Part of the issue with using Job as a model for how we should respond to attacks by the enemy, is the Bible never actually instructs us to do so. In fact, it kind of tells us to do the opposite. For instance, while Job’s patience is commended by James in the 5th chapter of his letter (vs 11), he gives a different prescription of how the believer is to handle the devil:

 

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

 

Notice that even if one were to believe God is in control of the devil (as many Christians do), or even that He simply gives the devil permission, the instruction remains the same: Resist. In addition, James' comments show us  that both submitting to God, as well as resisting the devil, can be done without one contradicting the other. A fact that seems to be lost on some believers.

 

While it may be true Satan had to get permission from God before touching Job, in the New Covenant, we are promised the wicked one will not touch us.

 

We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

(1 John 5:18 AMP)

 

We are also shown that it’s us (not God) who now have the ability to give the devil opportunity. 

 

and give no opportunity to the devil.

(Ephesians 4:27)

 

Later on in Ephesians we are instructed to take up the full armor of God in order to stand against the wiles of the devil, and with the shield of faith, we can quench all (not some but all) his fiery darts (Eph 6:10-16).

 

Peter, writing to the Church, said something very similar to James regarding instruction of what to do about the enemy:

 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

(1 Peter 5:8-9)

 

So God has already told us what we should be doing about the devil. And it isn’t what Job did. 

 

As far as “rebuking” goes, we have an entire video dedicated to this topic, which I’ll link to below.

 

On Justin Peters’ quote, I don’t know what he means so he would need to clarify before I would be able to respond to it.

 

Before concluding, I wanted to address the passage from Job that is cited in the image:

 

Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?

(Job 2:10)

 

Job referred to what happened to him---the loss of loved ones, the loss of wealth and property, and physical affliction as evil. 

 

This idea is again reinforced at the end of the book where it says that what happened to Job was evil (42:11). 

 

On the other hand, some translations don’t use the word evil in that verse. For example, Amplified says:
 

Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” 

 

I want you to stop and consider that for a moment. Adversity and disaster are words synonymous with evil. I think we all kind of already knew this, but tend to lose sight of the simplistic when it comes to biblical matters. 

 

When we get over into the Gospels, we see something similar in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus was a beggar who suffered from sores (Luke 16:20)

 

Again, the Bible describes what happened to him during his lifetime as bad, or evil (vs 25).

 

If you do a word study on evil in the Bible, it isn’t as abstract and one-dimensional as many have made it out to be. One of the commonly used references for it is the Greek word, “poneros.” It contains such concepts as hurtful, hardships, blindness and diseased. 

 

Interestingly enough, the word, “poneros” is also sometimes translated, “the wicked one” or, “the evil one” as a reference to our adversary (Matt 13:19, 38, Eph 6:16, 1 Jn 2:1). Something to keep in mind the next time you want to make fun of your Pentecostal friends for, “blaming” every bad thing that happens on the devil. 

 

My point in bringing all of this up is that once you realize that things like physical infirmity and poverty fall under the heading of evil, a whole new perspective emerges when you come across passages that deal with the topic. For a couple of examples, read Romans 12:9, or 1 Thessalonians 5:22 with this in mind.  

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Video on Rebuking the Devil

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