Job 29 Summary: I think that many or probably all of us have heard people wistfully speak of the “good old days.” Maybe you yourself have engaged in that kind of speech.

And I think the older we get, the more likely we are to longingly think of times gone by. And one reason for that is simply that the older we get, the harder – generally – life is for us. The more trials we have.

And as we have more and harder trials – our past with its relative ease looks more and more attractive.

And I believe it’s this kind of dynamic that Job expresses in the 29th chapter of the book named after him. So, let’s turn our attention to Job, chapter 29.

And here in the 29th chapter of Job, Job takes this whole chapter to lament that God isn’t treating him like he used to. He longingly looks back on his “good old days” for 25 verses.

And in verses 1-10 Job reminisces over all the blessings that he used to have – and he wishes that that were still the case with him.

KJV Job 29:1 [Moreover/And/Then] Job [continued/took up] his [parable/discourse/speech], and said,

2 Oh that I were as in months [past/gone by/now gone],

So Job is lamenting that God – in his estimation – isn’t preserving and watching over him. And so, what we have throughout this entire chapter is Job looking back fondly at his life before chapters 1 and 2 of this book – before Satan comes before God and God points out Satan to Job.

Well, what was happening in Job’s life when God was preserving and watching over him? Job says that that was a time…

3 When his [candle/lamp] shined upon my head,

So, Job remembers this time in his life as one marked by light.

And of course, Job is not speaking of physical light. He’s not lamenting the fact that the Sun no longer shines on him.

But Job is picturing the way God treated him in the old days and he’s expressing the feeling he has about it. In his recollection, it’s as if God was lighting his way. God was expelling darkness all around him.

And of course, by contrast, Job at this point in his life is feeling like he’s walking around in darkness – confusion – not knowing where the next step will lead him.

And then Job continues and he admits that the days before his awful trial were extremely productive and marked by close communion with God.

4 As I was in [the days of my youth/the prime of my days/my most productive time],

And Job continues to speak of the relational closeness that he experienced before his trial – both with God – and now he even remembers his beloved departed children.

5 When the Almighty was [yet/still] with me,

And, as Job moves on, he claims that his life before this trial of his was characterized by “fatness.”

6 When [I washed my steps/my steps were bathed] with butter,

And we tend to think in our day that fat is bad. But that’s just not how Job or the rest of Scripture presents things like butter and oil.

Instead, these foods are a sign of richness – a sign