Though He Slay Me

“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” ~Job 13:5

Last week, in the wake of Helene’s devastation, not to mention the acute suffering of several at Christ Covenant, we considered Job and how, even in the absence of an explanation from God, Job resigned himself to the reality that God is God and Job is not. This week, in light of the heartbreaking news that our brother Justin has died (although he has gone home to see his Savior face-to-face), I want to focus our attention on something startlingly profound Job said even amid his questions and agony. Magnificently he proclaimed: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (13:15).

How astonishing! Mrs. Job urged him to “Curse God and die” (2:9). But Job declared, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” We could understand if Job said, “Though people slay me, I will hope in Him.” But no, Job said, “Though He slay me.” Though thunder and lightning from the hand of God crash down on my feeble frame, I will hope in Him! Though my soul be crushed under the trampling of His foot, I will hope in Him! Though the One to whom I’ve poured out my heart, the One in whom I’ve sought comfort and protection, the One who sees my every tear, my closest Friend … though He slay me, I will hope in Him. He may do His worst, but my hope will. not. be. moved! Remarkable!

Americans could be accused of being fair-weather golfers. When the dark clouds and rain approach, the manicured golf courses lay vacant. Maybe we know Christians like that — fair-weather Christians. Those who trust God only in the sunshine. “When my prayers are answered, when God smiles upon my circumstances, when things go well, I will hope in Him.” And perhaps, to differing degrees, many of us are guilty of the same. But that ought not be. “We must be well pleased with God as a friend,” wrote Matthew Henry, “even when He seems to come forth against us as an enemy.” Henry continues, “We must rejoice in God when we have nothing else to rejoice in, and cleave to Him, yea, though we cannot for the present find comfort in Him.”

Brothers and sisters, I’ve seen it! This last week I saw it. I saw the confidence that Kenzie Douthit has in her Lord. I saw her resting in her Lord even as the tears rolled down her cheeks on Tuesday morning. I saw her give thanks to the Lord for His goodness even as her heart was in a thousand pieces. I heard Melissa Volz praising the Lord for His sovereignty a mere sentence after she described the agony of her physical pain. These sisters showed me what it is, in the deepest valley, to rejoice in and cleave to the Lord.  

The Apostle Paul declared, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God always has His people’s good in the forefront of His mind. He always cares! His everlasting arms are always underneath! He catches our every tear in His bottle! He never leaves us nor forsakes us! But in those times when it seems otherwise — in the mourning of loved ones, in the hospital bed, when it seems almost impossible to go on — we can, as our sisters have proven, still hope in Him.

How do we know we can hope in Him? Well, because although God hasn’t actually slain us, there is One He did slay. The beautiful Lamb of God was slain on the cross. Our Lord and King was led like a lamb to the slaughter and there, in the darkness of Calvary, was slain. The One who perfectly hoped in God, who entrusted Himself wholeheartedly to the care of God even in the darkness of God-forsakenness, was slain. But on the third day victoriously He arose! So we, like Job, can say, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (19:25-27). The atoning death and victorious resurrection, along with the ascension, session, intercession, and return of the Lord Jesus Christ, testify that you can hope in God.

Rev. Rob Dykes, Pastor of Preaching & Congregational Care