Memories...The Way We Were (Job 29:1-25)

The laughter of ten children seated around the supper table. The joy of seeing their grade school artwork hanging on the fridge. The satisfaction of being able to provide so abundantly for all of his employees and their families.

Wonderful memories. Job wistfully reminisces about those pre-misfortune days.

29:1 And Job again took up his discourse and said, 2 "Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me…”

Notice the little word “when.” Seven times in the first seven verses! Job longed for the good old days “when…” He ached for those days when he could sense the presence of God. The word “watched” in verse two implies special and compassionate care.

From Job’s perspective, God had departed from his life for no apparent reason. Hartley writes, “The real cause of Job’s pain was a shattered relationship with God.” (By the way, God was still watching over him.)

29:3 “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; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me; 6 When my steps were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!”

As I have mentioned before, the word “darkness” and its various forms appear frequently in Job. Job remembers the time when God’s light pierced the darkness. But now the reverse is true – the black hole of chapters 1-2 has swallowed up any hint of hope and light. He seemed to be on the darker side of death.

“As I was in the prime of my days…” The word “prime” literally means “autumn” or “harvest”. During those pre-disaster days Job wasn’t sadly declining into the dead season of winter. He hadn’t become some miserly and crabby old Scrooge – hating life and being hated. His life symbolized a bountiful fall harvest – Job was a cornucopia of blessing to his family and community.

Note the wonderful imagery of the “when’s”:
“When His lamp shone over my head…”
“When the friendship of God was over my tent…” (one version has “when my tent was covered by the hand of God.”)
“When my steps were bathed in butter...”

This is how The Message sums up Job’s pre-catastrophe years in verse 6: “When everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult.”

29:7 "When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the square, 8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood. 9 "The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths; 10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to their palate. 11 "For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me…”

Senator Alan Simpson said, “If you have integrity, nothing else matters; if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.”
Job had integrity. Francis I Anderson wrote, “Wealthy men are not often loved; they are more often feared, envied or loathed.” (And we have a sneaking suspicion that they didn't get their wealth through hard work or honest means.) But Job was loved and respected. Hartley says, “When Job, the noblest elder, entered the city square, he was accorded the greatest deference (The gate of the city can be likened to our city square or community center.)

Note the people groups that are mentioned (or implied): youth/young men, aged/old men/ancients, princes, nobles/chiefs, highest officials (civil, military or religious officials).

Remember the old EF Hutton commercials on TV? Crowds would just be jabbering away when someone suddenly says, “My financial advisor is EF Hutton and EF Hutton says….” Immediately everyone stopped talking and strained to listen to what EF Hutton had to say. That was Job: when Job spoke everyone listened.

29:12 “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. 14 "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 "I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame. 16 "I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know. 17 "I broke the jaws of the wicked And snatched the prey from his teeth.”

Francis I Anderson calls this section “Job’s parade of virtues.” He continues, “Job's pride in his achievement should not be misunderstood. It was legitimate, not self-righteous; this is simply an outgrowth of 28:28.”

Note the listing of “unfortunates” in this section:
The poor – the depressed, those unable to take any legal action (an appeal to God was their only recourse).
The orphans – the fatherless or bereaved (from a root meaning lonely).
The widows – those desolate or abandoned.
The needy – a general reference to the lowest class of society.

Job was Uz’s government assistance program! Hartley says, "The mark of righteous person was that he heard the cries of these miserable creatures and acted to rescue them.” One writer says, “He reached out to meet the deepest needs of those who were forlorn and thereby restored their sense of self-worth.”

Note how The Message puts verse 14, “All my dealings with people were good. I was known for being fair to everyone I met.” Unlike politicians (and unfortunately some pastors) who seek out the biggest donors, Job sought out the less fortunate. He was the Mother Theresa of his day.

Justice and fairness enveloped him (vs. 14). It was part of his being. Concerning verse 15 Hartley states, “He did things for the handicapped that they could not do for themselves.” He was Uz's “Americans with Disabilities Act.”

He stuck up for strangers (vs. 16) – those particularly vulnerable in a foreign city. Sort of like in the old Westerns, if something went wrong in town, the citizens usually blamed the stranger.

He not only helped the weak, he also sought to break the power of the powerful (vs. 17). The language indicates a determined resolve (Hartley). Even though the wicked acted like fierce animals, Job the crime fighter punched their lights out! He was the Caped Crusader of Uz – Spidey & Batman & Under Dog all rolled into one. (I wonder what his costume looked like?).

29:18 "Then I thought, ’I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand. 19 ’My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch. 20 ’My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’”

Note verse 18 from these two versions:
(The Message) “I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed, grateful for a long and full life’”
(The New Living Translation) “I thought, ’Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life.’”

Job believed he could weather any adversity. But now his “nest” is not quite what he had envisioned.

29:21 "To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel. 22 "After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them. 23 "They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth as for the spring rain. 24 "I smiled on them when they did not believe, And the light of my face they did not cast down. 25 "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 seems to be reiterating verses 7-10. Why? Probably to portray the strongest contrast to what follows in chapter 30.

Note the word “dropped” in verse 22. This word is sometimes translated “prophecy.” Job’s words brought edification, exhortation and comfort (I Corinthians 14:3). The word “comforted” in verse 25 is the same as that in the very beginning of the book in 2:11. That’s interesting.

Hartley writes concerning verse 23, “Through wise, gentle counsel he inspired the community to carry out the right course of action.”

And notice how the chapter closes: “I chose a way (selected a proper course) for them and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king among the troops…” Every generation has its inspirational leaders. Job was just that for his generation (and I might add – for countless generations following). It is probably not too dramatic to say that Job was the Winston Churchill/Martin Luther King/Ronald Reagan of his day. He was the Leader-in-Chief, Inspirer-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief and Comforter-in-Chief.

Such was the former greatness of Job.
That was then.
But this (life on the ash heap) is now.

In 1974, while my wife and I were at Fort Gordon, Georgia going through Military Police school, we went to see the movie “The Way We Were.” It starred Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand. I can still recall the beautiful yet haunting theme song “Memories” sung by Barbara Streisand. (On the left below the calendar I have attached a YouTube link if you would like to hear it)
Here is a portion of the lyrics:

Mem'ries,
Light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were…

Mem'ries, may be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember...
The way we were...
The way we were

How painful it must have been for Job to think back to earlier days…