Lenten Study Job Ch 7
A lot has gone wrong in Job’s life to this point. He has tried to remain faithful to God’s word and His ways, but he is running out of steam. Job is at whit’s end and believes life is hardly worth living if this is how he has to go on living it. He is so convinced of this he no longer has any filter on his words, speaking only the bare truth about everything.
"There was a man in the land of Uz" by andrevanb is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
1 “Is not man forced to labor on earth, And are not his days like the days of a hired man?
2 “As a slave who pants for the shade, And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So am I allotted months of vanity, And nights of trouble are appointed me.
Job 7:1-3 (NASB)
Most of this is in line with Genesis and the Fall of Man. God declares we must work to survive thanks to our disobedience at the beginning. It seems like a steep price to pay for a cheat meal on the first diet. The last bit about being “…allotted months of vanity…” I can only guess it is the idea that Job thought he was secure and safe in his righteous behavior. From the outside looking in, we know why this is happening, but Job does not. From his point of view, life has become uncertain, but nevertheless, he still holds to the precepts of God.
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 worms and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and runs.
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And come to an end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is but breath; My eye will not again see good.
8 “The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
9 “When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.
10 “He will not return again to his house, Nor will his place know him anymore.
Job 7:4-10 (NASB)
This passage details, in Job’s own words, the level to which he has sunk in his despair. So grief-stricken is he that he compares his situation to going to Sheol. Sheol is not Hell per se. Sheol in Old Testament times was more aptly referred to as simply the grave. It was also likened to Hades, or a place all the dead go to that is dark, devoid of light, and unescapable. In the New Testament, Jesus explains in Revelation 1:17-18 that He holds the keys to this realm and will release those He deems worthy but condemn those He finds unworthy. For more on Sheol you can head to BibleStudyTools HERE.
Also, not beginning in verse eight, the pronouns begin to be capitalized. Job is talking to and about God. God will no longer see him.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Revelation 1:17-18 (NASB)
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.
Job 7:11 (NASB)
Job assumes his days are done; he is condemned and heading into the grave himself soon. As such, he has decided to speak the unvarnished truth.
12 “Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?
Job 7:12 (NASB)
The sea is unpredictable, which is why sailors are wise to set a watch. Likewise, a beast-like a sea monster so rarely seen with little known about it is also unpredictable. Job is complaining about his friends arriving to sit vigil over him and blames God for that occurrence as well.
13 “If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch 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 but a breath.
Job 7:13-16 (NASB)
Job wants to be left alone. Yet, he ascribes the cause of his dreams to God tormenting him in sleep as well as waking hours. Job is so tormented that he feels death is the only release. His friends are telling him that for some reason they are not aware of, Job has done something to deserve this punishment. They are very sympathetic to his troubles, but they are also certain these calamities are just rewards for something Job either wittingly or unwittingly has done.
17 “What is man that You magnify him, And that You are concerned about him,
18 That You examine him every morning And try him every moment?
19 “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
Job 7:17-19 (NASB)
Job’s calamities are frequent, repeated, and continuous. Satan is the cause here because Satan has been allowed to orchestrate and call down these things. God may be the actor doing them, but Satan is orchestrating this. God participates because He agreed to put Job in Satan’s hands.
20 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?
21 “Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.”
Job 7:20-21 (NASB)
Verse twenty-one makes clear Job is still following the Law, including his atoning sacrifices as required by Torah. Yet, still, troubles befall him. He has run out of energy to deal with everything in his life other than the troubles to the point that he doesn’t think he can work or walk in God’s plan beyond dealing with the difficulties, and he laments as much to God.