What is the meaning of Job 7:2? Like a slave he longs for shade “Like a slave he longs for shade” (Job 7:2) paints the picture of an exhausted bond-servant toiling under the blistering sun. Job sees himself in that weary figure. • Slaves in the ancient Near East worked from sunrise to sunset, with midday shade as their only brief reprieve. See Psalm 121:5, where the LORD is called “your shade at your right hand,” and Isaiah 32:2, which describes a “man” (ultimately messianic) who will be “like the shade of a great rock in a thirsty land.” • Job’s plea is not for luxury, but for a moment’s relief from relentless hardship. His boils, sleepless nights, and unrelenting grief are as merciless as the noon sun (Job 7:3-5). • Shade also signals God’s protective presence (Psalm 91:1). By invoking it, Job hints that he feels exposed—bereft of the divine shelter he once enjoyed (Job 29:2-5). like a hireling he waits for his wages “Like a hireling he waits for his wages” shifts the image from a slave’s craving for shade to a day laborer’s anxious watch for evening pay. • Daily workers counted the hours, knowing Leviticus 19:13 and Deuteronomy 24:15 required employers to pay “before the sun sets.” Their very survival depended on that prompt reward. • Job likewise counts the hours, but instead of silver coins he expects an end to suffering (Job 7:6-7). He is certain that “my days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,” yet they bring no payout of rest. • Scripture later applies the hireling motif to God’s faithful people awaiting just recompense: Malachi 3:5 warns oppressors who “defraud the hireling of his wages,” while Revelation 14:13 promises the righteous that “their deeds will follow them.” Job foreshadows that longing for a righteous settlement. summary Job stacks two vivid labor images to convey his misery. He feels like a slave straining for a sliver of shade and like a hireling staring at the horizon for overdue wages. Both comparisons emphasize unbearable toil, the brevity of relief, and a deep sense that justice—whether in the form of cool shade or earned pay—has been withheld. Job’s lament invites every sufferer to echo his honesty while ultimately trusting the LORD who promises true rest (Matthew 11:28) and unfailing reward (Hebrews 6:10). |
    |