Swifter Than a Runner (8/17/2025)

“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey” (Job 9:25-26).

As Job describes his own days in this passage, he describes life for everyone; and he does so by using three metaphors: a runner, swift ships, and an eagle.

The metaphor about the runner is really a reference to the means of speedy communication during that time. Kings who needed to send messages had a well-arranged system: a faithful servant, fast horses, and a well-organized relay system. They had to be fast and efficient.

Job increases the intensity of the metaphor by referring to “swift ships.” These would be ships hurrying home, anxious for the haven of the harbor either to outdistance a storm, to outrun an enemy, or perhaps just to be with their families.

Job cinches his point by describing the eagle as it smoothly and quickly swoops down to catch prey that another slower creature has let drop and fall toward the sea. The swiftness of an eagle is almost incomprehensible.

All of Job’s metaphors present the picture of life as it passes swiftly; and even before we realize it, time has passed us by. His point is that we must use our lives efficiently, not wasting our time of preparation, so that we will be prepared for the life that is to follow.