Job 7:1 - Meaning and Application

Job is here trying to excuse what he could not really justify, even his strong wish for death. Why should he not long for life to end, when that would also end his misery? To support that feeling, he argues from the common condition of human life on earth (Job 7:1).

He says that man is of few days and full of trouble. Every person must die soon, and every person has some reason, more or less, to want death to come quickly. So why should they blame him so harshly for wishing to die? Or he means something like this: do not mistake my words as if I thought God’s appointed time could be pushed ahead. He knows that time is fixed. He is only using this kind of speech to express how deeply he feels his present pain. Is there not an appointed time, or a term of service, for a man on earth? Are not his days like the days of a hired worker?

Notice first man’s present place. He is on the earth, which God has given to people (Psalm 115:16). That reminds us of our smallness and low position. How far below the higher and more refined places around us we are! It also shows God’s mercy to us. We are still on the earth, not beneath it. We are on earth, not in hell. Our time here is limited and short, because this earth itself is limited. But heaven cannot be measured, and the days of heaven cannot be numbered.

Notice second his stay in that place. Is there not a set time for his life here? Yes, certainly there is. It is easy to say who made that appointment, the one who made us and placed us here. We are not meant to stay on this earth forever, or even for long, but only for a certain time. That time is set by the one who holds our lives in his hand. We must not think we are ruled by blind luck, as the Epicureans taught, but by the wise, holy, and sovereign plan of God.

Notice third his condition during that time. Human life is like a warfare, and like the days of a hired worker. We should all see ourselves in this world in two ways. First, as soldiers, exposed to hardship and surrounded by enemies. We must serve and live under command. When our warfare is finished, we will be dismissed, either with shame or honor, according to what we have done in the body. Second, as day laborers, with the work of the day to finish in its own time, and with an account to settle at night.

Job also argues from his own present condition. He felt he had just as much reason to wish for death as a tired servant or hired worker has to wish for evening shadows, when he will receive his pay and rest (Job 7:2). Night is as welcome to the laborer as morning is to the watchman (Psalm 130:6). God in nature has provided rest for workers, so it is no wonder they desire it. The sleep of a working man is sweet (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Nothing feels more pleasant to a hard worker than rest, and no rich man enjoys the coming of rent day as much as a hired man enjoys his wages.

The comparison is clear, though Job’s wording is brief and somewhat hard to follow. We need to supply a few words to catch his meaning. Exact wording should not be expected from a man in his condition. He means, “As a servant longs for the evening shadow, so I long for death, because I am made to live in misery.”

Hear his complaint. His days were useless, and had been so for a long time. He was fully cut off from his work and completely unable to do it. Each day felt like a burden because he was in no condition to do good or to spend his time well. He could not fill up his life with anything useful. He calls this “months of vanity” (Job 7:3). It adds much to the pain of sickness and old age for a godly man to be forced away from useful work. He does not stress so much that these are days with no pleasure, but that they are days in which he does no good. For that reason they are months of emptiness. Still, when we are unable to work for God, if we only sit quietly before him, that is enough. We will be accepted.

His nights were restless too (Job 7:3, Job 7:4). Night usually relieves the strain and tiredness of the day, not only for workers but also for sufferers. If a sick man can get a little sleep at night, it helps the body, and there is hope he will recover (John 11:12). Whatever the trouble is, sleep gives some break from the cares, pains, and sorrows that press on us. It is like a pause in our grief. But poor Job could not get even that relief.

His nights were full of weariness, and instead of resting, he only wore himself out by tossing back and forth until morning. People in deep pain, whether of body or mind, try changing sides, changing places, and changing positions to find relief. But if the cause inside remains the same, none of that helps. It is like a restless, unhappy spirit that keeps shifting but never becomes calm. So Job dreaded the night as much as a servant desires it, and when he lay down, he asked, “When will the night be over?”

These tiring nights were also appointed to him. God, who decides the times before they happen, had assigned him such nights. Whatever feels grievous to us at the time, it is good to remember that it has been appointed for us. That helps us accept it, not only because we cannot avoid it, but because God has allowed it for some holy purpose. When we have peaceful nights, we should remember that those too are appointed to us and give thanks. Many better people than we are have had restless nights.

His body itself was foul and painful (Job 7:5). His sores bred worms, the scabs were like clods of dust, and his skin was broken open. Such was the cruel disease that clung to him. This shows us what low and frail bodies we have, and how little reason we have to pamper them or take pride in them. They already carry within themselves the seed of decay. As fond as we are of them now, a time may come when we hate them and long to be done with them.

His life was also moving quickly toward its end (Job 7:6). He thought he had no reason to expect a long life, because he felt himself weakening fast. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,” he says, meaning, “My time is now very short, and only a few grains remain in my glass before they run out.” Natural things move fastest when they are near their center. Job thought his days were rushing by because he believed he was already near the end of his journey. He considered them almost spent, and therefore had no hope of being restored to his former prosperity.

This fits human life in general. Our days are like a weaver’s shuttle, thrown from one side of the cloth to the other in a moment, then back again, to and fro, until at last the thread is used up. Then, like a weaver, we cut off our life (Isaiah 38:12). Time moves on quickly. Its motion cannot be stopped, and once it has passed, it cannot be brought back.

While we are alive, we are sowing, and so we are also weaving (Galatians 6:8). Each day, like a shuttle, leaves a thread behind it. Many people weave only a spider’s web, and that will not stand when it is needed (Job 8:14). But if we are weaving for ourselves holy clothing and robes of righteousness, then we will have the benefit of them when our work is reviewed, and each person will reap what he has sown and wear what he has woven.