourselves the different theories and explanations and rightly divide the word preaching to those with open hearts and minds being gentle as doves and crafty as serpents.
Romans says : Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Embrace unity depart from devisions.
Look here for some fantstic talks on Job by John Pople http://www.bibletalks4u.com/pople-john.htm
