Angels Came To Present Themselves

Job 1:2-6 – He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

Job 42:10 – After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

Nehemiah 12:30 – When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall.

1 Kings 22:19 – Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.

2 Samuel 24:1 – Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

Luke 22:31 – “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

Job 38:6-7 – On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Application:

• ·         Job’s prayer for those who had abused him is a touching Old Testament illustration of the high Christian virtue our Lord taught. Job’s prayer marked the turning point back to prosperity for him.
• ·         Ritual purity was intended to teach God’s holiness and moral purity.
• ·         Micaiah’s description of the heavenly scene puts the earthly scene into which he had been brought in its true light—a powerful portrayal of where the true power lies and of the folly of human pretensions.
• ·         Although Scripture is clear that God does not cause anyone to sin, it is also clear that the evil acts of people and Satan are under God’s sovereign control.
• ·         Satan wanted to test the disciples, hoping to bring them to spiritual ruin.
• ·         When the earth was created, the angels were there to sing the praises of the Creator, but Job was not. He should therefore not expect to be able to understand even lesser aspects of God’s plans for the world and for humankind.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV