The Dark Night of the Soul / La Noche Oscura del Alma
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Introduction
Introduction
In 1983, Edvard Munch painted a series of three paintings.
Much had a very difficult childhood. His mother died when we has only 5 years old.
His sister suffered from a bipolar disorder and was locked up in a psychiatric hospital. She eventually died when he was 15 years old.
His father was a very religious man but a very tough disciplinarian to the point of having psychotic behavior.
One day, Edvard Munch was overlooking a bridge in Oslo. This bridge had been the site of many suicides. You could also see the psychiatric hospital where his sister had been locked up. He felt such an overwhelming anguish and emotional pain that he was lead to paint one of his most famous pieces: The scream.
The scream is a painting in three scenes.
The first scene shows a calm man overlooking a bridge.
The second scene the man seems depressed. The colors become more vivid.
The third scene you finally see the man in anguish and you can almost hear his painful scream.
Pain is ever present in all of our lives. We will also face emotional or physical pain at some point in our lives.
We live in a fallen world. This world suffers the effects of sin. Because of sin, pain and death entered the world.
We are sinful human beings that cause pain in our fellow human beings. Our own sinfulness leads us to commit sins against our fellow human beings. Human beings have: murdered, have caused others to become addicted, have broken the hearts of their spouses, have neglected their children, have treated other ethnicities as being inferior.
The book of Job is a book about suffering. The book of Job does not explain the reason for suffering - but it prepares us to know how to endure suffering. We will consider the following:
Who was Job?
How did he suffer?
How did Job endure his suffering?
I. Who was Job?
I. Who was Job?
I. ¿Quién era Job?
I. ¿Quién era Job?
The Bible introduces Job in the first verse of this wonderful poetic book:
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
En la región de Uz había un hombre recto e intachable, que temía a Dios y vivía apartado del mal. Este hombre se llamaba Job.
Immediately we are introduced to a man that the Bible describes as “blameless and upright”.
This is a man that “feared God and shunned evil”. He was a God-fearer. He was a man who served and praised God. He was a man devoted to the worship of the one and true God.
In verse 5 we see an example of Job’s devotion to God. He would offer sacrifices to God every day on behalf of his children in the event that they had sinned against God.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
Una vez terminado el ciclo de los banquetes, Job se aseguraba de que sus hijos se purificaran. Muy de mañana ofrecía un holocausto por cada uno de ellos, pues pensaba: «Tal vez mis hijos hayan pecado y maldecido en su corazón a Dios.» Para Job ésta era una costumbre cotidiana.
There are many who believe that suffering is always due to sin. Suffering can be a result of our personal sin - but not always.
Job is a perfect example of a man who suffered greatly and yet the Bible describes him as a righteous man.
People who we would consider “good” are also prone to suffer in this life.
Believers are prone to suffer persecution, disease, tragedies, and other unfortunate circumstances.
Job was a morally righteous person who also had great wealth.
He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
Tenía siete hijos y tres hijas; era dueño de siete mil ovejas, tres mil camellos, quinientas yuntas de bueyes y quinientas asnas, y su servidumbre era muy numerosa. Entre todos los habitantes del oriente era el personaje de mayor renombre.
Job 1:
Job lived in an agricultural society where wealth was not measured by silver or gold but rather by livestock. He had many herds of camels, oxen, and donkeys.
In order to keep his livestock operation in order he had to have many servants that would tend to them.
The Bible also tells us of his large family. Remember, Job lives in a time where infant mortality is at an all time high and yet the Bible describes his seven sons and three daughters.
The Bible gives us a summary of the man Job - “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.” (1:3). This is a God-inspired description of this great man of God.
II. How did Job suffer?
II. How did Job suffer?
II. ¿Cómo sufrió Job?
II. ¿Cómo sufrió Job?
God allows Satan to wreak havoc on Job. Satan is allowed touch everything that Job possesses except for his own life. In :
Job looses his livestock and servants.
Job looses his children when his eldest son’s home caved in.
He has lost everything. He has lost his family and his livelihood.
God further allows Satan to wreak havoc upon Job’s body. In :
Job is struck with a skin disease that causes immense suffering.
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
Job 2:
Dicho esto, Satanás se retiró de la presencia del Señor para afligir a Job con dolorosas llagas desde la planta del pie hasta la coronilla. Y Job, sentado en medio de las cenizas, tomó un pedazo de teja para rascarse constantemente.
His physical suffering is compounded by his deteriorating relationship with his wife.
His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Job
Su esposa le reprochó:
—¿Todavía mantienes firme tu integridad? ¡Maldice a Dios y muérete!
Job’s suffering was increasingly getting worse. He is definitely a living example of the phrase “When it rains it pours”.
No doubt you and I have suffered, but have any of you recently:
Lost your job?
Lost all you possess?
Lost your family?
Lost your health?
Lost the respect of your spouse?
…all in the same week?
Surely, we have suffered but not to this extent.
III. How did Job endure his suffering?
III. How did Job endure his suffering?
III. ¿Cómo soportó Job el sufrimiento?
III. ¿Cómo soportó Job el sufrimiento?
Do not forget that we know how Job’s story ends.
We know how God healed his diseased body, how God allowed him to become wealthy once more, how he had many children.
We know the ending of this story as it is presented in .
Job did not know how his suffering will eventually end! All he knew was overwhelming suffering.
We can see various moments of weakness throughout his suffering:
“May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’
That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
Job 3:
«Que perezca el día en que fui concebido
y la noche en que se anunció: “¡Ha nacido un niño!”
Que ese día se vuelva oscuridad;
que Dios en lo alto no lo tome en cuenta;
que no brille en él ninguna luz.
“Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
»¿Por qué no perecí al momento de nacer?
¿Por qué no morí cuando salí del vientre?
It is not wrong to feel anguish and pain when we are suffering. It is not wrong to feel overwhelmed and confused when we are suffering.
We are fragile human beings.
We are not super human.
We are not called to be emotionless robots.
We are fragile human beings who feel pain and anguish.
Even the Lord Jesus Christ felt the anguish of pain. He had his own dark night of the soul as he prayed in Gethsemane moments before his arrest that would eventually lead to his death by crucifixion. The Bible tells us that his pain was so great that:
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:
Pero, como estaba angustiado, se puso a orar con más fervor, y su sudor era como gotas de sangre que caían a tierra.
How is it that Job was able to endure all this suffering?
Job had a firm conviction in the God of the Bible. There are at least three expressions we find in Job that demonstrate the key to his ability to overcome suffering:
Job 1:
and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Entonces dijo:
«Desnudo salí del vientre de mi madre,
y desnudo he de partir.
El Señor ha dado; el Señor ha quitado.
¡Bendito sea el nombre del Señor!»
Job was convinced that God gives and takes away. We do not question God - we simply praise his holy name for he is worthy to be praised.
Those who become bitter and question God, who demand an explanation from God, will not receive such an explanation. Our God is sovereign. He is all knowing. We simply humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God knowing that he is in control.
He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job le respondió:
—Mujer, hablas como una necia. Si de Dios sabemos recibir lo bueno, ¿no sabremos recibir también lo malo?
A pesar de todo esto, Job no pecó ni de palabra.
Job had a conviction that as humans we are prone to receive good and also to suffer. Suffering should never surprise us. Suffering will sooner or later knock at our door.
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
Yo sé que mi redentor vive,
y que al final triunfará sobre la muerte.
Y cuando mi piel haya sido destruida,
todavía veré a Dios con mis propios ojos.
Job
Job had a conviction that although he would die - he would eventually triumph over all suffering through the power of the resurrection.
He had a conviction that our hope is not in this world - but rather our hope is in God - and we will continue to live beyond death and the grave.
If you are suffering today, I invite you to come to God. Our Father will give you strength to endure the trials and tribulations that you are facing today. He will not leave you nor forsake you.