Job 13:7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? And talk deceitfully for him?
Recently I was in a Christian book store and there was a title about some atrocities that had been committed in the name of God. Oftentimes people see such a thing and say, “See, God is evil. The followers of Christ have done evil things.” It may be that you have survived some atrocity in your personal life that was done by someone who claimed to have the authority of God. That is contemptible! Every day you have friends that need advice and counsel and every day you probably need advice or counsel from friends, an authority, or someone who teaches the Word of God.
Oftentimes we say, “Don’t just stand there. Say something! Do something!” yet sometimes what we say is not helpful. In Job 13:5, Job says to his friends, who were anything but friends, “O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.” Sometimes the smartest thing to say is nothing at all. We need to let God speak for Himself. When we impose upon God the evil of men, we do wrong. Let God speak for Himself. If you are giving advice, give what God has actually said. When you take advice, accept only what comes from God and not evil that masquerades in God’s name. That is about as unfair as someone who is impersonating a police officer. He is not representing the government; he is impersonating.
While a police officer may indeed do something that is wrong, God will not. So, remember three things. First, don’t be self-righteous. In Job 12:2, Job says, “No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.” He is saying, “You are the man. You know everything. As soon as you die, wisdom will be buried with you.” Job continues, “But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?” He restates almost the exact same thing in the first verses of Job 13.
Job’s friends were pretending to help him, but they were pushing him down so they could stand up on his shoulders. Don’t be self-righteous! These were not friends. They were people who were trying to make Job look bad and make themselves sound wise. At least, that is the way it seems here.
Second, don’t be bitter. It would be so easy in Job’s condition to become bitter at people, and then by extension to become bitter at God, especially when Job had been misrepresented. Now many of the things that Job’s friends said were indeed true, but they didn’t know everything and God Himself takes them to task for this at the end of the book.
Third, don’t be ignorant. By that I mean that there are things that even smart people do not know. They are ignorant of them. They are not dumb, they just don’t know. But sometimes we are ignorant because we ignore. There are things we do not know because we are not paying attention. In Job 13:7-8 Job asks, “Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?” In Job 42:7 God says to Job’s friends, “Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.”
The bottom line is don’t accept falsehood in the name of God. The Word of God gives you what God has said. Let God speak for Himself. Today, if you are giving or taking advice, the most helpful thing you can do is begin with what God has actually said and remember to let God speak for Himself.