What is the meaning of Job 6:7? My soul refuses to touch them • Job’s inner being recoils at what is being offered—his friends’ words, which they assume are comforting (Job 4:5–6). • The phrase “refuses to touch” shows a deliberate, conscious rejection, the same resolve David described when shunning evil paths (Psalm 101:3). • Job’s distress is not merely physical; his very soul finds no nourishment in arguments that twist the truth of his suffering (Job 6:24–26). • Like Jeremiah who could not stomach the false assurances of his day (Jeremiah 15:16–18), Job cannot take in counsel that misrepresents God’s justice. they are loathsome food to me • “Loathsome food” brings the imagery of spoiled or diseased meat—something detestable (Isaiah 65:4). • Job likens his friends’ explanations to a meal that promises nourishment but instead sickens the eater, echoing Eliphaz’s earlier “harvest of misery” (Job 4:8). • In Psalm 69:21, David speaks of gall and vinegar offered in his pain; Job likewise feels force-fed with bitter, unhelpful advice. • The literal picture reinforces Job’s claim that empty platitudes cannot satisfy a soul craving genuine compassion (Proverbs 25:20). summary Job 6:7 highlights how deeply inadequate and revolting false comfort is to a suffering believer. Job deliberately rejects his friends’ words, comparing them to corrupted food his soul will not ingest. True sustenance comes only from counsel that aligns with God’s righteous character and offers authentic mercy. |
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