God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. – Job 17:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 15, 2021): Job 17

German physician Heinrich Hoffman published his "Slovenly Peter" in 1845. The book was filled with cautionary tales that had been initially written for his four-year-old son. The title of the collection of stories came from one of the book's characters; Slovenly Peter (Struwwelpeter) was a little boy whose wild appearance was matched only by his bad behavior.

An example of one of the cautionary tales contained within the book was "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches." Pauline was a little girl who had been warned by her mother about the danger of playing with matches. But Pauline thought they were pretty, and she loved to watch them burn. One day, when Pauline's mother and nurse were away, the temptation of the matches proved to be too strong, and Pauline thought, "I'll just light a match or two, As I have often seen my mother do."

So, Pauline lights the matches, and she runs around but finds the fire too pretty to be extinguished. So, she runs and runs until the fire catches her apron string, and then her apron, and then little Pauline herself. "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches" concludes with these words.

So she was burnt with all her clothes,

And arms and hands, and eyes and nose;

Till she had nothing more to lose

Except her little scarlet shoes;

And nothing else but these was found

Among her ashes on the ground.

And when the good cats sat beside

The smoking ashes, how they cried!

"Me-ow, me-o! Me-ow, me-oo!

What will Mamma and Nursy do?"

Their tears ran down their cheeks so fast,

They made a little pond at last.

Cautionary stories follow a strict format—they start with a taboo or something that should be avoided (don't play with matches). Next, someone (Pauline) breaks the taboo and does what shouldn't be done. Finally, cautionary stories finish with the severe consequences that have been brought on by the breaking of the taboo (Pauline was burnt with all of her clothes, And arms and hands, and eyes and nose).  

Job feels that he has been made a byword among the people. Essentially, what Job believes is that his life has become a cautionary tale. People are offended by his life, and parents warn their children about being like Job. Essentially, Job has become an example of a man who lives his life without considering God's demands. He has disobeyed God with his life and is now paying the severe price for that disobedience. It was a lesson to which parents hoped that their children would listen.

But what frustrated Job is that he believed that the accusations were misplaced. He had trusted God, and yet his life was still in shambles. And he didn't understand why all of this had happened.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 18