We are told in Job 1:6 that the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord on a certain day, and someone called Satan was among them. In my previous study we learned that there is absolutely no context in the Bible that would lead anyone to believe the sons of God were spirit beings, angelic in nature. If this is true, and accurately understood from the word of God, how could Satan be anything but a human being? Why would he appear before the Lord with the sons of God, human beings of high rank, if he were something other than human himself? From where do we get the understanding that Satan is an angelic being who rebelled from the Lord eons ago?
First of all, we have no record in the Bible that would show us that an angelic being, named Lucifer (light bringer) led an angelic rebellion against God and became Satan (the Adversary of God). Such a record comes to us from unbiblical sources, vis-à-vis Jewish literature prior to the Christian era. Their understanding arguably comes from the Babylonian myths, which they were exposed to during their captivity, and these myths were transferred to Christian understanding of the Old Covenant text by the church fathers of the second, and third centuries AD. These myths were never adopted by the writers of the New Covenant text, but are, rather, read into certain verses in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures by teachers of the word of God who have adopted these myths as true. If the Babylonian/Jewish myths weren’t read into the scriptures by religious writers and teachers, it would be difficult to show how these texts could refer to an angelic rebellion that occurred either before or sometime after the creation of man, but before the Genesis Flood.
So, what about Satan? Who or what is he? Well, Paul describes him as an angel of light in 2Corinthians 11:14, but (to my knowledge) nowhere else in scripture are the words Satan, devil, serpent, wicked one or dragon associated with the word angel. Therefore, should we so interpret Paul here, or is Paul describing a human false teacher, vis-à-vis a false messenger (angel) of light?
The word satan is from the Hebrew satan (H7854) and simply means “adversary” or “enemy.” Many Christian scholars have used the word as a name for a figure in the myth of a rebellious angelic being, but we cannot prove that being was ever angelic, if we use only God’s revealed word. In 1Samuel 29:4 David is called the Philistines’ satan (H7854). In 2Samuel 19:22 one of David’s close associates acted as his satan by giving him bad advice that cost the lives of thousands of Israelites. 1Kings 5:4 tells us God gave Solomon peace on all his borders, and he had no satans or enemies! Later, however, the Lord stirred up several satans, because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness (cf. 1Kings 11:14, 23, 25). We can even find that the Angel of the Lord was Balaam’s satan or adversary (H7854; Numbers 22:22, 32)!
In each of these cases the same Hebrew word that we use as a name for an evil angelic being was used to describe human beings (with the exception of the Angel of the Lord). So, just because we see the word satan (H7854) in scripture, it doesn’t necessarily point to an evil and powerful spirit being. On the contrary, what would we do with David or even the Angel of the Lord in the scriptures indicated above?
In conclusion, in the context of Job 1:6, I don’t see the necessity to interpret Satan as anything other than a human being of high rank who lived in Job’s day, and we should consider this man Job’s enemy or adversary.[1] He was jealous of Job, and wanted to destroy him. Wherever we find a righteous man, we will also find an adversary who is willing to take him down, if given the opportunity.
In whatever manner in which we may understand Satan’s coming before the Lord, the Lord spoke with him alone. We shouldn’t consider this to mean a heavenly court was assembled, and everyone there was privy to their discussion. Nebuchadnezzar appeared before the Lord in a dream, vis-à-vis God spoke to him in a dream, but no one else was privy to what occurred in that dream. In our present context, the Lord spoke with Job’s enemy about Job and asked him what he thought of his righteousness (Job 1:7-8). Satan, Job’s adversary, complained that the Lord had protected Job, and this is the reason for Job’s behavior. Job simply reacts well to the Lord, because the Lord treats Job well. If the Lord took away his hedge of protection, he put around Job, Satan claimed Job would eventually curse God (Job 1:9-11).
Therefore, the Lord put Job’s fate into the hands of his adversary, but the Lord would not permit Job’s adversary to touch Job’s person (Job 1:12), and this was done to prove to evil men that Job, and those like him, are truly righteous, because the task of righteous people is not merely to live so before the Lord, but to also witness to those who are in rebellion against God that they are wrong to do so. Thus, begins the account of how the Lord witnesses to evil men, causing them to see and consider righteous deeds, which they would never have considered, if left to themselves.
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[1] Some scholars believe Satan may not have been an evil spirit being, but might have been a powerful spirit being who was a kind of prosecuting attorney for God. In other words, it was his responsibility to find out the evil, if evil is there. Thus, rather than being the enemy of God, he was God’s servant. I reject this idea, because Satan doesn’t accept God’s word as true. He finds fault with God’s understanding. God’s servant wouldn’t do this. Moreover, the text says he went out from the presence of God. God’s servant is never really out of his presence. This is an evil being, so if he isn’t a spirit being, he must be a man.
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