Job 7:1-10 – Living a hope-filled life

In trying to cope with his pain and suffering, Job’s thought now gravitated toward looking at life in general. He saw how painful life truly was and concluded that life is like a day of labor. It’s like a laborer working in the field. In the heat of the sun, he longs for shade and a breather. When the day is done, he longs for his wages. Job likened himself to that laborer. Like him, he longed for the end of day when he could rest from all his toil and affliction that had lay waste his body. The duration of his affliction seemed endless to him. He had endured “months of vanity” and “wearisome nights.” Restlessly, he would toss and turn in bed longing for the long night to end but the sun never seemed to rise. In verses 4-5 he described his condition. The worms he talked about must be the maggots infested sores, and his body were full of hard crusted scales like lumps of dust. And then those hard-crusted flakes and scabs would break and weeping pus would ooze and flow.   

Job also saw the brevity of life. When he said the days are “swifter than a weaver’s shuttle”, he was referring to life as hastening to an end. Life at this point seemed hopeless and any hope of recovery or relief seemed remote. Life was indeed bleak and his condition made him a pessimist. Job reckoned that he would never experience happiness or prosperity ever again. So, he concluded that he was a mere mortal and had given up on life. Life to him was hastening to the grave if God would not intervene and he would be remembered no more.

Job existed long before Christ came. Hence, life to him was so bleak and hopeless. But for us, who have factored Christ in our life, our perspective would be entirely different. Our hope rests in Christ and His resurrection. So, we take heed to the word of Colossians 3:2 to “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” And we rest hopefully in what Malachi 4:2 says, “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” What a blessed hope!