Job 3-4

Chuck preached through Job awhile back. If you have time, it might be interesting to listen through the sermons while you are reading this section.

Job 1:1-19 (Suffering: Part I)
Job 1:6-11; 2:1-10 (Is God Good, Even When Life Is Not?)
Job 2:9 (Four Reasons Why Evil is not an Argument Against the Existence of God)
Job 3 (When You Wish You Were Dead)
Job 4:5-11 (Suffering = Retribution?)
Job 2:11-13; 4:7-9; 5:17-27 (With Friends Like These)
Job 32-37 (Elihu: A Reasonable Explanation)
Job 38:1-42:6 (God on Trial?)

It's interesting to see various people's response to Job's suffering.

As we saw earlier, after Job has been afflicted with all sorts of trouble, his wife questions why he is still holding onto his integrity. "Curse God and die!!!" she suggests. But he will have none of that.

His friends come over in sympathy and just sit there with him for three days without saying a word. In times like this, it really is probably better not to say anything. I mean, really, what would you say???? "God has a reason for this?" - not so comforting.

Job FINALLY speaks after three days of silence. And what does he do? Instead of cursing God, he curses the day he was born. He curses his own existence and wishes for death. The peace of death. Death will free him from this suffering.

Job says "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."

In the next chapter, his friend, Eliphaz the Temanite, speaks up. He tries to encourage Job by telling Job to rely on his piety and righteousness. From Eliphaz's view, Job cannot perish because he has been blameless before the Lord.

"Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it."