Job’s Honor Turned to Contempt
“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves, so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles. A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me. They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them. They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
Job’s Prosperity Becomes Calamity
Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me. Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest. With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic. He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me. You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand. You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress. Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell. I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches. My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever. My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.”
Remember all those young men, elders, and princes who were honoring Job as he sat at the gate? Now that Job’s fortunes have deteriorated, those men have turned on him. “And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me. They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them. They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.”
Evidently, the local rabble have chosen Job as their target, and no insult is too foul. Job is probably afraid to go into town for fear that these guys will trip him, spit in his face, or even throw dirt at him. Worse, Job feels as if God has grabbed him by his collar, throwing him into the mud and turning him into dust and ashes. Job feels as if he is a piece of trash being blown around in a wind storm. Even though Job has spent most of his life helping the poor and downtrodden, now that he is suffering, he feels as if God has turned His back. Job’s skin is turning black and his bones are burning with fever. Job wonders how much longer he will suffer before he will die.
Was Job being paid back for his pride? It is tough to know. Certainly, Job had a high opinion of himself; however, Job also was quite compassionate. There are always people who have a jackal mentality. Jackals never hunt singly but in packs and they attack the wounded. Now the jackals are surrounding Job.
APPLICATION: Reading this part of the Book of Job is depressing in the extreme; yet, there are people who have suffered just as much as Job. We follow the struggles of two different families with little boys with huge medical problems on Facebook. Sometimes the challenges these families face seem almost insurmountable, and yet they persevere. For these families, the temptation to say “What if?” must be overwhelming. “What if my child was healthy?” “What if we could be a normal family, one that doesn’t have an intensive care unit set up in the living room?” “What if we could just press a button and make all these problems disappear?”
It’s likely that these families may receive their share of criticism from others as to why their children should get so many medical resources spent on them while others cannot get any care at all. There are always people who are willing to blame and find fault. Like Job, these families continue to reach out to other suffering children and their families who are also on admission in big medical centers.
One thing we can learn from Job is to be careful about those to whom we show disdain. Today we might be doing well; however, tomorrow things might fall apart for us. It’s better to be gentle so that others will treat you gently. There’s a saying in the American South that “Everybody’s trying to swallow something he can’t quite get down.” We never know what kinds of suffering others are facing. Be gentle; today you are all right but tomorrow you might be the one struggling.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be compassionate to those around us so that they will be compassionate to us in turn. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment