David’s Duet – Rewind

That You examine him every morning and try him every moment?  Job 7:18  NASB

Try – Job starts his declaration in very much the same way David does.  “What is man that You magnify him and are concerned about him?” (Job 7:17)  But maybe Job has a slightly different reason for his statement.  David’s psalm (Psalm 8) is about the seeming insignificance of the human frame compared to the vastness of the cosmos.  The poem really is a praise for YHVH’s compassion and guidance.  But Job has just received nothing but grief because of God’s introduction before ha-satan.  Job’s view isn’t quite David’s declaration of praise.  Job sees God as the one who brings scrutiny and trial.  And under these conditions, Job would just as soon remain invisible.

What about Job’s complaint?  Does God examine us every morning and try us at every opportunity?  Do we never get a break?  Are we never able to rest in this lifelong journey?  Job uses the Hebrew verb bahan.  It describes the process of being tested for inner integrity.  God is almost always the subject (the agent) in these tests and they are to be considered a privilege of being one of His own.  Ah, that’s makes everything wonderful, doesn’t it?  Try telling that to Job.

Would you rather be under the radar?  Are you overjoyed that God pays so much attention to you that you are examined every morning and constantly tested?  That sounds like the Giant Policeman in the Sky to me.  Do I really want to worship a God who delights in making my life difficult?  David might have lauded God for paying any heed to the insignificant beings that we are, but Job would have been much happier for God to worry about the universe and not blink an eye toward him.  Maybe you have felt that way too.

If God is so good, if He is the loving and compassionate Father, if He has only our best in mind, then why does He constantly test us?  The answer is a matter of life and death.  In the mythology of the ancient Near East, the gods weighed the worthiness of men and women after they died.  If they passed the test, it was on to the next life for them.  If not, well, too late now.  But God tests us in this life in order that we may be found worthy before it is too late.  What a change!  Tested now so that we will not fail later.  In ancient thought, nothing could be more compassionate.  God’s way gives us a chance.  Repentance is possible.  Purgatory does not exist.

One other connection is needed in order to understand the kind of trials God has in mind.  That connection is to Isaiah 28:16 which uses the words ‘eban bohan, a “tested stone.”  What is the tested stone?  It is the Messiah, the foundation cornerstone of faith.  Testing does have significant consequences, doesn’t it?  If the Messiah was tested and found true, what makes you think we won’t also be tested?

Topical Index:  try, test, bahan, tested stone, Job 7:18, Isaiah 28:16