In The Word
Read: Job 6-7
Job’s Friends Are No Help
6 Then Job responded,
2 “Oh if only my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my disaster!
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
For that reason my words have been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God line up against me.
5 Does the wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his feed?
6 Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the juice of an alkanet plant?
7 My soul refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.
8 “Oh, that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!
9 Oh, that God would decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10 But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should endure?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is it that my help is not within me,
And that a good outcome is driven away from me?
14 “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not abandon the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,
Like the torrents of wadis which drain away,
16 Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow melts.
17 When they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
18 The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema looked,
The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
20 They were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.
21 Indeed, you have now become such,
You see terrors and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?
24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have done wrong.
25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?
27 You would even cast lots for the orphans,
And barter over your friend.
28 Now please look at me,
And see if I am lying to your face.
29 Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does my palate not discern disasters?
Job’s Life Seems Futile
7 “Is a person not forced to labor on earth,
And are his days not like the days of a hired worker?
2 As a slave pants for the shade,
And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So I am allotted worthless months,
And nights of trouble are apportioned to me.
4 When I lie down, I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and oozes.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And they come to an end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is a mere breath;
My eye will not see goodness again.
8 The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me;
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.
9 When a cloud vanishes, it is gone;
In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up.
10 He will not return to his house again,
Nor will his place know about him anymore.
11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
13 If I say, ‘My couch will comfort me,
My bed will ease my complaint,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreams,
And terrify me by visions,
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my pains.
16 I waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath.
17 What is man that You exalt him,
And that You are concerned about him,
18 That You examine him every morning
And put him to the test every moment?
19 Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 Why then do You not forgive my wrongdoing
And take away my guilt?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will search for me, but I will no longer exist.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
We see today in Job 7:17-18 a scripture that is also quoted in Psalms 8:4 and Hebrews 2:6. Let us look at the Hebrew definitions of four words that may help us understand these verses. The word magnify means: to cause to grow; to do great things; to make great and powerful. The word concerned means: to set your mind towards; to be set upon; to lay hand upon. The word examine means: to seek; to attend to; to visit. The word try means: to examine; to be tried; to prove real (as in gold or the human heart). Now, let us put these definitions back into verses 17-18 and look at what it says:
“What is man that You make him grow and do great things, that You set Your attention and hand upon him, that You visit and attend to him every morning, and examine the purity of his heart every moment?”
We have insight to answer this question in John 3:16. We see that God loved us, humans created in His image, so much that He made a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. Resurrection Sunday has passed us already this year, but let us not forget all that Jesus went through so that we could have a relationship with Him. Let us each do whatever it takes to visit with God every morning as He desires to visit with us. After all, He suffered and died for it.