JOB 1:6-9
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
How do you feel when someone accuses you of doing something wrong? There’s plenty of scary things in the world but few things make my blood run cold quite like being caught out in the wrong. Many Christians feel weighed down by guilt for their sin even after putting their trust in Jesus. They dread the day they’ll face God in court and hear the charges against them.
In the first two chapters of Job we get a strange behind the scenes look at heaven. And it’s a picture of an accusation. God is seated on his throne and the angels come in… but with them comes Satan. But before long Satan is accusing Job of not truly trusting in God. He’s accusing Job of sin.
The throne room of heaven becomes like a court room with Job as the defendant and Satan as the prosecutor.
The Bible often talks of Satan as an accuser or slanderer, someone who presents our guilt before God. And we are guilty. We all have failed to trust God as God and relied upon our own goodness. We all deserve to find ourselves in the docks.
But when we look at the picture from this side of the cross, things look very different. In Luke 10:18 Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” He’s referring to his disciples telling people the good news of God’s Kingdom… which Jesus has now brought by dying on the cross! If you trust in Jesus but often feel weighed down by guilt, picture that throne room of heaven, with God in the judge’s seat and you in the dock. The judge asks for the charges to be brought… but there’s no answer. Now look to the prosecutor’s seat – it’s empty! There’s no charge. The prosecutor has been thrown out and instead someone is standing there for your defense: Jesus who died for you.
Head: What have you learnt about Jesus from this passage? What have you learnt about yourself?
Heart: How do you feel about the sin in your life and your relationship to God? How does your understanding of the cross contribute to that view? How should it?
Hands: Make a list of the things you do to deal with feeling guilty and ashamed. Now write next to each one how seeing yourself as innocent in Jesus would change the way you act in those areas.
Prayer: Heavenly Father thank you that Jesus died and paid for my guilt and shame. Thank you that by trusting his death I’m innocent in your sight. Please forgive me for believing the cross wasn’t enough to save me. Please cause me to live joyfully for you because you have set me free. In Jesus’ Name Amen.
A song to listen to: Grace Awaiting Me
Ryan Dehnert
