SATANIC ATTACK!
I welcome you to part three of the discussion we started in the first episode of this article. We started looking at the common reasons responsible for believers’ disobedience to the words and commandments of the Lord with reference to the life of Saul, the first king of Israel.
Saul had just disobeyed an unambiguous instruction from God (through Prophet Samuel) to him. And when Saul was confronted with his disobedience, he gave three reasons for disobeying the Word of the Lord:
“And Samuel said (to King Saul), What hast thou done? And Saul said Because I saw that THE PEOPLE WERE SCATTERED FROM ME, AND THAT THOU CAMEST NOT WITHIN THE DAYS APPOINTED, AND THAT THE PHILISTINES GATHERED THEMSELVES TOGETHER at Michmash…” (1Samuel 13:11)
Saul attributed his disobedience to God’s Words to PEOPLE’S PRESSURE, SAMUEL’S DELAYED ARRIVAL, and THE PHILISTINES’ THREATH. The third reason Saul gave for his disobedience was the threat of the Philistines-their rival enemy! In this episode, we will be looking at this third reason as a SATANIC ATTACK because Satan is the greatest enemy of mankind.
Sometimes, disobedience to God’s known commands and wills is a result of a DIRECT ATTACK FROM SATAN!
SATAN IS THE MAIN ENEMY OF HUMANITY AND GOD’S CHILDREN. HE IS THE PHILISTINE’S THREAT WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
Among the angelic spirits of the unseen world, there are those that are evil, though the Bible nowhere records how they fell into such a condition. The chief of these evil angelic spirits is one known as the ADVERSARY- the adversary of God, His people, and all that is good. The Hebrew word for ‘adversary’ is satan, which later became the name used in the Bible for this leader of evil (Job 1:6). He is also called the devil (Matthew 4:1-12; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12:9), the prince of demons (Matthew 9:34; 12:24), the prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the god of this world (2Cor. 4:4), the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the evil one (Matthew 13:19; Ephesians 6:16; 1 John 2:13; 3:12), and the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10; Job 1:6-12; Zech 3:1). Satan is hostile to God and fights against God’s purposes. But in Jesus Christ, by His life, death and resurrection, has conquered him and delivered believers from his power.
Although Jesus has conquered Satan, the world at present sees neither Jesus’ conquest nor Satan’s defeat. God allows evil angels to continue to exist just as He allows evil people. He has condemned them but not yet destroyed them. The world will see Jesus’ conquest and Satan’s defeat in the great events at the end of the age, when Christ returns in power and glory (Revelation 20:10). In the meantime, Satan continues to operate (Matt. 13:24-26, 37-39). He opposes and encourages all that is evil. At times, he works with brutality and ferocity (1Peter 5:8; Rev. 2:10), at other times with cunning and deceit (2Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 1 timothy 3:7). He works not only people who are obviously evil, but also through those who appear to be good (Acts 13:8-10; Acts 5:3).
Christians, because they have declared themselves on the side of God, may at times experience Satan’s attacks more than others. The enemy of the God of Christians is the enemy of Christians! They have a constant battle against Satan, but they do not fight entirely by their own strength. Certainly, they must make every effort to resist Satan and avoid doing those things that will give Satan an opportunity to tempt them (Ephesians 4:27; James 4:7), but God gives Christians the necessary armour to withstand Satan’s attacks (Ephesians 6:11-13). Through the victory of Jesus, they too can have victory.
SATAN CAUSED ADAM AND EVE TO SIN
“Now THE SERPENT was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat” (Genesis 3:1-6)
“And the great dragon was cast out, THAT OLD SERPENT, CALLED THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev 12:9).
The Book of Genesis records the first temptation of Adam and Eve to disobedience and sin. And it was a temptation directly supervised by the devil. It is certain it was the devil that deceived Eve by the temptation to disobedience against the commandment of the Lord. Disguised as a crafty serpent, Satan came to tempt Eve. The devil and Satan is the old serpent. Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life and give up on God’s kind of life. Satan tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to sin by disobeying the clear words of God. He’s been busy getting people to sin every sin. He even tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11), but Jesus did not sin!
The serpent, Satan, tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness. He suggested that God was strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her and, instead, focus on what God had forbidden. We fall into trouble too, when we dwell on what God forbids rather than on the countless blessings and promises God has given us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself over what you don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God.
I have discovered that anywhere Satan chooses to be directly involved in tempting God’s children to sin, something great is at stake! The consequence of the disobedience of Adam and Eve was a colossal loss! In that moment of small rebellion, something large, beautiful, and free was shattered…God’s perfect creation. The man also was separated from God through this disobedience. NOTE: The effect on a plate glass window is the same whether a pebble or a boulder is hurled at it- the thousands of fragments can never be regathered!
Obedience means hearing God’s voice, accepting His authority, and doing what He commands. Disobedience means refusing to hear God’s voice, rejecting His authority, and not doing what He commands. Adam’s disobedience brought ruin to mankind, but Christ’s obedience (obedience throughout life even unto death) brings salvation (Romans 5:19; Phil. 2:8!
SATAN STOOD AGAINST DAVID.
And SATAN stood up against Israel and PROVOKED DAVID to number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1)
Here again, Satan, the enemy of God and all good, is mentioned as the influence behind David’s action to number Israel. David was not just a king but a man after God’s Own Heart. Yet, Satan stood against him. Note, Satan has no respect for the status of any man. As a matter of fact, Satan has a penchant for men and women of great influence. Why? Because any error located in leaders who are people of influence will travel far! A leader’s sin is a leading sin. A leader’s error is a generational error. It is for this cause that leaders in every sphere-home, churches, government, and institutions-must watch and pray always lest they fall into the snare of Satan. This error of David led to the death of several thousand! It’s for this sober reality that we need to continually pray for those in the position of authority especially genuine ministers of Christ. “Because one person (the first human leader) disobeyed god many people became sinners” (Romans 5:19).
SATAN ATTACKED JOB TO MAKE HIM SIN (Job Chapters 1&2)
Job also was not left out of DIRECT Satanic assault with the intent that he might renounce his faith in God. Just in a single day, a life filled with prestige, possession, and people, was suddenly assaulted on every side, devastated and stripped down to his foundation- children, servants, livestock, herdsmen, health, and home; everything was gone! Believers in Christ, especially leaders with a consistent life of obedience to God are a source of continual grief to the devil, the enemy of God. Satan, with the permission of God, tormented Job in order that he might tempt him to sin.
“Then SATAN left the LORD’s presence and made sores break out all over Job’s body. Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. His wife said to him, “You are still as faithful as ever, aren’t you? Why don’t you curse God and die?” Job answered, “You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when he sends us trouble?” Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God” (Job 2:8-10)
Satan tempted Eve that by her he might tempt Adam; so he tempted Job by his wife, and Christ by Peter. It is his pattern and policy to send temptations by unsuspected hands, and through them who have a strong influence upon us.
Thus Satan, through Job’s wife, urges him to renounce his religion, to blaspheme God, set him at defiance, and dare Him to do His worst: “Curse God and die; live no longer in dependence upon God, wait not for relief from Him, but be thy own deliverer by being thy own executioner; end thy troubles by ending thy life; better die once than dying slowly from your afflictions; you may now despair of having any help from thy God, even curse him, and hang thyself.” These are two of the blackest and most horrid of all Satan’s temptations-blasphemy against God or self-murder.
Thus Satan still endeavours to draw men from God, causing them to go against the will of God as he did Adam and Eve; David, Job, Peter, and even Jesus! The heavy burden in my heart at this point would not permit me to consider the case of Peter and Jesus. I just hope you would also like to pray unto God for yourself, asking for strength to stand to victory against every wile of Satan, the enemy of your soul!
The fact that Job triumphed in spite of the destructive and deadly attack of Satan to make him sin against God is a piece of evidence that Satan does not have the final say or power over the believer who is deeply rooted and firmly connected to Christ- the Eternal Son of God! The pathway to this victory is found in the resolution of David the sweet Psalmist and the admonition of Apostle Peter who himself was an object of Satan’s mischievous mission:
I have SET THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved (Psalms 16:8).
“Be SOBER, be VIGILANT; BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL, AS A ROARING LION, WALKETH ABOUT, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR: Whom RESIST STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1Peter 5:8-9)
Only in Christ lies the power and strength to resist this avouch enemy of humanity especially the saints of god in Christ Jesus! If you have accepted the Lordship of Jesus Christ into your life, I congratulate you! You have been positioned to win in Christ Jesus. IT’S TIME TO PRAY!
Oh, Lord-of-the-angel-army! Arise on my behalf against every standing of Satan against my life.
Rebuke Satan for my sake.
Grant unto me strength to overcome this ruthless and restless Tempter.
Frustrate every satanic orchestration against my life, home, calling, and profession.
I engage the Blood of Christ for victory over every satanic battle around my life!
Satan! Hear the Word of the Lord, the LORD rebuke you for my sake in the Name of Jesus!!!
PLEASE PRAY IN JESUS NAME!
Kehinde Bolutife,
May God bless His word in our hearts in Jesus name.
Amen!
Thank you for reading sir!