Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Job+017
CHAPTER 17 (ESV)
6 “He has made me a byword of the peoples,
and I am one before whom men spit.
7 My eye has grown dim from vexation,
and all my members are like a shadow.
8 The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous holds to his way,
and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
10 But you, come on again, all of you,
and I shall not find a wise man among you.
11 My days are past; my plans are broken off,
the desires of my heart.
12 They make night into day:
‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’
13 If I hope for Sheol as my house,
if I make my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?”
REFLECTION:
Job’s three friends had a reputation for wisdom, but Job could not find wisdom in them. God supported Job’s words and rebuked them for portraying Job incorrectly. They believed that because they were rich and successful, God must have been pleased with their way of life and thinking. Job told his friends, however, that they were wrong because the world’s success and wealth were not evidence of faith in God. Conversely, troubles and pains were not proof of lack of confidence. Truly wise people know that wisdom comes only from God, not from human failure or success. Truly wise people never leave God. Where is Job’s hope? If he seeks from this life, he does not necessarily have hope, because what God promises to His people is not success, wealth, and comfort of the world, but an endless and beautiful future. Reflect on whether your hope is only in this life, or in the eternal kingdom of heaven.
PRAYER:
God, forgive me for often having worldly thoughts, believing that success and wealth in this life are proof of faith in You, while troubles and suffering are seen as a lack of faith. Today’s scripture reminds me that You are the true source of wisdom. My hope is not in the success, wealth, and comfort of this life, but in the beautiful and eternal kingdom You have promised.
HYMN:
Better is One Day – www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLxqHjctAN4
