MID-WEEK MANNA FROM PASTOR NAT’S DESK:
June 8, 2022
CHRIST—THE LAW IN LIVING FLESH—DEMONSTRATED ITS AUTHORITY OVER SATAN AND DEMONS (“in the mouth of two or three witnesses truth is established.”)
The awesome and reassuring truth stated in the above title that God in Christ exercises ultimate authority and power over Satan and his evil angel-demons, is witnessed to by these three “witnesses”:
Example No. 1.
The dramatic experience of the ancient patriarch who was “the richest man in the East” of his generation yet was “a perfect and upright man who escheweth evil.” Read the book of Job, written by Moses.
When God permitted Satan to afflict Job to prove his accusation that he was only faithful because of God’s blessing and protection, He defined the limits of how far Satan could employ all his most diabolical schemes and cruelty against the unsuspecting target. “Do all you want with him but kill him, God said. “Thus far and no further.” Satan immediately unleashed his scorched-earth attack upon all of Job’ s vast properties, herds, servants, then killing all his ten children of three daughters and ten sons, sparing only his wife.
Then Satan turned to his ultimate target: Job himself. Obeying God’s specified limitation of not taking away his life, Satan proceeded to torture Job, without touching him, by inflicting him with terrible boils from the crown of his head down to the soles of his feet. (Satan is the mastermind behind all manner of diseases and sicknesses that have vexed mankind since the fall). All that the disconsolate sufferer could manage to do was to “sit on ashes” and use pieces of broken pottery to scrape away the pus oozing out of the boils he could reach.
As if the imponderable loss of all his properties and ten children were not enough to break his indomitable will and patience of a saint, his wife, of all people, instead of of being his designated “helpmate and better half,” told him, adding insult to injury, “curse God and die.”
This is when and where the awe-inspiring, succinct, and concise declaration of pure faith and trust were spoken that have echoed down the stream of the ages to the very close of fine by all who have and will glorify God, pleasing Him by “doing His will in magnifying His law and making it honorable.”
Here they are as spoken by Job under extreme duress [emphasis mine[: “I have esteemed His WORDS more than my necessary food,” and “Though He slay me yet will I serve Him.” Unconditional and uncompromising fidelity, loyalty, trust, confidence and obedience to God’s word and His law! God regarded Job after by returning all that he had lost, tenfold!
Among all the astonishing takeaways from this Biblical record is that Satan, the adversary of God and man, the prince of the devils, of this world, of the power of the air, OBEYS God and His spoken command!
We will consider the next two examples in the following MWMs, God willing. Bless all, NMF