Job 30:24-31

c. The disappointment of all his hopes (Job 30:24-31)

TEXT 30:24-31

24 Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall:

Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?

Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

26 When I looked for good, then evil came;

And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 My heart is troubled, and resteth not;

Days of affliction are come upon me.

28 I go mourning without the sun:

I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

29 I am a brother to jackals,

And a companion to ostriches.

30 My skin is black, and falleth from me,

And my bones are burned with heat.

31 Therefore is my harp turned to mourning,

And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

Job 30:24The idiom, slh yd bsend the hand against (A. V. as stretch out the hand)is to be taken in the hostile sense. In his prosperity Job did not strike the unfortunate; why is he now receiving God's hostile hand? Job declares that I always extended sympathy to anyone in distress, but me, I receive my calamities.

Job 30:25Job continuesDid I not weep for those who experiencedlit. the hard of day or the ones grieved. Now no one grieves for me. Will not even God show sympathy to Job?Romans 12:15 and 1 Peter 3:8. His friends showed no sympathy to himJob 19:21but he showed concern for others who sufferedJob 29:12-17. What about God?

Job 30:26He disputes the views of his friends that virtue produces happiness. His prosperity did not continue as a result of his generous sympathy, as they had claimed it would. Job 30:27His heart (lit. bowels, seat of emotionsJeremiah 4:19 and Isaiah 16:11) boils (A. V. troubled is not strong enough) within himLamentations 1:20; Lamentations 2:11; and Ezekiel 24:5. His anxiety rages, yet no respite. God, please break your silence.

Job 30:28The A. V. rendering is defective. In the first line, without the sun is derived from the root qdrwhich has the primary sense of be or become dark. Job's blackened appearance is not caused by the sun (Heb. hammahmeans sun, also heat as in Psalms 19:7), but rather his disease. The phrase found in the A. V., I go mourning without the sun, makes little sense. The same root, i.e., qdr, generates the meaning of sad or mourning, but this is probably the less preferred understanding for this context. The sense is that he is blackened without the sun. He says that I stand in the assembly and cry for help, but no one hears.

Job 30:29Jackals live in the desert, and the only place that Job is welcome is there. The jackals are also known for their plaintive cry, with which he also identifies. The ostrich, too, is known for its hissing, cackling, and doleful moaningMicah 1:8; Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:13. The mournful howl of these animals still disturbs the desert nights.

Job 30:30The disease is ravaging Job as his skin peels off (me-'aloy, from upon me) his bones. His skin is black (this verse contains a different root than found in Job 30:28) from the final stages of the disease. Fever penetrates (burns) deeply in his bones. This same verb burn is found in Ezekiel 24:10 where it is used of the burning of bones with fire. Here it is used metaphorically, so also Psalms 102:4 and Isaiah 24:6.

Job 30:31The harp (kinnor) is often used for a joyful religious celebration. Here the celebration has turned to mourning. The glad, happy sounds are no more. The flute (-ugab) also expresses the spirit of lamentation. Here is a beautiful but pathetic contrast between Job's past happy experiences and his present sickness unto death. From the perspective of his own angst we turn to hear Job's final oaththe oath of innocence.