Job 7: Group Study Handout

Overview

In Job chapter 7, Job continues his lament, addressing God directly. He compares his life to that of a laborer, filled with weariness and without hope. Job expresses the brief and futile nature of human life, lamenting the restless nights and the discomfort that plagues him.

Key verse

“What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should set your mind on him, that you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?”

Job 7:17-18 (WEB)

Outline

1. Job 7:1–3 Life's Burden and Misery
2. Job 7:4–5 Restlessness and Physical Decay
3. Job 7:6–7 The Fleeting Nature of Life
4. Job 7:8–10 The Finality of Death
5. Job 7:11–15 The Cry of Anguish
6. Job 7:16–20 Questioning Divine Attention
7. Job 7:21 Despair in Silence

Discussion questions

1. In v2, what does Job compare his longing for comfort to when he says 'a servant who earnestly desires the shadow'?
2. In v7, what specific description does Job give of his life when he states 'my life is a breath'?
3. Job's lament in vv. 17-18: why does he question why God should 'magnify' and 'visit' him?
4. In v20, what does Job mean when he asks, 'What do I do to you, you watcher of men'?
5. When have you felt that your troubles made you feel like a burden, as Job expresses in v20?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Job 7: Job 14, Psalm 8, Job 10.

Before next time: read Job 8.