Job 3

Job 3:1-42

II. THE THE BASIS OF THE DIVINE-HUMAN 3:1-42:6 This major part of the book begins with a personal lament in which Job expressed his agony (ch. 3). Three cycles of speeches follow in which Job’s friends dialogued with him about his condition (chs. 4-27). Job then voiced his despair in two soliloquies (chs. 28-31). Next Job’s fourth friend, Elihu, offered his solution to Job’s problem (chs. 32-37). The section closes with God speaking to Job twice and Job’s responses (chs. Job 38:1 to Job 42:6).

Job 3:11-19

2. The wish that he had died at birth 3:11-19 Another acceptable alternative to Job was that he had been stillborn, miscarried, or died immediately after birth. All the past joys in his life could not compensate for the present misery he felt. The rest of death was better than the turmoil of life for him now that he was suffering.

Job 3:20-26

3. The wish that he could die then 3:20-26 Much of Job’s suffering was intellectual. He asked, “Why?” frequently in this soliloquy (Job 3:11-12; Job 3:20; Job 3:23) and in the dialogue that follows (Job 7:20-21; Job 9:29; Job 13:24; Job 21:4; Job 24:1).

“My groaning comes at the sight of my food” (Job 3:24) may mean that food was not appealing to him. Probably he also meant that his groaning was as regular and frequent as his meals. The parallel idea at the end of Job 3:24 means his pain was as unending as a stream.

This is how Job felt when he uttered this soliloquy. He was bitter (Job 3:20) but not out of control. He was angry with God (Job 3:23) but not cursing God. The writer used the same Hebrew word to describe Job as one “hedged in” by God with darkness and disfavor (Job 3:23) that Satan used to describe Job as one whom God had “made a hedge about” to protect him from evil (Job 1:10). Job was in despair but not defiant toward God. He was feeling his pain intensely but not accusing God of being unjust. His grief had not yet descended to its lowest depths.

Many people reach the same level in the strata of grief that Job did here. They long to die but do not contemplate suicide. Job evidently did not entertain the option of suicide because suicide implied that one had lost all hope in God. [Note: Hartley, p. 92. The pressure of pain squeezes out the memories of past pleasures. The present agony becomes so overwhelming that sufferers often cannot see hope beyond it. My own father suffered with bone cancer and before he died longed for death even though he was a godly believer. This experience of great pain is the will of God for some people. We must not make the mistake of misjudging those who are going through this “valley of the shadow of death”-as Job’s friends did. “These are the harshest words Job utters against himself in the entire book.” [Note: Ibid., p. 101.