THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHES US ABOUT THE DEVIL

LIBERTY AND LOVE #51

The New Testament affirms that Christians have an adversary who poses as an angel of light and seeks to destroy us (2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Peter 5:8). He is called “the prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30) and the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

We are informed that our battle is a spiritual one as we fight against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). In order to be prepared to fight the devil and stand against his wiles (Ephesians 6:11), we would do well to look at history and ascertain what the Old Testament teaches about who he is and what he does.

For example, we are first introduced to Satan in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). It was the devil who influenced Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit, promising them that they would become like God. This account reveals how he became the father of lies (John 8:44), and from it we discover that it is Satan’s mission to cause us to disobey and be separated from our God. Moreover, in the book of Job, we see that it was Satan who brought about the suffering with which Job was afflicted (Job 1-2:7).

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is this man not a burning stick plucked from the fire?(Zechariah 3:1-2). The Old Testament shows us the devil in action, disclosing his mission and his methods, as well as the fact that every negative thing in the world can be traced back to him and his work.

Dewayne Dunaway