Apr. 22, 2026

“TRIED AND TESTED”

“BY THE SKIN OF MY TEETH”

JOB 18:1-19:29

The wicked perish without hope because they die without God.

Someone has made this point with a play on words:

KNOW GOD —KNOW HOPE

NO GOD —NO HOPE

1.  THE METAPHORS OF DEATH (Job 18:1-21)

Job 18:1-2 “Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2“How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.”

Job said he could not find a wise man among his friends. Apparently Bildad got this message.

Job 18:3-4 “Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight? 4You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?”

Bildad is convinced that Job is going to die the death of a wicked person, so he uses four metaphors to try to intimidate Job:

*The Extinguishing of a Light (Job 18:5-6)

Job 18:5-6 “The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine. 6The light is dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him is put out.”

In the Bible, light is associated with life just as darkness is associated with death.

The Bible tells us that this is what happens to a wicked man:

Proverbs 13:9 “The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

This is reiterated in Job 21:17: "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?”

*The Entrapment of a Traveler (Job 18:7-10)

Job 18:7-10 “The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down. 8For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare. 9The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him. 10A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.”

*The Escaping of a Criminal (Job 18:11-15)

Job 18:11-15 “Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet. 12His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side. 13It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs. 14He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors. 15They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.”

*The Extinction of a Family (Job 18:16-21)

Job 18:16-21 “His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above. 17The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name among the renowned. 18He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. 19He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. 20Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened. 21Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

The death of a tree illustrates the extinction of a family—a

"family tree.”

1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”

Do you realize how easy it is just to be a critic all the time?

2.  THE MISERIES OF LIFE (JOB 19:1-29)

Job fires back at Bildad:

Job 19:1-3 “Then Job answered and said: 2“How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words? 3These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.”

Job describes his treatment in the use of four words: "tormented,"

"broken," "reproached," and “wronged."

*Pictures of Job's Frustration (Job 19:1-12)

1.  A Desperate Animal (Job 19:4-6)

Job 19:4-6 “And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me.
5If indeed you exalt yourselves against me, And plead my disgrace against me, 6Know then that God has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net.”

2. A Defenseless Criminal (Job 19:7)

Job 19:7 “If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice.”

3.  A Detained Traveler (Job 19:8)

Job 19:8 “He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths.”

4.  A Dethroned King (Job 19:9)

Job 19:9 “He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head.”

Job is experiencing total humiliation.

5.  A Damaged Structure (Job 19:10a)

Job 19:10 “He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone..”

6.  A Dislodged Tree (Job 19:10b)

Job 19:10 “… My hope He has uprooted like a tree.”

7.  A Defeated City (Job 19:11-12)

Job 19:11-12 “He has also kindled His wrath against me, And He counts me as one of His enemies. 12His troops come together
And build up their road against me; They encamp all around my tent.”

Job cannot understand why God has sent so much suffering into his life.

*Pictures of Job's Family and Friends (Job 19:13-22)

Job 19:13-14 “He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten me.”

Job 19:15-20 “Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight.
16I call my servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth. 17My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. 18Even young children despise me;
I arise, and they speak against me. 19All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me. 20My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.”

And notice the order of things and how his emotions are generated.

After showing Bildad all of these pictures of his life, Job makes one final plea for mercy. He says in verse 21:

Job 19:21 “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!”

It is truly sad to see Job's friends unmoved by his cries for sympathy and love.

Job 19:22 “Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?”

*Pictures of Job's Faith (Job 19:23-29)

In the midst of such terrible suffering, Job offers up truly

stunning words:

Job 19:23-27 “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! 24That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever! 25For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Job endured immeasureable pain and suffering.

Notice how emphatically he uses personal pronouns. Job says, "That in my flesh, I shall see God" (verse 26).

Our hope is in the risen Lord who will one day return to this earth.

Job 19:28-29 “If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’—
Since the root of the matter is found in me, 29Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment.”

Job speaks to us of the glory of God's plan for us.