Job's Lonely Lamentation, Job 2:11 - 3:26

9/3/17                                                                                                                                                                           Job’s Lonely Lamentation

Job 2:11-3:26

                Comedian Erma Bombeck wrote a book titled “If life is a bowl of cherries, why do I always get the pits?”. Of course, she means that life is not always a bowl full of cherries. It certainly was not so for Job. We left him sitting in an ash heap of life, bereft of his wealth, his power, his family, his dignity, and even the support of his wife. Our story began as a perfect picture of the tranquility and peace we would expect in the life of a God-fearing man. Job had it all. But by the end of ch. 3, his life has completely changed. He finds himself with no ease, no rest, no quiet, only pain and suffering. The last word Job speaks in his lament is “trouble”!

                So far, in all of his calamity we have found Job hanging on to his faith. When the first bout of the Satan’s attack came and removed his wealth and children Job fell down and worshiped. He said, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Even when his health was broken, he did not curse God and sin with his lips. But this does not mean Job is not facing serious theological problems with what has happened to him. One of the lowest points in the book is his lonely lament in ch. 3. Here Job curses the day of his conception, wishes he had never been born, but because these are not true conditions, wishes he could die. His world has fallen apart and he does not know why. His conception of an orderly world run by a good and sovereign God has been challenged. In his despair, he begins to search for answers.

                The end of chapter two gives us a glimmer of hope as we find three of his friends join together to mourn with Job and try to give him some comfort. After a seven-day period of silence, Job speaks. What he has to say falls into a depressing curse, a despairing lament, and an agonizing question. Yet in all of this there is a trace of hope as Job attempts to resolve his dilemma with God.

I. A Glimmer of Hope, 2:11-13.

                At this stage of his life Job was a lonely man. His children are dead, his wife has abandoned him, his business is gone, and he lives outside of the comforts of society. Job is at the point where he thinks that maybe even God does not care about his predicament. At such a time consolation often comes from friendships.

A. Job’s three friends, 11.

                1. We have some indications here about the time frame.

·         Surely it would have taken weeks, maybe months for word to get to his friends, for them to arrange travel to visit Job and finally arrive. Furthermore, it was a full week before Job spoke, v. 13.

·         We also find in 7:3 that Job indicates this condition has been going on for months. It is no wonder that questions about God and why all this happened arise in his mind.

2. His friends come from different places, probably none close by.

·         Eliphaz comes from Teman, a city in Edom. However, we do not know how far this may have been from Job.

·         We know little about Bildad or Shua. Some suggest it was located somewhere in the middle Euphrates region.

·         We know even less about Zophar and Naamah.

3. But we do know they were loyal friends of Job.

·         In order to visit him they must leave their own businesses and enterprises for a lengthy period of time.

·         They come to mourn with those who mourn. This expression literally means to shake the head. They wish to express their sympathy, but they are totally unaware of what they will see.

·         They also want to comfort their friend in his time of grief and sorrow. The word for comfort means to console by kind and encouraging words. It means to speak to the heart.

·         It seems that these men have good intentions to help Job through his misery.

B. It is not until they arrive that they fully understand the distress of Job, 12-13.

·         When they first strained their eyes to identify Job, he was so changed that he was unrecognizable. This does not mean they didn’t know who he was but that his appearance was nothing like what they expected.

·         This causes them to react in an extremely mournful way – crying out with loud wailing, tearing their garments, and throwing dust on their heads. Dust speaks of mortality and death and suggests that Job looked like death warmed over or appeared almost corpselike.

·         They sit down with him in the ashes for a full week before anyone speaks. Most believe that this was an indication of identifying with his pain and sorrow. They observed that his grief was very great. Grief indicates both physical and mental pain. But it would have been considered bad manners to speak before Job did.

·         The presence of these friends, coming from long distances to help Job seems encouraging at first. In times of extreme grief, Christian friends become a necessary and helpful support group.

II. Job’s Lamentation, 3:1-26.

A. Job’s depressing curse, 1-9. Read.

                1. Does verse 1 surprise you after Job’s responses in ch. 1-2? The Satan told God that Job would curse him to his face if he touched his body. Alas, Job does curse, but not God. He curses the day he came into the world.

·         Did you notice the contrast between day and night and the references to darkness?

·         What does Job curse in v. 3? 4-5 he elaborates the day of his birth; 6-10 he curses the night of his conception. He thinks it would have been better never to have been born.

·         Job’s exasperation has brought him to the point where he brings into question God’s sovereign design for his life. We begin to wonder if the Satan is beginning to crack Job’s faith.

                2. “That day” - Job curses the day of his birth, 4-5.

·         V. 3 begins with “that day.” What does Job wish about that day? When God created the world he said, Let there be light. Light is necessary to sustain life. Job says let there be darkness that extinguishes the light of his birth.

·         The repeated usage of dark images reveals what’s going on in his soul. He is in the depths of depression and despair. This darkness is like the shadow of death over him. The cloud refers to thick clouds or mist that cannot be penetrated.

·         Blackness alludes to an eclipse which struck fear in ancient people who did not understand what was happening.

·         The verb “to stain” means to claim and is associated with redemption but in an ironic reversal. We celebrate our birthdays but Job wishes his birthday had been swallowed up in darkness never to have occurred.

3. “That night” – Job goes back to the night of his conception and curses it as well, 6-10.

·         What does he mean by v. 6? That somehow that night could be eclipsed from the calendar, that it would be a night that never happened.

·         V. 7 – solitary means barren, more literally stony. It may indicate to let the womb be stony or unable to conceive. The joyful voice indicates the announcement of v. 3.

·         V. 8 – in poetic form Job is calling up those who are professional sorcerers or people who bring about curses. The last phrase is literally – “ready to rouse up Leviathan” later mentioned in the book. This alludes to a mythical sea monster of chaos who attempts to swallow up good in the world. It creates a picture of chaos devouring the night of conception so that it could not occur.

·         V. 9 speaks of the normal progression of the dawn that Job wishes never happened.

·         V. 10 – Job gives the reason for his curse – that night did not prevent his beginning which in turn would have prevented his current sorrow and pain.

·         This indeed describes a very low point for a person who fears God. But it goes further.

B. Job’s despairing lament, 11-19.

                1. Job’s lament is not like others in the Bible.

·         In the lament Psalms, the author pours his heart out to God and asks for deliverance. He also expresses confidence that God has heard his prayer. Job does not ask for deliverance and is not even directly calling upon God. He is speaking to himself.

·         He is asking a series of questions as to why he was ever born and stating that death is far preferable to the condition of life he is experiencing.

2. His questions, 11-12.

·         These all center on birth – v. 11 suggests a still birth. V. 16 suggests a miscarriage. V. 12 – why did the knees receive me is better. This could mean being lain on his father’s knees at birth or on his mother’s knees in preparation for feeding.

·         But in his current state Job asks why he ever had to be born if he was going to suffer so severely.

3. What do these questions cause Job to think about next? (Death)

·         What state is he describing in v. 13 and what does this tell us about his need? Job thinks that death would give him the ease and rest that he needs from his suffering.

·         He then moves on to consider the type of people he would be with in death. What class of people are kings, counsellors, and princes? They are the rich and powerful who in spite of all their worldly success end up in the same place. Job was once considered in their number.

·         What class of people are mentioned in vv. 17-19. (The wicked and those who are oppressed by them.) It seems that death is the great leveler, but what seems to be Job’s point in all this? It is better to be dead in the grave because there is no trouble, there is rest, there is no oppression but freedom.

4. A person who thinks in this way is certainly in desperate straits. But Job is not contemplating suicide as many might today in similar circumstances. He is in despair in not knowing what God is doing and having no confidence that his trial will ever end.

C. Job’s Agonizing Questions, 20-26.

                His final queries address the hopelessness he experiences.

                1. He longs for death rather than life, 20-22.

·         Light and life are in contrast to the darkness he is going through. His misery and bitterness of soul are extinguishing the light of life. It is interesting that the bitter in soul is plural, so Job is thinking beyond himself to others who may be suffering and want to die.

·         That life is given suggests God who is the giver of life. But Job is in a state of such physical and mental anguish that death would be a reprieve, so God should not extend life.

·         What does v. 21-22 suggest about his yearning? Just as a person who has been diligently searching for gold and is ecstatic when they find it, so Job believes he would feel if he could just die and end his misery.

2. He feels that God’s ways are hidden and he is trapped in his condition, 23.

·         Here we get an inkling of Job’s theological dilemma. Job realizes his dilemma has come from God, that he has given and taken away. But he cannot fathom why. He knows it has not been because of sin in his life. God has given no indication of another reason. So Job is in a deep theological quandary.

·         Satan accused God of putting a hedge of protection around Job, but Job now feels that God has hedged him in to misery and sorrow where there is no escape and there seems to be no end or purpose.

·         V. 24 – sighing and roaring are strong words. It seems like his food and drink, that which normally sustains a person, are now deep sighs of despair and loud roaring of anguish.

3. Conclusion, 25-26.

·         What do you think Job feared? Does 1:5 give any kind of clue? Job seemed to think about the possibility of inadvertently displeasing the Lord - to prevent punishment and provide atonement by sacrifice.

·         He may have contemplated a time of calamity that could fall on a person. But generally speaking, the belief was that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. So how do you handle a situation that doesn’t support that view?

·         Perhaps Job feared the loss of God’s favor and that is what he is referring to. V. 26 describes the condition. What he is saying is that he is not at ease, he is not at rest, he has no peace and quiet. This is just the opposite of 1:1-5 and Job cannot fathom it. All he knows is deep and seemingly endless trouble. That is a theme that will carry through the following chapters.

1. Here Job shows how we struggle with God’s dealings sometimes. In chs. 1-2 he did not ask why, he patiently submitted to God’s dealings. But now, as months have passed with no change in the situation he begins to question God. He doesn’t know why these things have happened, he is puzzled by what God is allowing. We too may come to this point in times of trial and testing.

2. Is there any hope at all? Job knows God is the giver of light and life even though he would rather be dead to escape his misery. Yet, he is not going to take his own life, he still leaves that in God’s hands. He is still going to wait it out and see what God does.

3. His restlessness also seems to indicate a desire for resolution. He does not understand, he cannot figure it out and it makes him restless, uneasy, and desire some kind of answer. It is a paradoxical hope within the despair that causes him to hang on through the trial.

4. Job foreshadows the darkness of the cross that Jesus experienced. Read Ps. 22 and you will sense some of the despair as Jesus cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

5. We can be thankful that we have the Holy Spirit to console us when we experience times of hollowness, darkness, despair, or depression that sometimes result from life’s calamities, setbacks, and testings.