Satan (Part 13) – The Epic War: Joseph, Israel in Egypt, David, Solomon

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1. Jacob had twelve sons, any one of which could be the man whom the promised Messiah would come.

• Satan now has to figure out which son the Messiah will come through.

1. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son (Gen 37:3).
   1. Joseph had a dream which prophesied of a time to come when his brothers, father, and mother would bow down to him (Gen 37:5-11).
   2. This would have been a reason for Satan to assume that the Messiah would come through Joseph, and it appears that Satan took action to destroy him.
   3. Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him, but God didn’t let that happen (Gen 37:17-27).
   4. They ended up selling him into slavery in Egypt (Gen 37:27-28).
   5. Joseph prospered in the house of Potiphar (Gen 39:1-6) until Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape and he was put in prison (Gen 39:7-20).
   6. He became head of the prison (Gen 39:21-23) and was eventually brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream, and because of his interpretation, Pharaoh made him second in command of all of Egypt (Gen 41:1-45).
   7. Joseph presided over a program to store up grain in the seven years of plenty which provided food for the Egyptians during the seven years of famine (Gen 41:46-57).
   8. During the famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food (Gen 42:1-3).
   9. They fulfilled the prophesy of his dream when they bowed down to him (Gen 42:5-6).
   10. Joseph had them bring Jacob and all of his family to Egypt where they were given land and provided with sustenance from the Pharaoh (Gen 45:9-28).
   11. Satan’s attempt two attempts to kill Joseph ended up putting Joseph in a position to save his family including his brother Judah whom the Messiah would come through (Gen 50:20) (more on this later).
   12. Satan’s apparent plan to kill Joseph ended up backfiring which was a major defeat for him.

A.    Satan tries to destroy the nation of Israel before they make it to the promised land

1. For much of the time that Israel dwelt in Egypt, they were slaves under cruel bondage (Exo 6:9).
2. When Israel was multiplying in Egypt, the Pharaoh ordered that all the baby boys were to be killed (Exo 1:15-16).
   1. Who do you supposed inspired Pharaoh to do that?
   2. Remember that Satan was a murderer from the beginning (Joh 8:44).
   3. The midwives feared God and disobeyed Pharaoh’s order (Exo 1:17).
   4. Satan loses another battle.

• After Pharaoh finally let Israel go, he pursued them and had them cornered at the Red Sea (Exo 14:5-10).
  1. It looked like Satan was going to destroy them all and win the war, but God parted the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptians in it (Exo 14:21-31).
  2. Satan loses another battle.

1. Israel made it to the border of the promised land, but they were afraid and doubted God so they were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation died (Num 13:1-2, 26-33; Num 14:28-35).
   1. Who do you suppose inspired that fear and unbelief in them?
   2. Certainly not God who hath not given us the spirit of fear (2Ti 1:7).
2. While in the wilderness, they continually murmured and tempted God, bringing Him to the brink of destroying them (Psa 106:19-34).
3. In the meanwhile, Satan had lots of time to corrupt the nations in the land of Canaan so that Israel would be corrupted by their idolatry and wicked practices when they supplanted them (Psa 106:35-46).

• Satan was able to corrupt them and put them under God’s judgment, but was not able to succeed in completely destroying them.
• They ended up making it to the promised land and inhabiting it all (Jos 21:43).

1. While in the land, they were ruled by judges with God as their king (Act 13:19-20; 1Sa 12:12).
2. They clamored for a king like the other nations had and God gave them Saul (Act 13:21).
3. Satan continually tried to keep them as far away from God as possible so that he could corrupt and destroy them and prevent the promised Messiah from being born, but he was not able to.

B.     The prophecy of the Messiah through David

1. The Messiah was prophesied to come through Judah, but which of Judah’s numerous descendents was unknown to the devil.
2. Then David becomes king and the LORD promises that the Messiah will be His seed (2Sa 7:12-16; Psa 132:11).

• Now the field is once again narrowed, and Satan knows on whom he must focus his attacks: David and his descendants.

1. Satan tempted David to commit adultery.
   1. Not much time had passed from the giving of the Davidic covenant when David saw a beautiful woman (Bathsheba) bathing on her roof and had her brought to his palace where he committed adultery with her (2Sa 11:1-5).
      • Who do you supposed was behind this temptation?
      • Remember that Satan is the tempter (Mat 4:3).
   2. David then had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah murdered (2Sa 11:14-17).
      • Who do you suppose inspired David to plot Uriah’s murder?
      • Remember that Satan is a murderer (Joh 8:44).
   3. Satan would have known that the penalty for adultery and murder was death (Lev 20:10; Lev 24:17).
   4. Solomon, who would later take the throne and through whom the Messiah would come, had not yet been born.
   5. It appeared that David was a dead man, but the LORD put away His sin (2Sa 12:13).
   6. Satan was so close to preventing the coming of the Messiah, but again failed.
2. David’s son Absalom tried to take his throne, but was unsuccessful.
3. Satan tempted David to number the people (1Ch 21:1).
   1. This resulted in a serious judgment from God (1Ch 21:11-14), but not in David’s death.
   2. The LORD once again spared David’s life and Satan lost another battle.

C.     Solomon

1. David had said that Solomon would reign in his stead (1Ki 1:13).
2. Adonijah, another of David’s sons, decided to try to usurp the throne (1Ki 1:5).

• Despite Adonijah’s scheme, Solomon inherited David’s throne (1Ki 1:39).

1. Satan again had the field narrowed, knowing which of David’s sons the Messiah would come through.
2. It appears that Satan went to work against Solomon by corrupting him through outlandish women to worship their false gods (1Ki 11:4-8).
   1. Who do you suppose was behind this?
   2. Remember that the gods of the nations are devils (1Co 10:20).
3. The LORD was angry at Solomon for this and rent the kingdom of Israel, giving ten tribes to Jeroboam, but saving one tribe for his son Rehoboam for David’s sake (1Ki 11:9-13).

• Satan lost another battle, for their was still the nation of Judah comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with a son of David on the throne.

D.    The kings of Judah

1. By reading through the books of the Kings and Chronicles, one can see Satan’s continued assaults against the kings of Judah.

But none of them were successful in destroying the bloodline of the promised Messiah.