Satan's Hatred for God's People Throughout Scripture
Satan's hatred for God's people is a pervasive theme throughout Scripture, manifesting in various forms of opposition and accusation. The biblical narrative portrays Satan as "the adversary" or "the accuser" [1, 2], whose primary objective is to undermine God's people and thwart their relationship with Him.
In the Old Testament, Satan is depicted as presenting himself before God, accusing Job of selfish motives for serving God [3, 4]. This narrative illustrates Satan's role as an accuser, seeking to discredit the faithful and instigate God's wrath against them. The Hebrew term "satan" itself means "adversary," and is used to describe both human and supernatural opponents [1].
The New Testament reinforces this characterization, describing Satan as "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30), "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), and "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2) [2]. Jesus himself rebukes Peter, calling him "Satan" when Peter attempts to dissuade Him from fulfilling His mission [5].
Throughout Scripture, Satan's hatred is directed not only towards God's people but also towards God Himself. According to John Calvin, Satan's "whole nature is depraved, mischievous, and malignant" [10], driving him to assail God's glory and the salvation of humanity. This enmity is evident in Satan's efforts to harden the hearts of God's enemies, such as Pharaoh, against His people [8, 9].
Satan's accusations against God's people are a recurring theme, as seen in Job and Zechariah 3:1 [6]. The devil seeks to "sift" believers, testing their faith and loyalty to God, as Jesus warns in Luke 22:31 [13]. This testing is not limited to individual believers but also extends to the community of faith as a whole.
The biblical portrayal of Satan's hatred serves as a warning to God's people, reminding them of the spiritual warfare they face. As Matthew Henry notes, Satan "hated" Job "because God loved him" [12], highlighting the devil's jealousy and opposition to God's love for His people.
The consequences of Satan's hatred are far-reaching, resulting in persecution, affliction, and spiritual pollution [7]. However, Scripture also assures believers that God is sovereign over Satan's activities, using them to refine and test the faith of His people.
The biblical narrative ultimately presents Satan's hatred as a foil to God's love, underscoring the depth of God's commitment to His people. As John Gill observes, God's people are the objects of Satan's enmity, but they are also the recipients of God's love and protection [11].
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Satan — The word itself, the Hebrew satan, is simply an "adversary," and is so used in (1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 6:4; 11:14,23,25; Numbers 22:22,33; Psalms 109:6) This original sense is still found in our Lord's application of the name to St. Peter in (Matthew 16:23) It is used as a proper name or title only four times in the Old Testament, vis. (with the article) in (Job 1:6; 12; 2:1; Zechariah 2:1) and without the article in (1 Chronicles 21:1) It is with the scriptural revelation on the subject that we are here concerned; and it is clear, from this si”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Satan — Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article "the adversary" (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or the devil, and is so used more than thirty times. He is also called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Rev. 12:9; 20:2); "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30); "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2); "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4); "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). The distinct personality of Satan and h”
- Job “Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them. -- Job 1:6”
- Job “Again, on the day when the God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh. -- Job 2:1”
- Mark “But he, turning around, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of men.” -- Mark 8:33”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Accuser — Satan is styled the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10. Comp. Job 1:6; Zech. 3:1), as seeking to uphold his influence among men by bringing false charges against Christians, with the view of weakening their influence and injuring the cause with which they are identified. He was regarded by the Jews as the accuser of men before God, laying to their charge the violations of the law of which they were guilty, and demanding their punishment. The same Greek word, rendered "accuser," is found in John 8:10 (but omitted in the Revised Version); Acts 23:30, 35; 2”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Demon — In the Gospels generally, in (James 2:19) and in Reve 16:14 The demons are spoken of as spiritual beings, at enmity with God, and having power to afflict man not only with disease, but, as is marked by the frequent epithet "un-clean," with spiritual pollution also. They "believe" the power of God "and tremble," (James 2:19) they recognized the Lord as the Son of God, (Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41) and acknowledged the power of his name, used in exorcism. In the place of the name of Jehovah, by his appointed messengers, (Acts 19:15) and looked forward in terror to t”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 105:25: He turned their heart to hate his people,.... Whom before they loved and esteemed: when Pharaoh and his servants heard of Joseph's father and brethren, they were greatly pleased, and invited them into Egypt; and, when come, placed them in the land of Goshen; but when a new king arose, and a new generation, which knew not Joseph, the hearts of these were turned to hate them. This is said to be of the Lord: not that he put any hatred into them, there was no need of that; there is enough of that naturally in every man's heart against good men, and all that is good: but”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 34: to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh, to have hardened it yet more, and confirmed it. Some evade these forms of expression by a silly cavil, because Pharaoh is elsewhere said to have hardened his own heart, thus making his will the cause of hardening it; as if the two things did not perfectly agree with each other, though 201 in different senses—viz. that man, though acted upon by God, at the same time also acts. But I retort the objection on those who make it. If to harden means only bare permission, the contumacy will not proper”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 30: minds of men he involves in error; he stirs up hatred, inflames strife and war, and all in order that he may overthrow the kingdom of God, and drown men in eternal perdition with himself. Hence it is evident that his whole nature is depraved, mischievous, and malignant. There must be extreme depravity in a mind bent on assailing the glory of God and the salvation of man. This is intimated by John in his Epistle, when he says that he “sinneth from the beginning,” ( 1 John 3:8 ), implying that he is the author, leader, and contriver ”
- Deuteronomy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Deuteronomy 32:26: Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy,.... Satan, the enemy of mankind in general, of the people of God in particular, and especially of the Messiah, the seed of the woman, and of God himself, whom he would dethrone, or at least place himself on an equality with him; this enemy is full of wrath, enmity, and blasphemy, against God, and stirs up all of this kind in the hearts of men, and instigates them to persecute the people of God; and does all he can to obscure the glory of God, and lessens his own "grief", as the word signifies, occasioned by it: a”
- Job (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Job 2:1: Satan, that sworn enemy to God and all good men, is here pushing forward his malicious prosecution of Job, whom he hated because God loved him, and did all he could to separate between him and his God, to sow discord and make mischief between them, urging God to afflict him and then urging him to blaspheme God. One would have thought that he had enough of his former attempt upon Job, in which he was so shamefully baffled and disappointed; but malice is restless: the devil and his instruments are so. Those that calumniate good people, and accuse them falsely, will have”
- Luke (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Luke 22:31: 22:31 Regarding Satan, see 4:2; 10:18; 11:15. Satan is the accuser of God’s people (see Job 1:7; 2:2); he would test Simon Peter and the rest of the apostles. • asked to sift: Wheat was sifted through a sieve to separate the grain from the chaff. It is an image of extreme testing (see Isa 30:28; Amos 9:9). • The NLT’s each of you is precise, because the Greek you is plural, referring to all the disciples. Jesus foresaw Peter’s denial and the trials of the other disciples.”