Interlude
Interlude
The Hebrew word translated “daysman” in Job 9:33 means “to act as umpire.” The “daysman” is the one with authority to set the day when competing parties come together to settle their dispute. In the East, the “daysman” put his hands on the heads of the two disputing parties to remind them that he was the one with the authority to settle the question. Job longed for somebody who could do this for him and God.
Job was serious about wanting to face God in court, even though he had nobody to represent him. “I desire to reason [argue my case] with God” (13:3). “I will maintain mine own ways before him” (v. 15). “Behold now, I have ordered my cause [prepared my case]; I know that I shall be justified” (v. 18). He felt that God was not treating him justly. “I cry aloud, but there is no judgment” (19:7). God had “taken away” his “right” (27:2), and Job demanded an opportunity to be heard before the throne of God. But when the opportunity came, Job had nothing to say.