“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.”
My Notes
What Does Job 1:6 Mean?
The curtain pulls back on the heavenly court: the sons of God (bene ha-elohim — angelic beings) present themselves before the LORD. And Satan comes among them. Not uninvited. Not crashing the meeting. He comes with the others. He has access to the throne room.
The scene is a divine council — God surrounded by His heavenly court, receiving reports and making decisions. The sons of God are angelic beings who serve as God's attendants (the same phrase appears in Genesis 6:2 and Job 38:7). They present themselves — they come before God's presence formally, as subordinates reporting to their superior.
Satan's name means "the adversary" (ha-satan — the accuser, the prosecutor). He functions here as a prosecuting attorney in God's court. His role is adversarial but his access is authorized. God doesn't expel him. He engages him. The conversation that follows (verses 7-12) is a legal dialogue between the sovereign judge and the cosmic prosecutor — with Job as the defendant.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does knowing Satan has access to God's throne room unsettle your picture of the spiritual world?
- 2.How does the heavenly context (a conversation Job never heard) change how you view suffering without explanation?
- 3.Does God's confidence in Job ('have you considered my servant?') encourage you about how God views you?
- 4.What would change if you assumed your unexplained suffering had a throne-room conversation behind it?
Devotional
The sons of God presented themselves. And Satan came with them. Into the throne room. To the meeting.
The first scene of Job isn't on earth. It's in heaven. The curtain rises on a divine court in session: angelic beings standing before God, and among them — the adversary. Not sneaking in. Not breaking through a barrier. Coming with the others. Taking his place at the meeting.
Satan has access to God's throne room. That's the detail that unsettles everything you thought you knew about spiritual warfare. The enemy isn't locked outside the gates. He's in the meeting. He has a seat. He speaks. And God speaks back.
The conversation that follows is the setup for everything in Job: God points to Job. Satan challenges Job's motives. God permits the testing. And Job — on earth, unaware of the heavenly conversation — enters the worst season of his life because of a dialogue he never heard.
This is the most important thing Job doesn't know: the suffering has a heavenly context. The losses, the boils, the grief — they're not random. They originate in a conversation between God and Satan in a throne room Job can't see. The earthly disaster has a heavenly cause. And the cause isn't punishment. It's a test authorized by a sovereign God who believes Job can pass it.
You can't see the throne room either. The suffering in your life might have a conversation behind it that you'll never hear. The context you lack isn't evidence of God's absence. It might be evidence of His confidence — that you, like Job, can endure what the adversary is permitted to bring.
The meeting happened. The permission was given. And Job — who knew none of this — proved God right.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord,.... This is generally understood of…
Now there was a day - Dr. Good renders this, “And the day came.” Tindal.” Now upon a time.” The Chaldee paraphrasist has…
Job was not only so rich and great, but withal so wise and good, and had such an interest both in heaven and earth, that…
The disinterestedness of Job's piety brought under suspicion by the Adversary in the Council of Heaven
After the scene…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture