August 28, 2018: Day 17 – Job 17

This seems like nothing less than Job speaking out against his friends.  He calls his friends: “mockers” in vs. 2, they have “closed minds” vs. 4, he says if they come back to him he will not find a “sensible person” (vs.10) among them.  

Job realizes that while he is not literally at death’s door as he states in vs. 1, that he is not in the presence of friends or relatives who will vouch for him, so it will be completely up to him to vouch for himself.  Notice, though, that while Job falls into despair, it is not a despair of belief or of faith, it is a sense of despair for his present state that does not in any way overrule the relationship that he has with his God and Creator.  Job’s faithfulness and righteousness has not wavered, in fact it has been strengthened.  

He trusts that God is going to act and that God is going to in due time.  He asks the rhetorical question of “where is my hope”.  I think we can answer him with the verses from Psalm 39:7: “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?  My hope is in you.”