In Job, there are certain parts where there is a written conversation between the Lord and Satan. For instance, Job 1:6-12:
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
How could the writer know a conversation between Satan & God?
Good question. This is an example of how much genre matters when reading Scripture. Job is a very unique book in the Old Testament b/c it has elements of history, poetry and narrative ("prose"). If you read Job carefully, you'll notice it starts and ends as a historical story, but the bulk of it is poetic dialogue. So how should we see the conversation between God and Satan? A few things here...
1. Just because poetry is used does not mean the conversation between God and Satan is fictional. Poetry often has "a historical core without historical precision" (Raymond Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Introduction to the Old Testament, 207). When something is written in poetic form, it moves the writing from a historical event to a story with UNIVERSAL application. What is the universal application of the book of Job? It tells us to turn to God in times of suffering, even if we are angry and bitter. "Only in encounter with him will the tension of suffering be resolved" (David Clines, Word Biblical Commentary, xxxix).
2. As with all Scripture, God inspired human authors to write exactly what he wanted them to write. God worked through their unique circumstances and personalities to communicate Himself to us. So the conversation between God and Satan did happen, but was recorded by a human author in poetic language. Some scholars suggest that the conversation between God and Satan is a "contrastive dialogue," written to tells us something about both parties. God is straightforward and gracious, while Satan is cunning and argumentative.
The book of Job is not easy to understand, but I encourage you to continue to wrestle with hard texts. God will speak to you often when you read, re-read, meditate and struggle with a text. Keep the questions coming. Never stop learning and growing in your faith, despite the questions you may have.
[Answered by Pastor HM]
