Firstly the comparison of Scripture, Christian, Jewish and Jewish – this might be annoying but I always like to visit the mouth which received the words to see what kind of horse it is.

Job 1: 7 -12 NIV

JPS 1917 Job 1 :7-12

And the LORD said unto Satan: ‘Whence comest thou?’ Then Satan answered the LORD, and said: ‘From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.’ 8And the LORD said unto Satan: ‘Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a whole-hearted and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil?’ 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said: ‘Doth Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not Thou made a 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 possessions are increased in the land. 11But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, surely he will blaspheme Thee to Thy face.’ 12And the LORD said unto Satan: ‘Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand.’ So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

The Complete Tanakh (Tanach) – Hebrew Bible

Job 1:6-12

6 Now the day came about, and the angels of God came to stand beside the Lord, and the Adversary, too, came among them.
7The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where are you coming from?” And the Adversary answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth and from walking in it.”
8Now the Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you paid attention to My servant Job? For there is none like him on earth, a sincere and upright man, God-fearing and shunning evil.”
9And the Adversary answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10Haven’t You made a hedge around him, his household, and all that he has on all sides? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock has spread out in the land.
11But now, stretch forth Your hand and touch all that he has, will he not blaspheme You to Your face?”
12Now the Lord said to the Adversary, “Behold, all that he has is in your hands; only upon him do not stretch forth your hand.” Now the Adversary left the presence of the Lord.

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We just have to be familiar with this cameo, Satan has come into God’s presence along with the Angles of God and when he is questioned he says, words to the effect ‘that he has come “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it” varous websites I have consulted say that Satan still has limited access to God until Christ returns at the end of time. So this cameo event also might happen with us. Furthermore that God actually allows the tempter to tempt us.

Will we be found wanting  in our Faith and Trust of God – in all circumstances? Will God have such trust in us as to hand us over to the machinations of the devil?

Have you considered my servant Andrew? Does he have any reason to fear God? etc

We may, then, should we want to, call Job ‘Mr Every One’  because everything that happened to Job could happen to any one of us today.  Hence the “Book of the wisdom of Job, the patient man”.

The devil intimates that Mr Everyone is only righteouse to the extent of the size of the hedge protecting him  from being led into temptation by the things of the outside world. For the possessions, family and health which he has. We cannot help but be in awe of our Creator when all seems so good and well, when we prosper and others don’t. Will our awe turn to hate and curses replace our smile if God were to take away everything we had? I should think at least we might have a few choice words to say to God, we wouldn”t be human, would we?

Human – the whole point, Job inhabited this world, as do we, there was and is a special place of safety for those of unworldly obedience. God blessess  us and to take up the words which Satan has already reminded us – Psalm 139:5 New King James Version (NKJV) says  “You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand(of blessing) upon me.”

This ‘hedge’ is not a static thing like the hedge surrounding a paddock or field, it is our shield and defence, it is all of…

Psalm  91 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,  my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you   from the fowler’s snare  and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,  and under his wings you will find refuge;
 his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. [more ]

This is the hedge which protected Job and protects us, to have implicit faith in this Shield is to have the means to ward off evil, to be tempted yet delivered from evil; and Satan, in being allowed to touch everything of Everyone’s yet stopping just short of death… the Hedge, Shield and all its wonders  shrinks from shielding all we are and own to merely covering us. 

Only if the little patter of tiny fear creeps into our mind between the palings. 

So the disaster strikes and At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”  In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.( Job 1:20-22)

That just may have been the end of it all, and followed by ” I know that my redeemer lives….” the triumphant ending.

Come Job 3, after spending a week  staring in competition with Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, Job begins to curse the day he was born, those little tiny socked feet have pattered all the way through the Shield. Never to have been born is never to have been tested.

How often does Mr Everyone express the same? Fairly often and mainly for less reason than Job.

23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24 For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. 25 What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. 26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”  Because the little patter of tiny fear had crept into Job’s mind between the palings and his faith went oozing out from whence they had come.

And Satan still walks up and down the world looking for some sweet soul to sour beyond recognition.