In The Word
Read: Job 13-14
Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes
13 “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 “But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.
4 But you smear me with lies;
You are all worthless physicians.
5 Oh that you would be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6 Please hear my argument,
And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.
7 Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8 Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9 Will it go well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 He will certainly punish you
If you secretly show partiality.
11 Will His majesty not terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated
13 “Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come upon me what may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
15 Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
16 This also will be my salvation,
For a godless person cannot come before His presence.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.
19 Who could contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
20 “Only two things I ask that You do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 Remove Your hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
22 Then call and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23 How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
24 Why do You hide Your face
And consider me Your enemy?
25 Will You scare away a scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry chaff?
26 For You write bitter things against me
And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28 While I am decaying like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “Man, who is born of woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
2 Like a flower he comes out and withers.
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
3 You also open Your eyes on him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.
4 Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass.
6 Look away from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
8 Though its roots grow old in the ground,
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And produce sprigs like a plant.
10 But a man dies and lies prostrate.
A person passes away, and where is he?
11 As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So a man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens no longer exist,
He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep.
13 “Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my relief comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps,
You do not observe my sin.
17 My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover over my guilt.
18 “But the falling mountain crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You destroy a man’s hope.
20 You forever overpower him and he departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.
22 However, his body pains him,
And his soul mourns for himself.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Job’s trust in God despite his tragedy was remarkable. He neither cursed nor rejected God, though much of who he loved and what he had was taken from him. Notice Job’s attitude toward God: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him (Job 13:15a).” While Job was grieved by his difficult situation, he refused to give up hope in the only One that could save him.
We may face situations that cause us great pain and harm, and may even take our earthly life. In those situations, we could run from God, leave our relationship with Him, and become angry, bitter, and hardened. Or we could run to God with full love and trust, knowing that He is with us, will never leave us, and will give us the strength to make it through. The latter is how Job handled his tragedy, which is why God honored him by saying, “For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil (Job 1:8).”
Too many people base their relationship with God on their reality. If their life is “good” then they love, serve, and praise God. But if things take a turn for worse, they get mad at God and turn away. Job’s wife did this when she said in Job 2:9, “Curse God and die!” Are you facing a challenging situation right now? Let it push you to God and declare, “I will hope in Him!”