Chapter 13 Part 1

Ex 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (CS: Any unhallowed use of the divine name is exceedingly sinful.  Beware of flippantly saying, "O Lord," and such like irreverent speeches.)

Chapters 13 Part 1

13:1-2 All truth that his three friends had said was known by Job before they said it.

13:3 Job would rather speak directly to God than these men.

13:4 Job confronted these three men about their lies.

·       forgers of lies: A forger forms something. They are forming lies about Job. Job seemed to hint that these men did not speak without prior thought; they had forged a scheme to rob Job of his integrity.

·       physicians of no value: This type of doctor is often called a quack. They had come to Job with no intension to help him.

·       In Ch 6:16-20 Job likened these men to a stream that had dried up before it’s time. In 16:2 he said miserable comforters are ye all.

13:5 Job stated his desire that these men stop talking and he said it actually would be best for them if they did.

·       Pr 17:28 Fool one who when confronted with truth chooses to ignore it. A wise fool is one who knows not to speak when he doesn’t know the right thing to say.

V13:6 Job told them to listen to why they should shut up and he pleaded too hearken (listen and respond positively) to his words.

V7- 9 Job told them what they were doing With these questions Job is accusing these men of mocking God and contending with Him through wicked and deceitful speech. They wanted Job to believe they knew what God was doing and they were acting for God. Have you ever heard the term vicar of Christ? (No new thing)

V13:10-12 States why they must stop what they are doing.

·       V12a Everything they knew in the past about God and Job was as ashes or no value to them.

·       V8, 10 Job warns these persons that God would reprove them if they continued to accept what they (persons) had secretly forged against Job and despise what they know about the person of God. Gal 1:10; 1Thes 2:2-5

·       V11 Putting aside the truth of God’s character allowed them to put aside their fear of Him. They should fear God because of what V10 states will come about.

·       V12b They were just made of clay; clay is in the hand of the potter. (Isa 64:8 with Job 10:3) 

·       Remember Ch 12 with Heb 10:31 these men were in the hands of the ancient.

·       Job, “Knowing you are in the hand of the most excellent potter should make you afraid and dread his reproof”

Notice the conflict within Job’s heart concerning these three men.

·       On one hand Job has hatred for these men because they had forged lies against him to make his suffering worse.

·       But on the other hand these men were his friends and he showed concern over the fact that God would reprove them for ignoring His excellency and the false use of His name against Job.

·       Who is the real friend(s) seen in this book?

A couple of questions to consider:

·       Do we consider a lie (of the world or another Christian) against a brother or sister in Christ to be a lie against God?

·       Do we realize the seriousness of using God’s name in vain as the three friends of Job were doing against him?