Job 7:12-15

12 Am I a sea [yam], or a whale [tanniyn], that thou settest [suwm] a watch [mishmar] over me?

13 When I say ['amar], My bed [`eres] shall comfort [nacham] me, my couch [mishkab] shall ease [nasa'] my complaint [siyach];

14 Then thou scarest [chathath] me with dreams [chalowm], and terrifiest [ba`ath] me through visions [chizzayown]:

15 So that my soul [nephesh] chooseth [bachar] strangling [machanaq], and death [maveth] rather than my life [`etsem]. KJV-Interlinear

12 'Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That Thou dost set a guard over me? 13 'If I say, 'My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,' 14 Then Thou dost frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions; 15 So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains. NASB

Job begins his protest to God with a question. 'Am I the sea?' Something that is vast and wild. Something that requires the controls and containment of continents. Something that has no conscious thought of its own, but kicks up at random.

'Am I a wild animal, a sea monster?' Something that must be guarded against. Something that cannot be trusted. Something that will devour at will, without regard to the wishes of its prey.

'Am I so bad, that You, God, have to set up barriers and constraints, and punishments, in order to keep me under control, under your watchful eye?'

'Look at me,' Job says. 'Look at me. I am a wreck. I am a pathetic example of a human being. I am nothing more than dust and air. And, I am fading away fast, at that.'

Job complains that he cannot even find rest on his bed or couch.

When a person has been working hard, or has had a very busy day, then when you get home what is the first thing you want to do? Sit down.

You want to sit or lie down, put up your feet, get something cold to drink, and just relax. You want to close your eyes and rest.

Job can't even do that much. His couch and his bed do not offer him any form of rest. His sores, and aches and pains do not allow him to rest.

Remember his earlier comments about not being able to get a good nights sleep. He sits up and he wants to lay down. He lays down and he is so uncomfortable, he wants to get up. Job is restless, tired, disturbed, frustrated.

And to make things even worse, When Job does finally fall asleep, he has disturbing dreams, nightmares.

And these dreams are not your run of the mill bad dreams, but nightmares that bring horror and terror into his mind. His sleep is disturbed by the bad dreams, and he still cannot find rest.

With each successive verse, we receive a better picture of life without God.

God backed away from Job and allowed Satan to initiate bad circumstances against him. In this nightmare of a life, we can see what life without God is really like. In other passages in the Bible, equally bad descriptions of life without God, are provided. Although they are usually related to the Lake of Fire, there are many occasions when people become so indifferent toward God, that He does in fact turn His back on them.

This is not a situation in which you want to find yourself.

Jobs life is horrible. Jobs existence is miserable. He wants to have just a little bit of rest, but cannot even find that.

His body is racked with discomfort and pain, and his sleep is racked with disturbing dreams. And he has been living like this for quite some time now. It just won't end!

He is so miserable that death is preferred to the life of a living skeleton. And that is how he sees himself, as an empty life of nothing more than skin over bones. He hasn't been eating and has therefore lost lots of weight.

Note quickly. This is not a wish for suicide. Never does Job entertain that thought. And the absence of a suicide wish indicates that it is not an option. When God has you under judgment, then nothing can stop it. You cannot stop it. Only God can give life and take it away. If you were so miserable that you did attempt suicide, you would fail and then you would be all the more worse off.

Job is not under judgment. Job is not under punishment. Job is becoming for us, a picture of misery without God. Job is a picture of Christ, hanging on the Cross under judgment. And without God, what you see now in Job, is as good as life can ever get.

One more side note. Job lived either before Abraham or was a contemporary of him. The flood of Noah, would have been only a few generations prior to Jobs birth. Perhaps only two or three-hundred years earlier. His friends are described as coming from different regions. Such descriptions place this time after the Tower of Babel, and after the Table of Nations mentioned in Genesis 10.

At that point in history, the population of the world could not have been much more than a few thousands of people. And yet Job is well aware of the nature of the Sea. He is well aware of the monsters, the huge and dangerous animals that live in or near the water. Whether these monsters are crocodiles, or whales makes no difference.

Man in his very early generations of existence following the Flood, was very knowledgeable about life and nature. Job did not live in a cave. He did not grunt and squat. He was very articulate and thoughtful of life and others. And, Job and his friends knew a great deal about God and doctrine.

Throughout their conversation, many facts will be mentioned as though they are common knowledge to all. None will be contested. Only the reason, for Jobs current situation, is under debate.

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