Job 29: Yearning

And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2     “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3     when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4     as I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent,
5     when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my children were all around me,
6     when my steps were washed with butter,
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7     When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8     the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9     the princes refrained from talking
and laid their hand on their mouth;
10    the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11    When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12    because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13    The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to 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 searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
17    I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18    Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
19    my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches,
20    my glory fresh with me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’
21    “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22    After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them.
23    They waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24    I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my face they did not cast down.
25    I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
 
Meditation
The yearnings of our hearts reveal our hope. Grace alone shapes our hearts to yearn in line with God’s original design and His redemptive plan to reorder the chaos of our world through the work of Jesus.  
 
In a classic Seinfeld episode, Kramer yearns for the yesterday when his one line in a movie stirs an unquenchable longing for him to go to California. Job’s defense welcomes us into the same vulnerability of yearning, looking back to God’s blessing to push us forward in hope and alignment with God’s design.
 
Job’s defense begins with yearning, “Oh that…” in 29:2 is a heartfelt yearning for Job longing for yesterday and pointing forward to hope for tomorrow. Job yearns for restored intimacy with the Lord, for the days when his friendship with God was formative (1-6). Job also longs for the days when his dignity was emphasized, not by his personal greatness, but his goodness to society, manifest in bearing blessing and justice to his community (7-25). Job yearns for deeper fellowship with God and restored, redemptive influence in his community.
 
The deep yearnings of human hearts are “Yes!” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus incarnated the fellowship with the Father that Job hungered for and the goodness and justice he longed to reclaim. What Job had experienced in his past points back to Adam’s created design as it points forward to what only Christ can fulfill, containing seeds of hope.
 
Grace awakens hearts to yearn for God’s design and to align with His redemptive purposes for the world.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about Job’s yearning, specifically in his fellowship with God and desire for restored dignity in society?
 
-What does your heart yearn for? Is it in line with God’s design and His redemptive purposes  for the world? How can aiming your yearnings to find a “YES!” in Jesus bring your yearnings in line with God and His design and desires?
 
Key Verse
2     “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me…5 when the Almighty was yet with me…