THE POWER V “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” [Job 1.6] So, satan was among the “sons of God”. Does that make him a son?  I don’t know.  I do know he is created and not a creator.  So, is satan an independent operator?  Does he need permission to do what he does?  Is he part of the big, overall plan for things?  Does he fit into history or create history? “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”  [Job 1.8] Whose idea was it to train-wreck Job’s life?  God or satan?  It appears to be God’s idea to me.  But why?  We’ll get to that later.  But, we know God put the thought in satan’s mind. Satan was the agent of apparent evil and destruction in Job’s life.  But, we can’t give him credit for the decision to do it.  That creates an apparent blurring of the line between “good and evil”.  Is that important? Can we deal with that? “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.”  [Job1.12] More on that in Part VI