Job 29 and Memory and Book of Job

While it takes Eliphaz only 10 verses to "perorate" in his last speech (Job 22:21-30) and while Bildad and Zophar get no chance to "wrap it up" or "summarize" their final thoughts, Job gets three chapters (96 verses). Job strikes us as a person who always has something hugely important, urgent, and extensive to say. He doesn't just ramble, however; nearly each verse in Job 29-31 strums chords of immense depth of personal pain and longing. Job 29 concerns memory or Job's attempt to reconcile his past and present; Job 30 deals with Job's present humiliation; Job 31, Job's last words before the end, are an oath or testament to his personal righteousness.

29:1-11, The Power of Memory

Images from his past rush over Job as he sums up his life. It is as if his whole life "flashes before his eyes." He recalls the wondrous days of blessing, when "the friendship of God was upon my tent (v.4)" and "when my children were around me (v.5)." Those were the days when "I was in my prime (v.4)." Instead of the language of darkness, which characterized Job's thought beginning in 3:4, all was light. Those were the days "when his [God's] lamp shone over my head, and by his light I walked through darkness (v.3)." In an unforgettable image, they were the days "when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil (v.6)." Family images tumble together with pictures of respect from senior members of the community (vv.7-11). All ears and eyes commended Job and his words. Senses were engaged in a chorus of praise to Job.

29:12-20, Because....

Job wasn't commended and honored because of his wealth or granted an ambassadorship because of his contributions to the party. He was a champion of justice. He served three categories of people whom the ancient Hebrews said that Yahweh specially favored: the poor, the orphans and the widow (vv.12-14). When the orphan had no helper, Job was there to help. In a memorable phrase, he "caused the widow's heart to sing for joy (v.14)." Others may have been military champions, but Job was a champion of a different sort: he "championed the cause of the stranger (v.16)." He was "eyes to the blind" and "feet to the lame (v.15)."

Such moral service gave Job confidence regarding his ultimate blessedness. "I thought, 'I shall die in my nest....my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches (vv.18-19).'" When he uttered this, could he have had in mind the hopeful image of the tree in 14:9, which revived, even after it was cut down, at the merest scent of water? He was such a tree, a blessed tree, and his experience may have influenced the thought behind a passage like Psalm 1. In the poignant words of Job 16:12, "I was at ease..."

29:21-25, They Listened

Some scholars (and even the New Jerusalem Bible) conclude that these verses are out of place and should be inserted after v.11. The thought then would be that when they heard Job (v.11), they listened and did his bidding (vv.21-25). The Masoretic text arrangement, however, makes even more sense. People heard Job (v.11). Then vv.12-20 gives the record of what they heard (judgment for the poor, against the unrighteous). After they heard what judgment Job rendered, "they listened to me (v.21)." The final words of his past blessedness sum it up for Job: "I chose their way and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners (v.25)."

Though we may have a tendency to idealize our "pre-disaster" lives, there is no doubt some truth in our, and Job's, searching of the memory. Our memory may be plastic, but it fixes on some unshakable truths. But, most of all, it brings Job's present condition into stark relief with the description of his past.

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