John Brown :: Job 6-7

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Last week we took a look at Eliphaz' speech to Job.

1. Eliphaz based the authority for what he said to Job upon the visitation of an angel.

2. But, we also concluded that since later in the book, the Lord rebukes the counsel given by Job's friends that this was not a Holy visitation.

a) And like the one whom sent him, this fallen angel counseled Job with a mixture of truth and lies.

b) His main point was that Job must be hiding some deep dark sin or he wouldn't be going through this pain.

(1) Because after all, Eliphaz concludes, "the Lord doesn't allow the righteous to suffer!"

(2) However, we have the Lord's word that Job is a righteous man that loved the Lord and hatred evil.

(a) We shouldn't in any way take this to mean that Job was not a sinner like the rest of us!

(b) What it does mean is that although a sinner like all men, Job loved the Lord enough to provide the necessary sacrifices to atone for his sins.

(i) He took care of his sins the way the Lord prescribed, and stayed close to Him!

(ii) Yet, his "friend" Eliphaz has accused him of being a deceitful sinner, deserving of what he is going through.

The following story appeared in the newsletter OUR AMERICA; "Dodie Gadient, a schoolteacher for thirteen years, decided to travel across America and see the sights she had taught about. Traveling alone in a truck with camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon rounding a curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, a water pump blew on her truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping. "Leaning up against the Trailer, she prayed, 'Please God, send me an angel... preferably one with mechanical experience.' Within four minutes, a huge Harley drove up, ridden by an enormous man sporting long, black hair, a beard and tattooed arms. With an incredible air of confidence, he jumped off and, without even glancing at Dodie, went to work on the truck. Within another few minutes, he flagged down a larger truck, attached a tow chain to the frame of the disabled Chevy, and whisked the whole 56-foot rig off the freeway onto a side street, where he calmly continued to work on the water pump. "The intimidated schoolteacher was too dumbfounded to talk. Especially when she read the paralyzing words on the back of his leather jacket: 'Hell's Angels -- California'. As he finished the task, she finally got up the courage to say, 'Thanks so much,' and carry on a brief conversation. Noticing her surprise at the whole ordeal, he looked her straight in the eye and mumbled, 'Don't judge a book by its cover. You may not know who you're talking to.' With that, he smiled, closed the hood of the truck, and straddled his Harley. With a wave, he was gone as fast as he had appeared."

B. This morning we will be studying Job's response to Eliphaz' accusations in Chapters 6 and 7.

II. TEXT

A. Job 6:1-4 (NKJV) Then Job answered and said: 2 "Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea--Therefore my words have been rash. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty [are] within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

1. Job is saying, "You have come to a quick conclusion, but you haven't considered the weight and measure of my pain."

a) "What I am going through is almost more than any human can bear, but instead of having any kind of pity or compassion upon me, you just judge me for my rash words!"

B. Job 6:5-7 (NKJV) Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, Or does the ox low over its fodder? 6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there [any] taste in the white of an egg? 7 My soul refuses to touch them; They [are] as loathsome food to me.

1. I believe it was Shakespeare that said, "If you prick me do I not bleed?"

a) "Can't you at least understand that this pain has made me a little irrational!"

(1) "This attitude I have is not without cause, look at my life!"

b) And he illustrates that point by saying if the donkey or the oxen are eating, there is no need for them to cry out for food!

(1) They only do that when they are hungry.

(2) And it seems like even the mention of food make Job sick.

C. Job 6:8-10 (NKJV) "Oh, that I might have my request, That God would grant [me] the thing that I long for! 9 That it would please God to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off! 10 Then I would still have comfort; Though in anguish, I would exult, He will not spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

1. Again, Job's death wish.

D. Job 6:11-13 (NKJV) "What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what [is] my end, that I should prolong my life? 12 [Is] my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? 13 [Is] my help not within me? And is success driven from me?

1. "I am tired and weary and have nothing to live for."

2. "I am not made of stone or bronze, I am only a human being, and I can't take it any more."

E. Job 6:14 "To him who is afflicted, kindness [should] [be] [shown] by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

1. "Eliphaz, as my friend you should have pity and compassion upon me, even if I have lost sight of the Lord in all of this, but you don't!"

a) How many times a Christians do we judge instead of pointing a hurting person back to the Lord?

F. Job 6:15-20 (NKJV) My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away, 16 Which are dark because of the ice, [And] into which the snow vanishes. 17 When it is warm, they cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place. 18 The paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish. 19 The caravans of Tema look, The travelers of Sheba hope for them. 20 They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.

1. "As my `brothers' I expected you guys to be `refreshing' to my tormented soul!"

2. "But, you guys are like water that is frozen in the winter and dries up in the summer heat."

a) "Thirsting Caravans come looking for a drink but there is no water with which to refresh themselves."

b) Job 6:20 They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.

G. Job 6:21-23 (NKJV) For now you are nothing, You see terror and are afraid. 22 Did I ever say, `Bring [something] to me'? Or, `Offer a bribe for me from your wealth'? 23 Or, `Deliver me from the enemy's hand'? Or, `Redeem me from the hand of oppressors'?

1. "Right now you guy are like those streams and brooks, you are worthless to me."

2. "I have never asked anything from any of you, but right now I need your wisdom and compassion."

H. Job 6:24-30 (NKJV) "Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25 How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove? 26 Do you intend to rebuke [my] words, And the speeches of a desperate one, [which] [are] as wind? 27 Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, And you undermine your friend. 28 Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; For I would never lie to your face. 29 Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands! 30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?

1. In other words, "Give me something helpful that I can use.""I am willing to listen to Godly counsel."

a) "All you do is rebuke me for my desperate words and cut me down.Is that friendship?"

b) Then he says, "Look at me!'"I wouldn't lie to you." "I am not concealing anything from you or the Lord."

c) "MY RIGHTEOUSNESS STILL STANDS!"

(1) And then he reminds them, that he is sick not stupid!He has enough intelligence to determine injustice and the "unsavory" attitude of his friends.

I. Job 7:1-5 (NKJV) "[Is] [there] not a time of hard service for man on earth? [Are] [not] his days also like the days of a hired man? 2 Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, 3 So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. 4 When I lie down, I say, `When shall I arise, And the night be ended?' For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. 5 My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

1. Job says, "Guys, you are not taking into account that man's futility is part of the curse."

2. "Let me describe mine to you."

a) "I toss and turn all night wishing that it would end, because my flesh is caked with worms and dirt scabs. As I toss and turn the skin cracks and breaks open all over again and the cycle just keeps repeating itself!"

J. Job 7:6-10 (NKJV) "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. 7 Oh, remember that my life [is] a breath! My eye will never again see good. 8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no [more]; [While] your [eyes] are upon me, I shall no longer [be]. 9 [As] the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. 10 He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore.

1. Job's days are swift only in relationship to his nights! He is miserable all the time, but the nights are worse!

a) His life is passing right before his eyes and he has lost all hope of anything better than the grave.

K. Job 7:11-16 (NKJV) "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. 12 [Am] I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? 13 When I say, `My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,' 14 Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, 15 So that my soul chooses strangling [And] death rather than my body. 16 I loathe [my] [life]; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days [are] [but] a breath.

1. "The way I look at it guys,is that I have nothing to lose, so I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul and there ain't nothing you can do about it!"

2. It is difficult to determine in the next few verses if Job is talking to his friends or directly to the Lord.

a) Perhaps it is a mixture of both!

3. If it is the Lord, then evidently Job ran enough of a fever at times to be delirious and have hallucinations that terrified him!

4. If it was his friends, this is probably the meaning:

a) "When I tell you that my death-bed will actually be a comfort to me, you try to scare me with the message you say came from this "night visitor" you had."

b) The result is, that instead of giving me hope to live, you make it easier to want to die."

L. Job 7:17-21 (NKJV) "What [is] man, that You should exalt him, [That] You should set Your heart on him, 18 That You should visit him every morning, [And] test him every moment? 19 How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? 20 Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? 21 Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I [will] no longer [be]."

1. I believe these verses are turned towards the Lord!

a) Job senses that he is being tried because he knows that the Lord's eyes are upon him every second of the day. He just doesn't understand why!

b) He even asks the Lord, "Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

c) Job doesn't deny that he is a sinner "in general" and asks, "Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity?

(1) The idea is this, "If it is for something I have done wrong Lord, I have asked you forgiveness, why won't you forgive me?"

(2) "Because if I die, how can I repent?How will I know what I have done wrong? I will simply be dead."

III. CONCLUSION

A. Job is saying things that are making his friends very uncomfortable.

B. Because, you see, if the Lord allows testing simply because of His divine sovereignty, then they could be next!

1. Likewise, when Christians see a brother or sister's humanity it scares them!

2. It reminds them that they too are but dust.

a) But often, the response is judgment instead of compassion.

b) And I think the reason for that in part, is this:

(1) If we can convince ourselves that the reason for the situation is the other persons "fault" = (sin), then it exonerates us!

(2) And that makes us feel a little lest vulnerable.

(3) But like Eliphaz, most often our judgment is wrong!!

At a pastor's conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day's drive and couldn't help himself. But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing. On the last night the man's wife came up and apologized for her husband's inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.