Dummies, death, and devils

Job Continues: Still I Will Hope in God

1 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 my case with God.
4 As for you, you whitewash with lies;
    worthless physicians are you all.
5 Oh that you would keep silent,
    and it would be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my argument
    and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will you speak falsely for God
    and speak deceitfully for him?
8 Will you show partiality toward him?
    Will you plead the case for God?
9 Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
    Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?
10 He will surely rebuke you
    if in secret you show partiality.
11 Will not his majesty terrify you,
    and the dread of him fall upon you?
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
    your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 Let me have silence, and I will speak,
    and let come on me what may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
    and put my life in my hand?
15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him;^{1

13:15
Or Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope}
    yet I will argue my ways to his face.
16 This will be my salvation,
    that the godless shall not come before him.
17 Keep listening to my words,
    and let my declaration be in your ears.
18 Behold, I have prepared my case;
    I know that I shall be in the right.
19 Who is there who will contend with me?
    For then I would be silent and die.
20 Only grant me two things,
    then I will not hide myself from your face:
21 withdraw your hand far from me,
    and let not dread of you terrify me.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
    Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
    and count me as your enemy?
25 Will you frighten a driven leaf
    and pursue dry chaff?
26 For you write bitter things against me
    and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
    and watch all my paths;
    you set a limit for^{2

13:27
Or you marked} the soles of my feet.
28 Man^{3

13:28
Hebrew He} wastes away like a rotten thing,
    like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Footnotes

[1] 13:15 Or Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope
[2] 13:27 Or you marked
[3] 13:28 Hebrew He

Looking at Job 13 (specifically verses 4, 5, and 15), I am encouraged to prepare to trust God in suffering by readying myself for dummies, death, and devils.

Dummies: In verse 4, Job kindly called his friends “worthless quacks” (NLT) and asked them to shut up. There will be times when our biggest hindrance to trusting God comes from friends or family members who act like dummies. When suffering, don’t be afraid to speak up and tell people what you need from them. If we can learn anything from Job’s friends, it would be that the best help we can offer those who are suffering is to let them know that we are simply there for them.

Death: Job realized that God could put him to the maximum test, which would be to willingly give up his life to show God that he trusted Him. But Job wasn’t the only one that God put to the maximum test in the Bible. God asked Abraham to offer his only son as a sacrifice to him. God had Daniel spend some time in the lions’ den. Three young Hebrew children walked in a fiery furnace. Jesus went to the cross. Stephen was stoned. In each case, their trust was tested to the max.

Devils: As Job's story unfolds, we understand that Satan is attacking him because God has given Satan permission to do so. But Job is not consumed by thoughts of the devil. He is not worried about where the devil is, what is he doing, or what he is going to do next. Job trusted that the devil cannot do anything in his life that God does not allow. Like Job, we can be sure that if God allows it, we can trust Him to see us through it. We don’t need to be looking for Satan behind every bush and constantly speculating about how we're being attacked. When we trust God completely, what Satan is doing doesn’t bother us because we know even the devil is under God’s control.

1. Who has been a good friend to you at a time when you were suffering? How can you express your gratitude to them today?

2. Who do know that is suffering now? Can you comfort them by simply being there for them?

3. Are you prepared to be tested to the max? What can you do to strengthen your trust in God so that you will be prepared to face the maximum test?

4. What seems to be outside of God’s control?