Job 17: 1 – 16
Don’t Worry – Be Happy
1 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me. 2 Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? 3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me? 4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. 5 He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail. 6 “But He has made me a byword of the people, and I have become one in whose face men spit. 7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows. 8 Upright men are astonished at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. 9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger. 10 “But please, come back again, all of you, for I shall not find one wise man among you. 11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness. 13 If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in the darkness, 14 if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ 15 where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? 16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?”
There was a song years back that was called ‘Don’t worry, be happy.’ It became a top 100 songs for two weeks. The radio stations kept playing it over and over. I hated it. The words to the song which to me showed no thought actually went into it just kept repeating the same words which were; ‘Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy. In every life we have some trouble When you worry you make it double. Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy now.’
It wasn’t even original. The Indian mystic and sage Meher Baba (1894–1969) often used the expression "Don't worry, be happy" when cabling his followers in the West.
Amazingly though The song is ranked No. 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s and also appears on Rolling Stone's list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won the awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance..
Wow. I don’t remember how bad the songs were in the 80’s.
Sounds like a good remedy for depression doesn’t it? If only it were that easy. Without realizing it many of us communicate this kind of message to those who are feeling depressed. We want our spouse, or our child, or other loved ones to feel better when they are emotionally down. We don’t like it when others feel bad. We often work hard to make them feel better because, in actuality, we want to feel better. “Don’t worry, be happy,” or “just get over it,” or “pull yourself out of this,” or “you’re a person of strong faith, you shouldn’t feel this way,” are all different ways of saying the same thing. Everyone would benefit if we better understood depression.
There are several types of depression – major depression, dysthymia, bipolar depression, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Clinical depression or major depression is a serious and common disorder of mood that is pervasive, intense and affects the mind and body at the same time. Current theories indicate that clinical depression may be associated with an imbalance of chemicals in the brain that carry communication between nerve cells that control mood and other bodily systems. Other factors may also come into play, such as negative life experiences including stress or loss, medication, other medical illnesses, and certain personality traits and genetic factors.
Some symptoms of depression include,
• Persistent sad, anxious or empty mood
• Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities
• Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Restlessness or irritability
• Inability to sleep or oversleeping
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Thoughts of death or suicide
Dysthymia is a milder form of depression that lasts two years or more. It is the second most common type of depression but because people with dysthymia may only have two or three symptoms, it may be overlooked and go undiagnosed and untreated.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that follows seasonal rhythms, with symptoms occurring in the winter months and diminishing in spring and summer. Current research indicates that the absence of sunlight triggers a biochemical reaction that may cause symptoms such as loss of energy, decreased activity, sadness, and excessive eating and sleeping. Depression can have serious effects on your ability to work effectively, care for children, study, and may bring active thoughts of suicide.
Anyone can suffer from depression including teenagers, college students, moms, dads, senior citizens. It takes more than “Don’t worry, be happy” to overcome depression.
As we review this chapter in the book of Job we see this Godly man suffering from intense physical, emotional, and spiritual problems. If you were in his shoes wouldn’t you? In fact I would venture to say that you or I could not endure what this poor guy is going through. And why? - Because he is a man blameless and upright in the opinion of our Holy God. This folks is a wakeup call about the real world in which we live.
In this chapter, Job reflects upon the harsh censures which his friends had passed upon him, which causes him to look at himself as a dying man. In verses 2 through 7 our Precious Holy Spirit informs us that Job begs God to speedily come to his defense. If you have been studying this book with us you understand Job’s reason and it was because they had wronged him. Being physically unable to defend himself he was powerless to shield himself from their verbal attacks. But even though he is going through all this hurt Job thinks about other people. He hopes that, though others might have looked to Job as a beacon of loyalty to God, it would not be stumbling-block, to good people, to see him thus abused.
Job is going to reflect upon the vain hopes they had fed him in verses 10 through 16, that he should yet see good days. He however determined to himself that his days were just at an end, and with his body all his hopes would be buried in the dust.
1 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me.
We are reminded in verse one that our time is ending: Our days are extinct, and will be put out, as a candle which, from the first lighting, is continually wasting and burning down, and will by degrees burn out of itself
It is interesting if we think of the current longevity of people.
How long will we live for here on earth?
This is a question everyone asks at some stage in their life - How long will I live? When will I die? Life expectancy statistics is based on the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. Life span is the average expected years to live of an individual from birth.
Today humans have an average life span of 31.99 years in Swaziland and 82 years in Japan. The oldest confirmed recorded age for any human ever born is 122 years of age, though some people are reported to have lived longer there are no records to confirm these claims. In truth, who would want to live this long?
There are, of course, great variations in life expectancy statistics worldwide, mostly caused by differences in public health, medical care and diet from country to country. Climate also has an effect on what age you will live to.
There are also variations between various groups within single countries. For instance significant differences occur in life span expectancy between males and females in France and many other developed countries, with women tending to outlive men by five years and over.
Poverty, in particular, tends to have a very substantial effect on life span expectancy. An example being the United Kingdom life expectancy in many of the wealthiest areas is currently on average ten years longer than the poorer areas and today the gap appears to be increasing as life span expectancy for the more wealthy continues to increase while in poorer regions of the U.K. there has been little increase.
Interestingly persons with serious mental illness tend to die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general public.
By the way, the United States is ranked 38th out of 195 countries listed at 78.2 years of age.
So, for all of you who have passed 78 years of age, way to go!
Oh, one more point. You have heard the term of mid-life. We tend to think that it is around 50. I guess because we are on the unit measurement. You know 10, 100, 1000, etc. Another thing to think about is that I do not know that many people who are 100. If you want to be depressed think that mid-life is around 35. So, next time a smart aleck 30 year old calls you old remember to remind him that he is already in his mid-life and then tell him to have a nice day.
We are expected at our permanent home. Our Holy Master has taught us that when we become His children, He looks at us how?
1. Justified – just as if we have not been sinners
2. Sanctified – Set apart by Him for His purposes
3. Glorified – With Him in heaven.
Look again at the third point – with Him in Heaven. Since our Wonderful Merciful and Great God have paid our passage, He already sees us as a permanent fixture in His house.
Visiting the sick and dying I see firsthand individuals in harmony with Job’s thoughts. They understand that if the grave is ready for us, then it concerns us to be ready for the grave. Job expresses not only his expectation of death, but his desire of it.
2 Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?
Stop and picture what is going on here. The Holy Spirit Is giving us an in depth view of the situation. Remember Job is by himself now against three men who had come to see him. All he is getting from them is abuse. Do you understand what the word provocation means? It means an action or speech that makes someone annoyed or angry, especially deliberately.
Job is talking out loud. He knows our Holy Master hears all things so he speaks up for His ears. “Look at these horrible guys. They are laying hurt upon hurt on me with their words. They abuse me to my face while all along pretending friendship, but in reality intending to get me angry. I got my eye on them as I wait for the next round of insults.
3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me?
I would like to speak with a lawyer is Job’s reply. As believers in Jehovah Yahweh – Father God - we understand this term to mean a mediator. The word pledge can also be referred to as a surety. It means a person who takes responsibility for another's performance of an undertaking, for example their appearing in court or the payment of a debt. We see then that Job is stating since he has nothing to pay for a court representative that our Holy God will designate someone to speak on his behalf.
Job’s cry to our God on high is that He would appoint my advocate with You, namely, One Who Is anointed by You and is with You in heaven, and will undertake to be my representative to plead my cause, and stand up for me.
I find it very interesting the words –strike my hand. The handshake is thought to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon. Therefore Job considers that if El Shaddai – Almighty God would do this for him then who would dare then contend with him?
We know Who the best lawyer Is – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the book of Romans chapter 8, we read starting in verse 33, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall lay anything to our charge if Christ be an advocate for us?’’ Christ Is the surety of the better testimony, a pledge of God’s appointing; and, if He undertakes for us, we need not fear what can be done against us
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.
We read in the book of Exodus chapter 31 this, “1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
Many we read things and in truth do not know what the words mean. We see in these verses a couple of key words. They are;
Knowledge
Understanding
Wisdom
These three words as you see work when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit. So what do these words mean? We gain knowledge through our personal experiences and when we learn certain basic principles. By itself knowledge isn’t useful. In our school days when we had reading courses a key word that was used is ‘comprehension’. This means that we understand what we are reading. Then with these two factors our Precious Holy Spirit adds ‘wisdom’. So, what we learn and now understand God gives us the ability to apply if for our good. Pretty neat huh?
Job is stating in verse 4 that these three visitors lack two of the ingredients that are beneficial to others - In this case counseling. They therefore will not receive any credit for being a help. You have heard no doubt the term – word of mouth’. Many people who help others in what they do receive praise through people notifying other people of their beneficial work. If you have a great plumber you pass on this person’s contact numbers to friends.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail.
Here is something that is quite destructive yet we sinful humans eat it up. I am talking about flattery. Why are people so gullible? We get a description of the evil person who sneaks his or her way into our lives. Let me say this. These people want something from you!
In the book of Psalm 5 verse 9, we get a good background on the character of these snakes.”For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue.
Look at the end of the verse which says, ‘even the eyes of his children will fail’. Is this saying that flatter kids will go blind? I do not believe this is the case. I like what The New Living Translation says “They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger.”
We have been talking about knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. When a person is lacking the presence of the Holy Spirit all they can pass on to their children at best is knowledge. Children in this case will be failures in life. Their eyes will long for the good things in life but will fail or come up short because they were not given what matters and that is to know God and have Him in their lives. This is an awesome bit of great truth.
6 “But He has made me a byword of the people, and I have become one in whose face men spit. 7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows.
I use to work in center city Philadelphia. If you have ever worked in a city then I am sure you have come across ‘street people’. And sadly if you watch the news you come across stories where these poor people are abused. Some are treated quite horribly by cruel people. Job is now such a destitute person. It is not far out of bounds to know and understand that evil people spit on these suffering citizens.
Turn with me to the Gospel of John chapter 9. I want to show you something awesome that our Lord Jesus did for a street person.
1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Take a moment and stop and think about this situation. This poor guy every day would sit begging money from people passing by. In some cases evil people would abuse this guy by kicking him out of their way or even spiting on him. Now we see our Lord Jesus comes by and stops. He spits. Since the man cannot see he must be thinking that whoever is near him has just spit on him. No, our Lord Jesus spit on the ground. The next thing the guy feels is a person putting mud on his eyes. I am sure he tried to fight off this from happening to him. It is not recorded but I am sure our Lord Jesus comforts the man telling him it is okay as He continues putting on the mud. Let’s pick up with the story.
“8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied. 13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them. 17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.” 18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” 20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.” 24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[fn] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” 25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” 26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” 27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” 28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.” 30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue. 35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. 39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” 41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”
Look at the beauty of this scripture. In verse 5 we say the part of the verse talk about the eyes of a flatters kid would fail. We can now see the Grace of God. People who think they see go blind. Those who are blind with the touch of Jesus can now see.
8 Upright men are astonished at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. 9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
God fearing people will come to notice the hurt that these guys have caused Job. Is this not so? Our Precious Holy Spirit for all time has listed these evil men’s names for us to remember them by.
In addition, people will be influenced for the good by the work that God has done in Job’s life. We are blessed to be able to know the whole story of Job. It has greatly impacted and strengthened people to remain faithful to our Great God no matter what sufferings and difficulties they go through.
Job’s friends had pretended to comfort him with the hopes of his return to normal again. This did not work so now he here shows, that it was their foolish to talk so
10 “But please, come back again, all of you, for I shall not find one wise man among you.
If you go to a hospital and visit a very sickly person remember you are not a doctor or a prophet. Why would you tell the person they are going to get back on their feet again and get back to normal again? What if they do not get well? Is it not more beneficial to tell the person things which will not fail that are the promises of God, His love and grace, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life.
11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
The bible says that without a vision a man perishes. How true! One thing men enjoy is to plan out to do certain things. In today’s vernacular it is referred to as a bucket list. It is a list of things a person wants to achieve or experience, as before reaching a certain age or dying
However Job now considers himself a dying man and all his dreams of accomplishing things are broken off. All the thoughts of his heart were now at an end. The thoughts of his heart being broken, they changed the night into day and shortened the light.
I am sure there was a time in your life that you enjoyed doing things which continued in the evening hours. And of course there were times when you were out on the town until the morning light appeared. These memories now were long past for Job.
The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness All his expectations from this world would very shortly be buried in the grave of total darkness with him; so that it was a jest for him to think of such mighty things as they had flattered him with the hopes of light.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in the darkness, 14 if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ 15 where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? 16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?”
Job has lost all hope for anything in this world. He saw himself just dropping into the grave. A convenient house, an easy bed, and agreeable relations, are some of those things in which we take satisfaction in this world: Job expected not any of these above ground; all he felt, and all he had in view, was unpleasing and disagreeable, but underground he expected them.
The grave is a house; to the wicked it is a prison-house; to the godly it is a passage-house on their way home. The grave is a bed, for we shall rest in it in the evening of our day on earth, and rise from it in the morning of our everlasting day.
So, it is good to think that it is okay for good people to be willing to die; it is but going to bed; they are weary and sleepy, and it is time that they were in their beds.
He counted upon no agreeable relations but what he had in the grave: I have cried to corruption (that is, to the grave, where the body will corrupt), Thou art my father (for our bodies were formed out of the earth), and to the worms there, You are my mother and my sister, to whom I am allied (for man is a worm) and with whom I must be conversant, for the worms shall cover us. Job will complain in chapter 19 that his kindred were estranged from him; therefore here he claims acquaintance with other relations that would cleave to him when those disowned him.
He saw all his hopes from this world dropping into the grave with him. He imparts this “Seeing I must shortly leave the world, where is now my hope? How can I expect to prosper now knowing that I do not even expect to live?’’ You are dying men, and cannot make good your promises. I am a dying man, and cannot enjoy the good you promise. Since, therefore, our rest will be together in the dust, let us all lay aside the thoughts of this world and set our hearts upon another.’’ We must shortly be in the dust, for dust we are, dust and ashes in the pit, under the bars of the pit, held fast there, never to lose the bands of death till the general resurrection. But we shall rest there; we shall rest together there.”
Job and his friends could not agree now, but they will all be quiet in the grave; the dust of that will shortly stop their mouths and put an end to the controversy. Let the foresight of this cool the heat of all contenders and moderate the disputers of this world.
