The Lord replied to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

• Satan cannot do anything without God’s permission
• God puts limitations on what Satan can do
• Why does God even allow this event to take place ?
• God so trusts his servant Job that he knows his faith will hold and grow under the test of suffering
• God also knows Job’s limits so He will not allow Satan to test him beyond what he can bear.
• This is a duel between good and evil
• Real struggle is not between Job and God but between God and Satan
• This is a holy duel, not a holy war
• In a duel neither party has an unfair advantage
• The duelists choose identical weapons
• There is a strict ritual and code of conduct
• If it was a war, how could Satan compete?

• What is the identical weapon?
• MAN
• The soul and body of human beings is the dueling ground where heavenly powers clash
• Question is not who is omnipotent
• Question is to whom will man entrust his soul
• We said that God will not allow Satan to test Job beyond what he can bear……
• The flip side of this statement is that God will allow Satan to test us up to the limit we can bear !
• Essential doctrine: We live under the protection of God, He sets the limits for the power of evil !