Job's Defense Against Zophar -- 9/4/11

Sunday, September 4, 2011

JOB’S DEFENSE AGAINST ZOPHAR

Job 12:1-13:19

Please listen to this interesting little story…

An old man was traveling with his young grandson, riding his donkey. When they passed through a country village, the onlookers grumbled. “Look at that old man walking while that strong young boy is capable of walking.” The criticism cut deeply into the heart of the grandfather, so he changed positions and started riding the donkey while the boy walked. But within minutes other people started mumbling, “Look at that! A healthy man riding the donkey and making that poor little boy walk.”

So the old man changed positions again. This time both he and the boy rode on the donkey. But the critics howled, “Look at those heavy brutes making that poor donkey suffer.” So the old man and his grandson jumped down and started walking. No one will criticize us for this, the old man thought to himself. But he underestimated the critical nature of people. Soon he heard the people say, “Would you look at that. A perfectly good donkey not being used.” So to stop all criticism, the old man carried both the donkey and the boy. (From Job: Holman Old Testament Commentary, by Steve Lawson, p. 109)

Perhaps Job could identify with the old man. He too was subject to continual criticism from his three friends. No matter what he said, they always had an answer. Actually, it was pretty much the same answer every time. “Job, you hypocrite, you can’t fool God. He knows you are guilty of great transgression and He is pouring out His punishment upon you. Why don’t you give it up and admit your sin. Repent and turn back to God.” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have stated that basic accusation in different ways, but their message is essentially the same. On top of all his emotional and physical suffering, he has to endure the vicious attacks of his “friends.”

This morning we come to chapter 12, where Job begins his response to Zophar, the one who has just spoken to him, as recorded in chapter 11. You can just scan in your Bible and see that Job will be speaking in chapters 12-14. This morning we are going to examine the first part of that response in 12:1-13:19. These verses contain Job’s direct response to Zophar. Next week we will look at 13:20-14:22, where Job will turn to the Lord Himself and speak his mind.

Read Job 12:1-13:19…

1 Then Job answered and said: 2 "No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? 4 "I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. 5 A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. 6 The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure-- In what God provides by His hand. 7 "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 9 Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? 11 Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? 12 Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. 13 "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. 14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16 With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17 He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. 18 He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19 He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21 He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. 22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. 23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. 24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25 They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

1 "Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. 2 What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. 4 But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. 5 Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom! 6 Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him? 8 Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God? 9 Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man? 10 He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality. 11 Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you? 12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. 13 "Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may! 14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands? 15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.16 He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him. 17 Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears. 18 See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated. 19 Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

I. My Innocence (12:1-6)

In the first six verses Job reaffirms the claim that he is innocent. He does not claim to be without sin, but he maintains that he has not committed the great wickedness of which his friends accuse him. His words take the form of a rebuke. Zophar was harsh with him, and Job doesn’t exactly respond with gentleness. 2-3, “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?” Don’t miss the sarcasm in Job’s voice. “So you think you are the only wise people in the world and when you die, wisdom will be no more.” But Job counters by assuring them that his wisdom is not inferior to theirs. As a matter of fact, the things Zophar has said are common knowledge to all people. The bulk of what he said was about God’s greatness and how God will reward the man who truly seeks him. Job asks, “Who doesn’t know such things?”

After this stinging rebuke, Job then comes to the main point of this section: “I am one mocked by his friends, who called on God, and He answered him, the just and blameless, who is ridiculed” (4). Though his friends have mocked him, Job claims that he is the one who has called on God and has been answered by God. “Mocked” and “ridiculed” of the New King James represent the same word, thus the ESV, “I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.” Job reminds Zophar that he is just and blameless, a statement affirmed by God Himself in both 1:8 and 2:3. So Job is speaking truth at this point, though he certainly wishes he could go back to the time when he was confident that God answered him.

5, “A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; it is made ready for those whose feet slip.” Translations of this verse vary a great deal because one particular word is in doubt. While some translators take it to mean “lamp” or “torch,” others see it as “misfortune” or “calamity.” The NASV takes the latter view, rendering the verse, “He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, as prepared for those whose feet slip.” If the correct reading is “lamp,” Job may be saying that those who are prospering have no need for a lamp; it is only of use to those who are slipping into deep difficulties. Or, he may be saying that the person who is slipping into difficulties is cast aside like a burned-out torch by those who are prospering. However it is translated, the idea is that those who are prospering have little regard for those whose feet are slipping into difficulties.

6, “The tents of robbers prosper, and those who provoke God are secure--in what God provides by His hand.” These “robbers” do more than steal; they oppress violently. Job is saying that while he suffers misfortune and is despised by his three friends who are at ease, these God-hating rebels prosper and enjoy great security. The meaning of that last phrase -- “in what God provides by His hand” -- is not clear. The ESV reads, “who bring their god in their hand.” In Hebrew, “God” and “god” and “gods” are representations of the same word. If it is not the true God that is intended here, it may be that Job is saying these vicious robbers look to the sword they take in their hand as their god. If it is God Himself who is intended, then God provides for them, even though they practice great wickedness. Either way, the point is clear. How can Zophar conclude Job is wicked because he is afflicted, when even such wicked men are prosperous and secure? Surely he can’t believe that Job is more wicked than they!

II. Your Foolishness (12:7-12)

In verses 7-12, Job himself is going to resort to ridicule, as he challenges Zophar to lower his lofty eyes and look at the animals. 7-8, “But now ask the beasts, and they will tech you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you.” I think Job is enjoying putting Zophar in this position. In my mind, I have a picture of Zophar leaning down toward the water, waiting for a tuna to speak wisdom into his ear. No, it’s not like that. The idea is that what Zophar is saying can just as easily be learned by looking at God’s creation. Back in verse 3 Job had asked, “Who does not know such things as these?” Now he assures Zophar that even dumb beasts and stupid fish can teach these truths. Verse 9-10, “Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind?” Zophar, you have expounded on the greatness of God and how He rewards those who seek Him, but no one has to listen to you to learn these things. All he has to do is look at God’s creation. As David said long ago, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 24:1). The great and mighty God has given life to all. Zophar, don’t be so foolish as to think that anyone needs you to teach him these truths.

It seems clear that verse 11 is the repetition of an ancient proverb: “Does not the ear test words and the mouth test its food?” Its truth is obvious, but exactly how Job is using it is not so clear. Some think he is simply saying that just as the ear tests words and the palate tastes food, so Job has tested the words of his friends and found them lacking (Lawson). Others link these words to verse 12, which says, “Wisdom is with the aged men, and with length of days, understanding.” Back in 8:8-10, Bildad urged Job to consult the wisdom of the ancients. Job concedes that there is indeed much wisdom to be gained from age, but perhaps he is using this proverb to say that even their words of wisdom must be carefully tested.

Job’s words in verses 11-12 are preparing the way for what he has to say in the following section. No matter how much wisdom may be found among the aged, there is a far greater wisdom and power.

III. God’s Sovereignty (12:13-25)

In 11:7-12, Zophar pointed to the great wisdom and power of God. Then remember what Job said back in verse 3, “Who does not know such things as these?” He is now going to demonstrate that he knows everything that Zophar knows about the sovereignty of God and then some. In verses 13-25 Job is going to spend a good bit of time talking about the great wisdom and power of God. This is the area where Job and his friends are in complete agreement. I won’t elaborate on it much at all, because we have been over these concepts a great deal.

13, “With Him are wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding.” These words give us a preview of the whole section. If you want to boil it down, here it is in a nutshell. Regardless of what others may know, even those who have lived a long life on the earth, it is God who truly has wisdom and strength. We find his truth throughout the Bible. The most striking passage to me is I Cor. 1:25, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” That does not mean that God is weak or that He is foolish. But even if we could take what seems to be the most foolish thing God has ever said, it would still be far above the greatest wisdom of man, and the same goes for what we might consider His weakness. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Is. 55:9). His great sovereignty is described concisely in Ps. 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased.”

If God breaks something down, it can’t be rebuilt (14a) -- unless, of course, He wants it to be rebuilt. When God locks someone up and doesn’t want him released, he won’t be released (14b). At His command, streams dry up. But if He wants those same streams to flood the earth, so they do (15).

We find another one of those summary statements in verse 16, “With Him are strength and prudence (sound wisdom -- ESV).” He is above both those who deceive and those who are deceived by others (16b). They do nothing without His permission. He plunders counselors; He confounds their advice (17a). Some of you will remember David praying that God would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (II Sam. 15:31). The wisest of judges are like fools compared to Him (17b). He sets free those whom the king has bound and dresses those whom He has freed with dignity (18).

Verse 19a, “He leads princes away plundered.” The word translated by the NKJV as “princes,” is better rendered “priests.” (This Hebrew word is used 730 times in the Old Testament. 725 times the KJV translates it “priest”). Even those who possessed such a sacred office could not hide, when their evil came before Almighty God. He leads the priests away and He overthrows the mighty (19b). Advisers who are trusted by men are silenced by Him at will, and He strips the elders of their discernment (20). 21, “He pours contempt on princes and disarms the mighty.” Someone might ask, “When does He do these things?” Whenever He thinks it is appropriate. Though a man be a king, a priest, a counselor, or an elder among the people, God can strip him of his position, power, or wisdom at any time. As the Psalmist puts it,"For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another" (Ps. 75:6-7).

22, “He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light.” The darkness that cannot be penetrated by man is no problem for God. Perhaps Job is speaking of the deep things of God, which no man can discover. We read last week in I Cor. 2 of how only the Spirit of God knows the mind of God (2:10). Ps. 92:5, “O Lord, how great are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep.” Praise God that nothing is dark for Him, as He even brings the shadow of death to light. I am reminded of the words of Is. 9:2, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (quoted in Matt. 4:16).

Job concludes this section by emphasizing God’s sovereignty over all the nations and their leaders. When He desires, He makes nations great. When He chooses, He destroys those same nations (23a). Note the last part of 23, “He enlarges nations, and guides them.” I don’t know where the NKJV gets the concept of guidance. I can’t find other translations (not even the KJV) with anything like this. The idea is to “lead them away, abandon them, or reduce them.” Verses 24-25 refer to the leaders of these great nations. God takes away their understanding and leaves them to wander. They are like a person groping in the darkness without light. Yes, He is able to make them stagger like a drunk. I know of no greater illustration of this principle than that of Nebuchadnezzar. He was the king of Babylon, the most powerful man on earth at that time. One day the great Nebuchadnezzar spoke these words: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30). Now listen to what follows in Dan. 4:31-34…

While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. 34. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

There is no God like our God! Job rightly pictures Him as sovereign over all people and nations. He does whatever He pleases.

IV. No Help from You Worthless Counselors (13:1-12)

After bringing his thoughts of God’s greatness to a conclusion, where will Job go from here? He does pause and switch directions a bit here. Job has come to the point where without holding anything back, he is going to tell his friends what he thinks of their counsel. As Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have become increasingly sharp in their attacks, Job is about to be more blunt in his response.

In verses 1-2 Job reminds Zophar that he has seen, heard, and understood all these things of which he has spoken in 12:13-15. As Zophar knows all these things, so does Job. He then repeats his assertion that he is not inferior in Zophar. But Job really doesn’t want to keep on sparring with Zophar; he wants to talk to God. Verse 3, “But I would (want to) speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.” Job continues to express a desire to present his case before the Lord. Nevertheless, he can’t get his mind off Zophar, Eliphaz, and Bildad. Verse 4, “But you forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians.” He continues to maintain that their accusations against him are lies. They are like one who claims to be a doctor but isn’t; they have done nothing to help him. They have neither diagnosed his problem or provided a cure. Verse 5, “Oh that you would be silent, and it would be our wisdom.” Job is a bit harsh here. “If you want to demonstrate your wisdom, then shut your mouth.” Doesn’t that remind you of the proverb -- "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding" (Prov. 17:27-28). Job preferred their week of silence to this endless assault of words.

Now in verse 6 Job begs his friends to listen to him. “Hear my reasoning, and heed the pleadings of my lips.” Job feels like they don’t really listen to him, like they are always working on what they are going to say next instead of truly hearing what he is saying. In verses 7-11 he will ask them six rhetorical questions which will challenge their fitness to speak to him on God’s behalf.

In verse 7 Job implies that the way they claim to speak for God when they don’t amounts to nothing less than wickedness. While there is truth in their words, the overall effect is to create deception. Job is charging them with misrepresenting God. Verse 8, “Will you show partiality for [toward -- ESV] Him?” Literally, “Will you accept His face?” Job is dealing again in the legal realm. We all know that it would be wrong for a judge to show partiality to one over another because of their social, cultural, or financial condition. Job accuses his friends of showing partiality to God over him. But shouldn’t everyone be partial to God? Yes, in the sense that He is absolutely holy and righteous. But Job’s argument is that while they consider God’s greatness and righteousness, they refuse to consider his arguments. Again, their contention was that God dealt strictly with people according to their character and that a man’s character could be determined by his degree of prosperity or suffering. They were so set on this false concept that they refused to hear anything else. This constituted their partiality. So Job asks in 8b, “Will you contend for God?” How could they possibly be qualified to argue the case for God, when they were partial in their dealings. Job is pleading for them to be neutral in the sense that they listen to his arguments. While they claimed to defend God, they were doing so on the basis of their own faulty assumptions.

9a, “Will it be well when He searches you out?” What an interesting thought! What if God were to examine them with the same intensity that he himself was being scrutinized? How would they do? The truth is that they would not do well. Surely if they were honest, they would have to admit that they knew Job had not done the great wickedness of which they accused him. They maintained their cause because they thought they knew how God operated in every situation. They thought they had command of God. But if God were to examine them carefully, would their own sin not be revealed? 9b, “Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?” The idea here seems to be deception. Job’s friends may be able to fool other men, but they will never be able to fool God. 10, “He will surely rebuke you, if you secretly show partiality.” As we will see later, God does rebuke Job’s three friends. When God searches them out, surely they will be terrified by His majesty and they will fall down before Him in fear.

Job ends this section with a blunt accusation (verse 12), “Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes; Your defenses are defenses of clay.” The word translated “platitude” is rendered by other translations as “maxims” and “memorable sayings.” What you claim as principles of wisdom are no more than proverbs of ashes, “arguments that should be burned and thrown into the ashes of the city dump” (Lawson, p. 119). In their claim to defend God, their defenses would not stand the test. Now we know well what Job thinks of the counsel of his three friends.

V. A Ray of Hope in God (13:13-19)

Job has concluded that his friends aren’t much help. I think we would have to agree with him. Though Job himself says some things that are way off base, we do have to sympathize with him in that his friends are only making the situation worse. Praise God that in this last section we see a ray of hope. We have read words which reveal that Job was in the depths of despair, but there is hope. Let’s read this whole section as a unit… (13:13-19)

Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may! 14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands? 15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.16 He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him. 17 Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears. 18 See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated. 19 Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Now Job tells his friends to just be quiet and let him present his case to God. Job says, “I am ready to take the consequences.” Notice verse 14. Job is basically saying, “Why would I take such a chance in speaking to God and putting my life in jeopardy, if I were not innocent in this matter? A person would be a fool to do this, if he were guilty.” Then comes the words of verse 15, which we have quoted many times, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” If you read other translations than the King James and New King James, you will notice it is, “Yet I will hope in him.” I checked how the Hebrew word is translated in the KJV > trust -- 2; stay -- 1; wait/tarry -- 15; hope -- 22. It definitely carries the idea waiting with hope. Job will present his case to God, and even if God destroys him, he will still hope in Him. Where else can he turn? Though he cannot begin to understand why God is pouring out these afflictions on him, he steadfastly declares that his hope is in God. His children have died; his wife has told him to curse God and die; his friends are no help at all… but he will hope in God.

Job continues in 15b-16, “I will defend my ways before Him. He also shall be my salvation, for a hypocrite could not come before Him.” Job is going to simply lay out his entire case before the Lord. In that context he declares, “He will be my salvation.” Listen to Job: “Though I don’t understand why all these things are happening, surely I can trust the Lord. He is my salvation. If I were the hypocrite you make me out to be, there is no way I could come before my God.” In verses 17-18 Job pleads with his friends to listen very carefully to what he has to say to the Lord. Job has prepared his case and has great confidence that he will be vindicated, that the Lord will reveal the truth of the matter and it will finally be shown that he is innocent of the charges his friends are bringing against him. 19, “Who is there who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.” The original text is so brief that it just gives us the bare bones. Other translations render the verse along these lines: “Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die” (ESV/NASV). NIV, “Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die.” Job seems to be saying that if he thought there were any legitimate charges against him, he would hold his peace and die quietly without a fight.

Conclusion

What a place to conclude this morning, as we think on those words, “Though He slay me, still I will hope in Him. Even if He destroys me, I will wait for Him with great hope.” Yes, there is a ray of hope in Job, for he proclaims that the Lord is his salvation. Surely we can rejoice in this truth. I don’t know personally any mere human being who has suffered like Job. I have trouble identifying with him at all. And though some of you have suffered far more than I ever have, I doubt that your case can compare with that of Job. And yet he recognizes that he can lay everything out before the Lord and hope in Him. Jer. 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” Ps. 71:5, “For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.” Ps. 71:14, “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.”

If Job had reason to hope, we have a thousand more reasons to hope, and all thousand are found in Christ Jesus our Lord. Job didn’t have the promise Jesus left with His apostles and with us -- “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also” (Jn. 14:19). Nor did he have the promise of Rom. 8:16-18, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And what about II Cor. 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

And praise God that the promises we have in Christ are not just for the next world. I don’t want to make light of that, because we will spend a billion times as long in the next world as in this one. Nevertheless, God is so gracious that even in the here and now He blesses with the presence of His Spirit all those who have been made alive in Him. We could read dozens of passages that speak of this blessing, but for now let’s go to I Pet. 1:3-9…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Praise God that in His presence there is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). And when we are in Christ, we are in His presence. Paul speaks of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).

Brothers and sisters, when no one else understands, our Lord understands. Remember how Jesus handled things when the world opposed Him. 1 Pet. 2:21-23, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." He committed Himself and His cause to God, who always judges righteously. May the Lord give us grace to do the same. Praise God that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).