The Watcher

OPENING PRAYER:

Gracious Lord, enable me to rest in you, to work for you, and to become more and more like you.

READ: JOB 7

“Do not mortals have hard service on earth?

Are not their days like those of hired laborers? 2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, 3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. 4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. 5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. 7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. 8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. 9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. 10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? 13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, 14 even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, 15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. 16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, 18 that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?[a] 21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”

Footnotes

[a] Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.

REFLECT:

‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts’ (Psalm 139:23). Does it worry you that your every move may be recorded? CCTV cameras see us in many cities; traffic cameras see our cars. Mobile phones record our movements, and computers our internet activity. This can be helpful, but in some societies such surveillance can be very worrying. Is it a comfort or a threat to think that God is with you everywhere and sees all that you do?

For Job, the thought that God is always watching has become oppressive, as if God is always out to get him. His days are filled with pain, his nights with terrifying dreams (vs 13,14). Job has restrained himself long enough; he now complains directly to God. Why won’t God leave him alone (vs 17–19)? What has he done to deserve such treatment (vs 20,21)? Although Job feels oppressed, God’s presence and intimate knowledge bring comfort to the psalmist: ‘You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me’ (Psalm 139:5-6).

I have met people who, facing sickness, bereavement and other troubles, find the presence of God a source of comfort and hope. I have met others who, faced with the same problems, blame God and thereafter ignore him. Job may not find comfort in God’s presence, but he does speak to him, even if his friends find the tone quite shocking.

APPLY:

Invite the Lord to accompany and lead you today through whatever you face.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Empowering Lord, at times I feel I am suffering from battle fatigue. Reinvigorate me when I feel life is too much.

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