Job 7 Devotional
by Pastor David Groendyk

Job’s response to Eliphaz continues. Verses 1–10 appear to be addressed to Eliphaz himself, and the overarching theme is that life is futile. It’s futile because it’s filled with so many hard things—back-breaking work, sleepless nights, and painful illnesses. It’s also futile because of how short life is. Days are swift, life is a vapor, and we vanish quickly. You can hear in Job’s words, however, the way he takes these two things and they lead him to hopelessness. He’s decided that life is unfair, unjust, and not worth living if it’s so short and so full of trouble. But rather than taking Job’s perspective, we are to take God’s perspective on handling these things. Psalm 90 says that our brevity of life is meant to cause us to use our time wisely. How much more so when that short life is filled with so many troubles. What does Moses pray in Psalm 90 in light of these truths? “Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (vv. 13–14). How do we go from hopelessness in our circumstances to rejoicing all our days? By learning to be satisfied by God’s love. The one thing that’s meant to get us through our trials is the one thing we’re tempted to doubt the most in the midst of trials: God’s love. Hardship does not mean God has stopped having compassion on us; rather it’s meant to drive us to lean on his compassion all the more. How can we learn to be more satisfied in God’s love? First and foremost by reading about it in Scripture, and secondly by continually praying to God for his pity.

Verses 11–21 are actually spoken to God himself. Again, Job is bearing his heart and soul, and he’s complaining directly to God, which he has every right to do, but his words themselves are not just. Pastor Lawrence taught us briefly this past Sunday night that Job’s complaint in chapter 3 was the direct opposite of Psalm 139 (the psalmist praises God for the day of his birth, but Job curses the day of his birth). Similarly, here in chapter 7 we have something like the direct opposite of Psalm 8. The psalmist proclaims, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Psa. 8:4), and he praises God for the glory he’s given to mankind. But when Job cries out, “What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him?” (v. 17), he’s complaining that God’s watchfulness is a massive burden that brings nothing but terrors and anguish to his life. He actually wishes that God would take his eyes off of him, a prayer that is understandable but not one that a Christian should ever truly wish. God’s watchfulness upon us means that his strength and glory are always on our side (Psa. 8:2), that his care is always upon us (Psa. 8:4), and that we are especially honored by God (Psa. 8:5). God’s watchfulness is good, even when it brings trials, because his watchfulness is what sustains us through the trials. The Christian is always free to come to God’s throne and pour out their heart before him and complain, but the Christian must also recognize that they may need some correction when they do so. What complaint do you have to pour out to God today? What truths from Scripture do you need to remember in the midst of your complaint?