Job 29:1-25
Q.1. What did Job long for? How great was his loss in relation to God? How was he treated by the leaders of his community? – (Job 29:1-11)
Job had experienced the manifest blessings of God upon his life. That consciousness of His relationship with God now seemed far removed. He longed for those days to return – 2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by, as in the days when God watched over me; 3 When His lamp shone over my head, and by His light I walked through darkness; 4 As I was in the prime of my days, when the friendship of God was over my tent (Job 29:2-4). He keenly felt the loss of his children (Job 29:5). He also felt a loss of significance as one of the highly respected leaders of his community (Job 29:7-11). He had become ‘yesterday’s man’.
Q.2. How did helping the needy and defenceless make him feel? Did he expect it to change? How was Job regarded by those whom he had helped? – (Job 29:12-25)
Job had been a good man. He enjoyed being able to be everyone’s helper – 12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper. 13 “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy (Job 29:12-13). Moreover, Job was a defender of the defenceless. He also punished evil doers (Job 29:14-17). While everything went well, he never imagined it would ever change (Job 29:18-20). He had been so highly regarded as – I chose a way for them and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king among the troops, as one who comforted the mourners (Job 29:25 c.f. 29:21-24). Now all this was completely reversed.