“Do not human beings have a hard service on earth?” These remarks of Job begin Job chapter 7 and come in the middle of his second monologue after Eliphaz has spoken (Job 4-5). What do we hear in Job’s words?
“Are not the days of [human beings] like the days of a laborer? Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like laborers who long for their wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness” (Job 7:1b-3a). Brite Divinity School professor Leo Perdue comments on ‘ebed’ the Hebrew term which means ‘slave’ that Jobs uses in verse 2 (in the book Wisdom & Creation, p.143). He points out that after 7 years, the slave was to be freed (see Leviticus 25:40-41). Even though the slave may have owed much to his creditor, all debts were forgiven in the Jubilee year.
However, Job does not lean such a hope in his present outcry. Graphically, he describes his circumstance. “My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out again. My days … come to an end without hope” (7:5-6). Have you ever experienced such calamity that it seemed hope was impossible? Has life ever been so bad, you decided hope was too heartbreaking because it was sure to fail? That’s where we find Job.
He doesn’t ask God for relief or restoration. He doesn’t dare believe that God could be on his side. Job believes God is against Him. Mournfully, he says, “remember that my life is a breath” (7:7). And, he challenges God. “Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity?” Job is sure of his own innocence and he equally sure that God against him. If God is against me, what can I possible do? Thus his lugubrious lament, “now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be” (7:21). Perdue notes that Job doesn’t seek the freedom of Jubilee; rather he just wants God to leave him alone.
As I have written previously, Job’s problems began exactly when God left him alone at Satan’s prodding. A person’s life is most forlorn when that person is far from God. Whether Job’s suffering was a caricature or an accurate historical accounting of a man who went through a living hell, the principle holds. Human beings experience pain. Sometimes they go through a lot of it. It is that much worse if the sufferer is also alienated from God. Job was not, but he thought he was. His pain created despair that submitted him to the deception that God was his enemy,
I urge you, reader, to think about Jesus’ assurance of what he desires for all who follow him. I say this knowing that Jesus’ disciples in fact go through all kinds of pain (cancer and other diseases, ridicule, persecutions, economic loss, accidents, divorce, etc). Christians get hurt just like everyone else; still we lay claim to the words of Jesus. “Whoever enters by me will be saved; … I came that they might have life and have abundantly” (John 10:9, 10).
Stubbornly, we who follow Jesus hang on to those words even though the situations we are in may make those words appear foolish. We refuse to go where Job went. We refuse to despair and give up on the Jubilee (freedom, release) that God promised. When Jesus says, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32), we believe Him.
Yes, followers of Jesus get knocked down. Yes, we experience loss. We are sometimes defeated. But, we do not give up. We do not forfeit hope. Because of the cross, we will not descend to darkness of the soul that Job could not escape. We learn from his example that faithful people will go through debilitating pain. But, we learn from Jesus that faithful people will be delivered and blessed, even in times of trial. We reach out to God in the name of Jesus, and God reaches out us and pulls us through.
Showing posts with label Job 7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Job 7. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
To be noticed by God - Blessing or Curse
To be noticed by God – blessing or curse?
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”
“You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet.”
“O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
That is one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 8. The verses quoted about (NRSV) are vs. 1, 4, 6, & 9. Obviously this is a song of triumphant praise. The singer can think of nothing better than to be noticed of God, empowered by God, and partnered with God.
Then, we turn to Job 7:17-18. He is, he says, speaking in the “anguish of his spirit” (7:11). “I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (also verse 11).
“What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them, visit them every morning, test them every moment?”
Don’t Job’s words sound a lot like Psalm 8?
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them” (Psalm 8:4)?
“What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them” (Job 7:17)?
Syntactically and rhetorically, these verses are incredibly similar scholar Michael Fishbane says. But how different is the message!
The singer of the Psalm yearns for God; Job yearns to be overlooked and ignored by God. He just wants God to leave Him alone. Ironically, the very reason Job is in his fix, diseased and burdened by the loss of wealth and the death of children, is God did in fact leave him alone. He removed his “hedge” (Job 1:10) of protection. Job begs God, “Will you not look away for a while” (7:19)? But it is when God took away his protection that Hell broke loose in Job’s life. The very thing Job asks for as he complains “in the bitterness of his soul” is what created that bitterness.
But, he doesn’t know that. Job is completely oblivious to dealings of Satan and God in chapters 1 & 2. He doesn’t know about Satan or care about Satan. Job’s only recourse is from God. When His life was grand, he gave God all the credit (see 1:5-6). Now that it is all gone, Job lays all the blame on God. In good and bad, for Job it is all about God.
That is worth noting. How bad, or how good is life for you right now? Either way, deal directly with God. No matter the emotion that bubbles and burns in you, deal with God. Don’t let losses turn you away from God. Don’t let successes lead you to become narcissistic and forgetful of God. Bring it all to God. In saying that though, I don’t say do as Job do. We do well to do what Job did, but not the way He did it.
A disciple’s faith is truly developed when even in times of great grief, he can sing Psalm 8. Our faith is resilient and unyielding and unbroken, when in the worst of times, we can truly believe Psalm 8. We truly believe that God is Lord and that God cares for us mortals and that God notices us mortals. When, no matter the circumstance, we trust that to be noticed of God is a good thing, then we are walking the road of discipleship.
Job’s pain was speaking when he begged God to “let [him] alone” (7:16). In the same breath, he asked God to leave, but talked to Him unendingly. I once had a church member kick me out of her house three times. She was so angry with me, she said, “Go.” But, then she unloaded an illogical vituperative harangue. Then a second time said, “You need to leave my house.” Before I could put on my coat, she dumped another load of vitriol. Then a third time kicked me out. Even when I left, she only half meant it. Job threatened to take God to court. Job accused God of being his enemy. Job said broke him to pieces and God shot him through with arrows (16:12). But Job also kept on talking to God.
What I suggest here is that we likewise keep on talking to God, but not lose sight of God’s absolute love for us. It may seem God has given up on us, but He hasn’t. In the midst of the trial, we show our faith when we sing the praise of Psalm 8.
To do this, I prescribe to you, dear reader, and to me, a simple exercise. In bland times (those days that are unremarkable, not worth remembering for good or bad reasons), memorize Psalm 8. Fix it in the mind and heart. Pray the reality of the Psalm into the soul. One day, all day long, pray, “O Lord, show me what it means that you are “mindful of human being.” Another day, all day long, pray, “O Lord, teach me what it means in my life that I am “a little lower than [the angels].” And line by line, pray for understanding of this Psalm. As we pray, God will give that understanding. Furthermore, the Psalm will become so familiar; the words will be a trusted resource when hard days come.
And finally, when we meet Job, we must give compassion. We will surely encounter in the journey of life that bitter person who “complains in the bitterness of [his] soul.” We do not represent Jesus well if we judgmentally tell that hurting one he ought to buck up and praise God. No, we silently sit by his side, hold his hand, encourage his spirit, pray on his behalf, model joy and hope, and walk with him no matter how broken he is. Will he eventually walk out of his misery and happily praise God? That’s between him and God. Our responsibility is to love, even as we stand in the power of the love God has given us.
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”
“You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet.”
“O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
That is one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 8. The verses quoted about (NRSV) are vs. 1, 4, 6, & 9. Obviously this is a song of triumphant praise. The singer can think of nothing better than to be noticed of God, empowered by God, and partnered with God.
Then, we turn to Job 7:17-18. He is, he says, speaking in the “anguish of his spirit” (7:11). “I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (also verse 11).
“What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them, visit them every morning, test them every moment?”
Don’t Job’s words sound a lot like Psalm 8?
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them” (Psalm 8:4)?
“What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them” (Job 7:17)?
Syntactically and rhetorically, these verses are incredibly similar scholar Michael Fishbane says. But how different is the message!
The singer of the Psalm yearns for God; Job yearns to be overlooked and ignored by God. He just wants God to leave Him alone. Ironically, the very reason Job is in his fix, diseased and burdened by the loss of wealth and the death of children, is God did in fact leave him alone. He removed his “hedge” (Job 1:10) of protection. Job begs God, “Will you not look away for a while” (7:19)? But it is when God took away his protection that Hell broke loose in Job’s life. The very thing Job asks for as he complains “in the bitterness of his soul” is what created that bitterness.
But, he doesn’t know that. Job is completely oblivious to dealings of Satan and God in chapters 1 & 2. He doesn’t know about Satan or care about Satan. Job’s only recourse is from God. When His life was grand, he gave God all the credit (see 1:5-6). Now that it is all gone, Job lays all the blame on God. In good and bad, for Job it is all about God.
That is worth noting. How bad, or how good is life for you right now? Either way, deal directly with God. No matter the emotion that bubbles and burns in you, deal with God. Don’t let losses turn you away from God. Don’t let successes lead you to become narcissistic and forgetful of God. Bring it all to God. In saying that though, I don’t say do as Job do. We do well to do what Job did, but not the way He did it.
A disciple’s faith is truly developed when even in times of great grief, he can sing Psalm 8. Our faith is resilient and unyielding and unbroken, when in the worst of times, we can truly believe Psalm 8. We truly believe that God is Lord and that God cares for us mortals and that God notices us mortals. When, no matter the circumstance, we trust that to be noticed of God is a good thing, then we are walking the road of discipleship.
Job’s pain was speaking when he begged God to “let [him] alone” (7:16). In the same breath, he asked God to leave, but talked to Him unendingly. I once had a church member kick me out of her house three times. She was so angry with me, she said, “Go.” But, then she unloaded an illogical vituperative harangue. Then a second time said, “You need to leave my house.” Before I could put on my coat, she dumped another load of vitriol. Then a third time kicked me out. Even when I left, she only half meant it. Job threatened to take God to court. Job accused God of being his enemy. Job said broke him to pieces and God shot him through with arrows (16:12). But Job also kept on talking to God.
What I suggest here is that we likewise keep on talking to God, but not lose sight of God’s absolute love for us. It may seem God has given up on us, but He hasn’t. In the midst of the trial, we show our faith when we sing the praise of Psalm 8.
To do this, I prescribe to you, dear reader, and to me, a simple exercise. In bland times (those days that are unremarkable, not worth remembering for good or bad reasons), memorize Psalm 8. Fix it in the mind and heart. Pray the reality of the Psalm into the soul. One day, all day long, pray, “O Lord, show me what it means that you are “mindful of human being.” Another day, all day long, pray, “O Lord, teach me what it means in my life that I am “a little lower than [the angels].” And line by line, pray for understanding of this Psalm. As we pray, God will give that understanding. Furthermore, the Psalm will become so familiar; the words will be a trusted resource when hard days come.
And finally, when we meet Job, we must give compassion. We will surely encounter in the journey of life that bitter person who “complains in the bitterness of [his] soul.” We do not represent Jesus well if we judgmentally tell that hurting one he ought to buck up and praise God. No, we silently sit by his side, hold his hand, encourage his spirit, pray on his behalf, model joy and hope, and walk with him no matter how broken he is. Will he eventually walk out of his misery and happily praise God? That’s between him and God. Our responsibility is to love, even as we stand in the power of the love God has given us.
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