“…my days are cut short…” Job 17:1b

Though Job was confident in his Friend in high places (16:19 – 21), his view of any afterlife had not changed. The entire seventeenth chapter is a resolution by Job to face his own mortality. It actually began with the last verse of the previous chapter:

“Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return. My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.” (Job 16:22 – 17:1)

The confidence or hope Job had spoken of earlier was only applicable to his life in the present. Job did not seem to have any belief in an afterlife. The only things that made sense for him were in the ‘here and now’, not in the ‘sweet by and by’. So, through Job’s eyes, he saw only a few years before going on “the journey of no return”.

His description of death is accurate in its finality of time on earth. He merely wanted his final days to be free from the torment of those he thought were his friends. He described being surrounded by hostile mockers (v.2), and asked God to pay any pledge Heaven demanded to lengthen his days (v.3). The pledge was actually
seen as a fine to be paid by one who had legally offended another – just as if one were taken to court and sued for libel. The eternal scope of his words in verse three, however, clearly point to Christ Who paid the price for my sins and the sins of man. Blessed be His name!

As Job was speaking out in this section of his defense, his words mixed prayer into his defensive posture (vv. 3 – 4). Job declared his friends would not triumph over him by their accusations… he continued to stand resolute in affirming his own uprightness before God (v.4). In verse five, Job cautions his friends about
their verbal assaults, warning them that the eyes of their children will fail. This could be seen in at least two ways: first, that Job called his friends out for “outing” him before a hostile world – a practice that, in Job’s day, invited others to come and plunder any remaining spoil of one’s household; and secondly, that neither his enemies or their sons would ever be able to sustain their charges against him (a conclusion easily reached when seen with the previous verse).

Job went on to describe how his name had become a “byword” within his own community, and he fully expected such indecent treatment as being spat upon (v.6). He echoes once again how his eyes had grown dim with grief, adding his entire body was but a shadow of its previous vitality (v.7). Again, Job’s words
prophetically point to the suffering of Christ.

Going on the offensive once again, Job declared that, in time, devout men would reflect upon his life and be appalled at the treatment given him by his accusing friends; these faithful men would learn from Job’s life and be resolute in enduring through similar treatment themselves, growing stronger through the crucible of affliction (vv. 8 – 9). Likewise, being empowered, Job challenged his friends once again with an even more indignant defiance to their charges:

“But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.” (v.10)

After all, what did Job have to lose by defending his honor? In his mind, his most productive days had passed; his plans for joyous celebrations with grandchildren had been shattered; and so were the desires of his heart (v.11). Job had experienced the tragedy of life: loss and the pain of its devastation – the loss of his possessions, his ability to make a living; his children; and even his closest friends. Indeed, verse eleven is one of the most pitiful verses found in all of scripture.

As one ages, verse eleven may become too real all too soon. What is the antidote for such desperation? We will see Job discovered it (in chapter 19). Have you come to moments of lonely desperation? Does your life seem to be useless? Stay with me in this story of Job and let us discover how God proved to be the God of
second chances.

Have a blessed day…