13 "He has put my family far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me. 14 My relatives and my close friends have failed me; 15 the guests in my house have forgotten me; my serving girls count me as a stranger; I have become an alien in their eyes. 16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must myself plead with him. 17 My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. 18 Even young children despise me; when I rise, they talk against me. 19 All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me."
A. Job uses 12 Hebrew words in this section for various kinds of people or relationships. He uses them, however, to stress the distance he has from them all. What is the signficance in such a full linguistic description?
B. Words such as "far" or "wholly estranged" are used. How do these words add to Job's sense of his isolation?
C. He not only feels distant from people; some relationships have become reversed. Which ones? What is the effect of this reversal?
D. V.17 may be translated two ways. Either his "breath" is "repulsive" to his wife or "his spirit" is "hateful" to her. Which translation do you prefer? Why?
E. Normally when Job rose previously, people would rise too or would give him complete respect (Job 29). What effect does a reversal of his circumstances have on him?
F. Have you ever felt the extreme distance or isolation from people? What was it like?
Job 19:20-24
20 "My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! 22 Why do you, like God, pursue me, never satisfied with my flesh? 23 "O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! 24 O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever!"
A. I have combined the second and third sections, from above, together. Vv.20-22 stress, in contrast to 13-19, the "closeness" of certain dangerous things to Job, while vv. 23-24 capture his longing for a permanent record for his words. What kinds of dangerous "closeness" does he speak of in vv.20-22?
B. In the middle of it all, he begs for people to have pity on him (v.21). Do you see this as a genuine cry of vulnerability? If so, what has happened to Job? If not, what is this cry?
C. Normally, in the Scriptures, when the Psalmist laments his distance from people (31:13-16; 38:12-15; 41:9-10), he quickly follows up this observation with a cry to God to be close to him or to redeem him. Look at those passage to see what I mean. Why doesn't Job follow the traditional method here? Why can't he do so?
D. How do you read the verb "touched" in v.21?
E. The images in vv.23-24 seem to grow in intensity and particularity. Describe them.
F. Was Job's wish granted?
G. Do you think you have words that are worthy of permanence? Of notice by a few people? If so, what are those words/thoughts?
19:25-27
25 "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; 26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!"
A. The only part of this section that is "clear" Hebrew is the first half of v.25. Who is a "redeemer" (goel) in the Old Testament? What is the role of a redeemer? In the context that Job is trying to create, that of a lawsuit, what is it that a redeemer would do?
B. In another essay I will try to work through some of the language that is in vv.25b-27. If you believe me, however, that the words, though individually translatable, do not make connected sense, what are you to make of it these verses?
Concluding Thought