Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. – Job 13:12

Today's Scripture Reading (July 11, 2021): Job 13

“A stitch in time saves nine.” Have you ever really thought about the proverb? Basically, it argues that a quick decision or the handling of a small problem now will save many future decisions or future problems. True? Maybe, but only if you make the right decision now, and that is not always obvious. We know that there are situations where the proverb might be true, but there are just as many situations where “a stitch in time saves nine” is a useless proverb.

What about “all good things come to an end?” The proverb recognizes the cyclical nature of life. We all experience both good times and bad periods. As a result, someone came up with a proverb to describe this process; “all good things must end.” John Woloschuk used this Proverb in his lament for a dead pet.

But all good things must end
No use crying for the dead and that's a fact
All my tears won't bring you back
But I never had a better friend than you
No I'll never have a better friend than you (John Woloschuk)

Yes, all good must end, but so must all bad things, and everything in between. Life is a changing and ever evolving endeavor. And everything comes to an end.

Job’s friends believed that they were the ones that possessed the wisdom of the ages, but the truth was that the only thing that they were in the possession of were some tired proverbs. They might as well be trying to convince the Prophet that “a stitch in time saves nine,” or that “all good things must end.” Job, your family died? Well, all good things must end. And so, Job tells them that their proverbs were just proverbs of ashes or teachings that carried the stench of death. There was nothing that was life-giving in their words. All their wisdom did was steal away more of Job’s life.

Job’s friends also were trying to defend God, but because they did not understand what was really happening, and as a result, they were failing miserably. Their defenses were shattering like bits of clay. British evangelist G. Campbell Morgan, makes this observation.

The idea is that men may argue in defence of God upon false lines, through limited knowledge. That is exactly what these men had been doing. The result was that they were unjust to Job. They did not know it: they did not intend that it should be so. But it was so (G. Campbell Morgan).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 14