Job 30 from Eugene Peterson's The Message ...
But no longer. Now I'm the butt of their jokes - young ruffians! whippersnappers!
Why, I considered their fathers
mere inexperienced pups.
But they are worse than dogs - good for nothing,
stray, mangy animals,
Half-starved, scavenging the back alleys,
howling at the moon;
Homeless guttersnipes
chewing on old bones and licking old tin cans;
Outcasts from the community,
cursed as dangerous delinquents.
Nobody would put up with them;
they were driven from the neighborhood.
You could hear them out there at the edge of town,
yelping and barking, huddled in junkyards,
A gang of beggars and no-names,
thrown out on their ears.
In the last part of Job 29, Job described what his life was once like. Once highly respected, his suffering now has diminished him in the eyes of others. Job is clearly frustrated and essential calls his critics worse than dogs. He seems them like people picking over the garbage! He feels they are picking at him like he has become garbage ...
But now I'm the one they're after,
mistreating me, taunting and mocking.
They abhor me, they abuse me.
How dare those scoundrels - they spit in my face!
Now that God has undone me and left me in a heap,
they hold nothing back. Anything goes.
They come at me from my blind side,
trip me up, then jump on me while I'm down.
They throw every kind of obstacle in my path,
determined to ruin me -
and no one lifts a finger to help me!
They violate my broken body,
trample through the rubble of my ruined life.
Terrors assault me -
my dignity in shreds,
salvation up in smoke.
What I wonder is whether Job is blasting the 3 friends who have been with him in this drama? Or if Job referring to other passer by peoples?
We have to remember, the book of Job itself is a stylized drama of the thoughts and feelings around one man's suffering and what people close to him would say in response.
In real life, there would be Job, the close friends and other more distant observers of the scene. I do wonder if this part is giving voice to how when the mighty (Job) have encountered tragedy people discard their relationship to him because they no longer benefit from that relationship?
And now my life drains out,
as suffering seizes and grips me hard.
Night gnaws at my bones;
the pain never lets up.
I am tied hand and foot, my neck in a noose.
I twist and turn.
Thrown facedown in the muck,
I'm a muddy mess, inside and out.
What Did I Do to Deserve This?
Haven't we all been in this place? And of course, Job far more beaten down than anything I have experienced!
I shout for help, God, and get nothing, no answer!
I stand to face you in protest, and you give me a blank stare!
You've turned into my tormenter -
you slap me around, knock me about.
You raised me up so I was riding high
and then dropped me, and I crashed.
I know you're determined to kill me,
to put me six feet under.
Harsh words from Job about God.
What did I do to deserve this?
Did I ever hit anyone who was calling for help?
Haven't I wept for those who live a hard life,
been heartsick over the lot of the poor?
But where did it get me?
I expected good but evil showed up.
I looked for light but darkness fell.
My stomach's in a constant churning, never settles down.
Each day confronts me with more suffering.
I walk under a black cloud. The sun is gone.
I stand in the congregation and protest.
I howl with the jackals,
I hoot with the owls.
I'm black-and-blue all over,
burning up with fever.
My fiddle plays nothing but the blues;
my mouth harp wails laments.
This passage in Job is about as bleak as it gets!
As I meditate on this passage this Wednesday morning, this reminds me: Jesus knows.
Job said, "Homeless guttersnipes chewing on old bones and licking old tin cans."
Jesus in John 19:23-24: Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; this was to fulfill the Scripture: "THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."
Job said, "But now I'm the one they're after, mistreating me, taunting and mocking."
Jesus in Mark 15:19-20: They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.
Job said, "And now my life drains out, as suffering seizes and grips me hard. Night gnaws at my bones; the pain never lets up."
Jesus in Matthew 26:36-38: Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me."
Job said, "I shout for help, God, and get nothing, no answer!"
Jesus in Matthew 27:46: About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"
Job said, "What did I do to deserve this? Did I ever hit anyone who was calling for help?"
Jesus in Luke 23:39-41: One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."
A Job as Jesus figure parallel can be advanced to some degree?
Job one man under fire with suffering. Jesus the one who came to suffer to redeem us.
Job one man under fire with suffering awaited vindication. Jesus the one who came to suffer to redeem us went through the bleakness of Good Friday.
Job one man under fire with suffering awaited vindication and in the end, God visits him and restored him. Jesus the one who came to suffer to redeem us went through the bleakness of Good Friday to gain victory and vindication on Easter Sunday.
Job 30 on its own is bleak.
But at Tony Campolo said, Its Friday but Sunday is coming!
Lord, as the Easter season is here, I can't help but think about the connection between Job and Jesus. All that Job went through Jesus went through and even more. Thank you that you sought me even when I was afar off. Amen!
