Job 7:1-21
1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the nighta be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not refrain 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 whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.b
16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Job's Answer to Eliphaz
I. INTRODUCTION
I. Job 7:1 (NKJV) "[Is] [there] not a time of hard service for man on earth? [Are] [not] his days also like the days of a hired man?
Job 7:2 Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,
Job 7:3 So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.
Job 7:4 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.
Job 7:5 My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.
1. Job says, "Guys, you are not taking into account that man's futility is part of the curse."
2. "Let me describe mine to you."
a) "I toss and turn all night wishing that it would end, because my flesh is caked with worms and dirt scabs. As I toss and turn the skin cracks and breaks open all over again and the cycle just keeps repeating itself!"
J. Job 7:6 (NKJV) "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope.
Job 7:7 Oh, remember that my life [is] a breath! My eye will never again see good.
Job 7:8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no [more]; [While] your [eyes] are upon me, I shall no longer [be].
Job 7:9 [As] the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
Job 7:10 He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore.
1. Job's days are swift only in relationship to his nights! He is miserable all the time, but the nights are worse!
a) His life is passing right before his eyes and he has lost all hope of anything better than the grave.
K. Job 7:11 (NKJV) "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 7:12 [Am] I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?
Job 7:13 When I say, `My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,'
Job 7:14 Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions,
Job 7:15 So that my soul chooses strangling [And] death rather than my body.
Job 7:16 I loathe [my] [life]; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days [are] [but] a breath.
1. "The way I look at it guys,is that I have nothing to lose, so I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul and there ain't nothing you can do about it!"
2. It is difficult to determine in the next few verses if Job is talking to his friends or directly to the Lord.
a) Perhaps it is a mixture of both!
3. If it is the Lord, then evidently Job ran enough of a fever at times to be delirious and have hallucinations that terrified him!
4. If it was his friends, this is probably the meaning:
a) "When I tell you that my death-bed will actually be a comfort to me, you try to scare me with the message you say came from this "night visitor" you had."
b) The result is, that instead of giving me hope to live, you make it easier to want to die."
L. Job 7:17 (NKJV) "What [is] man, that You should exalt him, [That] You should set Your heart on him,
Job 7:18 That You should visit him every morning, [And] test him every moment?
Job 7:19 How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?
Job 7:20 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?
Job 7:21 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]."
1. I believe these verses are turned towards the Lord!
a) Job senses that he is being tried because he knows that the Lord's eyes are upon him every second of the day. He just doesn't understand why!
b) He even asks the Lord, "Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?
c) Job doesn't deny that he is a sinner "in general" and asks, "Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity?
(1) The idea is this, "If it is for something I have done wrong Lord, I have asked you forgiveness, why won't you forgive me?"
(2) "Because if I die, how can I repent?How will I know what I have done wrong? I will simply be dead."
III. CONCLUSION
A. Job is saying things that are making his friends very uncomfortable.
B. Because, you see, if the Lord allows testing simply because of His divine sovereignty, then they could be next!
1. Likewise, when Christians see a brother or sister's humanity it scares them!
2. It reminds them that they too are but dust.
a) But often, the response is judgment instead of compassion.
b) And I think the reason for that in part, is this:
(1) If we can convince ourselves that the reason for the situation is the other persons "fault" = (sin), then it exonerates us!
(2) And that makes us feel a little lest vulnerable.
(3) But like Eliphaz, most often our judgment is wrong!!
At a pastor's conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day's drive and couldn't help himself. But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing. On the last night the man's wife came up and apologized for her husband's inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.