Job 13

V 1–12: COUNSEL OF CLAY Job reiterates that he knows as much as his friends, and accuses them of worthless and dishonest comments that are biased against him. He describes their defences as being ‘of clay’. V 13–15: DETERMINED TO DEFEND He asks them to keep quiet because he is determined to defend his position before God. Here comes the wonderful verse, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’, referring, in context, not only to Job’s daring to defend his position before God, but also revealing a far broader and more important principle of complete trust in God. V 16–19: FOUNDATION OF FAITH Even in Job’s despair, he knows that God will be his salvation. He has a basic foundation of faith. V 20–27: STOP AND SHOW Job asks two things from God: first, that He will stop his suffering—he feels abandoned, lonely and terrified and he wants that to stop; second, that He will show him his sins if he has committed them. He cannot see why God pursues him. He feels like a fallen leaf or stubble being blown by the wind. He does not understand why he is ‘in the stocks’. Clearly, Job does not understand why he is suffering. This experience is shared by many who suffer. V 28: DESTINED FOR DEATH Job knows that man will decay and deteriorate.