From butter to bitter - Job 29-30

This is not a good section of Job. I know we are breaking the story up into little sections so we can digest it but these two chapters should not be read separately ... Job is in a very dangerous spot in his life. He is saying things he is about to regret when God interjects His words in chapters 38-39. In these two chapters Job continues his evaluation of his condition. The average psychologist would have a field day with Job as he or she listened to Job pour out his complaint. Job, in these two chapters, talks about how beautiful his past was. I love the line in 29:6. Job remembers his past and states, "My steps were bathed in butter ...". What a great picture of a successful and beautiful life. Job remembers when he was revered and admired by others. He goes from remembering the past to imagining the future as he talks about how he thought he would end his life "in my nest" and how the "dew would lie on his branches" (29:18-19). It is always good to remember the past and to dream about the future. But, like Job, we have to live in the present and that is Job in chapter 30. In the present Job recalls that he is not in a good place. He is now a taunt to those who once served him (30:1-10). Where he once gave of himself to help those in need (29:16) people were now cashing in on his destruction (30:13-15). He has gone from butter to bitter overnight (30:16-31). God's hand is upon him and he is now at the lowest part of his journey. He sees God in these two chapters as his tormentor, not his savior. All the words he has said so far about trusting God and resting Him, in these two chapters, are lost. These are very bad chapters to read alone. Yet, they are the words of Job's plight. He has characterized God as turning his "harp to mourning" and his "flute to the sound of those who weep" (30:31). If you have ever been in this spot in your life you know Job's feelings. The key to understanding these two chapters is "don't stop reading here!" Don't stop living here!! Yet, too many do. We stop at the worst possible place in our lives and we never get past the feelings of chapter thirty. We go from butter to bitter and stop right there. May we never stop in the chapter 30's of our lives. May we read on and move on in God's grace and not wallow so much in the past that we fail to see what God can do in the presence.