Job 13:13-19

5. Job would dare to present his case before God. (Job 13:13-19)

TEXT 13:13-19

13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak;

And let come on me what will.

14 Wherefore should I take my flesh In my teeth,

And put my life in my hand?

15 Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope:

Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before him.

16 This also shall be my salvation,

That a godless man shall not come before him.

17 Hear diligently my speech,

And let my declaration be in your ears.

18 Behold now, I have set my cause in order;

I know that I am righteous.

19 Who is he that will contend with me?

For then would I hold my peace and give up the ghost.

COMMENT 13:13-19

Job 13:13The pronoun I is emphatic. Once more he is asking that his friends keep silent that he may speak to God.

Job 13:14There is a problem in this verse in that it begins with why.[158] But the sense is clear enough; since his life may pass away any moment, he will not hesitate to risk his life (Hebrew nepes) by confronting God (Judges 12:3; 1 Samuel 19:5; and 1 Samuel 28:21).

[158] See M. Dahood, Biblica et Orientalia, XVII,1965, p. 16.

Job 13:15With abandoned desperation, Job is prepared to challenge God. Yet (A. V. nevertheless is strong Hebrew adversative) absolutely nothing will cause Job to refrain from defending his innocence. His suffering is not self-entailed, his conscience is clear. He is not a rebel without a cause. Job is not revolting against God; rather he is going to face Him. Evil men inevitably run from the face or presence of God, as Adam did (Genesis 3:8) and Jonah.

Job 13:16Perhaps he can be saved by boldness, as Dostoevsky mistakenly thought, that man could be saved by suffering, to whom all suffering was vicarious. To Job, his readiness to face God is his guarantee of innocence. He believes that if God should speak to him, He would do so favorably. But love alone knows the healing art.

Job 13:17-'Job calls for his opponents to listen carefully. Hear is a plural imperativeJob 13:6.

Job 13:18Job says I will set my things in order (Genesis 22:9; Psalms 23:5; Job 23:4-5; Job 27:19) and gain for myself acquittal (Job 11:2).

Job 13:19My things are in ordernow who can contend with me (Isaiah 1:8)? Who can sustain the charge of guilty? If one could reveal to him his guilt, he would gladly become silent and acknowledge his wickednessthrough silence.