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Nostalgia Old Testament Reflection

Read

Job Continues

I Long for the Past

1Job said:

2I long for the past,

when God took care of me,

3and the light from his lamp

showed me the way

through the dark.

4I was in the prime of life,

God All-Powerful

was my closest friend,

5and all of my children

were nearby.

6My herds gave enough milk

to bathe my feet,

and from my olive harvest

flowed rivers of oil.

* 7When I sat down at the meeting

of the city council,

8the young leaders stepped aside,

* 9while the older ones stood

10and remained silent.

Everyone Was Pleased

11Everyone was pleased

with what I said and did.

12When poor people or orphans

cried out for help,

I came to their rescue.

13And I was highly praised

for my generosity to widows

and others in poverty.

14Kindness and justice

were my coat and hat;

15I was helpful to the blind

and to the lame.

16I was a father to the needy,

and I defended them in court,

even if they were strangers.

17When criminals attacked,

I broke their teeth

and set their victims free.

18I felt certain that I would live

a long and happy life,

then die in my own bed.

19In those days I was strong

like a tree with deep roots

and with plenty of water,

20or like an archer's new bow.

21Everyone listened in silence

to my welcome advice,

22and when I finished speaking,

nothing needed to be said.

23My words were eagerly accepted

like the showers of spring,

24and the smile on my face

renewed everyone's hopes.

25My advice was followed

as though I were a king

leading my troops,

or someone comforting

those in sorrow.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
See this passage in other languages or Bible versions

Reflect

This whole chapter is one of nostalgia for the good times of the past. It is the first part of a train of thought that carries through to the end of chapter 31. The past is contrasted with the pain of the present (chapter 30) and a plea of innocence (chapter 31).

Job had been an eminent leader in his community. He was respected as an arbitrator (v 7), looked up to as a person of wise judgment (vv 7-10), known for his compassion (vv 11-18). He enjoyed the admiration of everyone. People listened when he spoke. He lived as a king (vv 21-25). He was distinguished. He was influential.

His error is found in v 18. “I felt certain that I would live a long and happy life, then die in my own bed.” At the height of his prosperity he was confident that it would go on like that for the rest of his life.

How easy it is to think like this. When everything is going well we are often so busy with the present that we probably don’t even think that it may be different in the future. I’m reminded of someone I had lunch with a while ago. Her career was on the up and up. She had won prestigious awards. The whole of our lunch hour she told me about her dreams and how she planned to attain them. She had it all worked out. The next time I heard about her she had been diagnosed with MS.

This is not to be dramatic or alarmist. But it is the mark of a wise person to recognize that anything might happen. It might be illness, either your own or of someone close to you, or an accident. Some people’s plans have been ruined by changes in the economy. Disasters come out of the blue.

Respond

Dear God, please help me to get my priorities straight. I want to be like Paul, whose ambition was to know Christ, who “has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is [by comparison] worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil 3:7-8).

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Annabel Robinson

Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.

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