God’s Hedges

“Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for

nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his

house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed

the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But

put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will

curse thee to thy face.” Job 1:9-11

God’s Protection

In the book of Job, that describes the depths of the timeless

mystery of suffering, we find a revelation of God’s justice.

This is no statement made by people of faith.

It is an unwilling and even begrudging admission /

Straight from the mouth of God’s adversary

Satan admits that Job has been rewarded for his perfect &

upright life.

Satan admits that God has built a hedge of protection

Not only around Job, but also around those closest to Job.

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You do not serve God for nothing

When tragedy strikes your life /

don’t believe for one moment that there is no reward in a

godly life!

God has protected you in ways you do not even understand.

Satan refers to the protection of God & also the blessing of

God.

Not only has God protected Job /

but God has also blessed the work of his hands and

increased his substance.

These blessings are no accident for they are the work of the

Almighty.

Notice - that even the mouth of our enemy has proclaimed

God’s goodness /

… and God’s provision for His own people.

Even the words of Satan have declared what God’s people

have known all along –

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“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man

that trusteth in him” (Ps 34:8).

And what of those “hedges?”

A hedge is planted and maintained to keep the rubble out.

It serves to redirect unwanted traffic away from certain

areas and places.

This is often so that those places can be protected /

and whatever has been planted there may continue to grow.

God had blessed the work of Job’s hands /

..and caused his substance to be increased.

In order to protect what God had planted and was

nourishing in Job’s life /

the Lord erected hedges around Job, his house, his family,

and all his possessions.

Satan was not prohibited from passing by /

but his activity was directed away from Job by these hedges

of protection /

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that God had built around Job.

God still builds hedges around His people.

Inside those boundaries men find blessing, fruitfulness, and

spiritual prosperity.

But outside the hedge of God’s protection wild animals

roam.

Why would believers attempt to tear down the hedge of

protection

These are hedges, the Lord places between them and the

rest of the world?

Why do believers seek to be like others /

…and remove the boundaries of protection that God places

around them?

Notice that these hedges of protection are a source of

irritation to our adversary.

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What delight he must have when believers themselves

willfully root up God’s protective barriers!

Foolish men do this in an attempt to extend the “blessing”

beyond the area targeted by God for His blessing.

There is no blessing outside the Will of God.

Don’t tempt God by departing from the targeted blessing

realm /

Don’t expect God’s blessing to follow you outside of His Will!

Satan’s Proposal and God’s Permission

“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he

will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold,

all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth

thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” Job

1:11-12

Satan’s proposal

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It was one that would have given him ammunition later to

use against the Lord.

Satan wanted God to reach down inside the hedge of

protection /

and do violence to Job. “…put forth thine hand…”

This proposal was worded as a challenge /

designed to persuade God to do harm to a righteous man /

living within God’s Will for his life.

This is precisely the conclusion / that every one of the

humans in the Book of Job reasoned from.

That is / that God had done this to Job.

But this idea could not have been more flawed.

God is not (so) unpredictable

as to bless the righteous living within His perfect will today

and tomorrow do violence to one who trusts Him.

God is not unjust. / We serve a just God.

And yet / this is the belief that men, / in their depraved

state, / seem to universally accept.

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This false supposition is found throughout our society.

It is expressed even in the business community.

For example, / churches hold insurance policies / in order to

insure against the loss of a place of worship.

If one were to read through the policy / one would find

certain clauses / indicating circumstances that are exempted

from coverage.

The phrase “Acts of God” / will almost always find its way in

here.

And yet / this phrase implies / that it is possible for God to

reach inside the hedge of protection / and do violence

against righteous people / for no other reason than that He

can.

But I argue / that if a building suddenly collapses upon

people / for no apparent reason / it would not be an “act of

God” / but rather an act of the devil.

I refuse to blame God for what the devil does!

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It is precisely to contest these false assumptions / and these

false accusations / that the story of a certain man named Job

was placed in God’s Word.

Satan’s claim

It was that Job would curse God to His face.

Satan’s proposal was for God to do violence to Job without

cause.

Let the Church hear the message of the Book of Job loud and

clear.

God refused to touch Job.

God refused to do harm / to that which was His blessing

toward Job.

Instead, / God agreed to temporarily remove the hedge / He

had build around Job’s family and Job’s possessions.

“And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy

power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went

forth from the presence of the LORD.” Job 1:12

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Job’s hedge remained intact

At this point, / the hedge God had build around Job’s person

remained intact, /

yet the hedge around Job’s family and possessions was

temporarily removed.

Please notice / that before the removal this hedge, / all that

Job had / was beyond Satan’s power.

If you will content yourself / to build your life within the

hedges God plants around you, / all your blessings will be

beyond Satan’s reach!

So Satan “went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

His real ploy had not worked.

He had been unable to convince Jehovah / to do violence

against a righteous man / living within God’s Will.

Had he been successful, / Satan would forever have declared

God’s lack of “justice” / and His uneven ways of dealing with

men.

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Instead, / he must now convince men that this is the

case.

He must act as the destroyer toward Job / and drive him to

despair / due to “acts of God” in Job’s life.

Why?

If you have experienced destruction in your life / while

living within the hedge of God’s will, /

you have no doubt asked the question / that is as old as

human suffering – “Why?”

Perhaps you have been thoughtful enough / to phrase the

question in a less accusatory way –

“Why did God allow this to happen?”

But the accusation is still in your tone.

God has unprotected you; hurt you; damaged you.

And thus the blame for acts of the devil / is laid firmly at the

feet of the only righteous and just God.

Satan is the accuser of the brethren, /

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but he wants the brethren to become the accusers of God.

He has challenged the Lord God countless times / to do

violence against the righteous /

and God has refused each and every time.

How do I know this?

Because – “Great and marvellous are thy works … just and

true are thy ways, thou King of saints” (Rev 15:3).

He is “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus”

(Rom 3:26).

If blaspheming (insult) the Holy Ghost / is crediting to the

devil what God has done, / then reverse blasphemy is

assigning to God what the devil has done.

You don’t want to be guilty of either!

How Satan must delight / when he slips in, strikes and

hacks, /

and God’s people talk about how God has “humbled them” /

or other such term.

Why God allows bad things to happen to me

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Someone says, / “But you still have not told us / why God

allows bad things to happen to me!”

Notice that / when Satan was asked where he had come

from, / he replied with hands in pockets and tongue in

check,

“From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and

down in it” (Job 1:7).

God knew where Satan had been; / yet the devil himself was

reluctant to disclose his activities.

Why? / Because he was roaming about as a roaring lion /

seeking whom he might devour.

He was looking for weak and vulnerable souls to devour /

and damn for eternity.

And with words filled with understanding / about Satan’s

activities, /

God points to one He knows is everything but a spiritual

weakling.

“Hast thou considered my servant Job?”

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We have no record / of how many weak and weary souls

were spared /when Satan’s attention was redirected / to

one of God’s best warriors, /

but I have every reason to believe / it was substantial.

By calling attention to one/ the Lord had utmost confidence

in, / God used one of the oldest tricks in the history of

warfare.

He caused the enemy to attack / where the most

experienced and capable forces were arrayed against him.

This was uncharted territory for Satan.

He had been excluded from Job’s area of blessing / by a

hedge of protection these many years.

And God used the faith / of one of His own children / to give

the enemy a bloody nose once again.

If you are struggling to find meaning in your suffering, /

please consider the things about Job’s situation / that Job did

not know.

Job did not know / that God placed a hedge around him.

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Job did not know / that God blessed and increased him /

within that area of blessing.

Job did not know / that Satan was preying on others / who

were not as prepared to deal with him.

Job did not know / that God didn’t raise a finger against him

– it was all Satan’s doing.

Job did not know / that God in fact used Job to spare

others /and to have victory over Satan.

Consider these possibilities / the next time you are

tempted to ask, “Why?”

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