Trauma Haunts Us - Job 29-30

Job 29:7-10 (ESV)

When I went out to the gate of the city,

when I prepared my seat in the square,

the young men saw me and withdrew,

and the aged rose and stood;

the princes refrained from talking

and laid their hand on their mouth;

the voice of the nobles was hushed,

and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.

Job is recalling the days when he was in his prime (vs 4).   He is remembering the respect he had in those days and how everyone in the town would give him great honor and respect.   The city square in ancient days was a place all the men would gather to do business and share thought.   It was a place for those of serious minds and sincere business.  Job is telling us that when he arrived to this central gathering post younger men would back away and older men stood in his honor.  Perhaps this is why it is even more important for us to remember how this book opened:

Job 1:1 (ESV)

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

In that first chapter God goes on and mentions his broad of children and extensive riches.  We are not told why younger men and older men acted the way they did around Job.  Was it the power of his wealth?  Was it the righteousness of his behavior?   Whatever the reason, Job is basking in those memories as he sits in ashes and dust scrapping the blackness off his skin:

Job 30:16 (ESV)

“And now my soul is poured out within me;

days of affliction have taken hold of me.

Job 30:19 (ESV)

God has cast me into the mire,

and I have become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:30 (ESV)

My skin turns black and falls from me,

and my bones burn with heat.

Job remembers the days when he was not as he is now.   These memories are both tormenting and motivating, at the same time.  He cries out to God and asks for relief.   Instead of respect from those who admired and were even in awe of him, he is now laughed at:

Job 30:1 (ESV)

“But now they laugh at me,

men who are younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to set with the dogs of my flock.

This might be the hardest part of Job’s suffering. The physical pain is probably unbearable.   The psychological trauma is daunting.  The sociological impact is tormenting him.  This is real suffering for a man God previously boasted about to Satan. God told Satan that Job was a prime example of what it means to walk with God.   God is still doing a great work in Job’s life, but the work now is through his suffering and in his challenges.  The rest of the book of Job will give us the answers to his cries for help.   But it will not take away the pain he feels and the memories that are now haunting his life.