(Photo: Aloisio Mauricio/Fotoarena/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
n class="drop-cap">No book of the Old Testament uses the Hebrew word for “hope” (tiqwah) as much as the book of Job. Most often, though, Job mentions hope only to lament its absence. He’s a corpse, clothed with maggots and dirt, his skin hardened. His days end “without hope” (Job 7:1–6). There’s hope for a tree. Cut down, it sends out roots to find the water that will revive it. But a man is not a tree. He lies down and doesn’t get up again until the last day (Job 14:7–12). Job is subjected to mockery and contempt. His eyes are dim with grief, his body is a shadow. He sleeps in Sheol and his hope falls to the dust with him: “Where now is my hope? Who regards my hope?” (Job 17:1–16). Job’s hope is as dead as he is.Read Full Article »
