WHEN ALL SPEAKING STOPPED

" Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." (Job 40:4-5)

Because of his faith and integrity, God allowed Job to be tested in a most extraordinary way. God demonstrated in Job the extent to which a person could suffer, and still retain his righteous character. Job was the focus of attention to both the Lord and the devil. Of all the people in the "land of Uz," a region Northeast of Palestine (Syria), God spoke of Job. Of all the people Satan wanted, Job ranked the highest. In Job three things are displayed. (1) The power and authority of God. (2) The extent to which Satan can attack men. (3) The ability of the godly to stand. But all of this was not apparent to Job during his trial. God has concealed all of this from him. In a single day, Satan stripped Job of all of his possessions, then struck him with a plague of grievous boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head. Job thought he had fallen out of favor with God, and did not know why. He knew he had kept his faith and integrity, and yet circumstance seemed to belie that. Thus, in his lament, Job cried out, "If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!  I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say" (Job 23:3-5). Yet, maintaining his integrity, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." In fact, he defended the righteousness of God with great zeal (Job 1:22; 2:10; 34:10). All of this without the law, without a Bible, and with no prophets, and without a body of comforting believers. What a noble example he is–and that by Divine appointment (James 5:11). When God made Himself known to Job, He demanded some answers from him (Job 38:3). The Lord's questions were all unanswerable, because they dealt with matters beyond the scope of human knowledge (38:3-40:1). Immediately, because of his faith, Job saw the situation. It was then that he confessed, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." He made no attempt to answer the Lord, for he realized the Lord was not seeking answers. Job then refused to allow his mouth to speak, placing his hand over it and shutting it up like a sepulcher whose odors must not be permitted to come forth. Whatever he had intended to say, he determined he would "proceed no further." Let us allow Job to instruct us in this matter, being aggressive to stop the eruption of pointless words from our mouths.