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Job 1:7: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
First let me establish one thought here. I never give the enemy the dignity of a proper name. I am not sure why people do. Not only do we give the enemy the dignity of a proper name we give him a Hebrew name at that. The word for satan is hasatan. Note the ha in front of the word satan. That is not God laughing at the enemy, well maybe in some Hebraic way He is. That prefix ha is a definite article (the) and in Hebrew a definite article is never put before a proper name. We don’t even do that in English unless you’re President elect Trump who is referred to in some circles as The Donald. Yet God does not even give the enemy the dignity of a proper name, He just calls him the satan. The word satan means enemy, adversary or accuser. With the article he is the enemy, the adversary or the accuser. That is why I never call him by a proper name, I simply refer to him as the enemy. If God will not give him a proper name, why should I or you for that matter?
Now this enemy happens to be among the other created beings presenting themselves to God. Note Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” The word to present is lehiteyatsev for the root word yatsev which means to stand in agreement. The enemy or the accuser was among them or in the Hebrew he came in their midst. He was an uninvited guest. God asked him: “Whence comest thou?” Actually the word for that phrase is miayin which comes from the root word ay which is an all-purpose interrogative. It could mean who, what, where and when and unlike English could mean all four. God knew where he came from, it was a rhetorical question. He was basically asking this accuser to explain himself, why was he the only Democrat among all the Republicans (or visa versa – depending upon your party affiliation).
Note how the enemy responds, he was traveling to and fro over the earth and walking up and down in it. Does not to and fro and up and down mean the same thing? The word to and fro is mishut in Hebrew which in its Semitic origins means to row a boat where we get the idea of to and fro. But it also emphasizes the idea of splashing the water with the oar, lashing out at the water. Hence the word was also used to express the idea of attacking, whipping or scourging. So the enemy was being honest, he had to be, God knew what he was up to, he was walking around the earth scourging and tormenting it. That is why God ask: “Have you notice my servant Job, you didn’t get to him. Ha ha.” The enemy basically replied; “Yeah, because you built a hedge around him and I can’t get near him. Just lower your hedge and let me at ‘em, you’ll see he is no different than anyone else, he will be cursing you before nightfall.”
In Job 1:10 note the word shaketa, which is rendered as hedge. I render it as the wait a minute vine. This is important. You see Job loved God with all his heart. He sacrificed daily to God and even on behalf of his family. What was this hedge that God placed around Job? The word in Hebrew is shaketa from the root word shuk. In its Semitic origins it was used to describe an entwining bush or vine. I had a friend who served in Viet Nam. He told that when he would serve point on patrol he would constantly run into what they called the “wait a minute vines.” These were entangling vines in the jungle that would almost reach out, grab you and hold you back as if saying; “Wait a minute.”
Sometimes I wondered why Job was so lucky to get this hedge around him. What did he do to deserve a hedge. I sure wouldn’t mind having a hedge around me. Why him and not the others that the enemy was able to mishut or torment.
One thing that becomes clear when you read the Book of Job is that Job loved God. God just did not grant Job a hedge at his request. It was only the natural result of his relationship with God. The more you love God the more He will love on you and entangle sheketa you in His love. Of course the enemy cannot stand to be near love. So God’s love is really that hedge. You want a hedge around you, then just love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and might. You do that and everytime the enemy comes to attack you God just reaches out and says; “Wait a minute.” He can only touch you if he gets permission from God. If God does grant that permission as he must have for the Apostle Paul, then like the Apostle Paul you will be able to say in the midst of all that the he is allowed to throw at you: “His grace is sufficient for me.” II Corinthians 12:19. (By the way when I play that song on my I Pod my pet dove Jonah, coos everytime the words come up: “His love is abundant and free, what joy fills my soul, just to know His grace is sufficient for me.”).
If you want God’s hedge around your family, just love on your family and the enemy hates that. Let the love of God surround you and your family and everytime the enemy gets near you or your family God just reaches out and says: “Wait a minute.” The enemy can’t near you or your family unless God gives him permission and if He does you will discover His grace is sufficient for you. But don’t take my word for it, ask Jonah, I guarantee he will give you a coo.
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