Job 7 Summary

Going into chapter 7 from our Job 6 summary, Job speaks of the hard service that mankind is required to perform in this life – verse 1…

Job 7:1 {Is there/Does}not {an appointed time to man/man forced to labor/man have hard service} upon earth?
 are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

Job 7 Summary of Verses 2-3

Job wants rest

And just like those folks – who are engaged in difficult work – long for the rest that comes at the end of the day, so too is Job desiring some rest from his current miserable existence – verses 2 and 3…

Job 7:2 As a servant earnestly desireth the [evening…] shadow,
and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

Job 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity,
and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

So, Job eagerly looks for the end of all his misery but just get’s more misery.

Job 7 Summary of Verse 4

No rest even when resting

Job has no rest – even when he’s resting – verse 4…

Job 7:4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone?
and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

Job 7 Summary of Verse 5

Job’s physical body

Job’s physical body is in a disgusting and embarrassing condition – which is probably part of his inability to successfully rest – verse 5…

Job 7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;
my skin is broken, and [become loathsome/festering].

Job 7 Summary of Verse 6

No hope

Job’s days fly by and are completely devoid of anything that would give him hope that anything is going to change – verse 6…

Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and are spent without hope.

Job 7 Summary of Verses 7-8

Death is near

And without any hope, Job thinks death is not too far away for him – verses 7 and 8…

Job 7:7 O remember that my life is wind:
mine eye shall no more see good.

Job 7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more:
thine eyes are upon me, [and/but] I [am/will be]not.

Job 7 Summary of Verses 9-10

Life is a cloud

Job compares his life to a cloud that disappears. That cloud will never appear in the same form and location in which it originally existed. So too is his body – once it dies it will never just come back the way it was and inhabit the world in the way that it once did – verses 9 and 10…

Job 7:9 As the cloud is [consumed/dispersed] and vanisheth away:
so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

Job 7:10 He shall return no more to his house,
neither shall his place know him any more.

Job isn’t denying the resurrection here. He’s simply saying that once your body dies, it’s not going to come back in the same form and do the same things it once did.

Job 7 Summary of Verse 11

No restraint

So, since Job thinks that his life is close to being done, Job determines to throw off all restraint as he speaks of his situation – verse 11…

Job 7:11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 7 Summary of Verse 12

Why God deals with me this way

Job directs his bitter complaint to God and wonders why God seems to be dealing with him as a sailor would have to keep a watch over the dangerous sea or some creature in it – verse 12…

Job 7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale,
that thou settest a watch over me?

Job 7 Summary of Verses 13-14

God gives no rest

Job goes on to directly blame God for his inability find physical rest – verses 13 and 14…

Job 7:13 When I say,

My bed shall comfort me,
my couch shall ease my complaint;

Job 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams,
and terrifiest me through visions:

Job 7 Summary of Verses 15-16

Job wants to die

The result of all of this pain and vanity is once more that Job longs to die – verses 15 and 16…

Job 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling,
 and death rather than my life.

Job 7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway:
let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Job 7 Summary of Verses 17-19

Job’s Psalm 8

Job then utters words that are reminiscent of Psalm 8:4 where the psalmist is marveling at man’s place in God’s creation and praising the Lord for it. Verse 17…

Job 7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him?
and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

But though Job started like the psalmist, he takes his “psalm” in a different direction to complain that God is constantly watching him in order to make him miserable – verses 18 and 19…

Job 7:18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning,
 and try him every moment?

Job 7:19 How long wilt thou not depart from me,
nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

Job 7 Summary of Verses 20-21

Why no forgiveness?

Job finishes this chapter asking God if he’s sinned and why God won’t seem to forgive his sin. He concludes by stating that he’s probably going to die now – verses 20 and 21…

Job 7:20 [If…] {I have/Have I?} sinned; what [shall/have?] I {do/done} unto thee, O thou [preserver/watcher] of men?
why hast thou set me as [a mark against thee/your target], so that I am a burden to myself?

Job 7:21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?
for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

So, Job is clearly miserable. He cannot understand why God is not blessing him like he once did. He knows that it’s not his sin that’s calling for God’s punishment on him. What could it be? Why is God making his life so hard? Why is God punishing him? Job needs to understand! He needs answers right now!

But we get a hint that Job’s not going to get the answers he’s looking for. Peek ahead to Job 8:2 for Bildad’s opening response to Job’s statements in chapters 6 and 7…

² How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

That doesn’t sound too helpful. So, if Bildad can’t and won’t help Job trust God or understand what God is doing in his life, what’s Bildad going to do? We’ll see that next time…