Job 1:13-19

13 And there was a day [yowm] when his sons [ben] and his daughters [bath] were eating ['akal] and drinking [shathah] wine [yayin] in their eldest [bakowr] brother's ['ach] house [bayith]:

14 And there came [bow'] a messenger [mal'ak] unto Job ['Iyowb], and said ['amar], The oxen [baqar] were plowing [charash], and the asses ['athown] feeding [ra`ah] beside [yad] them:

15 And the Sabeans [Shaba'] fell [naphal] upon them, and took them away [laqach]; yea, they have slain [nakah] the servants [na`ar] with the edge [peh] of the sword [chereb]; and I only am escaped [malat] alone to tell [nagad] thee.

16 While he was yet speaking [dabar], there came [bow'] also another, and said ['amar], The fire ['esh] of God ['elohiym] is fallen [naphal] from heaven [shamayim], and hath burned up [ba`ar] the sheep [tso'n], and the servants [na`ar], and consumed ['akal] them; and I only am escaped [malat] alone to tell [nagad] thee.

17 While he was yet speaking [dabar], there came [bow'] also another, and said ['amar], The Chaldeans [Kasdiy] made out [suwm] three [shalowsh] bands [ro'sh], and fell [pashat] upon the camels [gamal], and have carried them away [laqach], yea, and slain [nakah] the servants [na`ar] with the edge [peh] of the sword [chereb]; and I only am escaped [malat] alone to tell [nagad] thee.

18 While he was yet speaking [dabar], there came [bow'] also another, and said ['amar], Thy sons [ben] and thy daughters [bath] were eating ['akal] and drinking [shathah] wine [yayin] in their eldest [bakowr] brother's ['ach] house [bayith]:

19 And, behold, there came [bow'] a great [gadowl] wind [ruwach] from [`eber] the wilderness [midbar], and smote [naga`] the four ['arba`] corners [pinnah] of the house [bayith], and it fell [naphal] upon the young men [na`ar], and they are dead [muwth]; and I only am escaped [malat] alone to tell [nagad] thee. KJV-Interlinear

13 Now it happened on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 that a messenger came to Job and said, 'The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. ' 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, 'The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.' 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, 'The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.' 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, 'Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died; and I alone have escaped to tell you. ' NASB

Job himself was not physically harmed, but in a single day, the people he loved and the things he owned, were swept away.

When Satan left the assembly in heaven, he did not immediately attack Job. Some time passed while Satan organized his forces. How much time is not given, but Satan selected a day when all of the children of Job were engaged in one of their feast parties.

The children were at the elder brother's home. Job was at his own home.

Satan employed a freak storm, a natural disaster, common criminals, and organized thugs as the instruments of his attack against Job. How Satan accomplished all of this in one day is not explained. But, suffice to say, Satan has his methods of manipulating the forces of weather and the earth, and even people.

Job was at home when news of the first disaster came.

A messenger came running up to Job, and explained that the oxen and donkeys of which Job had 500 each, along with the workers, had all been attacked and either killed or stolen. This was a working day, even though the children were engaged in their repetitive feast.

The Sabeans are an obscure category of people like wandering raiders. Out of obscurity they came, and back into obscurity they faded.

While the first message shocked Job, a second messenger came running up. This time a very unusual natural disaster occurred and killed Job's seven thousand sheep, along with all of the shepherds who tended them.

While that report was being made, yet a third messenger came running up. This time a well organized band of Chaldean raiders stole all of Job's three thousand camels. Abraham was originally from Ur of the Chaldees. So these raiders were probably from that region.

And then the last of the bad news came to Job. His children were at the eldest son's home, when a freak wind storm, perhaps a tornado or something similar, destroyed the home and killed all that were inside.

From all of these accounts, we know that Satan has some degree of power over nature and human activity. We know that Satan employs no direct communication with people except through mediums of various types.

In the Garden, he used a serpent to fool Eve. In other settings, Satan and his demons, use various types of witchcraft, or seers, or psychic or cult activities, even superstition or greed or religion to accomplish his purposes. These activities include reading of cards, or bones, or tea leaves, or looking into crystal balls and such things. He even communicates his wishes through organized philosophies.

No matter how he accomplished it, Satan convinced several groups to attack Job's possessions, while at the same time, he called on the powers of nature to devastate Jobs possessions and family.

Does this mean that Satan is behind every storm and disaster? No. Neither can you blame the devil for your problems in life, or for the bad things that you think or do. 'The devil made me do it,' is only a cute expression.

Most probably, Satan does not know that you even exist. Just by looking at the world, we can safely assume that Satan probably spends most of his time in the Middle East, and in many of the capital cities of the world. Control of the world is his goal, not causing you some grief.

Satan brings calamity whenever it suits him. In this case he waited until the children were engaged in one of their regular parties. He caused the murder of numerous employees of Job, along with his children, and he caused the theft of most of Job's possessions.

Satan cares nothing for anyone. Evil cares nothing for anyone. Anyone who practices evil, cares nothing for anyone else.

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