Job 7 Verses 1 to 21 Why Me Lord July 31, 2022

Job 7 Verses 1 to 21 Why Me Lord July 31, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AA

Background Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Psalm 4:8, Matthew 8:24-26

Main Idea: You will never be able to deal with all the demands life throws your way without having the strength of Christ in your life.

Study Aim: to understand that sometimes God will calm the storms, but most often He calms the hearts of those in the storm.

Create Interest:

· A true friend is someone who really knows you—faults and all—and still loves you. Sadly, some of us forget this when problems arise in a friend’s life. In Job’s case, his so-called friends were certainly not acting like true friends. Think of all the helpful things they could have done instead of accusing and trying to convict him of unconfessed sin in his life.

· Job’s friends could have offered kind, caring words, comforting words, pity, and understanding. They could have listened more and talked less. They could have shown tenderness over Job’s horrible suffering and loss. They could have offered practical, material aid—perhaps loans, gifts of livestock and grain, and the like. Or, they could have sought out medicine and the best doctors of the day.

· More important than all these things, they could have prayed with Job and wept for God’s mercy despite any faults Job may have had.

o Instead, they offered only empty words, words that were hurtful, judgmental, and untrue.

o True friends do more than talk. First, they listen and seek to understand. Afterward, they offer good, dependable help whenever and however they can.

· God’s Word says a great deal about true friendship and about how believers are to love and care for one another:[1]

o Romans 15:1 (NASB) 1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

o 1 John 2:10 (NASB) 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Job, verses 6:14-30, expressed bitter disappointment in Eliphaz, for his friend was failing to be a true ally. Instead of comforting Job, he had falsely accused him—even though Job had done no wrong. What Job needed was compassion and wise counsel; but his friend had offered only bad advice, rebuke, and condemnation. Naturally, Job felt terribly let down, even forsaken. As a result, he made seven charges against his friends concerning their lack of true friendship.

· In the second part of this speech, our lesson focus today, Job leaves off addressing the comforters and speaks directly to God. After lamenting his fate, Job details his own physical agony and bemoans the hard lot of humanity in general. He complains bitterly to God for treating him so harshly, and he reminds God that he will soon die. Then he seeks to motivate God to ease his sufferings for the few days he has left before dying. He reasons that anything that he might have done could not have harmed God and that after his death God will seek him eagerly, but not be able to find him. That Job speaks realistically about his pains here, in contrast to the unrealistic wish never to have been born that he uttered in his curse-lament (ch. 3), means that he is beginning to cope with his real situation. He is reaching beyond his despair to find reconciliation with God. This section is arranged in four subsections alternating between a lament and a petition.[2]

Bible Study:

Job 7:1-2 (NASB) 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,

· Job laments the hard plight of all human beings, both slave and free. In return for his toil the worker receives only a meager reward, a small wage or a brief time of relaxation. Job considers that his fate is comparable to the hardship bore by one who spends his strength in working for another person.

· This analogy emphasizes the weakness and servitude of human beings in general. Three nouns depict the relationship of a laborer to his master. term of service.

o The first noun, ṣāḇāʾ, refers to forced service. It was primarily used for military service, but it could also refer to conscripted labor as here.

o The second term, śāḵîr could also refer to those hired for military purposes (Jer. 46:21; cf. Isa. 7:20), though it is usually used of domestic workers (e.g., Exod. 12:45; Lev. 25:53). These workers were usually very poor (Lev. 25:40) and often hired themselves out one day at a time for a meager wage that scarcely provided daily food for their families. In the morning they would gather with other laborers at the marketplace and wait patiently to be hired for the day (cf. Matt. 20:1–12). Because of their poverty it was imperative that they be paid at the end of the day so that they could buy food for the evening meal (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15; cf. Matt. 20:8).

o The third term is ʿeḇeḏ. It has a broad range of reference, including anyone who works for or serves another, from slaves (Deut. 15:15). The slave was completely bound to his master’s will.

§ The reward of the hired worker differs markedly from that of the slave. The former bears the heat of the day in anticipation of his wages, thinking of the joy he will receive from the morsel he will be able to buy and share with his family. In contrast, the slave endures the burning heat for his master. Beneath the hot sun he gasps (šāʾap̄) for the shade, the coolness of the long shadows of the late afternoon.

§ In the Palestinian hill country, the heat of a long summer day is made bearable by the cool, refreshing breeze that one can usually feel in the shade during the afternoon. Since the slave receives no wage, his mind is absorbed with finding moments of relaxation and a little relief like that offered by the shade of a tree.[3]

· With these comparisons the author moves beyond the core issue of the suffering of the righteous to the issue of widespread human misery.

Job 7:3-5 (NASB) 3 So am I allotted months of vanity, And nights of trouble are appointed 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 worms and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and runs.

· Vs. 3: The sentence begun in v. 2 is completed in v. 3. Job grumbled that his lot was “months of futility” and “nights of misery.” The term “misery” occurs five times before this in Job (3:10; 4:8; 5:6, 7, 26). This reference to “months” provides one of the few clues to the time frame of Job’s ordeal. About all one can say is that the trial lasted more than one month and probably less than a year, otherwise “year” would have been in a verse such as this.[4]

· Vs. 4-5: Instead of being able to rest in the shade at the end of the day, his nightswere miserable. (Misery translates ‘āmāl, “trouble”; cf. Job 3:10; 4:8; 5:6–7.) His nights were long as he tossed and turned in pain. Who could possibly sleep with his body covered with worms (probably eating his dead flesh) and dirty scabs? (lit., “clods of dust”) The scabs on his skinhardened and cracked; his sores were festered with pus.[5]

Thoughts to clarify before moving on:

· Turning the general analogy to his specific circumstances, Job slips into first-person references. If the servant and hired man of verses 1 and 2 have “hard service,” Job exceeds them all. They wait for the evening shade or the paycheck at the end of the workday, while Job has endured months of futilitywith no conclusion in sight. His nights of misery drag restlessly on, while thoughts that the whole experience must be repeated again in the morning plague him. Along with his pain and hopelessness, Job must also endure a failing body clothed with worms and scabs, covered with broken and festering skin.

Job 7:6-10 (NASB) 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.

· Vs. 6-7: Job’s first-person reflections continue, but his focus shifts from the “hard service” of his suffering to a growing awareness of the fragility of his life. Speeding along even more quickly than a darting weaver’s shuttle, the days of Job’s life rush without hope to a rapid end.

· The intimation of a rapidly approaching end prepares the reader for the focus on death in the latter part of this chapter.

o Life is so fragile that, in Job’s condition, death cannot be far away. Job says that life is but a breath, insubstantial at best and soon dissipated. Job’s words here—“a breath (is) my life” are a cynical play on the animation of the first human in Genesis 2:7. There God breathes into the nostrils of the yet inert human the “breath of life” in order to create a “living being”.

o Elsewhere in Job, the animating “breath” that gives life is often associated almost interchangeably with ruakh. “The Spirit (ruakh) of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (33:4). Conversely, “If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit (ruakh) and breath (nishmah)” (34:14). Job intends his words to remind God that his life is a tenuous and yet divinely given “breath,” and that his prolonged suffering is therefore the result of God’s unwillingness to withdraw that breath.[6]

Thoughts to soak on

· God’s Word teaches that life is brief and difficult. Hardship and disappointment are a part of everyday existence, and many lives are plagued by hard work, constant suffering, pain, despair, and hopelessness. In addition, we are gripped by the brevity of life—an unavoidable event that dooms us ever so quickly to the grave.

· It is so important to walk closely with the Lordand to depend on Him for the strength to endure day by day.God loves us; therefore, He will strengthen us to face the hardships of life. Listen to God’s wonderful promises:[7]

o Matthew 6:33 (NASB) 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

o 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB) 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

o Psalm 28:7 (NASB) 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

o Isaiah 43:1-2 (NASB) 1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

Thoughts to Soak On😊

· Time flies when you are having fun. It also flies when you are not enjoying yourself. In fact, the older that you get, you will realize that your life is moving at Mustang speed. It is as if you are in a roller coaster, the track is on a steep downward slope and it doesn’t go back up.

· If you are not careful, the swiftness of your life can be very depressing. There have been times that I have watched old television shows and started to weep, not because Old Yeller died, but because I remember watching the programs for the first time when I was just a little kid or I video-taped it twenty years ago. I am left in shock. Where have the years gone? What seemed like yesterday was actually twenty or thirty years ago. It can get you down.

· Job’s life was flashing before him. He is afraid that his life is over, but he is also afraid that it isn’t over, yet. He was miserable. His nights were long from suffering and sleeplessness, yet, he was numbering his days without any kind of hope at all of being delivered from his sickness. He sees death approaching on the horizon like a rider on a horse approaching in the distance, getting closer and closer. The swiftness of his life and the hopelessness he felt, left him saying to the Lord, “Leave me alone.” He just wanted to die and end the suffering he was enduring.

· Job reminds us all of the shortness or brevity of our lives, “My life is swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. It is like the wind.” Our lives are here and then gone. James said that same thing.

o James 4:14—Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanished away.[8]

Job 7:11-12 (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. 12 "Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

· For some persons it is philosophical to accept the sad fact that death is the end of all and then to make the best of one’s transitory and futile life.

o Not so Job. He has already experienced richly that life can be meaningful in a right relationship with God, a relationship which is not a hidden and altogether spiritual link between the soul and God but which is precisely existence in creaturehood in the concrete particulars of family and work and bodily health.

o Only God can maintain, as only God can give, that relationship. Eliphaz was wrong to suggest (5:8) that a man can secure it, either by his righteousness or by his faith. But why did God—it can only be He—throw Job’s relationship into ruins?

· Job’s existence has turned into a nightmare in which God, like Death in the old myths, is trying to strangle him. He protests: ‘Why?’ He asks God: ‘Why?’

o The very asking of the question sustains his access to God.

o Job does not now ‘adorn’ ‘the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious’ (1 Pet. 3:4).

o But this does not mean that his opposite mood disqualifies his claim to godliness. ‘A calm and heavenly frame’ for ‘a closer walk with God’ is not the uniform standard for biblical religion.

§ Hannah prayed with the incoherence of a drunken woman (1 Sam. 1:13).

§ ‘Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears … and he was heard’ (Heb. 5:7).

o So Job makes his way to God with prayers that are sobs. Narrow and inhuman is the religion that bans weeping from the vocabulary of prayer. So Job, in his anguish, does not curb his speech, but breaks out into even greater vehemence.

§ I won’t shut up!

§ I’ll shout from the torment of my spirit!

§ I’ll protest from the bitterness of my soul!

§ Do you think I’m Yam or Tannin?

§ That you’re trying to muzzle me?

· Yam, the sea as a god, and the associated sea monster were the worst enemies of God in the old stories. The names point to a Canaanite rather than a Mesopotamian background. Job has no idea what he might have done to incur such extreme hostility from God. It is ludicrous to suggest that Job is in any way a threat to God, like the primeval chaos.[9]

Job 7:13-14 (NASB) 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;

· He complains that he could not rest in his bed, v. 13, 14. There we promise ourselves some repose, when we are fatigued with labour, pain, or traveling: “My bed shall comfort me, and my couch shall ease my complaint. Sleep will for a time give me some relief;” it usually does so; it is appointed for that end; many a time it has eased us, and we have awaked refreshed, and with new vigor.

· When it is so we have great reason to be thankful; but it was not so with poor Job: his bed, instead of comforting him, terrified him; and his couch, instead of easing his complaint, added to it; for if he dropped asleep, he was disturbed with frightful dreams, and when those awaked him still he was haunted with dreadful apparitions. This was it that made the night so unwelcome and wearisome to him as it was (v. 4)[10]

Job 7:15-16 (NIV2011) 15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. 16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

· In such a helpless, hopeless state, Job surmised, I prefer strangling and death to a life racked by such constant pain. Even the grave was to be preferred to living in this body of mine, he moaned.

· Spiraling down further in this emotional tailspin, Job complained, I despise my life. He despaired of life itself. Only death could ease his pain. So let death come early, even soon. “Let me alone,” he cried to God. “My days have no meaning” (i.e., no purpose, significance, or fulfillment), only emptiness, he declared.

Job 7:17-18 (NASB) 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?

· The pain and misery that Job has been experiencing has left him embittered, in despair, and in anguish. This word “anguish” is formed from a Hebrew root word tsarar {tsaw-rar’} which means “to be in distress, to be tied up or bound, to make narrow, to close in, or to show hostility toward someone.” Job feels like his life is caving in upon him or he is boxed in a corner. Have you ever felt that way?

· Job’s suffering has soured his spirit and left him with a spirit of strife. He more or less is saying, “I’m hurting, and I am going to speak up about it.” He is desperate for comfort. He wonders why God gives men the time of day. Why is God interested in man? David wondered about this, too.

o Psalm 8:4—What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

o Psalm 144:3—LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

· He feels like the Lord is constantly testing him. The word “try” in verse 18 is from the Hebrew word bachan {baw-khan’} which has to do with passing things through the fire or the crucible to purify the metal. It is in the imperfect tense which means that Job felt that God was constantly putting him through the fire of testing.

· Satan has been pressuring Job to turn his back on God and deny Him. Job does not deny the Lord, but he is complaining about what God has allowed in his life. In a nutshell he is asking in anger,“Why are you doing this to me? Why are you testing me? Will this ever end?” The anger and bitterness that have brewed in Job’s heart led to him saying to the Lord, “Leave me alone.”

· That’s what bitterness and strife can do to a person. It poisons the spirit, robbing the person of joy. The writer of Hebrews said, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). John tells us that we walk in darkness when bitterness and hate grip us.

o 1 John 2:11—But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes.

· Bitterness brews when a person feels he is being treated unfairly and I believe Job feels this way. He took pride in his integrity and doing what is right. Bitterness brews when others have it so well, but you don’t. It boils when you feel cheated or have lost what you possessed.

· Many today, unbelievers and also Christians, have told the Lord, “Leave me alone” because they harbor bitterness in their hearts toward God or someone else.

o Bitterness has left them thinking that God does not care about them or the Lord has cheated them of something they loved or desired. Such thinking destines you to a very lonely, unhappy life as long as you have these kinds of attitudes toward God. Let me urge you to flush them from your heart today!

· Ver. 18. that thou examine him every morning, and try him every moment? Our whole life is a probation, not merely particular parts of it. God “tries us every moment,” if not with afflictions, then with blessings; if not with pains, then with pleasures. He is with us all the day long, and all our life long, equally in his mercies and in his chastisements. But Job was probably thinking only of the latter.[11]

Thoughts to Soak on:

· (Ps 8:4; 144:3). Job means, “What is man that thou should make him [of so much importance], and that thou should expend such attention [or, heart-thought] upon him” as to make him the subject of so severe trials?

o Job ought rather to have reasoned from God’s condescending so far to notice man as to try him, that there must be a wise and loving purpose in trial.

o David uses the same words, in their right application, to express wonder that God should do so much as He does for insignificant man.

o Christians who know God manifest in the man Christ Jesus may use them still more.

· Vs. 18. With each new day (Ps 73:14). It is rather God’s mercies, not our trials, that are new every morning (La 3:23). The idea is that of a shepherd taking count of his flock every morning, to see if all are there.[12]

Overcoming Bitterness guide for your life

You can overcome bitterness in your life if you will change your attitude and thinking.

· Realize that God doesn’t owe you anything. He is not a debtor to us, we are debtors to Him for all that He has done for us.

o Psalm 68:19a—Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits.…

· Revere the Lord and learn to be thankful for whatever takes place in your life, whether it is good or bad, whether you understand what is happening to you or not.

o 1 Thessalonians 5:18—In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

· Receive God’s grace when trouble and trials sweep into your life. His grace will enable you to cope with your complications.

o 1 Corinthians 15:10—But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

· Recognize what character traits the Lord is trying to develop in your life.

o Is the Lord using the trial to develop patience, humility, etc?

· Relinquish your rights to God and transfer ownership of them to Him.

o Matthew 6:33—But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.[13]

Job 7:19-21 (NASB) 19 “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? 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.”

· Vs. 19: Using interrogatives to underscore his exasperation, Job implores God: How long until you look away [šāʿâ] from me? In a positive sense šāʿâ (“gaze”) means “to regard someone with interest or approval” (e.g., Gen. 4:4–5; Isa. 17:7–8). Usually, the faithful aspire for the eyes of the Lord to shine on their lives, for such observation brings deliverance, security, and blessing (Ps. 33:18–19; 34:16 [Eng. 15]). But Job experiences God’s gaze as sheer pain. Therefore, he pleads, Will you not leave me alone long enough till I swallow my spittle?

o Should God relax his surveillance, Job would win a reprieve, a few moments of rest free from pain, before his certain death. This request reveals how Job’s understanding of God has been turned upside down.

· Vs. 20: Job ponders what effect any sin he might have committed could have on God. Assuming that no act that a human being might commit could so affect God that he would be compelled to devastate that person, Job asks rhetorically, If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O Watcher of man?Assuredly nothing! The divine title Watcher of man has an affirmative meaning expressing the confidence that the afflicted have in divine protection. But Job employs this title with scathing sarcasm, because God’s surveillance causes him constant agony.

· The three words for sin used in vv. 20–21, sin (ḥāṭāʾ), rebellion (pešaʿ), and iniquity (ʿāwōn), encompass every kind of transgression (cf. Lev. 16:21). If God wished, he could overlook any sinful deed Job might have done and allow him to live free from such suffering. Job grounds his plea for a reprieve in God’s sovereign will, not in his own morality.

· In typical lament style Job sets forth a series of questions. He asks God: Why have you made me your mark, i.e., that which he strikes (mip̄gāʿ). Like a warrior, God has tirelessly/determinedly continued to inflict severe blows against a single object. Because God has expended such energy in buffeting him, Job states ironically and bitterly: so that I have become a burden to you? Job wonders why God is so obsessed with him that God lets his servant become a burden to himself. Such behavior certainly seems to be beneath God’s character.Has God himself become a slave, having to bear a heavy burden (cf. vv. 1, 2)?[14]

· Vs. 21: do you not pardon my transgression Job is not admitting guilt; he assumes that he is on trial and God presumes him guilty. He wants God to stop punishing him (compare Job 13:23). Job will continue to ask for a fair hearing before God (9:14–20; 13:1–3, 18–28; 19:7–24; 23:2–9).[15]

o Job closed his appeal with a request for forgiveness (Job 7:20–21). “If I have sinned, then forgive me. Why should I be a burden to You and to myself? Time is flying by swiftly, so let’s settle things as soon as possible!” It was not a confession of sin, for Job still maintained his integrity; but it was an opportunity for God to deal with areas in Job’s life that he knew nothing about (Ps. 19:12–14).

· If God is a God of grace, where is that grace in relation to Job? Job is no gross sinner in rebellion against God. He is a pious man who has always taken scrupulous care to go above and beyond the expectations of faith. How is it, then, that God finds Job so offensive that God can extend no grace or mercy in his case? The chapter concludes with the note that the need for action is urgent because, unless divine redress is immediately forthcoming, Job is not long for this world.[16]

· Then Job was silent. He had vented his pain and frustration and appealed to his friends for understanding and encouragement. Would he receive it?[17]

Thoughts in closing our study

· Job felt he was hedged in or trapped. Note that Job’s use of this phrase, hedged in, differs from the way Satan used it earlier (1:12). Satan had accused God of placing a hedge around Job, implying that God was protecting him. In contrast, Job felt trapped or hedged in by his suffering.

· Job also felt that the very purpose for his life had been hidden from him. He had no idea why he was ever born or for what purpose he still lived in light of his present situation. Life seemed so dark and gloomy that he could not see anything good or positive coming from his existence.

· Pointing to his intense physical and emotional pain, he basically asked: Why live …?

o Why live when he suffered and groaned so much he could not even eat?

o Why live when what he feared and dreaded most (the loss of everything) had actually happened?[18]

· Job held back nothing—no words, no feelings—when talking to the Lord. Why should he, when God knew his every thought? We, too, must always remember that honesty with God is a necessity. God knows our thoughts, feelings, and concerns. He knows them even better than we do. Hence, there is no reason to try to keep anything from the Lord. We may not understand why God brings or allows suffering into our lives. Nevertheless, it is better to question and wrestle with the Lordover our suffering, better to seek His understanding and mercy, than to forsake Him. Indifference to God’s purpose for our suffering is the worst position we can take. It is better to cry out to the Lordand seek His mercy than to blame the Lordor to ignore what God wants to teach us throughthe suffering. Listen to what God’s Word says about seeking the Lord’s mercy in times of need:

o Psalm 4:1 (NASB) 1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

o Psalm 6:2 (NASB) 2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.

o Hebrews 5:7 (NASB) 7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

· Yielding to vexation and passion can bring ruin to a life but given the reality of his life and of his apparent prospects, Job has nothing to lose by giving expression to those feelings. For the first time he speaks directly to God, and it is to confront God about the way God is treating him—as if he is an embodiment of dangerous and destructive power that God needs to control or as if God is a poor employer who doesn’t know how to treat his employees and turns them into people who are simply longing for their shift to be over.

· Job is a sinner, like anyone else, but why do Job’s ordinary human offenses matter so much to God?

o Isn’t God supposed to be one who forgives sin?

o Why does God need to treat Job as if he is someone so important?

§ Not for the last time the irony is that we know the answer to this question, but Job will never know it.

· Psalm 8:4 asks, “What is a mortal man that you are mindful of him, a human being that you attend to him?” God made humanity little less than divine, gave us glory and majesty, and put us in charge of the world, his handiwork.

· Hebrews 2 will take up those words and use them as a lens through which to look at Jesus. It recognizes that the world is not yet subjected to Jesus, but it knows that one day this will be the case.

· For Job, too, the words declare something that contrasts with how things now are. As he takes up the psalm’s words, he reworks them so that they express his different reaction to God’s mindfulness and attentiveness, which have different implications for him from the ones they have for the psalmist.

o God made humanity great and/or made him great, but now God continually tests this representative of humanity.

o Again there is the irony that we know why God is testing Job, but Job never knew.[19]

Reflection and Response

What are some practical ways we can encourage people who are experiencing unusual pain in their lives—even when they may be struggling with serious doubts, fears, and even anger toward God?[20]

[1]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Job, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2010), 46-49. [2] John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 142. [3] John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 143–145. [4]Robert L. Alden, Job, vol. 11, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 107. [5] Roy B. Zuck, “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 728. [6]Gerald H. Wilson, Job, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 68. [7]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Job, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2010), 50. [8] Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Job, vol. 1, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2013), 183–184. [9]Francis I. Andersen, Job: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 14, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1976), 146–148. [10]Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 671. [11] H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Job, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 123. [12]Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 316. [13] Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Job, vol. 1, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2013), 185–187. [14]John E. Hartley, The Book of Job, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 151–152. [15]John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Job 7:21. [16]Gerald H. Wilson, Job, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 72. [17]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Patient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 34. [18]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Job, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2010), 30. [19]John Goldingay, Job for Everyone, 1st ed., Old Testament for Everyone (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2013), 46–47. [20]Gene A. Getz, Life Essentials Study Bible: Biblical Principles to Live By (B&H, 2011), Job 6:1–7:21.