Have you ever been up against a deadline and made it, but just barely? You may have said, or heard said, “we made it, but just by the skin of our teeth.”
Gross when you think about it, but where does this idiom come from? For this one, once again, we must go back thousands of years.
If I was forced to choose one book of the Bible as my favorite, it would be tough, but I would lean toward Job. I have said it before, I’ll say it again, the story of Job shows me that nothing happens to me without God saying, “this, but no further.” It shows me that in spite of what little I see; God is in charge, and He sees everything.
Job is put through a number of trials, in fact the word ‘trials’ does not adequately describe what Job went through. His life became a living nightmare for a time. And it all began with a corporate meeting:
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
“And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
“Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
“And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1:6-12 ESV
It started with a meeting of the worlds (Satan representing earth) and it ended with an expression, or idiom, that we still use today.
I invite you to get out your Bible and read again the story of Job. At 42 chapters, it’s not a short read, but it is rich with life and death, broken friends, and a faithless wife and how God protects, and rewards, those who love Him and remain faithful to Him.
However, for today, let’s look at chapter 19 and the expression “by the skin of your teeth.”
Job himself spoke these words. He had lost his children, his possessions, his health. Society, including his very closest friends and his wife, did not understand and offered him some terrible advice.
Job was suffering as he lamented:
My relatives have failed me,
my close friends have forgotten me.
The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;
I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
My breath is strange to my wife,
and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.
Even young children despise me;
when I rise they talk against me.
All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.
My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. – Job 19:13-20 ESV
Just wow!
Do you hear the utter misery in his voice? This poor man is at the bottom of the barrel.
His relatives had failed him.
His close friends had forgotten who he was, and in fact had turned against him.
His wife did not want to be around him.
His siblings did want to be around him.
I think this scenario is still true today in many families. We feel misunderstood and unseen by those we love the most. But we can also learn from Job and take the same attitude as Job “Though he slay me, I will hope in Him…” Job 13:15 ESV
Back to chapter 19:
But then Job says, “I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.”
Although we do not know exactly what Job meant by these words, we do know it means he escaped death, but only by the narrowest of margins.
Next time you hear the phrase, “by the skin of my teeth”, think of Job. That very chapter ends with some of the most hope-filled words spoken by Job.
It made me smile when I read verses 23 and 24, because Job’s deep desire came to fruition: “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!”
They were Job, they were.
I will end today with verses 25 through 27. Beautiful, hope-filled words that we can claim even today for ourselves:
For 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!
by Jeanette Stark – Monday, July 3, 2023
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