Job 3:1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
Job 3:2 And Job spake, and said,
Job 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Job 3:4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
Job 3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
Job 3:6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
Job 3:7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
Job 3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
Job 3:9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
Job 3:10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
Job 3:11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
Job 3:12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
It is Job that breaks the silence. He doesn’t bother greeting his friends. He just begins unloading the pent up emotion in his heart. He doesn’t curse God; he curses both the day he was conceived and the day he was born. He wishes those days had never dawned. The blessings and abundant life that had once been Job’s no longer have place in his thoughts. He is in terrible grief and pain. At this stage, he wishes he had never been born. If he had to be born, why couldn’t he have been stillborn?
Job isn’t the only servant of God whose thoughts along this line were recorded. Consider the words of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 20:14 “Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.”
This is so true to human nature. We are creatures of the moment. We have a hard time thinking past right now, especially when experiencing a time of even much less severe testing than did Job.
Side note: Verse 3 is another statement that life begins at conception.
Job 3:13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
Job 3:14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;
Job 3:15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
Job 3:16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
Job 3:17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
Job 3:18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
Job 3:19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
Job 3:20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
Job 3:21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
Job 3:22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?
Job 3:23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
Job’s thoughts make sense, but they are not all true. He reasons that if he were dead, he wouldn’t be experiencing this awful grief and pain; he would be at rest. He would be in the company of royalty of old. If his mother had miscarried, he would have never experienced any of the joy or pain of life. He recognizes that death keeps the wicked from perpetrating their wickedness. It also provides rest for those who have had to toil hard throughout life. In death, those who were prisoners in life can no longer be tyrannized by their taskmasters and no servant has to do the bidding of his master.
However, Job does not seem to think about the fact that death leads to torment for some and peace and comfort to others.
Job questions why God insists on giving life to those who are miserable and depressed. Why doesn’t He just let those who want to die, die?
Job isn’t cursing God, but he is definitely questioning God’s wisdom in how He exercises His sovereignty.
Again, Job isn’t unique in that regard; consider:
Elijah - 1Kings 19:1-4 “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
Moses - Numbers 11:14-15 “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
Jonah - Jonah 4:1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Wiersbe: “But if the Lord did tell us why certain events occur as they do, would that ease our pain or heal our broken hearts? Does reading the X-ray take away the pain of a broken leg? We live on promises, not explanations; so we shouldn’t spend too much time asking God why.”
Job 3:24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
Job 3:26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
Job is to the point that his moaning and groaning have priority over eating. His pain is terrible. Now we get a glimpse into some of Job’s motivation as he served God. He feared the consequences of disobedience or sin. He was constantly vigilant and proactive in maintaining a right standing with God and not provoking his wrath. Trouble came in spite of all the precautions he had taken (e.g., sacrifice and offerings).
It just emphasizes again the association of wealth, health and protection with the blessing of God in the mind of man—AND HOW WRONG IT IS to assume that always to be the case.
Job 4:1 ¶ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Job 4:2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
Eliphaz the Temanite is the first of Job’s friends to speak in answer to Job. It’s like he couldn’t wait to have his say. He expresses the hope that he doesn’t want to cause Job further grief, but he must share what is on his heart. Implied—I care about you too much to stay quiet.
Job 4:3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Job 4:4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
Job 4:5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Job 4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
Eliphaz notes that Job has taught and counseled many who were troubled and weak (in faith I think is the implication). Though he has provided strength and encouragement to others, he had not responded any better than those he had counseled in his time of trouble. He asks Job if he cannot find strength in his faith in God based on innocence of any wrongdoing. In other words—Can’t you practice what you preach?
Job 4:7 ¶ Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
Job 4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
Maybe Eliphaz thinks he is exercising tough love, but he is just sticking a knife into Job’s heart and twisting it. He asks Job if he can recall anyone that had suffered destruction that was innocent. Implied—Do you really think you are an exception? Also implied—There must be sin in your life that God is judging.
Eliphaz declares that experience has taught him that those that sow wickedness will reap the same. He then states that what they reap is a direct result of the judgment of God.
It seems to be me that Eliphaz has a small circle of experience. Speaking from the human point of view, history reveals many examples of “the innocent” suffering and the wicked prospering. Even the psalmist struggled with this truth. I quote from the NLT for easier understanding.
Psalms 73:1–20 “Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such a painless life; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They aren’t troubled like other people or plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace, and their clothing is woven of cruelty. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. “Does God realize what is going on?” they ask. “Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?” Look at these arrogant people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. If I had really spoken this way, I would have been a traitor to your people. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then one day I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I thought about the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant they are destroyed, swept away by terrors. Their present life is only a dream that is gone when they awake.”
Job 4:10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Job 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.
The best I can make of these verses is pretty heartless. Eliphaz compares Job’s life to a lion that begins life strong and healthy but ends up weak and hungry with no offspring around to help him.
Job 4:12 ¶ Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
Job 4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
Job 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
Job 4:15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
Job 4:16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
Eliphaz next tells Job that he had been given a revelation in a vision one night while others were soundly sleeping. This vision was one that made him shake in fear. He stated that a spirit passed before his face and made the hair on his skin stand up. He couldn’t discern the exact shape of the spirit, but he heard a voice speak in the quiet of the night.
As we read what the spirit said, I think it will become clear that it was an evil spirit.
Job 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
The obvious answer to both of these questions is “No.”
Job 4:18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
Job 4:20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
Job 4:21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
The spirit is basically saying, “If God couldn’t trust His angels, many of whom rebelled against Him, what makes you think that he puts trust in any man. Men are just creatures made from dirt that can be crushed as easily as a moth. In the space of a day they can die and quickly be forgotten. The body they leave behind returns to dust. I think the last phrase is implying annihilation, saying that nothing of the person remains.
Part of what the spirit says is true. Men are weak creatures made from dirt that die and return to dust. However, it is not true that God has no regard for any man and that a person’s existence ends after death. This is one of the most popular methods of deceit used by Satan and his legions—to mix truth with lies.
I truly think Eliphaz is concerned for Job and wants to help him, but he is seduced into depending upon his own wisdom for understanding—not God’s. He was not blessed to have the written word of God at his disposal or the indwelling Holy Spirit to help him recognize the deception of the enemy and guide him into truth. Did he even think to pray and ask for God’s help in doing so?
Stedman: “Eliphaz sees God only as a God of justice. He sees nothing of love and compassion and forgiveness or of discipline and training or the Father's heart of God.”
Courson: “We have the light of the world, Jesus Christ, in earthen vessels. When does the light come forth? When is the enemy beaten back? When is the beauty of our Lord seen most clearly? When our earthen pots are broken. That’s when people say, ‘I see the beauty of the Lord in your life because you’ve gone through some tough times yet there’s still a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye.’”