Old People

Job 29-30

Job 29 and 30 should really be one chapter. They are one thought. There is a minor distinction in the two but they should not be separated as though they were different thoughts.

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Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

2 Oh that I were as in months past,

As in the days when God preserved me;

3 When his candle shined upon my head,

And when by his light I walked through darkness;

4 As I was in the days of my youth,

When the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

5 When the Almighty was yet with me,

When my children were about me;

6 When I washed my steps with butter,

And the rock poured me out rivers of oil;

7 When I went out to the gate through the city,

When I prepared my seat in the street!

8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves:

And the aged arose, and stood up.

9 The princes refrained talking,

And laid their hand on their mouth.

10 The nobles held their peace,

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

Job 29:1-10

But now they that are younger than I have me in derision,

Whose fathers I would have disdained

To have set with the dogs of my flock.

2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me,

In whom old age was perished?

3 For want and famine they were solitary;

Fleeing into the wilderness

In former time desolate and waste.

4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes,

And juniper roots for their meat.

5 They were driven forth from among men,

(They cried after them as after a thief;)

6 To dwell in the clifts of the valleys,

In caves of the earth, and in the rocks.

7 Among the bushes they brayed;

Under the nettles they were gathered together.

8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men:

They were viler than the earth.

9 And now am I their song,

Yea, I am their byword.

10 They abhor me, they flee far from me,

And spare not to spit in my face.

Job 30:1-10

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In chapter 29, Job tells us that he wishes he was young again. He misses the life he used to live. He feels as though he no longer has purpose. He realizes that the path ahead of him is much shorter than that which he has already walked. He is not capable of doing the things he used to do and this causes him some depression.

I have witnessed this in people as well. As age sets in, they feel that they have lost purpose in life. Because they cannot do what they did when they were younger, they feel that they are in the way. Of course it does not help that society often treats our elderly exactly like that.

How often have we heard someone complain about an old person driving too slow, or "taking forever" to move down a grocery store aisle? What about when they are dismissed when they tell a story from their youth that seems irrelevant? How about when they are blown off because their way of thinking is too old fashioned? Haven't we witnessed this. That is what Job describes in chapter 30.

Job said "But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock". Job, speaking about being old, says that young people look down on him. These young people are the children of men he wouldn't have even let sleep with his dogs that looked after his sheep. Yet, they look down on him because his body does not allow him to do what he used to do.

Perhaps you can relate to Job. Maybe you know what it is to wish you were young again. Maybe you too have experienced the disrespect of the young. If nothing else, you have probably witnessed this from someone you know.

What we do not find in either of these texts are hope. Are we to take away from this that our elderly have no hope? Should we walk away after reading this thinking that the only thing they can look forward to is heaven? If that is the case, what a dreadful thought. I want to say, that is not what we are going to take from this.

Job's Greatest Task Lay Ahead of Him

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And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.

Job 42:7-9

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I hate to jump ahead in the text but this is important. Job's greatest spiritual task was still in his future. He did not know it yet, but after one more friend speaks, God will speak to him. Then, once God finishes, he will have Job pray for his friends. Without that prayer, God would not accept their sacrifice and forgive their sins.

That may not seem like much, but I assure you, it is huge! Prayer is very important. Many times in our youth we must be put in a position where it is the only things we have left. We try everything else WE CAN DO. When that fails, then we turn to prayer. This is true even though we know that prayer should be the first thing we do.

This was bigger than simply praying for his friends though. God allowed Job to be the first recorded picture of Jesus. Job interceded for his friends just as Jesus does for us in heaven. What we have in these 3 short verses is a picture of salvation.

And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

Job's friends were sinners who were guilty before a holy and righteous God. They had spoken "false witness" about Him This violated his law. James said, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). Because of theirs sins, God was angry with them. This meant that they were facing his judgment.

Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

Because of their sins, there had to be the shedding of blood. The writer of Hebrews said, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). While the bulls and rams were a picture of Jesus on the cross, isn't it interesting to note that they were not enough for God to simply accept the payment? Job also had to pray.

In this, Job was a picture of Jesus sitting on the right hand of the father making intercession for us (Romans 8:34). The work of Jesus was not complete on the cross. He then ascended into heaven and continues to work as our intercessor. If Job did not pray for his friends, then God would have judged them with or without the sacrifice. Jesus said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14). As his friends, he prays for us.

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.

True to the picture of salvation, we must do things God's way. They did not try to offer 6 bulls. They did not offer a horse instead of a bull. They had to offer the acceptable sacrifice. If they were to enter a right relationship with God, they had to pass through the correct door. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:7-9).

I like the last part also: "the LORD also accepted Job". God accepted Job's work because it pointed to the redemptive work of His son. Christian means "Christ-like" so, Job was literally a Christian in this moment. He, like Christ, interceded for his friends, and therefore God accepted their sacrifice and forgave them of their sins.

While in chapters 29 and 30 Job wished to be young again. He felt like he was old and useless. He was looked down upon by those who were younger. This hurt. He remembered yesteryear and longed for it. He thought he no longer served a valuable purpose on the earth. Yet, his greatest task still lay before him. He would, in his old age, become a picture of the Son of God. Dear Saint, you too can do the same. You can pray for others an intercede on their behalf. You can move heaven for those who do not have time to go before the throne of God. There is power in prayer. When we pray we are like Jesus.

Father, help me to do better at interceding for others in prayer. Also, help me to respect my elders. May I not be like the young people that Job described. May I not be a burden to the elders in my life. Help me to help them understand that you are still using them in a very important way.