Lent Devotional: Job 6-7
by Jonathan Haefs
Job 6-7 (click here)
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. (Job 7:11)
Reflection
Despair. It has crept into Job’s soul and now spews out his mouth. God is the sole source of his hope, but it seems as though God himself is set against him. He has nowhere left to go. What is a believer to do when despair comes?
We are still to go to the only source of hope we have…God. We take our anguish, our complaints, our bitterness to the Lord. We do not keep everything shut up inside our hearts and wear a happy face like all is ok. No. Bottled up bitterness is like a stomach full of glass…it will cut you to pieces and kill you from the inside out.
Even though Job feels like God is opposing him, he still goes to God. As a believer, he (and we) has nowhere else to go. And Job doesn’t hold back, he lets go everything that is in his heart. This doesn’t mean that everything he says or does is right! All too often we mistake it being ok to express our feelings before God as an actual affirmation that our feelings are correct. That is not the case.
As Job will find out, anytime we are angry with God, we are in the wrong…for God never does anything wrong. Yet, it is ok to express what we are feeling to the Lord. He will walk us, as he does with Job, through the situation in his time and his way. He will affirm the feelings that should be affirmed and lead us to repent of those for which repentance is needed.
Don’t sit in the darkness of despair alone…for you are not alone. Cry out to God. Take everything in your heart before him. Hold nothing back. He is the only one who can turn our night to day. He is our only hope.
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.
The Joy of Glory 
Who narrates (or is believed to) Job? How is this person aware of God and Satan’s conversations. I have been reading Job on and off since Jan. and these questions entered my mind reading over the devotionals.
Thanks
Hey Mama Penguin,
No one is really certain who the author of Job is…and that is actually the case with many Old Testament books. There are guesses as to the authors identity made from various things he says within the book itself. It is possible that the “author” and “original narrator” are not the same person. In other words, the story could’ve been passed down orally (a common Jewish custom) before it was finally put to paper. The original narrator’s knowledge of heavenly events is assumed to have been revealed to him much in the way God revealed his messages to the prophets. Hope this helps.
It does help. Are there any particular texts/reference/sites you suggest discussing the subject of narrator (s)? The internet is a tad overwhelming; pointers are awesome.
Thanks
A good study Bible is always an easy first place to start. I recommend the ESV study Bible or the NIV study Bible. After that, you will find yourself diving into much more technical resources. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Series is somewhat technical, but still pretty readable. The Word Biblical Commentary is extremely technical and may bore you to tears, but it will be detailed. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament series is kind of in between the other two I mentioned. You can find any of these volumes on amazon.com or cbd.com You might even be able to find some at select libraries.
Before purchasing, you might try going to a local Christian bookstore. They typically have a commentary section and you could probably find a few of the one’s I mentioned (or some others) and read a little to see which one you might find most helpful. The specific info you are looking for concerning authorship will be in the introduction section of a commentary.
Happy hunting!