Jesus spoke to the antagonistic Pharisees in John 8:
The devil (or the satan or the tempter) is a bad character from the beginning of Adam and Eve. God used him to test people. Job 1:
Satan had evil in mind and not just simply testing Job. He wanted Job to curse God and die.
NIV Habakkuk 1:
but yet, The LORD saw and spoke to Satan in Job 1.
These Habakkuk questions are exactly my questions.
Why did God look at Satan and talk to him?
At the time of Job, Satan had the official adversarial role of testing people's loyalty toward God. That was his job. That's why God interacted with him face to face even though Satan had evil designs in his heart. BTW, Satan failed to get Job to curse God and die. Job passed the test.
Why did God tolerate that?
Not only was God testing people; he was testing Satan and his gang of bad angels as well. God had a trump card to play, i.e., Jesus Christ. When Jesus showed up, he kicked them out of heaven. Now, instead of Satan accusing us like the scene in Job, we have Christ defending us at the right hand of God.
See also
Good question.. why did He look or talk with satan or the devil. Makes me think of when Jesus rebuked satan …with Peter. Saying “get behind Me satan” or OT Zechariah 3:1-10 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. [2]
And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? [3] Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. [4] And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you ,
and I will clothe you with change of raiment(of the new man) . [5] And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. [6]
And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, [7] Thus says the LORD of hosts; If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you shall also judge my house, and shall also keep my courts,
and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. [8] Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,
thou, and thy fellows that sit before you:
for they are men wondered at:
for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. [9] For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. [10] In that day, says the LORD of hosts, shall you call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
That doesn’t really answer the question which is a good question …but your question does make me consider the Lord rebuking satan.
Jude 1:9-10 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, did not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. [10] But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
“Why did God tolerate that?”
God is long-suffering not willing any should perish but all should come to Knowledge of God? Consider “hand them over to satan that they learn not to blaspheme the name of God.” Long-suffering to hand them over that they may learn?