Job 7

Job 7.1-5:

“Is not all human life a struggle?
Our lives are like that of a hired hand,
2 like a worker who longs for the shade,
like a servant waiting to be paid.
3 I, too, have been assigned months of futility,
long and weary nights of misery.
4 Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’
But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
5 My body is covered with maggots and scabs.
My skin breaks open, oozing with pus."

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OK, that’s just gross, haha. Have you ever felt like Job here though? There certainly have been times when I could relate with the whole life’s tough and having months of futility thing. When reading verses 1-4, it sounded very similar, to me at least, to the way that Solomon wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Job 7.6-10:

6 

“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.
They end without hope.
7 O God, remember that my life is but a breath,
and I will never again feel happiness.
8 You see me now, but not for long.
You will look for me, but I will be gone.
9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,
those who die will not come back.
10 They are gone forever from their home—
never to be seen again."

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 Verse 6 is when Job shifts the object of his words from his friends to God. The first thing that stuck out in this set of verses was verse 9. “Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die [who go down to Sheol] will not come back.” When I read this verse, and footnote, I immediately thought about how Jesus defied all of these ‘natural rules/laws.’ He died and when to the grave/Sheol, and on the third day, He was back to life! I know this is one of those common sense things for most Christians, but when I take the time to just sit and think on that, it becomes something SO much more. =)

Job 7.11-16:

11 “I cannot keep from speaking.
I must express my anguish.
My bitter soul must complain.
12 Am I a sea monster or a dragon
that you must place me under guard?
13 I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
and sleep will ease my misery,’
14 but then you shatter me with dreams
and terrify me with visions.
15 I would rather be strangled—
rather die than suffer like this.
16 I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days."

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It’s pretty crazy to think that here is Job, a faithful servant of God, driven to the extreme with suffering, so that he ends up expressing himself with this kind of bluntness to the God of the universe! Not only does this tell me that Job’s suffering is great, but it also tells me that Job still feels close and connected to God in some way, because he’s taking the time to address God and share with him, honestly, what he’s feeling and thinking.

Job 7.17-21:

17 “What are people, that you should make so much of us,
that you should think of us so often?
18 For you examine us every morning
and test us every moment.
19 Why won’t you leave me alone,
at least long enough for me to swallow!
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of all humanity?
Why make me your target?
Am I a burden to you?
21 Why not just forgive my sin
and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.
When you look for me, I will be gone.”

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Here Job officially expresses his opinions and feelings to God for the first time. He addresses him with the question that’s been riding along all this time in the back of his brain, “What have I done to You to receive such experiences?” I LOVE verse 17-18 though. It’s kind of easy to miss a cool little meaning behind these verses with the situation of Job, but I think that these two verses have a ‘universal’ meaning to them that is still present without Job’s circumstance. Job asks why God thinks about mankind so much. Then in verse 18, Job says, “You even think about us so much, that when morning comes, You continue to examine us and even test us whenever You see fit.”  I love this. Here’s why. If you didn’t care enough about something, you wouldn’t examine it and think about it with every waking thought, and you certainly wouldn’t test it. That would be a waste of your time. The only time you go to such lengths is when you have a distinct connection with something/someone, that in your mind, warrants you going to such lengths. Therefore, we can see, once again, in verses 17-18, that GOD MUST LOVE US AND/OR BE CONCERNED ABOUT US A LOT, BECAUSE HE NEVER STOPS THINKING, EXAMINING, AND TESTING US! That’s a comforting thought for me. What about you guys? =)

“Father, I pray that we would learn from Job. I pray that we would realize how much You think about us, and that we would think about You just as much. I pray that everyone doing this study would grow closer to You through it and that their lives would evolve into something so much more enjoyable, rewarding, and filled with opportunities to make Your name famous in this world. Father, we love You and we desperately need You! It’s in Jesus’ name that I pray, amen!”