Thus Far and no Further

Job 1 records a time when the Sons of God came to present themselves before God, and Satan appeared among them representing our world (verse 6, 7).

“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? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord” (verses 8-11).

Satan then swept away all Job’s riches and killed all his children, in what was probably a tornado (verses 13-19).

In all this Job did not curse God or lose his trust in Him (verses 20, 22). Having failed, Satan then obtained permission from God to afflict Job’s body, and he smote him with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown (Job 2:7).

But again Job remained faithful, and in the end, God blessed him with more than he had at the beginning. This story was recorded for our benefit and there are several take-ways from it.

The recent devastations of 2020 may well be an omen of what the future holds, but as Christians we need not fear. We may be severely tested, but like Job we too can remain faithful through whatever we are called upon to endure!

It was only when God removed His protective cover from around Job that Satan could do those terrible things to him, and when God said to him “thus far and no further” he had no choice but to comply. While Satan still has the power to afflict, he can only touch us to the extent that God allows, and our loving God will only allow that which is for our good (Romans 8:28).