Job 1:9-10: “Then Satan answered the Lord and said: Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou made an hedge about him, and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blest the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the land.”
The accuser’s first accusation was against Job, that he served God because God paid him well. That accusation was pretty well shot down with Job’s response, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.”
The next accusation is against God. God made a hedge around Job and his family to ensure his well being. That part is true. The enemy could not touch Job without God’s permission. However, the accusation is that God built this hedge around Job to maintain control over him. Once that hedge is down, just watch old Job show his true colors. But God knew Job’s heart, He knew he did not have to build a hedge around him to control him and keep him loyal. The hedge was — well let’s look at what this hedge was because we have the same hedge around us whether we realize it or not.
First we note the syntax here. The Lord built three hedges, not one. One hedge is around Job, the other is around his house or his family, and the third is around his possessions. There are three things that a man will fight to preserve, his family, his possessions and himself. Funny, how the enemy did not include God in that list. Would not a man fight to preserve his relationship with His God? Apparently, the enemy felt that God needed to hedge in Job’s family, wealth and health in order to hedge in Job’s relationship with God. Also, it seems obvious the enemy has already made an attempt to attack Job’s family, wealth and health and found himself up against this hedge. He hated the idea of Job serving God even if it was for selfish motives so he attempted to remove his alleged motivation to serve God.
So what is this hedge? The word in the Hebrew is – surprise – succoth. Ok, you knew that already. This is the same word used for the Feast of Tabernacles. Think about it, what are the Jews really celebrating when they celebrate the feast of the tabernacles? Is it just to commemorate the journey of the children of Israel in the desert? Yes, it is that, but it is also commemorating the protection of God. So long as the Hebrew children lived under that succoth or covering of God they suffered no disease, no hunger, their clothes did not wear out, they were not threatened by wild animals, nor did the hot winds or burning sun weary them. The succoth was not just the tents they lived in, but that pillar of cloud that they lived under during the daytime and the pillar of fire at night. Both showed a picture of God’s passion.
So whenever the accuser attempt to attack Job’s family, he ran into the Succoth; whenever he attempted to attack his possession, he ran into the Succoth; and whenever he attempted to attack his health, he ran into the Succoth. He could not touch anything without God’s permission.
Jesus told Peter that the enemy desired him, but Jesus said he prayed for him or interceded for him. In other words Jesus wagged his finger at the enemy and shook his heard – no.
So too with us, the enemy desires to attack our material blessings, our family and us, but each time he comes in for the attack, Jesus wags His finger at him and shakes his head – no. That does not mean that God may lift the Succoth a little to let the enemy in, just so we can prove that we Serve God because He does not pay us. Just to humiliate the enemy and just to prove our true faithfulness to God. God may lift the Succoth from our material blessings, or our family or even ourselves, but He has promised not to allow us to suffer more than we are able to handle. He keeps a close watch on just what the enemy does. He may let the fox into the hen house, but he has a close watch on the fox.
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