Job 13 Commentary
Job continues to speak. He begins by addressing his friends. They are useless physicians. Their arguments are baseless. Real time-wasters. Job has had enough of them. He would take his case to God directly. They should keep quiet and listen. God doesn’t need a lawyer. They shouldn’t speak on His behalf.
Job has taken a hard line on his friends. He feels they have misrepresented God with their lame arguments. This can be a preacher’s greatest fear. Have I delivered the word of the LORD correctly? Is this really what the LORD wants me to say?
Job makes two requests to the LORD. First: clear off my pain and suffering. Second: speak to me and I will answer, or let me speak and you answer me. The LORD will attend to both requests but not just now. This is very important for us to take in. The time comes when the LORD clears all pain and suffering but it may not exactly be our timing.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21 verse 4.
And, “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22 verse 4.
In the meantime, the scripture must emphasize the brevity of life for us to understand that complete salvation is just a breath away.
What we hope for this side of existence is “like something rotten, human life fast decomposes.” The chapter is drawing us to a point where we all need to be. Like Job, let the pain and suffering stop. And let us enjoy the presence of the LORD like it was at creation in the Garden of peace and tranquility.
In the meantime, our Job won’t keep quiet, though he had specifically requested that the LORD speaks and he listens. Or he speaks and the LORD listens. Probably on the assumption that the LORD didn’t want to speak, or that the LORD was wasting time, Job decided to speak. How many times the waiting upon the LORD has become a waiting upon man’s own initiates! Especially when we feel the LORD is wasting time!
So Job asks: “How many wrongs and sins have I committed?” We all know Job is not expecting an answer like 4 or 0. His real question is why he is suffering. Since sin isn’t a factor in Job’s pain and suffering, the question remains unanswered. Job has more to say to the LORD, but that is for tomorrow.
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