Job 19:7-12

Job 19:7-12

[7] Behold, I cry out  of wrong,  but I am not heard:  I cry aloud,  but there is no judgment.  [8] He hath fenced up  my way  that I cannot pass,  and he hath set  darkness  in my paths.  [9] He hath stripped  me of my glory,  and taken  the crown  from my head.  [10] He hath destroyed  me on every side,  and mine hope  hath he removed  like a tree.  [11] He hath also kindled  his wrath  against me, and he counteth  me unto him as one of his enemies.  [12] His troops  come  together,  and raise up  their way  against me, and encamp  round about  my tabernacle. 

What does Job 19:7-12 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Job agreed with his friends that God was responsible for his troubles, but while they believed God was punishing him for his sins, he contended that God was acting unjustly. He saw evidence of God"s injustice, too, in God"s silence when he cried out for help ( Job 19:7). Job then named ten (cf. Job 19:3) hostile actions of God against himself ( Job 19:8-12). Note the recurrence of "He" in these verses that emphasizes God"s responsibility. Bildad had previously cited what overtakes the wicked. Job now showed that God was the source of their troubles (cf. Job 19:8 b with Job 18:5-6; Job 18:18; Job 19:9 with Job 18:16-17; Job 19:10 a with Job 18:7; Job 18:12; Job 19:10 b with Job 18:16; and Job 19:12 with Job 18:14).
Some readers of Job"s words in this pericope have accused Job of blasphemy. However, blasphemy is "any remark deliberately mocking or contemptuous of God." [1] Job was neither mocking God nor was he being contemptuous of God. He was simply describing God as he perceived Him to be. He could not understand why God was apparently treating him unjustly, and he repeatedly asked God to solve this mystery for him.