WHO CAN SEE ANY HOPE FOR ME?

Passage: Job 17:1-16

Key verse: 15

NIV

17 1 My spirit(A) is broken,
    my days are cut short,(B)
    the grave awaits me.(C)
2 Surely mockers(D) surround me;(E)
    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(F)
    Who else will put up security(G) for me?(H)
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;(I)
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(J)
    the eyes of their children will fail.(K)

6 “God has made me a byword(L) to everyone,(M)
    a man in whose face people spit.(N)
7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;(O)
    my whole frame is but a shadow.(P)
8 The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are aroused(Q) against the ungodly.
9 Nevertheless, the righteous(R) will hold to their ways,
    and those with clean hands(S) will grow stronger.(T)

10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
    I will not find a wise man among you.(U)
11 My days have passed,(V) my plans are shattered.
    Yet the desires of my heart(W)
12 turn night into day;(X)
    in the face of the darkness light is near.(Y)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,(Z)
    if I spread out my bed(AA) in the realm of darkness,(AB)
14 if I say to corruption,(AC) ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm,(AD) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope—(AE)
    who can see any hope for me?(AF)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?(AG)
    Will we descend together into the dust?”(AH)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope?

17 “My spirit is broken; my days are (A)extinct;
    (B)the graveyard is ready for me.
2 Surely there are mockers about me,
    and my eye dwells on their (C)provocation.

3 “Lay down a pledge for me with you;
    who is there who will put up (D)security for me?
4 Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—
    the (E)eyes of his children will fail.

6 “He has made me (F)a byword of the peoples,
    and I am one before whom men spit.
7 My (G)eye has grown dim from vexation,
    and all my members are like (H)a shadow.
8 The upright are (I)appalled at this,
    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous holds to his way,
    and he who has (J)clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
10 But you, (K)come on again, all of you,
    and I shall not find a wise man among you.
11 My (L)days are past; my plans are broken off,
    the desires of my heart.
12 They (M)make night into day:
    ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’[a]
13 If I hope for (N)Sheol as (O)my house,
    if I make my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope?
    Who will see my hope?
16 Will it go down to the bars of (P)Sheol?
    Shall we (Q)descend together (R)into the dust?”[b]

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Footnotes
  1. Job 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  2. Job 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Job’s suffering and sorrow have him meditating on the impending grave. His friends are unable to encourage him, but rather are appalled at him and his sufferings. Job understands. He sees how easy it is to simply be appalled at others’ sufferings, being aroused against the ungodly and the sinner, holding righteous ways and growing stronger. Rather than listening, understanding, and counseling, it is always easier to assign blame, determine guilt, or enact punishment. Job understands yet hopes someone would try again; someone would see the desires of his heart and attempt to find a way forward for him.

Social statistics clearly reveal the alarming trend of increased suicides, particularly among young people - like our classmates, our friends, our siblings, or our children. Like Job, many look into the future and see only death, their only hope is for the grave. Like Job, they are crying out and asking: “…where then is my hope – who can see any hope for me?” When we were lost in hopeless darkness, someone had hope for us, and shared the living hope of Jesus. This hope blossomed, in the face of many uncertainties and hardships. Will we be the one to try again, to try and reveal the hope for those longing for hope? Hope has a name: Jesus.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the living hope shared with me. In the face of others’ misfortunes, help me try again and share living hope that set me free.

One Word: Jesus is the hope of the hopeless