Job 2:11-3:26

Introduction

Psalm 39:2–3 ESV

2 I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. 3 My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue…

Those are the words of David, but they no doubt reflect the anguish in Job’s silence leading up to his first speech in Job 3.

Three of Job’s friends arrived to comfort him, but when they saw that Job’s pain was very great, they didn’t speak a word to him.

They just sat on the ground with him in silence for seven days.

During those seven days Job’s distress seemed only to grow worse; his heart became hot within him; as he dwelt on his great suffering, the fire burned within, and then he broke his silence in Job 3…

[READING - Job 3:1, 11, 20]

Job 3:1 NASB95

1 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Job 3:11 NASB95

11 “Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire?

Job 3:20 NASB95

20 “Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul…

[PRAYER]

[CONTEXT] Job was an exceptional man who suffered exceptionally.

Even though he was the greatest man of the east—the greatest man on earth—an innocent, upright, reverent, holy man—he lost almost everything.

All his wealth, everyone of his 10 children, his strength - all seemed to be snatched away in what must’ve seemed like a moment’s time.

This was exceptional suffering, and this exceptional man, at least initially responded exceptionally.

Job 1:21 NASB95

21 He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job 2:10 NASB95

10 Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” [And] in all this Job did not sin with his lips.

But this does not mean that Job was OK. No, Job was crushed, and in Job 3, we hear just how crushed he was.

[CIT] In this chapter, Job laments the day of his birth, wishes he had been stillborn, and longs for death.

[TURN] Suffering is as common to our human experience as breathing.

As one of Job’s friends will later say, “Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward,” (Job 5:7).

Perhaps at times this trouble has made us wish we’d never been born.

Perhaps it’s made us long to die and just go on to Heaven.

If so, we find the poetic lament of a fellow sufferer in Job 3.

[PROP] In this chapter, Job expresses our sorrow, asks our agonized questions, and commiserates with us in our misery…

…but Job’s experience also teaches us a few LESSONS about the deep depression that often comes with our suffering.

[TS] Let’s look first at…

Exposition

Job cursing the day of his birth (Job 3:1-10)

Job 3:1–10 NASB95

1 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said, 3 “Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ 4 “May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. 5 “Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 “As for that night, let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months. 7 “Behold, let that night be barren; Let no joyful shout enter it. 8 “Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan. 9 “Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; Let it wait for light but have none, And let it not see the breaking dawn; 10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

[EXP] After sitting in silence with his friends nearby for a week, Job opened his mouth to curse the day of his birth. This means that Job held his birthday in contempt.

In v. 3, he wanted that day to perish. He wanted it to be destroyed along with the night of his conception.

In vv. 4-5, concerning the day of his birth, he wanted it to be a day in which the sun never came up, a day swallowed by darkness, a day forsaken by God.

In vv. 6-7, concerning the night of his conception, he wanted it to be seized by darkness, erased from history’s calendar, a night of barrenness rather than joyful conception.

In v. 8, Job wants those who have made curses their profession—someone like Balaam who was paid to curse the people of Israel (Num. 22-23)—Job wants someone like that to curse the day of his birth.

He imagines some professional curser rousing Leviathan, a mythological sea monster capable of devouring large objects—Job imagines Leviathan being summoned to swallowed the day of his birth.

In v. 9, he wants the day of his birth to be a day that never dawned.

And in v. 10, he tells us why…

Job 3:10 NLT

10 Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble.

Rather than feel all the pain and anguish of his present suffering, Job wishes he had never been conceived or born.

[TS] But Job can curse the night of his conception and the day of his birth all he wants.

The reality is he was conceived and he was born.

Job realizes this, so then in vv. 11-19…

Job wonders why he wasn’t stillborn (Job 3:11-19).

Job 3:11–19 NASB95

11 “Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? 12 “Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck? 13 “For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, 14 With kings and with counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; 15 Or with princes who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver. 16 “Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light. 17 “There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. 18 “The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. 19 “The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

[EXP] Job laments that he did not die at birth.

In v. 11, the KJV very poetically has Job asking, “Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?”

Job is wishing that he had been stillborn at birth.

Job repeats this wish in v. 16.

The NASB is graphic. Job wishes that he had been a discarded miscarriage.

Most other translations have Job wishing that he was stillborn baby quickly hidden in the grave, never to see the light of life.

Having been born and conceived, Job wishes that he had been born dead, and he tells us why.

If he had been born dead, he would have lain down, been quiet, slept, been at rest (v. 13).

In his present agony, there was no rest for Job, only anguish.

If he had been born dead, Job would be resting with the great men of the earth—kings, princes, and counselors (vv. 14-15).

All these great men built monuments for themselves, hoarded gold, and filled store houses with silver, but like Job they had lost it all.

When death came calling for them, the monuments, gold, and silver were lost, but at least they were at rest.

Job had lost it all, and was still made to live in his suffering.

If Job had been born dead, he would be in that place where the wicked—like the Sabeans and Chaldeans—don’t rage, where the weary—like Job—are at rest (v. 17).

If Job had been born dead, he would in that place where all are equal (vv. 18-19).

In death, there aren’t really prisoners or taskmasters, small or great, slaves or masters.

As Job sees it, all are equal, and all are at rest.

That’s what Job wants.

But at present Job is a prisoner of his grief and suffering is his taskmaster; he is a small man struck down by the greatness of his turmoil; he is a slave of anguish and tribulation is his master.

Job wishes had been born dead because he wants to be free of his pain.

[TS] But Job wasn’t born dead, so in vv. 20-26…

#3: Job longs for death (Job 3:20-26)

Job 3:20–26 NASB95

20 “Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul, 21 Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures, 22 Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave? 23 “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? 24 “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water. 25 “For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. 26 “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

[EXP] In v. 20, ‘light’ is a symbol for life. Job wonders why the light of life would be given to someone like him—someone destined for a miserable and bitter existence.

In v. 21-22, he wonders why long life would be given to someone who longs for death, to someone who searches for it like treasure, and rejoices when they find it in the grave.

In v. 23, Job wonders why life is given to someone who way is hidden, i.e., to someone who seems to have no future, no path forward in life.

He wonders why life is given to someone who is hedge in by God.

Recall back in Job 1 that Satan asked God, “Does Job revere you for no reason? Have you not made a hedge about him?” (Job 1:9-10).

That hedge of protection now feels to Job like a hedge of persecution.

He fells trapped in his misery, and death is the only escape he sees.

Job is a man in deepest despair. He despairs of life itself.

His food and drink are groanings and tears (v. 24).

His worst fears have become his daily reality (v. 25).

He has no ease, no quietness, no rest; his anxiety grows as he fears more turmoil to come (v. 26)…

…and more turmoil will come.

[TS] Job is thoroughly discouraged.

Illustration

Martin Luther once told a parable about Satan’s demons reporting on their sinister work on destroying men’s souls.

One demon said, “There was a company of Christians crossing the dessert, and I loosed lions upon them. Soon the sands of the dessert were strewn with their mangled corpses.”

But Satan shouted, “But what good is that!? The lions destroyed their bodies, but their souls were saved? It’s their souls that I’m after!”

Another demon stepped forward to give his report, “There was a company of Christian pilgrims sailing through the sea on a vessel. I sent a great wind which drove the ship on the rocks, and every Christian aboard was drowned.”

Once again, Satan shouted, “What good is that!? There bodies were drowned in the sea, but their souls were saved? It’s their souls that I’m after!”

A third demon then gave his report, “For ten years I have been trying to cast one particular Christian into a deep despair and depression. And at last, I have succeeded!”

And with that report Satan and his demons erupted in shouts of triumph because the soul of a believer had been defeated… or so they thought.

Application

Many Christians have gone through dark nights of the soul—a period in life when God seems distant, evil seems close, hope seems lost, and death looks more attractive than living.

[INTER] What can we learn from Job’s dark night of the soul?

Lesson #1: Even the best of us can be deeply discouraged.

Job was a great man, the greatest man of the east, the greatest man on earth according to God, and yet to say that Job became deeply discouraged is an understatement.

David was another who became deeply discouraged.

In Psalm 69:2-3, David wrote…

Psalm 69:2–3 NASB95

2 I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. 3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

The Apostle Paul was also deeply discouraged.

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul wrote…

2 Corinthians 1:8–9 NASB95

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves…

Martin Luther wrote about an episode of deep discouragement in his life saying, “For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost (to me). I was shaken by desperation…”

Perhaps you’ve been there. Perhaps you’ve been in that place where you’ve felt close to death, trembling in all your members, Jesus seeming somehow lost to you, shaken by your desperation.

Perhaps you’re there now.

If so, the Word of God reminds you this morning that you’re not alone.

Job was where you are.

David was there.

Luther was there.

So many other believers have been there, and just as God saw them through the darkness, he will see you through as well.

He will not let your soul be lost.

Lesson #2: Even the best of us can be deeply discouraged on multiple levels simultaneously.

Job suffered physically from the boils that covered his body; he could not eat or sleep given the trauma he had experienced.

And as Job ached with deep discouragement in the body, his mind was plagued with the deep discouragement of unanswered questions like…

Job 3:11–12 NASB95

11 “Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? 12 “Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck?

Job 3:20–23 NASB95

20 “Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul, 21 Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures, 22 Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave? 23 “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

Job was deeply discouraged in the body, the mind, and in the heart.

His heart was broken. His heart felt no peace, no rest.

He longed for death because in death he thought his body, mind, and heart would find the peace and rest he was starving for.

But Job was also deeply discouraged in his soul.

While his body was covered with ulcerous boils…

While his mind raced with unanswerable questions…

While his heart longed for peace and rest…

…Job’s soul had been deeply bruised.

Some say that Job isn’t talking to anyone in particular in Job 3. He’s just talking to the wind, so to speak.

Some others say that Job is talking to his three friends who have been sitting in silence with him for a week and who will answer him in the chapters to come.

But it seems obvious to me that Job is really talking to God in this chapter.

In this chapter, God is the only one who knows what Job longs to know.

In this chapter, God is the only one who can provide what Job thinks he needs.

In this chapter, Job knows that if he has been hedged in by pain and suffering, it is God who has done the hedging.

Job’s soul has not suffered a fatal blow, but it is deeply bruised, deeply discouraged.

He has yet to curse God and die, but he’s walking up to the line.

Have you ever walked up to that line? Have you ever been hurting in your body, mind, heart, and soul all at the same time?

Have you ever had aches that wouldn’t stop?

Anxieties that wouldn’t ease up?

Grief that wouldn’t dissipate?

Darkness that wouldn’t lift?

If so, you’re in good company. Job, a great man of God was there, and by the end of this book you’ll see that God carried him through.

He will carry you through too.

No matter how the pain stacks up on you, he will not let your soul be lost.

Lesson #3: Even the best of us can lose perspective in our deep discouragement.

When we lose perspective we begin to develop a distorted view of God and distorted view of ourselves.

We might think, “God doesn’t love me. God is against me. If he loved me, I wouldn’t be going through this. If he loved me, he would explain all this to me. It would be better if I had never been born! It would be better if I were dead!”

Job was thinking that way.

Have you ever thought in that distorted that way?

The truth is, no matter what you’re going through, God is love, and because you are his, he loves you. And whatever he has allowed to come into your life is somehow an expression of his love for you.

You may not ever get the explanation for your suffering, but it would not be better if you were dead.

God gave you life, and even if you feel like dying, he will bring you back.

Conclusion

Job's suffering was excruciating.

In his heart, I think he is close to asking, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But can Job imagine a resurrection from his agony?

In Job 3, it doesn’t seem that he can, but later Job will say…

Job 19:25–26 NIV84

25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God…

Job feels like dying, but his trust is in a Redeemer who is the resurrection and the life.

One day, the same Jesus who died on the cross and rose from the dead to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin will come, stand upon the earth, and redeem us from the even the shadow of death.

He will wipe away every tear.

There will no longer be any death.

There will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.

In the resurrection, he will make all things new.

You may be thinking, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But there is a resurrection coming.

[PRAYER]