In Old Testament times, I think it’s safe to say that people did not have the same understanding or viewpoint on Satan the Devil (Serpent) as people in New Testament times did.

Take Job and his 4 companions for example: In the book of Job they all 4 say that Yahweh is the One responsible for all the bad things that happen. None of them say anything about a “satan” or a “devil.”

But, the narrator of the story tells us about a “satan” who instigated the torments upon Job as part of a challenge or test.

The 5 books of Moses don’t really, as far as I know, speak of Satan or a Devil, except for the Serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Then we come to the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 24, which claims Yahweh incited King David to do a gross sin (which would be a violation of James 1:13).

Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” (‭2 Samuel‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬ NIV)

However, the book of 1 Chronicles, written at a later time period, has come to view this event as being caused by Satan not Yahweh.

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. (‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬ NIV)

So, we can see that the idea of Satan developed over a period of time, or became clearer, in Old Testament times.

At the beginning of the nation of Israel, or in Job’s time, people gave Yahweh credit for everything good or bad that happened.

But later in Israel’s development, they began to ascribe evil things as being incited by Satan instead of God.

Could this be a possible explanation for some of the things in the Old Testament we find morally bad? Such as slaughtering children in war? Could it be possible that early Jewish writers were simply attributing EVERYTHING that happened to Yahweh instead of knowing anything about Satan?

In the New Testament times, God and Satan are portrayed as opposites with nothing in common at all and with no harmony between them:

What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭15‬ NIV)

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ NIV)

Some Christians view the Devil as merely the poetic personification of the evil thoughts inside of us and not a real person.

This is a valid interpretation. I can definitely see why people hold this view.

For me personally, I lean toward the belief that Satan is an actual spirit person because it seems to make more logical sense in figuring out why God allowed evil — to answer challenges raised by this rebellious fallen angel.