Breathingbook

Greetings! In my last post, Why Satan Still Operates, I wrote on how Adam and Eve’s eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil introduced a constant flux of both good and evil (the evil is called sin) within all mankind (Rom 5:12,14; Heb 12:1). I also wrote on Satan’s various functions and how (as angel/ god/ prince of this world and ruler of darkness) he continues to function as the administrator of that evil in this world as a result of what Adam and Eve did (Lk 4:5-7; Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:3-4; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16-17).

So, since we’ve covered Satan’s first accusation of Job in Job 1:9 The Meaning of “Cost,” we now come to Job 2:4-5, where Satan makes his second accusation of Job.

Job 2:4-5 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth Thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.

Skin for skin. This term is somewhat similar to the term “an eye for an eye.” Basically it describes the state of someone taking matters into their own hands in order to obtain some form of “equivalency” when things go awry for them. This can be seen in anything from simply being “offended” by something that someone has said or done, to someone committing an “offence” in order to achieve something they lust after or desire, but have been kept from obtaining (Gen 3:5; Mat 13:21, 41-43; 15:12-14; 24:10; 26:31-35; Lk 7:20-23; Jn 16:1-4; Acts 24:16; Rom 5:15; 14:20-21; 1 Cor 10:32-33; Phil 1:10).

Of course, this is speaking of the kind of offence which leads to sin and NOT of the offence someone might take for that which is good, such as the Gospel, which is inherently offensive to sinners (Isa 8:13-15; Mat 11:4-6; Mat 13:57; Mat 16:23-27; Mk 6:3; Jn 6:53-66; Rom 9:30-33; 1 Cor 8:13; 1 Pet 2:6-8).

Thus, in Job 2:4-5 Satan basically makes the accusation that if Job were presented with the right circumstances or “offences,” he would become so “offended” with God for allowing his troubles to come upon him, that he’d commit a “skin for skin” offence towards God and curse Him to His face.

all that a man hath will he give for his life. Again, this speaks of when someone is willing to commit an “offence” in order to achieve something they lust after or desire, but have been kept from it. In Job’s case, Satan afflicts him in his health, relationships, and overall ability to provide for himself. So, when his former “friends” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (who are all wealthy men capable of helping him in his poverty) show up, they try over and over to get Job to confess that his troubles are a result of some unrighteousness he’s committed before God. Job argues with them for a long time before he finally comes to the conclusion that since he’s innocent, any agreement with them would intrinsically be a loss to his own integrity and righteousness before God (Job 2:3; Job 2:9; Job 27:2-8; Mat 11:6).

Job 27:4-6 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

he will curse Thee to Thy face. This is the action Satan desires Job to do to bring about the equivalency retaliation. After having presented so many things to Job to first “offend” him, Satan wants him to commit an “offence” against both himself AND God by cursing God to His face in a last ditch effort of retaliation towards God.

Notice how high the stakes are in this accusation. For though he made the same accusation in Job 1:9-11, that offensive (temptation) ended rather quickly. There, after losing his children and possessions, Job rose up, rent his mantle, shaved his head and fell down on the ground and worshipped God (Job 1:20-22).

Job 1:21-22 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

But the ordeal resulting from the accusation of Job 2:4-5 went on for months (Job 7:3) and the physical and mental suffering was very intense. So, this time there was much more temptation for Job to get offended about and, unfortunately, he wore down.

Now, I’ve been writing throughout this post how Satan accused Job and accuses the brethren of offence. In my last post “Why Satan Still Operates,” I went over many of Satan’s functions, one of those being how he’s the Accuser of the brethren (Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-7; Zec 3:1; Lk 4:5-7; Lk 22:31-34; Rev 12:9-10).

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser (complainant at law) of our brethren is cast down, which accused them (charged with offence) before our God day and night.

Basically, the accuser accuses “with offence” to “bring offence,” and therein lies the key. You see, Satan is the Accuser… But wait! He’s also the ruler of darkness. And we know from the other names the Bible gives us of him that he’s also the Destroyer and the angel of death (these are all covered in “Why Satan Still Operates“). Anyway, Satan has all these names… But, why so many? Well, Praise be to God, because He has a reason for everything that He does!

So, let’s work this out:

• How does Satan Accuse the brethren? With “offence.”
• What does he hope to gain? He hopes we’ll succumb to the “offence” and become “offended.”
• What does he want to happen after we’ve become offended? He hopes we’ll commit another “offence.”
• What is the big deal about offence? Well, Satan’s the ruler of darkness and “offence” brings “darkness” upon you.
• And, why is darkness or offence upon you so bad? Because it’s goal is to put out the Light so Satan can get at you.
• Who is the Light? Jesus!

Jn 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.

Now, I know… Offence is sin and sin brings death, and Satan is the angel of death, and that is important - in fact it’s all linked together - but, too many things coming together all at once can cause confusion, so, let’s push sin and death aside for now, and focus on what I have to tell you about “offence.”

Let’s face it, Satan’s the epitome of darkness in this world, but Jesus Christ is the epitome of Light! At best, Satan is still a created angel, so with all this talk about offence, I want to make sure you know it’s Jesus Christ who’s Lord, God, and Creator of all things (including Satan, who is an “angel”). And Jesus has given us the victory in Himself, through His Word and through prayer which connects us to God. So, though the darkness comes at us through offence, we must seek to clearly recognize offence for what it truly is so that when we see it coming, we can say no to it, and come against it with the Light that is in Jesus Christ and His Word (Mat 5:14-16; Lk 1:76-79; 11:33-36; Jn 1:4-5; Jn 6:53; 8:12; 12:35-36; 2 Cor 10:4-6; Eph 6:13-18).

Jn 12:35-36 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the Light with you. Walk while ye have the Light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of Light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them.

Eph 5:7-10 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of Light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Our poor brother Job was in a time of darkness. Over and over again he asked his “friends” to encourage him, but his friends were so sure of their own judgment of the situation that they let poor Job down (Job 6:14; 6:21-27; 13:4-5; 16:2-5). Understand, Job was always the perfect and upright one that everyone else went to (Job 1:8; 2:3) so he’s the one who encouraged everyone else (Job 4:3-5; 29:7-25), but since his suffering carried on for so long, he became worn out. Time took its toll on him and Job became offended at his own affliction, cursing the day he was born and calling himself a monster (Job 3:1-10; 23:13-17 NKJV®; 30:29).

Indeed, Job had entered into a time of darkness.

Job 29:2-3 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; 3 When His candle shined upon my head, and when by His Light I walked through darkness.

You see, Satan’s been at this “offence” thing a long time. “Offence” is actually the earliest manifestation of sin recorded in the Bible. In Rom 5:12-21 it explains that although “sin” wasn’t actually imputed by God before the Law of Moses (Rom 5:13), it still existed in the form of “offence.” And because Adam committed that first offence, he’s the one who brought sin into the world (Gen 3:6; Rom 5:12,14).

Therefore, “sin” existed in the beginning with Adam and Eve, and although it was called “offence,” it was still “sin.”

Rom 5:15 But not as the offence (G3900), so also is the free gift. For if through the offence (G3900) of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

In a nutshell, when Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he did so even though he knew God had told him not to. In this, Adam committed an “offence” against God. So, when the consequences of that offence began at first to take place, Adam was offended at his nakedness (Gen 3:7-11), he was offended with Eve (Gen 3:12), and I think it’s safe to say that after he was cursed and lost his immortality, he was offended with God and Satan. Thus, darkness descended upon Adam and Eve.

We also have another revealing aspect of “offence” seen through the murder of Abel by Cain in Gen 4:1-10. There, Cain and Abel both present offerings to the Lord, but God has respect for Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. Now, in Gen 4:6-7, the Hebrew word chatta’ah has been translated “sin,” but it means “an offence,” and shows what took place in Cain’s heart before he actually committed Abel’s murder. Basically, Cain got “angry” and the look on his face changed from normal to “fallen.” In other words, his demeanor dropped, because he was offended.

Gen 4:6-7 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

H2403. chatta’ah, khat-taw-aw’; or chatta’th, khat-tawth’; from H2398; an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concretely) an offender:–punishment (of sin), purifying (-fication for sin), sin (-ner, offering).

You see, though the act of murder had not yet taken place, God said (paraphrased), If you do well, are you not accepted? But since Cain went ahead and murdered Abel, we know without any doubt that he wasn’t doing well. “Sin lieth at the door,” meant offence was “there” and written all over Cain’s face and he’d end up murdering Abel because of it.

Offence, then, is not only the “action” you took that resulted in sin, but what took place in your heart and mind regardless of whether the action took place or not. In other words, the offence is “known” in the heavens.

We see this same premise in Jesus’ teaching of how looking at a woman with lust is to actually commit adultery (Mat 5:28). We also see it in John the beloved’s teaching of how “hating” (loving less) of your brethren is to commit murder (1 Jn 3:15). Not only these, but it also lies within much of the gospel in some way, shape, or form. For example, with jealousy or bitterness – though no action may ever be taken outright for either of them – both of them occur within the heart and have evidential affects not only upon our relationship with God, but also with those we are focused on while within jealousy or bitterness.

Indeed, most “unforgiveness” is a result of someone taking offence or being so offended with another person that they refuse to forgive them. This is tragic, because we ourselves are forgiven by Jesus Christ who suffered and died for us so that He COULD forgive us. Moreover, whenever believers refuse to grant forgiveness to another person, it results in the horrible consequence of not being forgiven ourselves (Mat 6:14-15).

Mat 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This brings us to the clearest example I can show you of someone not offending or taking offence, and that is in the trial of Jesus Christ.

Now, Jesus came to save us by offering up Himself as the “sinless” sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Because He did that, all anyone who believes in Him has to do whenever we sin is sincerely repent and seek His forgiveness for it. But, in order for Jesus to die as the sinless sacrifice, He had to first get to the cross, and getting to the cross required an accusation.

Although Jesus did nothing wrong, He was betrayed into the hands of the Sanhedrin and high priest, who put Jesus under trial. And when the high priest asked Jesus if He was” the Son of the Blessed,” Jesus told him that He was (Mk 14:61-64).

Mk 14:61-62 But He held His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto Him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

The thing is, Satan already knew Jesus was “the Son of the Blessed.” So the issue of seeking offence did not culminate in the trial of the Jews, but continued throughout the mocking’s, beatings, torture and humiliation of the crucifixion as Satan pulled out everything he had to entice Jesus to be offended, and commit offence (Mk 14:64-65; Mk 15:15-20; Lk 23:33-41).

Jn14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.

Now, if you’ve ever gone through any form of suffering or affliction, then you know that nothing is more difficult to endure than extreme physical and mental abuse and trying not to become offended at someone! But because of the perfection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, even with all the offence that was heaped upon Him, He did not take offence in Himself, He did not offend in retaliation, and He did not become offended towards God.

But what did He do? And I love this part – Jesus was so utterly amazing and magnificent throughout all of it – because He remains silent throughout all of their “offences” upon Him. He keeps His mouth shut and says nothing back to them, and in this, He does not willingly provoke or offend them (1 Pet 2:19-23).

1 Pet 2:19-23 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: 22 Who did no sin (G266), neither was guile found in His mouth: 23 Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.

In the end, as an example to show us all just how no “offence” could be made at all, He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Lk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.

In this, Jesus not only continuously loved, interceded for us, took all our offences upon Him, and gave no offence back, but He masterfully forgave us all, and brilliantly shined forth as the Light so brightly that neither darkness nor its offence could cling to Him.

Jn 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Make no mistake about it, though sins of offence can sometimes be hidden away to where no other human can see them, God still sees them! And Satan is diligently looking for them to create another offensive!

Offences are real and they bring about darkness, which brings despair and death. So if there’s any doubt in your minds left, look at Mat 18:7-8 where Jesus, speaking to His disciples, pronounces a woe against those committing offence and warns them (and us) that if they have offence in their lives, to get rid of it, because it could send them into the everlasting fire.

Mat 18:7-8 Woe unto the world because of offences (G4625)! For it must needs be that offences (G4625) come; but woe to that man by whom the offence (G4625) cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend (G4624) thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Now, may the everlasting Light of God shine fervently in your lives, and may God, who is our Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace to say no to offence and to forgive others, because they really don’t know what they do.

Peace out!

Loris Anne James

“NKJV marked scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”