Speaking to the Almighty -- 6/5/11

Sunday, June 5, 2011

SPEAKING TO THE ALMIGHTY

Job 7

This morning we come to the seventh chapter of Job. We are right in the middle of Job’s response to his “friend” Eliphaz, who gave him a strong rebuke (chapters 4-5). In chapter 6, Job informed Eliphaz that he really didn’t understand the depth of his pain. If he did, he wouldn’t be so hard on him; he would have compassion. Because Eliphaz didn’t understand and therefore was harsh, Job concluded that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were of no help at all. Job demanded that these so-called friends give the specifics of where he had sinned against God.

It is not absolutely clear to whom Job is speaking in all of chapter 7. What is clear is that by the middle of the chapter, he is speaking to God. We read in verse 14, “Then You scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions.” Surely it is the Lord Himself who brings those dreams and visions. Commentators are divided concerning where Job turns away from Eliphaz and directs his words to God. Apparently those who first made the chapter divisions believed that Job began to speak to the Lord in 7:1. That is the way I will view it. Ultimately, it doesn’t make a great deal of difference, as long as we recognize Job speaking to the Lord later in the chapter.

So what does Job have to say to God? Remember from chapter 6 that what hurts Job the most is his belief that his God is judging him. Let’s go back and read 6:4, “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.” Remember also that in chapter 6 he continues to ask God to take away his life on this earth. Because he has no hope of things getting any better, he sees death as the only solution.

So let’s walk through chapter 7 and see what a distraught Job has to say to his God.

I. I Have Intense Pain… Because Life Has No Purpose (1-6)

Let’s read verses 1-6…

¹ “Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth?
Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

² Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade,
And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

³ So I have been allotted months of futility,
And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

⁴ When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise,
And the night be ended?’
For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

⁵ My flesh is caked with worms and dust,
My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

⁶ “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.

Look at verse 1. The ESV reads, “Has not man a hard service on earth?” That word “service” literally refers to military service, which was much more severe in those days than today. A man who served in the army faced very harsh conditions. Job asks, “Is not man’s life on earth like one who faces the harsh conditions of military service?” He goes on, “Are not his days like the days of a hired man?” Again, the plight of a laborer was much more difficult then than now. That is why the prophets often chastised landowners and employers for the way they took advantage of those who worked for them. We saw that in Isaiah 58 a few months ago. Understand that Job is referring to the life of man in general. Surely we would want to say immediately, “It doesn’t have to be like that.” However, from his present state, that is the way Job sees things.

He goes on in verse 2 to speak of the servant (better, “slave”) who longs for the shade to shelter him from the hot sun under which he is forced to labor. And the hired hand longs for the end of the day, when he can collect his wages and get some much needed rest. In verse 3, Job likens himself to that slave and that hired hand. Just as the slave longs for the shade in the middle of the day, he longs for relief from his physical and emotional turmoil. Instead, he says, “I have been allotted months of futility.” This is the reference which informs us that his present situation has dragged on for months, not just a week or two (as we might infer, were it not for this reference).

Notice that Job labels the passing time as “months of futility.” The King James renders it “months of vanity,” while the ESV prefers “months of emptiness.” It is from this that I draw the idea, “I have intense pain, because life has no purpose.” Job saw no purpose in all of this. That is why he labels this time of turmoil as futility, emptiness, vanity. For what purpose is all this happening? I long for relief, and all I get is months of purposeless suffering.

For the slave and the hired hand, the end of the day finally comes and they can enjoy a night of rest. Not so for Job. Let’s read what he says in the rest of verse 3 and in verse 4, “And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.” While even the slave can rest during the night, not Job. His physical pains and the relentless thoughts that harass him continue through the night. Some of you can identify with Job. Perhaps you are having pain in your back and you can’t get comfortable in the bed. After a few hours of that, and you long for the night to be over. Just give me some daylight so that I can get out of this bed and do something. Of course, when the light comes, you are so exhausted that you don’t feel like doing anything. Now imagine the depth of Job’s pain, and you can see how miserable this man was.

Verse 5 gives us a graphic picture of his physical condition: “My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.” There is no reason to think that these “worms” are figurative. Rather, he is talking about literal worms (or perhaps lice) that are attracted to his boil-infested skin. Some take the “dirt” as scabs, but the “clods of dust” of the King James is a very literal translation. Perhaps Job rolls himself in the dirt to try to relieve the uncomfortable itching occasioned by the boils, causing the dirt to adhere to the puss that runs from the sores. Or maybe it is simply impossible to keep such fresh wounds clean. Job reports that his “skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.” The term translated “breaks out afresh” literally means “to reject or despise.” That is why some translations render it “has become loathsome (hated).” In a secondary sense it can mean “to melt, to run like water.” The picture seems to be something like this: the sores heal a bit and scab over, but then the skin again cracks and oozes. Indeed, it is loathsome, a thing to be hated. I realize this is not edifying lunch-time conversation, but this is the reality with which Job dealt.

Verse 6, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.” Here we have a preview of the next section, as Job begins to speak about the brevity of his life. Let’s hold that thought for a moment and focus on the that last phrase, “[My days] are spent without hope.” Job continues to emphasize the fact that he has lost all hope that things will get any better. He sees no purpose whatsoever for his life on earth. That is why he has continued to wish that he could die.

II. I Have a Soon End… Because Life Is Very Brief (7-10)

Now let’s read the next section, verses 7-10…

⁷ Oh, remember that my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.

⁸ The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;
While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

⁹ As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

¹⁰ He shall never return to his house,
Nor shall his place know him anymore.

Job now transitions from the futility of his life to the brevity of his life. Basically, he says, “I have a soon end, because life is very brief.” His first words provide an overall summary of his thought: “Oh, remember that my life is a breath!” Let’s suppose that you breathe 15 times per minute (about average for an adult). That means that we have taken almost 8 million breaths in the past year. In my lifetime, I have breathed over 461 million times. Actually, the number is a good bit greater, because the respiration rate for babies and children is higher. So perhaps I have taken 500 million (that’s half a billion) breaths in my life time. With that in mind, Job says, “My life is a [mere] breath.” He is emphasizing that his life is very short. This concept is echoed in Psalm 103 and by James, who says that life is like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (Jms. 4:14).

Come back to the idea of the weaver’s shuttle in verse 6. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.” A shuttle is a device used to hold the thread while weaving it. The shuttle moves very quickly and the thread will soon run out. Job sees his life in the same way. The time is passing and life will soon be over for him. Not only is life in general very short, but his days in particular are few in number.

Because of the brevity of life, he makes the statements at the end of verse 7 and in verse 8: “My eye will never again see good. The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.” Job believes that his life will not last long enough for him to see any good on this earth. He expects to expire in his present miserable state. The one who sees him now will soon see him no more. The NKJV version obviously takes these words as being spoken to Eliphaz, as the “y” in “your” is not capitalized. (The Hebrew text does not reveal this, as capitalization was not one of its features). However, it is interesting to note that “your” is singular and not plural. Job ended chapter 6 speaking to all three of his friends, as the last six second person pronouns are plural.

In verse 9 Job compares his life to a cloud which disappears and vanishes away. His reference is to thin, fleecy clouds that appear but are soon dissipated by the heat of the sun. Though other clouds may form, that particular cloud will never be seen again. In the same way, Job affirms that he who goes down to the grave will never come up. This is not a proof that Job doesn’t believe in a resurrection. He is simply saying that those who die will never return to this life on earth. He explains that further in verse 10, when he says, “He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him any more.” Not only is the cloud very temporary, but when it is gone, it is gone never to return. Job likens his life to be the same.

So let’s review for just a minute. Job has spent 10 verses emphasizing the vanity and brevity of life, his life in particular. There is a sense in which he is speaking truth. Life is short; no one can deny that truth. Of course, Job’s life turned out to be much longer than he anticipated (probably at least 200 years; see Job 42:16-17). Nevertheless, even 200 years is a short span. He was also right concerning the futility of life, if we are considering life apart from God. But Job didn’t see himself as apart from God. The Lord Himself had spoken of Job as a blameless and upright man, who feared God and turned away from evil (1:1). So we have to question Job’s emphasis on the emptiness of life.

Job isn’t done yet. Perhaps it would have been better if had retired at this point, but he didn’t.

III. I Have a Complaint… Because You Terrify Me (11-16)

Now let’s read verses 11-16…

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 a sea, or a sea serpent,
That You set a guard over me?

¹³ When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’

¹⁴ Then You scare me with dreams
And terrify me with visions,

¹⁵ So that my soul chooses strangling
And death rather than my body.^[a]

¹⁶ I loathe my life;
I would not live forever.
Let me alone,
For my days are but a breath.

If Job hasn’t been speaking to God earlier, it is clear that he is now. “Because life is empty and vain and too short for anything to change, I have a complaint that I must voice. I cannot keep it inside. 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.” I guess we would have to give Job credit for being open and honest. Notice the “therefore” at the beginning of this section. We cannot miss the link between what Job has said and the complaint that is coming. He believes that he has every right to complain to the Lord. Job refuses to hide his disappointments and complains about what he considers injustice from God.

He begins with the interesting question: “Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?” When we think of the sea or the ocean, one of the things that grabs our attention is its power. When Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, His disciples were amazed. Why? Because it is amazing to think that anyone could tame the waves of the sea. The sea is powerful, wild, and free. The same is true of the sea serpent. We would probably do better do render it “sea monster,” as most translations have it. Job pictures a powerful sea creature that no man can tame. Both the sea and the sea monster are very dangerous and a great threat to do damage. Job asks, “Do you consider me as dangerous as the sea, or a sea monster, that you have to stand guard over me?” Job feels like the Lord has him on a leash and won’t turn loose for a moment. As soon as Job thinks he might be doing better, he feels some new pain in his body.

In verses 13-14, Job directs his accusations more forcefully at God. When Job thinks that he might lie down and sleep, that me might get some good rest, then “You scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions.” Do you sense his desperation. “There is no place I can turn where you cannot find me. Even in my sleep you torment me.”

This reminds me of what David says in Psalm 139, that magnificent Psalm in which David praises the Lord for His wonderful presence and knowledge. Ps. 139:7-12…

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall^[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

David gloried in this knowledge of the Lord’s presence, but Job resented it deeply. He felt that the Lord was ever present to terrify and afflict him. As a result, he says in verse 15, “So that my soul chooses strangling and death rather than my body.” The word translated “body” is literally “bones” (as KJV and ESV). Job is simply saying that he prefers to be strangled by death than to live in this world. He would have rather have his breath be strangled completely out of him than to be a mere skeleton of bones.

You can sense the despair and resentment in the words of verse 16. “I loathe my life.” That is, “I hate my life; I despise it.” Job makes it clear that he does not want to live forever. In our world, there are many who cling to life on this earth as the ultimate good, but not Job. He expresses his attitude, when he says to the Lord, “Just leave me alone, because my days are just a breath. Because there is no purpose in this short life, just let me die.”

IV. I Have Questions… Because It Seems There Are No Answers (17-21)

Job concludes by posing a series of questions to the Lord. Let’s read through them kind of slowly in verses 17-21…

¹⁷ “What is man, that You should exalt him,
That You should set Your heart on him,

¹⁸ That You should visit him every morning,
And test him every moment?

¹⁹ How long?
Will You not look away from me,
And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

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?^[b]

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 diligently,
But I will no longer be.”

Notice especially that first question: “What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, That you should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?” Anyone who is familiar with the Bible at all will immediately be reminded of David’s words in Psalm 8:3-4…

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?

While David is praising the Lord because He stoops down to consider man, who is so unworthy of such attention, Job is not at all pleased with such divine attention. I would put Job’s attitude in these terms: “Almighty God, don’t you have plenty to do without hovering over mankind every moment? Can’t you entertain yourself in other ways than constantly putting man to the test? What is man, that he is worth the effort? Lord, please give me some space.”

The next question is in verse 19, “How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?” Can you hear the exasperation in Job’s voice? “How long will it be before you turn away from me? Can’t you leave me alone even long enough to swallow?” The emphasis here is on the constancy of God’s gaze upon man. There is not a thing he does that God does not notice. Job is complaining about that kind of scrutiny.

The NKJV of the first part of verse 20 reads, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men?” Translations will vary quite a bit. Is Job asking a question, or making a statement? Several translations would agree with the NIV, “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?” The KJV reads, “I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men.” Whether we take it as a statement or part of a question, let it be clear that Job is not intending to give the idea that he might be free of sin. Job is acknowledging his own sin. But even then there is a question: “But what does my sin do to You?” In a sense, Job is right. His sin does not harm God in any way. He is coming back to the idea of verse 17, “Why do you make so much out of a man? How can the sin of this one human being be of such concern to you, that you would treat me this way?” Notice that Job refers to the Lord as a “watcher of men.” There is still this emphasis on the continual watchfulness of the Lord.

In the second part of verse 20 Job asks God why He has made him His target. Job feels like he has a bull’s eye drawn on him and God never misses the mark. While the NIV and the ESV translation of the last part -- “burden to you” -- might seem to make more sense, “myself” is clearly how the text reads (except in the LXX). The question is, “Why have you made me Your target?” Because the Lord did make him His target, Job notes that his own life has become a burden to him.

Finally, let’s look at the question in the first part of verse 21, “Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity?” Again, we see that Job does not claim to be sinless. While he does not admit to some great sin of which his friends accuse him, he knows that he bears iniquity before a holy God. He cries out for God to forgive him and turn away his hand of affliction. The way Job sees it, rather than forgiving him, God continues to afflict him. If it continues, Job says that God will diligently look for him in the earth, but He will not find him, because Job will have died and no longer be on the earth. It’s almost as if he is asking one last question without speaking the words: “Lord, is that what you want?”

Conclusion

So Job is finished speaking for now. He has responded to Eliphaz in chapter 6, and then he has turned his attention to the Lord in chapter 7. We would have to conclude that for good or bad, Job has been open and honest with his complaint. He has made some pretty serious accusations against God.

Most interesting to me is the way he speaks of God making so much of man. He does not see that as a good thing, but as something he would like to escape. While David gloried in this truth, Job despises it. Job would like to escape God’s presence. He cries out for God to leave Him alone. That is a very serious thing for a person to request God to leave him alone. We would have to say that this thing for which Job asked was not good. While we sympathize with Job in his pain, we can’t congratulate him for seeking death and to escape God’s presence.

So where is Job going wrong at this point? What I am going to say may seem too trite and simple for some of us, but I am going to say it anyway. In 1646 the Westminster Confession was completed. I would call it a powerful summary of the basic beliefs of the historical church. Along with it was developed the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which was a simple question-and-answer method of communicating the primary truths in the Confession. The Shorter Catechism begins with this question: “What is the chief end of man?” In other words, what is our primary purpose in life? The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” That’s why God put man on the earth. In the midst of his trials, Job lost sight of that truth. His pain and emotional turmoil blinded him to the glory of God.

Please hear me carefully, brothers and sisters. The enemy loves nothing more than to set our eyes on some other purpose than the glory of God. If you claim to be a Christian and are pursuing some other inferior purpose, you every reason to question whether you truly know the God who is worthy of glory and honor and praise. I’m not talking about just worshipping God on Sunday, but about actively seeking to bring Him glory day in and day out in all you do, say, and think. That is the normal Christian life. Job had lost sight of it.

There is nothing we can do this morning that would be more important than falling on our knees and crying out, “Lord, set my focus on your glory.” Let’s do that right now…

Next week we will come to the second part of this message, but it won’t be found in the book of Job. When we look at the life of this man and all he had to endure, we are tempted to say, “No wonder he lost sight of the glory of God. It would have been impossible for him to remain focused on God’s glory in the midst of his disaster.” Those thoughts drive us to the Lord Jesus, who was tempted in every way that Job was tempted, yet without sin. Jesus faced a crisis greater than what Job faced. His physical afflictions could match those of Job; His spiritual trials were far greater than Job could have imagined, much less experienced.

So next week we are going to look at Jesus while He hung on the cross. During those hours, we have recorded seven things that Jesus said. Lord willing, we will take a look at those seven sayings from the cross. Why don’t you find those this week. You young ones, I will ask you to list them for us at the start of the sermon next week. If you have trouble finding them, ask your parents or give me a call. With all due respect to your school teachers, the subject matter we are considering is more important than math or writing or anything else you will study.