“I loathe my very life…” Job 10:1a
/Because his heart was still heavy with grief, Job’s questions kept populating in his mind. With no end to his suffering in sight, Job despised his life (v.9:21), loathing its continuance (10:1a). Job had nothing to lose by airing his complaints before almighty God (v.10:1b), and he saw no worse consequence from challenging The Lord to state His charges against him (v.2):
“Does it please You to oppress me, to spurn the work of Your hands, while You smile on the schemes of the wicked?” (v.3)
“Do you have eyes of flesh? Do You see as a mortal sees?” (v.4)
“Are Your days like those of a mortal or Your years like those of a man, that You must search out my faults and probe after my sin…?” (v.5)
Job continued with his faulty perspective of God and asked if God was pleased to oppress him. There is no more unpleasant time in a parent’s life than when punishing one’s own child. It wrenches the heart of a loving parent, who is motivated to define boundaries for good living. Every parent hopes one’s child will grow-up to have a conscience providing guidance in right living.
Job’s comment about God smiling on the schemes of the wicked have challenged many theologians. Did Job mean God smiled in favor of the wicked? Of course not. God would smile at the schemes of the wicked as one who smiles at the schemes of a child who doesn’t think s/he will get caught for wrong doing, or when a toddler may think no one is watching and sneaks a cookie from the cookie jar. Perhaps God smiles knowing His will could never be thwarted by even the cleverest schemes of man. Even Herod could not thwart God’s plan for a savior coming into the world (read Matthew 2).
Struggling with the concept of God’s omnipresence, Job wanted so badly for God to be human, to converse as man to man. Being in God’s presence is a diminutive experience… one can only stand in awe at the perfect wisdom, working, and watching of The Creator. God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (read John 4:21-24). Though unseen, His signature is seen throughout all creation and His smile upon the face of every man, woman, and child.
Job was grappling with the question every person ponders: God’s origin. Most searching souls ask the question, “Where did God come from?” And most find the answer quite perplexing: God has always been and will always be – it perplexed Moses and continues to confound minds demanding an existential answer. God declared, “I am that I am.” (Exodus 3:14) God has always existed since before eternity past, and will exist through all of eternity. God invented both time and eternal existence, and determines the course of history.
Appealing to God on a personal basis, Job demanded an answer to his queries, asking why God would search out his faults, probing for any sin in his life (v.6). Even then, Job maintained his innocence before God (v.7a), though he still felt trapped in the hands of an angry God (v.7b). The dialogue Job used was purposely used to elicit a response from God, even when reminding God that he was a product of His own hands (v.3). We do the same thing today, though unlike Job, we use the approach to accuse God for making us the way we are – refusing to recognize the depravity of man and the destruction of sin. It doesn’t matter what the sin is, we still accuse God of making us, and the way we are is essentially all His fault. Man has always tried to point the blame elsewhere when it comes to sin. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, though neither would admit fault of rejecting God’s way.
It is my hope this passage would cause us to reconsider any moment any of us might be persuaded to say, I loathe my very life. Instead, one should loathe one’s sin, or poor attitude, moral weaknesses, or lies. Life is a precious gift – each day we live in The Present. Use it joyfully and gratefully.
Have a blessed day…