Job 17-20

Job, the most materially blessed man in his neighborhood, has lost very nearly everything. His material resources? Gone. His children? Gone. His wife's encouragement and support? Gone. His friends' patience? Gone. He begins to despair of even hope. Yet he still clings (barely, by his fingernails, perhaps; but still he clings!) to God, Whom he knows in the core of his being:

Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—
and eventually he'll take his stand on earth.
And I'll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—
see God myself, with my very own eyes.
Oh, how I long for that day!
(Job 19: 24-27)

Listen to Handel's Messiah, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

^1-2 "My spirit is broken,

my days used up,

my grave dug and waiting.
See how these mockers close in on me?
How long do I have to put up with their insolence?

^3-5 "O God, pledge your support for me.
Give it to me in writing, with your signature.
You're the only one who can do it!
These people are so useless!
You know firsthand how stupid they can be.
You wouldn't let them have the last word, would you?
Those who betray their own friends
leave a legacy of abuse to their children.

^6-8 "God, you've made me the talk of the town—
people spit in my face;
I can hardly see from crying so much;
I'm nothing but skin and bones.
Decent people can't believe what they're seeing;
the good-hearted wake up and insist I've given up on God.

⁹ "But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life,
sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger!

^10-16 "Maybe you'd all like to start over,
to try it again, the bunch of you.
So far I haven't come across one scrap
of wisdom in anything you've said.
My life's about over. All my plans are smashed,
all my hopes are snuffed out—
My hope that night would turn into day,
my hope that dawn was about to break.
If all I have to look forward to is a home in the graveyard,
if my only hope for comfort is a well-built coffin,
If a family reunion means going six feet under,
and the only family that shows up is worms,
Do you call that hope?
Who on earth could find any hope in that?
No. If hope and I are to be buried together,
I suppose you'll all come to the double funeral!" ^1-4 Bildad from Shuhah chimed in: "How monotonous these word games are getting!
Get serious! We need to get down to business.
Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals?
You look down on us as if we don't know anything.
Why are you working yourself up like this?
Do you want the world redesigned to suit you?
Should reality be suspended to accommodate you? (Job 17-20, The Message)