Gods 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

Gods Protection
In the book of Job, that describes the depths of the
timeless mystery of suffering, we find a revelation of
Gods justice.

This is no statement made by people of faith.

It is an unwilling and even begrudging admission /
Straight from the mouth of Gods adversary
Satan admits that Job has been rewarded for his

perfect & upright life.

Satan admits that God has built a hedge of
protection
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 Not only around Job, but also around those closest

to Job.
You do not serve God for nothing
When tragedy strikes your life /
dont 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 Gods goodness /
and Gods provision for His own people.
Even the words of Satan have declared what Gods
people have known all along

 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 Jobs hands /
..and caused his substance to be increased.
In order to protect what God had planted and was
nourishing in Jobs 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 /
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 Gods 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.
What delight he must have when believers
themselves willfully root up Gods protective
barriers!
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 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.
Dont tempt God by departing from the targeted
blessing realm /
Dont expect Gods blessing to follow you outside
of His Will!

Satans Proposal and Gods 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

Satans proposal

 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 Gods 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.
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!
It is precisely to contest these false assumptions /
and these false accusations / that the story of a
certain man named Job was placed in Gods Word.

Satans claim

 It was that Job would curse God to His face.

Satans 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 Jobs family and Jobs
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
Jobs hedge remained intact
At this point, / the hedge God had build around
Jobs person remained intact, /
yet the hedge around Jobs family and possessions
was temporarily removed.

 Please notice / that before the removal this

hedge, / all that Job had / was beyond Satans
power.
If you will content yourself / to build your life within
the hedges God plants around you, / all your
blessings will be beyond Satans 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
Gods Will.
Had he been successful, / Satan would forever
have declared Gods lack of justice / and His
uneven ways of dealing with men.
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 Jobs life.

Why?
If you have experienced destruction in your life /
while living within the hedge of Gods 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, /

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?

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 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 dont want to be guilty of either!
How Satan must delight / when he slips in, strikes
and hacks, /
and Gods people talk about how God has
humbled them / or other such term.

Why God allows bad things to happen to me

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,

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 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
Satans activities, /
God points to one He knows is everything but
a spiritual weakling.

Hast thou considered my servant Job?

We have no record / of how many weak and weary
souls were spared /when Satans attention was
redirected / to one of Gods 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.
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 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 Jobs 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 Jobs situation /
that Job did not know.
Job did not know / that God placed a hedge around
him.
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.

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 Job did not know / that God didnt raise a finger

against him it was all Satans 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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