Job 7:15

So that my throat would have chosen strangling,

   My bones, death.

(Written 4/14, Posted 4/25)

Easter weekend begins today. Jesus knew His battle with death was coming and He continued to pour into His disciples. This is part of His example that I normally do not put thought to. He knew what was coming and still He taught.

Alternatives for “my throat” include “I” and “my soul”. “I” was used six times. “My throat” seems by far the best fit. A couple sources had “choking” rather than “strangling”, but “choking” seems relatively innocent and benign compared to strangling which seems to imply death.

In a visual assessment, I found a difference in meaning.

“So that I prefer strangling and death,

   Rather than this body of mine.”

Vs.

“So that I prefer strangling,

   And death rather than my life.”

The first is a single weighing, the second is two. I went with the two, but the single option has a great deal of impact over the same issue.

In the second stitch, options for “my bones” include “my body”, “my life”, “frame”, “misery”, and “this existence”. Having selected the two-weighing option, I stuck with the body part and used bones to match throat.

At this point, I feel my selections were guided by the intent to end up with poetry and depth of meaning over the clarity in the single weighing from the visual assessment. I found it very odd that when the words all strung together, I never noticed the difference.

In our topical Bible study last night, one student raised a question about the meaning of a question from the book. I answered her question and then another student read her written reply that validated my response. Her written reply was not exactly the words in my impromptu response, but the meaning was the same. I think that applies to this verse of Job. Both options have validity, but I am simply not smart enough to think I can make one set of words carry both.

The main take away is that Job’s condition is so bad he wants to die. It is not just the physical aspects of his condition, but the turmoil he is experiencing trying to make sense of why God let this happen to him. God uses trial in our lives, not to make us miserable and seek death, but to seek Him and prepare us to serve Him better later. As we follow through the following verses, we will see how our trials are short and our value great. That is what we hold onto during our trials.