Job 13-14

Job 13 Job Job 13:1-4 Friends haven't said anything new Friends have not helped him Job now would like to bypass them Instead go straight to God But his friends are just no help

Job 13 Friends Job 13:5-7 Best if they kept quiet They are misrepresenting God They put him on the defense He makes good case for himself Makes it look bad for God

Job 13 Job Job 13:8-14 Says God will judge his friend for misrepresenting Him His friends have become strangers to Him, as we will see

Job 13 Job Job 13:15 Job's great statement of faith Job is not guilty of secret sin He says he'll go before God He says he'll defend himself What will happen?

Job 13 Self-Defense? Job 13:15 “My friend, the minute you go into the presence of God to start defending yourself, you will lose your case. When you stand before Him, you can only plead guilty, because He knows you.”

Job 13 Self-Defense? Job 13:15 No clever lawyer can acquit you All have sinned & fall short None righteous, no, not one Soul that sins shall die God doesn't change that at all

Job 13 Self-Defense? Job 13:15 “You can see that Job desperately needs someone to represent God to him and keep him from trying to defend himself before Him.”

Job 13 Self-Defense? Job 13:15 “Someone needs to show him that he can cast himself on the mercy of God. This book has a tremendous message for us, as you can see.”

Job 13 Salvation Job 13:16 “There are glimmers of light that break through on this man's soul.” God will be Job's salvation OT & NT both teach that David held onto this truth

Job 13 Salvation Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Job 13 Salvation “Salvation is not a coin that you carry around in your pocket and might lose. Salvation is God. Today salvation is Jesus Christ. You either have Him or you don't have Him. You either trust Him or you don't trust Him.”

Job 13 Salvation “There are no alternatives, friends. You stand on one side or the other. Either you are for Him or you are against Him...'there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).”

Job 13 Salvation “He is the only “out” for the human family. It is marvelous that Job, who probably lived in the patriarchal age of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had a glimmer of light.”

Job 13 Listen! Job 13:17 Job says, “Listen to me!” How well did his friends listen? How well do we listen?

Job 13 Listen! Job 13:18 Job thinks he has a good case Even before God Not based on anyOne else Can any of us make our case?

Job 13 Guilty! Job 13:18 No one has a good case b4 God We are all sinners God doesn't need us to do bidding He can get along without us nicely But thank God, He loves us

Job 13 Guilty! Job 13:18 He made a way for us 2 b justified The Judge sent His own Son He paid the debt He did not owe That is how we are justified

Job 13 Job Job 13:19 This is interesting At the start, Job wanted to die Now if he is silent, he will die But is he silent?

Job 13 Job Job 13:19 If he wants to die, quit talking But he doesn't do that. He talks. This is the way of little men We all have a lot to say

Job 13 Job Job 13:20-22 Job is a frightened man But he is telling God what to do Many of us do that Many claim prayers unanswered

Job 13 Job Job 13:20-22 God always answers prayer Prayer answers: Yes; No; Wait He says no to most of my prayers Much of our praying orders God God doesn't move that way

Job 13 Job Job 13:20-22 So Job tries to tell God how to handle his situation God says He has a plan, but it is not Job's plan He works out His plan in Job's life

Job 13 Job So then, what is the use of praying if you cannot change God? What is the purpose of prayer, anyway?

Job 13 Job Then who does prayer change?

Job 13 Job “The primary purpose of prayer is to change us.”

Job 13 Job “God is not a Western Union boy. Don't get the idea you just call Him to come and deliver a message for you or to you. That is what Job was trying to get Him to do here. I'm not pointing an accusing finger at Job, because I have done the very same thing.”

Job 13 Job Job 13:23-28 Job wants a showdown with God “Tell me what I've done wrong” “Tell me why I'm treated this way” Doesn't see point of his suffering

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:1 Nothing truer than that Trouble is a common denominator All of us have had trouble Job 5:7: “... as sparks fly upward” Language of whole human family

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:2-4 Death is inevitable And all of us are born sinners Psalm 51:5: “sinful at birth”

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:5 Job feels pretty well hemmed in We are born with clock ticking Our days are numbered

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:6-13 Man may have success in life Then he is gone Maybe street(s) named after him What does that amount to?

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:14-15 Now we see another breakthrough Reveals faith of Job Job asks the Big Question Is there life after death?

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death “Even in death Job knows that God is going to call him, and he will answer that call. In other words, God is not through with us at our death. Death is not the end of it all. We will hear Job say later on, “I know my Redeemer lives...”

Job 14 Job's Elegy on Death Job 14:16-20 It is all too overwhelming Entire chapter is great death elegy

Job References J. Vernon McGee Commentary