What lessons can Job 13 teach us for the modern day?
Verses 13:1-2 “Look, 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.
Job is informing his accusers that he knows about God firsthand. His eyes have seen God in action. His ears have heard a word from God and understood it. The “friends,” on the other hand, may not know God as intimately. Their knowledge is based on doctrine and/or tradition.
Questions:
- Why is first-hand experience better than hearsay?
- Can you think of examples in the present day?
Verse 13:3 But I would speak to the Almighty,[a] and I desire to argue my case with God.
Since Job knows God better than his accusers, he rejects their judgments as pure speculation. He is fed up with their accusations and wonders why he is even bothering to continue listening to them. What they’re saying is not helpful. He is skeptical of the people who are condemning him. He needs a new perspective, one that transcends his accusers’ earthbound knowledge. He wishes to appeal to a higher power. Job wishes to appeal directly to God.
Questions:
- Can you think of examples in the modern day? (Appealing to a higher court. Skepticism toward governments, corporations, or religious hierarchies about accusations that may be incomplete or untrue.
- In the modern day, how can people who feel they are unjustly accused or wrongfully convicted make their dissent known? (Through sit-ins, protests, or symbolic acts).
Verse 13:4 As for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians.
Questions:
- What does “worthless physicians” (v4) look like today? (Ineffective therapists, algorithmic solutions, social media advice, individuals or organizations publicly showing support but not backing up with consistent action.
- Can you think of a person (people) calling out hypocrisy in the present day? (Rev. Dr. William Barber II (Poor People’s Campaign) calls out political hypocrisy while mobilizing multiracial coalitions for economic justice.
- When we expose “whitewashed lies,” we are reclaiming or reshaping a narrative. Can you think of examples where this is being done in the present day? (Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Rev. Otis Moss III, others.).
Verses 13:5-6 If you would only keep silent, that would be your wisdom! 6 Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
Questions:
- It has been said that “silence is golden.” Can you think of examples of this in the present day? (Silence vs. Noise: Social media promotes reactive anger rather than thoughtful listening).
- What are the benefits of keeping silent in the present day?
- When a person says, “you’re not hearing me,” what do they really mean? (They can’t listen and talk at the same time. What listening skills come into play?)
Verses 13:7-12 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 person deceives another? 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.
Questions:
- Can you think of situations when people have presumed to speak for God? What is the fallacy in trying to do this?
- What can be done when modern-day figures make generalized pronouncements and say they are from God? (Accountability: “What specific policies or actions justify your decisions, and how do they align with justice for the marginalized?” Moral Authority: “By what standard do you judge us? Who holds you to the same standard?”)
- What are the consequences when someone presumes to speak for God? (See vv. 10-11).
- What does the writer mean by “proverbs of ashes” and “defenses of clay”?)
Verses 13:13-16 “Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. 14 I will take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand.[b] 15 See, he will kill me; I have no hope;[c] but I will defend my ways to his face. 16 This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him.
Questions:
- What is the main idea in vv. 13-16? (Job says that he is tired of being silent, and he is ready to speak out no matter what the consequences.)
- Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt fed up with being silent?
Verses 13:17-19 Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears. 18 I have indeed prepared my case; I know that I shall be vindicated. 19 Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.
Questions:
- What is happening in vv. 17-19? (In Job 13:17-19, Job appeals to his friends to listen because he is about to present his case and is certain he will be vindicated. He believes his innocence is so clear that no one, not even God, can successfully argue against him; if they could prove him wrong, he would accept silence and death.)
- Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? If so, please describe it.
Job’s Despondent Prayer
In 13:20-28, Job addresses God
Verses 13:20-22 “Only grant two things to me; then I will not hide myself from your face: 21 withdraw your hand far from me, and do not let dread of you terrify me. 22 Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me.
Questions:
- What is happening in these verses: (Job pleads for mercy from God.)
- What does Job’s plea for mercy tell us about his beliefs in God?
Verses 13:23-25 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 windblown leaf and pursue dry chaff?
Question:
- What is happening in vv23-24? (Transparency: Job needs specifics. He is asking for a summary of the charges against him.)
- What is happening in v. 25? (Job acknowledges his humble state.)
Verses 13:26-28 For you write bitter things against me and make me reap[d] the iniquities of my youth. 27 You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a bound to the soles of my feet. 28 One wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Questions:
- Why would Job say these things to God? (Job is still not convinced that he has done anything wrong. He suggests that if he has committed sin, they were sins of his youth.
- How can you summarize what Job is saying in vv. 26-29? (Job expresses his feeling that God is unjustly and harshly persecuting him, writing down bitter accusations against him and making him suffer for the sins of his youth. He feels trapped by God’s actions, as if his feet are in stocks, and that his life is deteriorating, causing him to waste away like a rotten or moth-eaten garment.)
