July 1982, terrorists boarded the sea-going passenger liner Achille Lauro and threw a wheel-chair bound Mr. Clinghoffer into the ocean. The world was aghast! America reeled under the threat of terrorism. Italy and France were coerced into releasing known terrorists. Spain’s elections were influenced by terrorists. Terrorism commanded world-wide attention as never before.
Terror consumes energy. Israel has been on 24-hour-a-day alert since her birth as a nation in May 1948 – an exhausting vigil.
Today’s terrorists have at their disposal enormous capacities for physical destruction, but Job tasted the acid of combat against the supernatural fiends of Hell whose goal was both his physical and spiritual destruction. Ignored by most books on Job, satanic terrorism was a significant part of his suffering.
When I was five years old, a poisonous snake slithered toward my mother outside our southern California home. I was so frightened, I could not speak. Imagine these terrifying circumstances. (1) Dangling from a rope and then sensing the rope breaking above you. (2) Camping alone in the mountains and hearing a large animal coming steadily toward you, crashing through the brush. (3) Being pushed from a tall building. Extreme stress (terror) can flood the body with adrenaline and over-stimulate the heart, resulting in erratic pumping that can lead to death in seconds.
Such mental pictures help us enter into the terror Job experienced through his months of hurting. There are 20 references to terror, frighten, torment, terrify, dread, trembling, distress and anguish in Job. Here are a few:
“God’s terrors are marshaled against me.” 6:4
“… terror would frighten me no more.” 9:34
“ … the dread of Him fall on you?” 13:11
“ … seized with horror.” 18:20
“ … I am terrified; trembling seizes me,” 21:6
“ … terrors overwhelm me,” 30:15
See also 13:21, 13:25, 15:24, 18:11, 14, 20:25 and 22:10 and 23:15, 16
In six of these 20 references, EliBilPhar are describing what Job should expect in life as a wicked person. It’s impossible for us to measure this aspect of Job’s suffering. Satanic terrorism throws the dark, foreboding weight of the supernatural into the emotional and physical chemistry. Who can stand against such odds? Let’s be grateful to God for His daily protection amidst what satan may be.
Satanic Terrorism, based on Job 7, is day 8 in Eight Days with Job. This series will be continued at a later date.
Other Posts in This Series:
Job: Spiritual Sushi (Eight Days with Job, #1)
Balance (Eight Days with Job, #2)
The Bet (Eight Days with Job, #3)
Lessons from Job 1 (Eight Days with Job, #4)
Round Two (Eight Days with Job, #5)
A Few Good Men (Eight Days with Job, #6)
Eliphaz and His Demonic Dream Revelation (Eight Days with Job, #7)
Trackbacks/Pingbacks