Does the book of Job teach that the devil is submissive and controlled by God Almighty?

Answer 1

Modern Judaism sees Satan as an assistant to God and in no way an adversary. His role is to help determine the righteousness of the people. An excellent example of this in the Book of Job. In this, God discussed with Satan, in heaven, what he had been doing. He then gave Satan the challenge to make the righteous Job show lack of belief in God. God told Satan to perform any evil that he needed to do, as long as he did not touch Job. When this failed, and Job continued to show faith in God, God gave Satan a second challenge, in which he could even do evil to the person of Job. FROM THE BOOK OF JOB In the first chapter of Job, beginning with the seventh verse we read,"And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it. 8And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]? 9Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing? 10Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. 12And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. -( from the Amplified Bible) It is evident from the account in Job that Satan, as God's enemy, was actually challenging God, and he was also challenging Job's integrity. God then allowed Satan to attempt to prove his challenge. Later when Satan failed to break Job's integrity with his first attacks on Job, Satan challenged God even further at Job 2: 4,5, "Then Satan answered the Lord, Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. 5But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse and renounce You to Your face. " So we can see that it was Satan's challenge to God, that he could get Job to leave God, and even curse God. In fact, in Job 2:4, Satan went further. He said "all that a man has will he give for his life." It's interesting that he said "a man," not just Job. It would seem that his challenge goes further than just the faithful man Job, but rather it extends to all humankind. So all of us are involved in this issue. Even the son of God, Jesus, while on earth was not immune to this challenge. In Matthew chapter 4, and all throughout the gospels, right on down to Jesus' death, we read about Satan's attempts to break Jesus integrity. In fact, the definition of the words Satan and devil are: adversary, opposer, and slanderer. So Satan is God's opposer and aversary.

Answer 2

The role of the devil, Satan has evolved over time, in both the Jewish and Christian religions. Prior to the sixth century BCE Babylonian Exile, Jews did not believe in Satan and had no concept of heaven and hell as places of reward and punishment. Modern Judaism sees Satan as an assistant to God and in no way an adversary. His role is to help determine the righteousness of the people. An excellent example of this in the Book of Job. In this, God discussed with Satan, in heaven, what he had been doing. He then gave Satan the challenge to make the righteous Job show lack of belief in God. God told Satan to perform any evil that he needed to do, as long as he did not touch Job. When this failed, and Job continued to show faith in God, God gave Satan a second challenge, in which he could even do evil to the person of Job.