photo taken jan 15 2006

 
 

Feb 5 2006

Jb 7:1-4, 6-7 Job spoke, saying: Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. If in bed I say, “When shall I arise?” then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.

Job had been tried with loss and grief, loss of loved ones, loss of wealth, loss of health, loss of any social status. And yet he would not accept or allow loss of his faith in God.

Job is acknowledging the trials of life. To my interpretation, he is saying that the worldly life is short and passes like the wind. He talks of "man's life on earth" because I believe he forsees a different life after the earthly one, a life with God. The dawn that he is filled with restlessness until is not only a time of day but is also the new life, a rebirth with God after this earthly existence which is rapidly passing is over. Job has resigned himself that in this life on earth "I shall not see happiness again." To me this means he is willing to let go of everything that he has lost in his life. He is willing to live in and accept his present lot in life.

Job is very much a figure that is foretelling the acceptance of God's will as Jesus did on the cross. The suffering is incredible but the faith and love of God are all encompassing and mean more than anything on the earth or in worldly life.