And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
Heaven's door opens a second time, and God questions the accuser again. Satan must say where he has been — and he answers after Job has already lost his possessions and still held on to God.
The Same Answer, With Nothing Learned
One writer points out what is missing from Satan's reply — any admission that his first prediction about Job had failed:
Leslie M. GrantAnother day comes. Satan presents himself to God among the sons of God, and his answer to God's first question was the same as in Chapter 1. Then God faces him with the fact that Job had not done what Satan said he would if deprived of his possessions (v.3). Satan should certainly have admitted he was wrong and apologised for his obvious error. But Satan is like too many people. Instead of admitting they were wrong, they prop up their pride. They bring up another possibility, and it is just as faulty as Satan's first claim.
What the Roaming Means
Satan's work has two faces, depending on where he stands:
Samuel RidoutIn the dialogue between the Lord and Satan, we have God's challenge and Satan's accusation. The answer to the first question shows where Satan is carrying on his work. Like the restless raven flying over the flood waters, he prowls around "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." In heaven he is the accuser. On earth he is the destroyer. Wherever he is, he is always and only Satan — the enemy of God and of good.
Not Yet Shut Away
God asks him where he has come from, and he must answer. That settles a common confusion about where the devil is now:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHe has to give an account to Jehovah. He walked to and fro in the earth and walked up and down in it. He therefore is not in hell. The New Testament tells us that he is "the god of this world" and that his throne is here on earth. He still walks up and down and to and fro.
A Real Power, but a Borrowed One
This scene also shows the place Satan holds in God's government:
C. H. MackintoshHe is a mere instrument. He is always ready to accuse the Lord's people, yet he can do nothing except as God allows. So far as Job was concerned, Satan's efforts proved useless. Having done his utmost, he goes away, and we hear nothing more of what he does.
That double truth — genuine danger, and a leash — is meant to produce two responses at once, not one:
J. N. DarbyObserve, when Satan is described as going "to and fro in the world," "going about seeking whom he may devour" — under such circumstances we have need of great caution. But let the saints of God feel it is a permitted power, restricted, restrained, and subdued at God's will.
The Limits Hidden in the Words
The picture of travelling about also corrects an inflated view of the enemy:
Leslie M. GrantThis shows that Satan is not omnipresent, as God is. Satan can be only in one place at a time, however quickly he may travel. Yet he has many agents, evil spirits, who carry on his wicked work throughout the world... Some have questioned too whether Satan knows our thoughts. Absolutely not! Only God knows the hearts and the thoughts of mankind.
Why God Permits a Second Round
Job had already passed one test. Behind the second round stands God's own purpose, not just the enemy's persistence:
Samuel RidoutWe may be sure that divine love, as well as divine wisdom, subjected this afflicted child of God to fresh assaults at the hands of Satan. The enemy is to do all, and so prove that his own charge is false... And through the very trials he must pass through, Job will learn the lesson of all lessons, for all eternity: God is all in all. As a step toward that knowledge, he will see that he is nothing.
Standing Today Against the Same Walk
These words are picked up in the New Testament and applied directly to believers now:
Hamilton SmithThough the cross has broken the devil's power, he is not yet cast into the lake of fire. As a restless and roaring lion he is still "going to and fro on the earth … walking up and down on it" (Job 1:7; Job 2:2)... Peter can speak from experience, for the time was when Satan desired to have Peter. He was allowed to sift Peter like wheat, but he could not touch Peter's faith. The Lord said, "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail." Now Peter can tell others the secret of resisting Satan: stay "firm in your faith."
Summary
- Unchanged. He gives the same answer as before and never admits he was wrong. Pride invents a new charge instead of owning an old failure.
- Unconfined. He still reports back from roaming the earth, so he is not in hell. He is loose now, and the earth is where he works.
- Unequal. He walks from place to place, so he is not everywhere at once, and he does not read your thoughts — only God knows hearts.
- Under orders. He is only an instrument in God's government. He can do nothing unless God allows it, and against Job his utmost efforts failed.
- Undone. God allows the second attack in love as well as wisdom. The accuser disproves his own charge, and Job learns that God is all and he is nothing.