Lenten Study Job Ch 17
Reading through chapter seventeen of Job saps my energy. Reading the lack of hope in Job’s words fills me with angst for the present. Then, Job utters a single verse that reminds me we need to stand firm in our lives, even when we see no light at the end of the tunnel, no hope in the world.
"There was a man in the land of Uz" by andrevanb is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Caption
1 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.
Job 17:1 (NASB)
Job is downtrodden, depressed, and defeated. He has no more energy for figuring out why he is being punished. He is ready to die.
2 “Surely mockers are with me, And my eye gazes on their provocation.
Job 17:2 (NASB)
The “mockers” are his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
3 “Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor?
4 “For You have kept their heart from understanding, Therefore You will not exalt them.
Job 17:3-4 (NASB)
Job is speaking to God, asking Him to promise something. Since Job and God know the truth, and God has not allowed Job’s friends to know the truth, Job asks that God not raise them up for their incorrect opinions of Job’s situation.
5 “He who informs against friends for a share of the spoil, The eyes of his children also will languish.
Job 17:5 (NASB)
Job is incorrectly accusing his friends for the reason behind why they are accusing him of committing sinful activities. He doesn’t know that they are concerned for Job but doesn’t know why the things that have happened to him have happened.
6 “But He has made me a byword of the people, And I am one at whom men spit.
Job 17:6 (NASB)
I wonder if Job knew or even had an idea of how much of a byword he and his story would become? It depends on who you talk to, but the book of Job has been around for at least four thousand years. That is a long time for this story to be told. The lessons taught by Job are ingrained in life, not just in Christian life but everyone’s. You cannot have a tale stick around for that length of time and not have it creep into everything, whether people are aware of it or not. That’s an incredible legacy for a man who refused to turn his back on his God.
7 “My eye has also grown dim because of grief, And all my members are as a shadow.
Job 17:7 (NASB)
This is not a statement of age for Job. This is a statement of personal energy. He doesn’t have any left for the struggle that has become his day-to-day life.
8 “The upright will be appalled at this, And the innocent will stir up himself against the godless.
9 “Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
Job 17:8-9 (NASB)
Job still asserts he is innocent even though all the worldly evidence indicates he is not. He knows he has done nothing wrong.
10 “But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you.
11 “My days are past, my plans are torn apart, Even the wishes of my heart.
Job 17:10-11 (NASB)
Job is just out of energy for the fight. Nevertheless, he stands firm and waves his hand, inviting the next attack. He’s just resigned to his fate.
12 “They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
Job 17:12 (NASB)
Those not going through the events Job is undergoing try to bring him words of encouragement. They have no idea what is truly going through Job’s mind, but they still bring words designed to spark hope. Job has no hope at this point.
13 “If I look for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness;
14 If I call to the pit, ‘You are my father’; To the worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;
15 Where now is my hope? And who regards my hope?
16 “Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?”
Job 17:13-16 (NASB)
In Job’s day, Sheol equated to Hades or the underworld. Today, we might think it means Hell. Job’s intention was not to say he was going to Hell but rather into the darkness from which there is no escape. With that as his future, he sees no reason to hold any hope for the future. He simply wishes for the end, for death to come.