A Wardrobe of Worms (Job 7:1-10)

In Chapter 7 we gain a further glimpse into the intense emotional and physical struggle of Job and the seemingly total abandonment by God. Hartley writes, “That Job speaks realistically about his pains here, in contrast to the unrealistic wish never to have been born that he uttered in his curse-lament in chapter 3, means that he is beginning to cope with his real situation.

Most of this week’s verses will be from either the version of the Bible called “The Message” (MSG) or the “New Living Translation” (NLT).

(MSG) 7:1-3 “Human life is a struggle, isn’t it? It’s a life sentence to hard labor. 2 Like field hands longing for quitting time and working stiffs with nothing to hope for but payday, 3 I’m given a life that meanders and goes nowhere—months of aimlessness, nights of misery!”

At least field hands have the hope of relaxing in the shade at the end of the day; and employees, as much as they may hate their jobs, have at least a paycheck to look forward to at the end of the week. But Job? There is no relief from his misery and no “wages” so to speak for his toil in his trials. The New American Standard Version puts verse 3 this way, “So am I allotted months of vanity, and nights of trouble are appointed me.” Francis I. Anderson (FIA) writes, “Job does not even have the satisfaction of rest or wages at the end of his work day….instead of pay there is emptiness; instead of rest, nights of misery.”

Notice the phrase “months of vanity…” An indication of the length of his suffering? As I stated in one of the other devotionals, we are not sure about how long Job’s trial lasted. It seems to have been at least a year and perhaps, according to Jewish tradition, it was a total of 7 years. For sure it was at least “months.”

(MSG) 7:4 “I go to bed and think, ‘How long till I can get up?’ I toss and turn as the night drags on—and I’m fed up!”The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Lying in bed, I think, ’When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.”

At night his depression grew worse. It was just Job, the ash heap, his agony….and the unsettling quietness. Hartley pens, “The night passes so slowly that in its stillness he becomes conscious of every pain in his body.” But contrast vs. 4 with vs. 6: (NASV) "My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and come to an end without hope.” In verse 4 his days seemed to drag on and on and on, but in verse 6 they are swifter than the shuttle of a loom (and a shuttle flies very swiftly in the hands of a skilled weaver). Hartley painfully reminds us, “During the slow agonizing nights, memories of his past make him sadly aware that his days are passing far too swiftly.”

FIA states, “Conflicting thoughts are bound to rage in the heart and mind of one who says ‘I am full of tossing.’”

(MSG) 7:5 “I’m covered with maggots and scabs. My skin gets scaly and hard, then oozes with pus.” The NLT reads, “My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.”

A number of years ago when I was delivering supplies at the clinic where I worked, I was waiting for the elevator by the doctor’s dining room. On their bulletin board I read a rather unsettling account of an individual who had some sort of ulcer on their shoulder blade area that wouldn’t heal. (Why this was posted on a bulletin board by the dining room I will never know). Upon further inspection the doctor found that some type of worm or larva was living under the skin in the open ulcer! (Excuse me for a moment, but THAT’S LIKE TOTALLY GROSS!) The cure? I know it sounds like a medieval “Leeches R Us” type of cure, but the doctor PLACED A STRIP OF BACON over the ulcer (I am not making this up) and waited for the larva to eat its way up to the bacon and poke its head through! The doctor then grabbed the little alien with a forceps, pulled it out and then cleaned, medicated and bandaged the ulcer. Oh, and he removed the strip of bacon. (So I guess if you have a sore that won’t heal and when you go to see the doctor the nurse brings out a package of Hormel Bacon, well, you might just be infected with some alien Bot Fly larva.)

The point of that little story? A good portion of Job’s body was infected with worms in the open and pus filled sores! You can’t really blame his friends from turning their faces away from him. Just so we don’t forget his pathetic and miserable condition lets read verse 5 once more (this time from the Amplified version), “My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and has become loathsome, and it closes up and breaks out afresh.”

(NLT) 7:7-10 “O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness. 8 You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone. 9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back. 10 They are gone forever from their home—never to be seen again.”

The Message paints verse 10 in a rather poignant way, “They don’t return to visit their families; never again will friends drop in for coffee.” Job’s thinking? “Never again will family, friends and loved ones just pop in for a visit so that we can visit and laugh and catch up on how the kids have grown and how the grandchildren are doing in school. Never again.” From Job’s point of view (while wrapped in a worm robe), he had nothing to live for. His kids were gone, his businesses destroyed and it seemed that God had abandoned him. And his illness was terminal.

But notice one more time the end of verse 7, “…I will never again feel happiness.” (Its literally “I will never again see good"). Perhaps your situation or circumstances make you feel like you “will NEVER feel happiness again.” But you will! The story is not over for Job. And the story does not have to be over for you! God can give hope in the darkest of storms. It may take some time (even years), but He can and will restore happiness and joy to your heart! Keep crying out to Him and trusting Him.