Remember these words from chapter two? “…they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him” (2:11). The original goal for coming to visit Job was soon forgotten and the three comforters must have concluded that their silence wasn’t solving anything. But I think they should have just stuck to changing his bandages and cleaning his ash heap...
Job 4:1-2: “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, 2 If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?”
Eliphaz, probably the oldest and most eloquent of the three, is the first to speak. It had been an entire week of silence in the ICU and Job’s grotesque and hideous appearance had startled his three friends. FIA states, “The sympathetic silence of the friends is now broken by sympathetic speech…Eliphaz ventures a reply that is tactful in its manner and unobjectionable in its matter. He does not yet charge Job openly with any fault, but already there is a note of gentle disapproval, if not reproof, in his words.” FIA seems to be gentler on Eliphaz than most commentators who find him (and his two associates) to be rather sarcastic, cynical and smug from the beginning. It obviously is hard to gauge Eliphaz’s heart and motive and I think that he genuinely wanted to help Job. But he (and Bildad and Zophar) was so taken aback at Job’s critical condition and his “lament curse” from chapter three, that he must have come to the conclusion sometime that week that “We gotta say something here!”
Eliphaz begins rather diplomatically and politely, but notice a word that he uses in verse 2 and then again in verse 5. He states, “…will you become impatient?” (vs. 2) and “…it touches you and you are impatient” (vs. 5). That may be the conclusion of Eliphaz, but it’s not how God views Job! James 5:11 states, “You have heard of the patience of Job…” When we are going through difficult times, the view and conclusion of our friends may be dramatically different from the view and conclusion of God!
4:3-4 “Behold you have admonished many, and you have strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have helped the tottering to stand, and you have strengthened feeble knees.”
Study the verbs used in these verses: admonished (or instructed), strengthened, helped. And notice the recipients of those actions: the weak and the tottering and the feeble. Eliphaz was mindful of what Job had done and how he had treated the less fortunate. Hartley writes, “He does not stand aloof from the needy as though they are parasites wanting to get at his resources. Rather he gladly gets his elegant garments dirty as he reaches out to help them.” Job’s words had brought instruction, encouragement and discipline to those worn out and exhausted. To those that were beaten down by life, Job was a spring of refreshing water. The Living Bible characterizes those helped by Job this way, “…those who lie crushed upon the ground and tempted to despair.” And the Message puts it this way, “…you have spoken words that clarify…your words have put fresh hope in people about to collapse.”
4:5-6 “But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed (aghast or alarmed – a fear that is close to panic). 6 “Is not your fear {of God} your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
The calamities had led the three friends to doubt Job’s integrity. FIA observes, “Already there is the insinuation that Job is unable to apply to himself what he preached to others.” See the word in verse 5 that Eliphaz uses? “…it touches you…” It’s the same word that is used in 1:11 and 2:5 by Satan to God, “But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has…” And also notice the words “fear” and “integrity” in verse 6; they are the same as those used in 1:8 and 2:3 in God’s testimony to the devil about Job’s character! Eliphaz’s theology box (and it’s a little box) is constructed solely from that which his eye has seen. But Job’s theology is also going to undergo a drastic renovation by the time we get to chapter 38. FIA writes, “But a terrible pitfall is not far away from all of them. The friends must infer from Job’s suffering that he has sinned; Job must infer from his innocence that God is unjust.”
4:7-8 "Remember now, who {ever} perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed? 8 According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it.”
The Message puts verse seven this way, “Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap? Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?”
(Note this about Eliphaz’s first few words to Job: the word “upright” in verse seven is the same as that used in 1:1, 1:8 and 2:3 to describe Job’s character. So in just a couple of verses here in chapter four, three of the four words that God used to describe Job [fearing God, integrity, uprightness] have been used by Eliphaz. But used in a way that says, “If you really were upright, fearing God, and a person of integrity, you wouldn’t be in the hospital!)
Perhaps Eliphaz began to speak with the best of intentions, and I believe he truly wanted to help his friend find a way off from the ash heap. But can you believe these words, “…whoever perished being innocent?” This speech just added salt to those oozing and worm-infested sores!
As per Eliphaz, the Law of Retribution or the Law of Sowing and Reaping has never been violated. But notice the wit of FIA when he writes, “Eliphaz claims that he has never observed an exception to the rule: You reap what you sow. Eliphaz obviously deserves the retort, ‘You haven’t seen much!’”
Young’s literal translation of verse eight reads, “As I have seen – plowers of iniquity, and sowers of misery, reap it!”
If you can find a copy of “Eliphaz’s Systematic Theology” on EBay, buy it. And it won’t take long to read because there are only three chapters:
Chapter One: Plowing
Chapter Two: Sowing
Chapter Three: Reaping
And in his mind…Chapter One plus Chapter Two ALWAYS equals Chapter Three!
4:9-11 “By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they come to an end. 10 The roaring of the lion and the voice of the {fierce} lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11 The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.”
When Eliphaz states that “…by the blast of His anger they come to an end,” the implication is made that Job’s kids died because of some sin. Why that conclusion? Because the same word for “blast” is used in 1:19 of the great wind that blew down the home of Job’s eldest son. Job would have gleaned only one thing from that phrase: The wind that blew that house down was the blast of God’s anger!
Five different Hebrew words for “lion” are found in verses ten and eleven. Hartley states that those five words probably refer both to the varieties in species and to the stages of development of these majestic animals. At one time lions were found throughout Palestine. The rather oblique message to Job? If a den of regal lions (the strong male, the lioness, and the whelps) can be destroyed by an act of God, well then that’s probably what happened to your family!
Have you ever been a patient in a hospital? And as that patient, have you ever been visited by someone you sort of wished would just go away because their words only brought more pain and confusion? Job must have wanted in the worst way just to hit the “Get-the-Nurse-Fast!” button by his bedside and have her ask them to kindly leave.
God is good. But sometimes life doesn’t seem to bear that out. Job not only lost his kids and his businesses and his health, but he is now losing the kindness and the compassion of his friends. And things get pretty ugly between them before God finally breaks through.
What can we glean from these verses? First, listen well. I think really good listeners are hard to find. Lots of time in life we need friends who will simply listen, and listen in love. And secondly, be slow to formulate conclusions. I don’t know about you, but at times I am tempted to give simplistic & pat answers to some pretty difficult problems. Life is complex and our point of view is often very limited. Saying nothing (but just being there) may be the best course of action.
(Please feel free to copy/print/email these devotionals)
NASV = New American Standard Version
OT = Old Testament
K&D = Commentary by Keil and Delitzsch (from PC Bible Study)
JFB = Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (from PC Bible Study)
Adam Clarke = Adam Clarke Commentary (from PC Bible Study)
Barnes = Barnes Notes (from PC Bible Study)
Hartley = The New International Commentary on the Old Testament:
The Book of Job by John E. Hartley
Swindoll = Job, Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll
FIA = Tyndale OT Commentaries: Job by Francis I. Anderson
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Hey God! Help Me Get Out of This Pit! (Chapter 3:1-26)
Laying in his hospital room in St. AshHeap, Job must have felt like closing the blinds, hanging a “No Visitors Allowed!” sign on the door, disconnecting the phone, turning out the lights and pulling the covers up over his head.
These are some of the words and phrases found in verses 1-10 of chapter 3: Cursed, let the day perish, may that day be darkness, let not God above care for it, let darkness and black gloom claim it, let a cloud settle on it, let the blackness of the day terrify it, let darkness seize it, let no joyful shout enter it, let the stars…be darkened.
A “stoic” is a person who believes that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and who should submit without complaint to their circumstances. They are people who exhibit calm acceptance of all occurrences as the unavoidable result of the divine will and who repress feelings. (Definitions gleaned from www.dictionary.com).
We were not created to be stoics or to repress all of our feelings. We definitely should exhibit self-control in our lives, but God does not want us to show an unmoved aloofness in the face of life destroying tragedies. We are not robots. When life was difficult for King David, he poured out his heart to God in passionate prayer. And the book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus prayed “with strong crying and tears!” Verse 24 of this chapter speaks to the intensity of Job’s cries, “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.” The word “groaning” is more than just sighing – it could be translated “shrieks.” Hartley says that “groaning” is far too gentle in meaning. And the word “cries” is literally “roar” and refers to the roaring of the lion. Job’s cries were from the depths of his heart and may cause us in the Westernized church to feel a little uncomfortable. In times of deep darkness and distress it is not wrong to cry out to God, “Why is this happening to me?”
Note these questions in the middle and end of this chapter:
11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?”
12 "Why did the knees receive me?” (This refers to the custom of placing the newborn on the knees of the father for the blessing)
12 “Why the breasts, that I should suck?”
20 "Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul?”
23 “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?”
Note this ironic twist in verse 23…"Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?" Do you notice something remarkable when you compare this verse with 1:10 “Hast Thou not made a hedge about him?” Satan complains in chapter one that God has put a hedge of protection around Job so that no evil can touch him. Yet in chapter 3 Job is complaining about the exact opposite; that God has him surrounded so that he can’t escape his problems!” FIA states, “The Satan saw God’s hedge as a protection; Job finds it a restriction. He feels trapped.” At times our perspective on our circumstances and troubles is not correct!
Is Job’s fear in verse 25 an indication of a lack of faith and the reason for his suffering? The verse reads, "For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.” The first part of the verse literally reads, “The fear that I fear is come upon me…” We could translate the whole verse this way, “For what I dread has come upon me, and what has haunted me has struck.” This verse has oft been pointed to as a reason why the ferocious calamites struck Job and his family. But let me just point out a couple of things. Three times in chapters 1-2 Job’s fear of God is pointed to as something commendable (twice by God Himself to Satan!); and once in chapter two God says to Satan, “You incited me against him to ruin him without cause.” To point to this verse and say that Job’s dread and fear was an indication of his lack of faith and the reason for his sufferings seems to me to be a superficial and overly simplistic view of this verse (and book).
And just before the first of the Three Amigos begins to speak: Verse 26 states, "I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and I am not at rest, but turmoil comes." Job’s ash heap circumstances are the exact opposite of the Hebrew “Shalom” (peace). FIA writes, “This verse is emphatic and is presented in four segments:”
I cannot relax! (I cannot find quietness or happiness)
I cannot settle! (I am so disturbed)
I cannot rest!
And agitation keeps coming back! (Trepidation and turmoil keep on assaulting me!).
I would like to close by giving a couple of suggestions on how to get out of a pit of depression. Volumes and volumes have been written on this subject. But let me just touch on a couple of things from the spiritual side. (We are, after all, spiritual beings.)
Before I do though, let me insert this note (from www.christianadvice.net): “Be Careful Not To Oversimplify: Depression is more than feeling blue. Be careful not to reduce someone's pain to a flippant version of a bad day. While I was in the depth of the pit I called a minister for prayer and was told, "Hey I feel blue everyday. So what! I just get up and make myself do what I have to do." I felt worse than before I called. What was wrong with me? Why was I unable to "just make myself snap out of it?" I sunk even deeper.”
There are definitely physiological reasons for depression. If I don’t watch what I eat I can suffer from “the sugar blues” (my wife and daughters are wonderful cooks and I don’t have any self-control when it comes to rhubarb and cherry pie and spritz cookies :>).
If you are afflicted with depression and can’t seem to get out of the pit, you should perhaps seek help from a good Christian psychologist.
But a couple of suggestions. First, feed your mind on the Word of God regularly. On occasion we don’t need another pill from the doctor; we simply need to memorize the Word. At times it’s just a matter of reshaping our thinking. I realize I am taking this a little out of context, but Paul said in Acts 26:2, “I think myself happy…”
Secondly, somehow get involved in helping other people. We naturally tend toward focusing on ourselves and our problems. Visit a nursing home or a homeless shelter…stop thinking about yourself all the time.
Thirdly, there are times when you may be facing a Satanic black cloud of oppression. I am absolutely convinced that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10ff).” My story of the revival that took place in Elgin ND (on transformationthroughintercession.blogspot.com) touches on this aspect of depression/oppression.
Fourthly, you have to be brutally honest and ask yourself these questions (gleaned from a seminar by Christian counselor Ray Brock):
What have I done wrong? (Guilt) – Is there some sin in my life that needs to addressed/confessed?
What am I afraid of? (Fear) – Ask the Lord to help you face your fears. Ask other people to pray for you.
Who am I mad at? (Anger & Bitterness) – In no way do I want to oversimplify things, but I think that a major cause of depression lies right here. We hang on to hurts and slights and resentment. Clinging to those things can cause depression. Simply put, people who forgive are happier people. Did you ever think that one of the reasons why the Lord wants you to put into practice the principles of the Lord’s Prayer (…as we forgive our debtors…) is that He wants you to be joyful?
And finally, one of the reasons Job was depressed is because of what had happened to him in the past year or two and how bleak his future looked. He faced what he thought was an incurable disease and incurable circumstances (his kids were dead, his businesses were burned to the ground, his doctors gave him no hope and his health insurance ran out). But remember…God is going to show up! Never negate the “God-Factor.” Don’t forget that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think!” (Ephesians 3:20)
These are some of the words and phrases found in verses 1-10 of chapter 3: Cursed, let the day perish, may that day be darkness, let not God above care for it, let darkness and black gloom claim it, let a cloud settle on it, let the blackness of the day terrify it, let darkness seize it, let no joyful shout enter it, let the stars…be darkened.
A “stoic” is a person who believes that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and who should submit without complaint to their circumstances. They are people who exhibit calm acceptance of all occurrences as the unavoidable result of the divine will and who repress feelings. (Definitions gleaned from www.dictionary.com).
We were not created to be stoics or to repress all of our feelings. We definitely should exhibit self-control in our lives, but God does not want us to show an unmoved aloofness in the face of life destroying tragedies. We are not robots. When life was difficult for King David, he poured out his heart to God in passionate prayer. And the book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus prayed “with strong crying and tears!” Verse 24 of this chapter speaks to the intensity of Job’s cries, “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.” The word “groaning” is more than just sighing – it could be translated “shrieks.” Hartley says that “groaning” is far too gentle in meaning. And the word “cries” is literally “roar” and refers to the roaring of the lion. Job’s cries were from the depths of his heart and may cause us in the Westernized church to feel a little uncomfortable. In times of deep darkness and distress it is not wrong to cry out to God, “Why is this happening to me?”
Note these questions in the middle and end of this chapter:
11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?”
12 "Why did the knees receive me?” (This refers to the custom of placing the newborn on the knees of the father for the blessing)
12 “Why the breasts, that I should suck?”
20 "Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul?”
23 “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?”
Note this ironic twist in verse 23…"Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?" Do you notice something remarkable when you compare this verse with 1:10 “Hast Thou not made a hedge about him?” Satan complains in chapter one that God has put a hedge of protection around Job so that no evil can touch him. Yet in chapter 3 Job is complaining about the exact opposite; that God has him surrounded so that he can’t escape his problems!” FIA states, “The Satan saw God’s hedge as a protection; Job finds it a restriction. He feels trapped.” At times our perspective on our circumstances and troubles is not correct!
Is Job’s fear in verse 25 an indication of a lack of faith and the reason for his suffering? The verse reads, "For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.” The first part of the verse literally reads, “The fear that I fear is come upon me…” We could translate the whole verse this way, “For what I dread has come upon me, and what has haunted me has struck.” This verse has oft been pointed to as a reason why the ferocious calamites struck Job and his family. But let me just point out a couple of things. Three times in chapters 1-2 Job’s fear of God is pointed to as something commendable (twice by God Himself to Satan!); and once in chapter two God says to Satan, “You incited me against him to ruin him without cause.” To point to this verse and say that Job’s dread and fear was an indication of his lack of faith and the reason for his sufferings seems to me to be a superficial and overly simplistic view of this verse (and book).
And just before the first of the Three Amigos begins to speak: Verse 26 states, "I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and I am not at rest, but turmoil comes." Job’s ash heap circumstances are the exact opposite of the Hebrew “Shalom” (peace). FIA writes, “This verse is emphatic and is presented in four segments:”
I cannot relax! (I cannot find quietness or happiness)
I cannot settle! (I am so disturbed)
I cannot rest!
And agitation keeps coming back! (Trepidation and turmoil keep on assaulting me!).
I would like to close by giving a couple of suggestions on how to get out of a pit of depression. Volumes and volumes have been written on this subject. But let me just touch on a couple of things from the spiritual side. (We are, after all, spiritual beings.)
Before I do though, let me insert this note (from www.christianadvice.net): “Be Careful Not To Oversimplify: Depression is more than feeling blue. Be careful not to reduce someone's pain to a flippant version of a bad day. While I was in the depth of the pit I called a minister for prayer and was told, "Hey I feel blue everyday. So what! I just get up and make myself do what I have to do." I felt worse than before I called. What was wrong with me? Why was I unable to "just make myself snap out of it?" I sunk even deeper.”
There are definitely physiological reasons for depression. If I don’t watch what I eat I can suffer from “the sugar blues” (my wife and daughters are wonderful cooks and I don’t have any self-control when it comes to rhubarb and cherry pie and spritz cookies :>).
If you are afflicted with depression and can’t seem to get out of the pit, you should perhaps seek help from a good Christian psychologist.
But a couple of suggestions. First, feed your mind on the Word of God regularly. On occasion we don’t need another pill from the doctor; we simply need to memorize the Word. At times it’s just a matter of reshaping our thinking. I realize I am taking this a little out of context, but Paul said in Acts 26:2, “I think myself happy…”
Secondly, somehow get involved in helping other people. We naturally tend toward focusing on ourselves and our problems. Visit a nursing home or a homeless shelter…stop thinking about yourself all the time.
Thirdly, there are times when you may be facing a Satanic black cloud of oppression. I am absolutely convinced that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10ff).” My story of the revival that took place in Elgin ND (on transformationthroughintercession.blogspot.com) touches on this aspect of depression/oppression.
Fourthly, you have to be brutally honest and ask yourself these questions (gleaned from a seminar by Christian counselor Ray Brock):
What have I done wrong? (Guilt) – Is there some sin in my life that needs to addressed/confessed?
What am I afraid of? (Fear) – Ask the Lord to help you face your fears. Ask other people to pray for you.
Who am I mad at? (Anger & Bitterness) – In no way do I want to oversimplify things, but I think that a major cause of depression lies right here. We hang on to hurts and slights and resentment. Clinging to those things can cause depression. Simply put, people who forgive are happier people. Did you ever think that one of the reasons why the Lord wants you to put into practice the principles of the Lord’s Prayer (…as we forgive our debtors…) is that He wants you to be joyful?
And finally, one of the reasons Job was depressed is because of what had happened to him in the past year or two and how bleak his future looked. He faced what he thought was an incurable disease and incurable circumstances (his kids were dead, his businesses were burned to the ground, his doctors gave him no hope and his health insurance ran out). But remember…God is going to show up! Never negate the “God-Factor.” Don’t forget that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think!” (Ephesians 3:20)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Le Misérable (The Miserable One)
Subtitle – Why Am I So Depressed?
The last verse of “I Dreamed A Dream” (from “Les Miserable [The Miserable Ones]) hauntingly reflects the mood of Job chapter 3:
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seems
Now life has killed the dream…I dreamed
(I love Susan Boyle’s rendition of this song; because of her remarkable “rags-to-riches” or “unknown-to-worldwide-known” story she should have been Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2009 instead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. What was Time thinking?)
Life had promised so much for Job. FIA writes, “Job himself, the best of all and God’s own pride (Job does not know this), industrious, noble, devout, the paragon of the world, now sitting in the dirt, his past lost, his future empty, his present pain.
The question before us is, “Where did the man of God go?” What happened to the tranquil Job of chapters one and two? Frankly, this is one of the most depressing chapters in the entire Bible. You’ve probably NEVER heard a sermon from this chapter. Job erupts with volcanic statements that shock his friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (and the gathered audience). JFB writes, “His outburst is singularly wild and bold.” Adam Clarke says, “He gave vent to the agonies of his soul.” Hartley notes, “These are the harshest words Job utters against himself in the entire book. They startle us. The friends too are shocked…The words that gush forth from his agitated soul surprise everyone. His words are bold and caustic.” FIA says, “Some of Job’s prayers are wild and must have seemed dangerous to his dignified friends. His audacious attempts to reach the mind of God leave us breathless, and must have worried his cautious friends. He is passionate; they are cold. Job is dreadfully in earnest, and transparently honest. He tells God exactly how he feels and just what he thinks. There could hardly be better prayers that that.”
So much is packed into this chapter (and the entire book) that we will only touch the surface or we will be here until 2050 :>). I won’t comment on each verse – we will just give an overview this week and next week.
In his commentary, Chuck Swindoll gives a simple outline to the chapter: In verses 1-10 Job regrets his birth; in verses 11-19 Job wishes he’d died at birth; in verse 20-26 Job now longs to die.
Job 3:1-11: 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, neither let it see the breaking dawn; 10 Because it did not shut the opening of my {mother's} womb, or hide trouble from my eyes. 11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? (The rest of the chapter is at the end of this week’s devotional).
Job never curses God in the entire book; he does come pretty close (he curses his birthday and wants it obliterated from the calendar), but he never crosses the line to cursing God. And suicide (or euthanasia) is something that is never contemplated by Job, even though he is in such extreme agony.
Here are some brief (and perhaps a little random) notes and thoughts from the chapter:
3:4 “May that day be darkness” – this word appears about 80+ times in the OT, but almost 25 of those are in Job (Genesis 1:2 and Exodus 10:22 and Job 3:5 are three verses this word also appears).
3:5 “…and black gloom...” (or the shadow of death)” -- this word appears 18 times in the OT – 10 of them are in Job! The word also refers to deep darkness or deep distress; it appears in Psalm 23, “Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
3:6 “darkness” – this word (different from verse 4) appears 10 times in the OT – six of them are in Job.
3:7 “barren” – appears 4 times in the OT – three of those are in Job.
As you read through the chapter notice these groups of words. (Highlighting in your Bible and reading from various versions gives you great insight into the mind of the writer):
In verses 3-9 notice the words “let” or “may.” In these 7 verses they appear about 16 times. In the Hebrew they are known as “jussives” – they are words that express mild commands. In other words Job is saying, “I want this to happen…” or “I want that to happen…”
Also in verses 3-9 highlight such words or phrases as night, darkness, gloom, blackeners of the day, don’t let light shine, gloom, no joyful sound, cloud, etc. If you do, you’ll begin to notice one thing: Job was depressed – big-time!
Circle or underline any words related to rest or quiet or peace or sleep. Particularly note that verse 13 contains four such words: "For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest…” In his misery Job is not able to rest and he desperately longs for a good night’s sleep.
Beginning with verse 11 note the number of times the word “why” appears and note the questions that follow.
From verse 14 through the end of the chapter note the diverse groups of people mentioned: kings, counselors, princes, the wicked, prisoners, the weary, the small, the great, servants, masters, etc.
In verse 9 three phases of the morning light are given (Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it wait for light but have none, neither let it see the breaking dawn). First the stars begin to fade, secondly the horizon begins to lighten, and thirdly the first glimpses of the sun’s rays are seen (the word “dawn” is literally “the eyelashes of the morning”); as beautiful as sunrises can be with the many brilliant hues, for Job the splendor of the sunrise only makes visible the ugliness of his horrific disease.
In this chapter Job’s volcanic eruption does not reveal any sort of lack of spirituality. On the contrary, it shows that JOB IS HUMAN! Job is not a sinner because he is so emotional, he is a man with emotions and feelings like you and I. FIA states, “A man of stone or bronze…might remain unmoved, but a real man is all turbulence. The Lord’s testing is not to find out if Job can sit unmoved like a piece of wood!” To say that we should always maintain a stiff upper lip is not always the best course of action. Sometimes we need to vent – and pour out everything (the good, the bad, and the ugly) to God.
We will finish this chapter next week (I want to focus on verses 23 and 25 and also on how to get out of the pit of depression).
A number of years ago Buck Owens & Roy Clark sang this little song on the television series “Hee-Haw”:
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Hee-Haw made light of this thing called “depression.” But for those that suffer from it, it is anything but humorous. It can be life crippling. And sometimes it seems that there are days too dark and valleys too deep and hurts too painful to even go on.
BUT THERE IS HOPE! Swindoll writes on page 69 of his commentary, “I want to write to you who are reading these lines who may be in the pit, struggling to find your way out…” And as I write this devotional I feel that I may be writing to someone who is feeling like Job and thinking like Job (verse 11: “Why did I not die at birth?”). You may have even entertained thoughts of suicide.
Don’t give up! Even though it may be so difficult to see right now and it may seem like a black cloud of gloom has enveloped your life – Jesus Christ loves you! And God’s grace is sufficient for you! He can restore your joy. Remember that chapter 42 is coming…
(The rest of chapter 3):
Job 12- 26: "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. 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, they 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." (NAS)
(Please feel free to copy/print/email these devotionals)
NASV = New American Standard Version
OT = Old Testament
K&D = Commentary by Keil and Delitzsch (from PC Bible Study)
JFB = Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (from PC Bible Study)
Adam Clarke = Adam Clarke Commentary (from PC Bible Study)
Barnes = Barnes Notes (from PC Bible Study)
Hartley = The New International Commentary on the Old Testament:
The Book of Job by John E. Hartley
Swindoll = Job, Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll
FIA = Tyndale OT Commentaries: Job by Francis I. Anderson
The last verse of “I Dreamed A Dream” (from “Les Miserable [The Miserable Ones]) hauntingly reflects the mood of Job chapter 3:
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seems
Now life has killed the dream…I dreamed
(I love Susan Boyle’s rendition of this song; because of her remarkable “rags-to-riches” or “unknown-to-worldwide-known” story she should have been Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2009 instead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. What was Time thinking?)
Life had promised so much for Job. FIA writes, “Job himself, the best of all and God’s own pride (Job does not know this), industrious, noble, devout, the paragon of the world, now sitting in the dirt, his past lost, his future empty, his present pain.
The question before us is, “Where did the man of God go?” What happened to the tranquil Job of chapters one and two? Frankly, this is one of the most depressing chapters in the entire Bible. You’ve probably NEVER heard a sermon from this chapter. Job erupts with volcanic statements that shock his friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (and the gathered audience). JFB writes, “His outburst is singularly wild and bold.” Adam Clarke says, “He gave vent to the agonies of his soul.” Hartley notes, “These are the harshest words Job utters against himself in the entire book. They startle us. The friends too are shocked…The words that gush forth from his agitated soul surprise everyone. His words are bold and caustic.” FIA says, “Some of Job’s prayers are wild and must have seemed dangerous to his dignified friends. His audacious attempts to reach the mind of God leave us breathless, and must have worried his cautious friends. He is passionate; they are cold. Job is dreadfully in earnest, and transparently honest. He tells God exactly how he feels and just what he thinks. There could hardly be better prayers that that.”
So much is packed into this chapter (and the entire book) that we will only touch the surface or we will be here until 2050 :>). I won’t comment on each verse – we will just give an overview this week and next week.
In his commentary, Chuck Swindoll gives a simple outline to the chapter: In verses 1-10 Job regrets his birth; in verses 11-19 Job wishes he’d died at birth; in verse 20-26 Job now longs to die.
Job 3:1-11: 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, neither let it see the breaking dawn; 10 Because it did not shut the opening of my {mother's} womb, or hide trouble from my eyes. 11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? (The rest of the chapter is at the end of this week’s devotional).
Job never curses God in the entire book; he does come pretty close (he curses his birthday and wants it obliterated from the calendar), but he never crosses the line to cursing God. And suicide (or euthanasia) is something that is never contemplated by Job, even though he is in such extreme agony.
Here are some brief (and perhaps a little random) notes and thoughts from the chapter:
3:4 “May that day be darkness” – this word appears about 80+ times in the OT, but almost 25 of those are in Job (Genesis 1:2 and Exodus 10:22 and Job 3:5 are three verses this word also appears).
3:5 “…and black gloom...” (or the shadow of death)” -- this word appears 18 times in the OT – 10 of them are in Job! The word also refers to deep darkness or deep distress; it appears in Psalm 23, “Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
3:6 “darkness” – this word (different from verse 4) appears 10 times in the OT – six of them are in Job.
3:7 “barren” – appears 4 times in the OT – three of those are in Job.
As you read through the chapter notice these groups of words. (Highlighting in your Bible and reading from various versions gives you great insight into the mind of the writer):
In verses 3-9 notice the words “let” or “may.” In these 7 verses they appear about 16 times. In the Hebrew they are known as “jussives” – they are words that express mild commands. In other words Job is saying, “I want this to happen…” or “I want that to happen…”
Also in verses 3-9 highlight such words or phrases as night, darkness, gloom, blackeners of the day, don’t let light shine, gloom, no joyful sound, cloud, etc. If you do, you’ll begin to notice one thing: Job was depressed – big-time!
Circle or underline any words related to rest or quiet or peace or sleep. Particularly note that verse 13 contains four such words: "For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest…” In his misery Job is not able to rest and he desperately longs for a good night’s sleep.
Beginning with verse 11 note the number of times the word “why” appears and note the questions that follow.
From verse 14 through the end of the chapter note the diverse groups of people mentioned: kings, counselors, princes, the wicked, prisoners, the weary, the small, the great, servants, masters, etc.
In verse 9 three phases of the morning light are given (Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it wait for light but have none, neither let it see the breaking dawn). First the stars begin to fade, secondly the horizon begins to lighten, and thirdly the first glimpses of the sun’s rays are seen (the word “dawn” is literally “the eyelashes of the morning”); as beautiful as sunrises can be with the many brilliant hues, for Job the splendor of the sunrise only makes visible the ugliness of his horrific disease.
In this chapter Job’s volcanic eruption does not reveal any sort of lack of spirituality. On the contrary, it shows that JOB IS HUMAN! Job is not a sinner because he is so emotional, he is a man with emotions and feelings like you and I. FIA states, “A man of stone or bronze…might remain unmoved, but a real man is all turbulence. The Lord’s testing is not to find out if Job can sit unmoved like a piece of wood!” To say that we should always maintain a stiff upper lip is not always the best course of action. Sometimes we need to vent – and pour out everything (the good, the bad, and the ugly) to God.
We will finish this chapter next week (I want to focus on verses 23 and 25 and also on how to get out of the pit of depression).
A number of years ago Buck Owens & Roy Clark sang this little song on the television series “Hee-Haw”:
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Hee-Haw made light of this thing called “depression.” But for those that suffer from it, it is anything but humorous. It can be life crippling. And sometimes it seems that there are days too dark and valleys too deep and hurts too painful to even go on.
BUT THERE IS HOPE! Swindoll writes on page 69 of his commentary, “I want to write to you who are reading these lines who may be in the pit, struggling to find your way out…” And as I write this devotional I feel that I may be writing to someone who is feeling like Job and thinking like Job (verse 11: “Why did I not die at birth?”). You may have even entertained thoughts of suicide.
Don’t give up! Even though it may be so difficult to see right now and it may seem like a black cloud of gloom has enveloped your life – Jesus Christ loves you! And God’s grace is sufficient for you! He can restore your joy. Remember that chapter 42 is coming…
(The rest of chapter 3):
Job 12- 26: "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. 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, they 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." (NAS)
(Please feel free to copy/print/email these devotionals)
NASV = New American Standard Version
OT = Old Testament
K&D = Commentary by Keil and Delitzsch (from PC Bible Study)
JFB = Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (from PC Bible Study)
Adam Clarke = Adam Clarke Commentary (from PC Bible Study)
Barnes = Barnes Notes (from PC Bible Study)
Hartley = The New International Commentary on the Old Testament:
The Book of Job by John E. Hartley
Swindoll = Job, Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll
FIA = Tyndale OT Commentaries: Job by Francis I. Anderson
Monday, February 8, 2010
7 Days & 7 Nights of Silence in the ICU
We need true friends, real friends when we face difficult days. Although a good portion of this book focuses on the tactless and theologically incorrect things that are said by Job’s three “comforters,” there are some very praiseworthy and laudable items that should be noted about “The Original Three Amigos” (Swindoll’s description).
Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity (from the Adversary) that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.
Commentators suggest that these three men came from a distance of about 300 miles. Perhaps they were kings, perhaps they were very wealthy sheiks, perhaps they were business acquaintances of Job. Whatever the connection, when they heard of all the adversity that had befallen Job, they agreed to travel to the land of Uz to visit their friend.
The word “adversity” (“RA” in the Hebrew) possibly comes from a root meaning “to break in pieces, to smash, to crush.” That certainly describes Job’s situation: the man and his family were broken and crushed.
K&D write, “Reports spread among the mounted tribes of the Arabian desert with the rapidity of telegraphic dispatches.” So when the three Amigos heard of all of the “RA” that had befallen their friend, they dropped what they were doing and made the effort to visit him. The four men had most likely made a covenant that if any of them should ever be facing a time of extreme difficulty, they would come to the aid of the one in trouble. Hartley states, “Friends often solemnized their relationship with a covenant, promising to care for each other under all kinds of circumstances.” They were friends in the truest sense of the word and their original motives were simple and pure – they wanted to help and comfort and bring solace.
The most prominent of the three was Eliphaz (the name means “God is fine gold”) from Teman. Adam Clarke says “Eliphaz was the king of the Temanites and was one of the sons of Esau.” The people of Teman were celebrated for their knowledge and wisdom. Bildad the Shuhite was the next man. A friend of mine asked me one time, “Do you know who the shortest man in the Bible is?” I figured Zaccheus. “Nope, not Zaccheus; and nope, not Nehemiah (knee-high-miah). The shortest man in the Bible? Well that would be none other than Bildad the “SHOE-HEIGHT!" My friend who loved saying that? Dave Short (I’m serious :>). Zophar the Naamathite was the third friend in this triad.
(Did you ever wonder if Job had other friends that should have showed up at his lonely ash heap? Perhaps he did, but perhaps they just didn’t want to make the effort to visit him.)
So they made an appointment to “sympathize” with him and to “comfort” him (legend says that the three arrived at Job’s home at the exact same time). Hartley states that the word sympathize (or console) means literally “to shake the head or to rock the body back and forth.” And the word “comfort” is the same Hebrew word that is used in Psalm 23:4, “…Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”
Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes at a distance, and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
Have you ever gone to visit someone in the hospital that was seriously ill and you hadn’t seen them for a long time? And when you did finally see them you couldn't believe your eyes because their appearance had so radically changed? That was Job. He was disfigured beyond recognition. Adam Clarke says, “They were astonished at the unprecedented change which had taken place in the circumstances of this most eminent man.” His misery was shocking. K&D write, “They saw a form which seemed to be Job but in which they were not able to recognize him.” And Hartley states, “When these friends caught their first glimpse of Job from afar, they were aghast. All of Job’s former estate, which once dominated the landscape, had been devastated.”
“They “lifted up their eyes” – and when they saw just a shell of a man named Job – “they lifted up their voices!” These guys did not come with a motive to reproach or to blame or to accuse Job of being a hypocrite. FIA says, “They were genuine friends whose motives were to console and comfort him.” These were not professional mourners – these were friends overwhelmed by the despair and disfigurement of a man they loved. They lifted their eyes, they lifted their voices, they wept, they tore their robes and then they threw dust over their heads.
Job 2:13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that {his} pain was very great.
Perhaps the three first went to Job’s home. As they knocked on the door they couldn’t help but notice the devastation surrounding them; the burned buildings, the pall of death hanging over the area, and the small cemetery on the hillside. When Mrs. Job finally came to the door and the three men asked if they could see their friend, they were appalled when she replied, “Job is living out at the dump.”
This is a remarkable verse, and two little words almost go unnoticed. Those words? “…with him...” A lot of negative comments have been written about Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (and rightly so). But these guys took time off from work, traveled the 300 miles to Uz, and cared for Job so much so that they sat on the ash heap with him! Three men of renown (kings?)…sitting on a heap of rotting, stinking garbage and excrement…in an effort to console the specter of their friend Job. FIA says, “Attention is focused, not on the abstract mystery of evil, not on the moral question of underserved suffering, but on one man’s physical existence in bodily pain…they were true friends bringing to Job’s lonely ash heap the compassion of a silent presence.” Sometimes people don’t need a theological treatise. They simply need someone to sit “with them” on their ash heap.
They sat with him…for 7 days and 7 nights. What’s noteworthy about that length of time? It was the official length of time for mourning for the dead! Adam Clarke says, “So calamitous was the state of Job, that they considered him as a dead man.”
“With no one speaking a word.” JFB states, “It is only ordinary griefs that find vent in language – extraordinary griefs are too great for words." Why the silence? “They saw that his pain was great.”
Sometimes the best thing to say to someone facing a difficult time is…nothing. During a month-long stay in the hospital I had many truly wonderful people visit and pray and bring very comforting words. But I also had (on a couple of occasions) visitors that I wished would have just gone away. Why? They talked incessantly or gave some superficial spiritual diagnosis as to why I was in the hospital.
Let me close with these words (quoted by Swindoll on page 53) from Joe Bayly’s book titled, “The Last Thing We Talk About” (The Bayly’s had lost three of their children):
I was sitting, torn by grief. Someone came and talked to me of God’s dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly; he said things I knew were true.
I was unmoved, except I wished he’d go away. He finally did.
Another came and sat beside me. He didn’t talk. He didn’t ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour and more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left.
I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.
(Please feel free to copy, print, or email any of these devotionals)
NASV = New American Standard Version
OT = Old Testament
K&D = Commentary by Keil and Delitzsch (from PC Bible Study)
JFB = Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (from PC Bible Study)
Adam Clarke = Adam Clarke Commentary (from PC Bible Study)
Barnes = Barnes Notes (from PC Bible Study)
Hartley = The New International Commentary on the Old Testament:
The Book of Job by John E. Hartley
Swindoll = Job, Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll
FIA = Tyndale OT Commentaries: Job by Francis I. Anderson
Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity (from the Adversary) that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.
Commentators suggest that these three men came from a distance of about 300 miles. Perhaps they were kings, perhaps they were very wealthy sheiks, perhaps they were business acquaintances of Job. Whatever the connection, when they heard of all the adversity that had befallen Job, they agreed to travel to the land of Uz to visit their friend.
The word “adversity” (“RA” in the Hebrew) possibly comes from a root meaning “to break in pieces, to smash, to crush.” That certainly describes Job’s situation: the man and his family were broken and crushed.
K&D write, “Reports spread among the mounted tribes of the Arabian desert with the rapidity of telegraphic dispatches.” So when the three Amigos heard of all of the “RA” that had befallen their friend, they dropped what they were doing and made the effort to visit him. The four men had most likely made a covenant that if any of them should ever be facing a time of extreme difficulty, they would come to the aid of the one in trouble. Hartley states, “Friends often solemnized their relationship with a covenant, promising to care for each other under all kinds of circumstances.” They were friends in the truest sense of the word and their original motives were simple and pure – they wanted to help and comfort and bring solace.
The most prominent of the three was Eliphaz (the name means “God is fine gold”) from Teman. Adam Clarke says “Eliphaz was the king of the Temanites and was one of the sons of Esau.” The people of Teman were celebrated for their knowledge and wisdom. Bildad the Shuhite was the next man. A friend of mine asked me one time, “Do you know who the shortest man in the Bible is?” I figured Zaccheus. “Nope, not Zaccheus; and nope, not Nehemiah (knee-high-miah). The shortest man in the Bible? Well that would be none other than Bildad the “SHOE-HEIGHT!" My friend who loved saying that? Dave Short (I’m serious :>). Zophar the Naamathite was the third friend in this triad.
(Did you ever wonder if Job had other friends that should have showed up at his lonely ash heap? Perhaps he did, but perhaps they just didn’t want to make the effort to visit him.)
So they made an appointment to “sympathize” with him and to “comfort” him (legend says that the three arrived at Job’s home at the exact same time). Hartley states that the word sympathize (or console) means literally “to shake the head or to rock the body back and forth.” And the word “comfort” is the same Hebrew word that is used in Psalm 23:4, “…Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”
Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes at a distance, and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
Have you ever gone to visit someone in the hospital that was seriously ill and you hadn’t seen them for a long time? And when you did finally see them you couldn't believe your eyes because their appearance had so radically changed? That was Job. He was disfigured beyond recognition. Adam Clarke says, “They were astonished at the unprecedented change which had taken place in the circumstances of this most eminent man.” His misery was shocking. K&D write, “They saw a form which seemed to be Job but in which they were not able to recognize him.” And Hartley states, “When these friends caught their first glimpse of Job from afar, they were aghast. All of Job’s former estate, which once dominated the landscape, had been devastated.”
“They “lifted up their eyes” – and when they saw just a shell of a man named Job – “they lifted up their voices!” These guys did not come with a motive to reproach or to blame or to accuse Job of being a hypocrite. FIA says, “They were genuine friends whose motives were to console and comfort him.” These were not professional mourners – these were friends overwhelmed by the despair and disfigurement of a man they loved. They lifted their eyes, they lifted their voices, they wept, they tore their robes and then they threw dust over their heads.
Job 2:13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that {his} pain was very great.
Perhaps the three first went to Job’s home. As they knocked on the door they couldn’t help but notice the devastation surrounding them; the burned buildings, the pall of death hanging over the area, and the small cemetery on the hillside. When Mrs. Job finally came to the door and the three men asked if they could see their friend, they were appalled when she replied, “Job is living out at the dump.”
This is a remarkable verse, and two little words almost go unnoticed. Those words? “…with him...” A lot of negative comments have been written about Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (and rightly so). But these guys took time off from work, traveled the 300 miles to Uz, and cared for Job so much so that they sat on the ash heap with him! Three men of renown (kings?)…sitting on a heap of rotting, stinking garbage and excrement…in an effort to console the specter of their friend Job. FIA says, “Attention is focused, not on the abstract mystery of evil, not on the moral question of underserved suffering, but on one man’s physical existence in bodily pain…they were true friends bringing to Job’s lonely ash heap the compassion of a silent presence.” Sometimes people don’t need a theological treatise. They simply need someone to sit “with them” on their ash heap.
They sat with him…for 7 days and 7 nights. What’s noteworthy about that length of time? It was the official length of time for mourning for the dead! Adam Clarke says, “So calamitous was the state of Job, that they considered him as a dead man.”
“With no one speaking a word.” JFB states, “It is only ordinary griefs that find vent in language – extraordinary griefs are too great for words." Why the silence? “They saw that his pain was great.”
Sometimes the best thing to say to someone facing a difficult time is…nothing. During a month-long stay in the hospital I had many truly wonderful people visit and pray and bring very comforting words. But I also had (on a couple of occasions) visitors that I wished would have just gone away. Why? They talked incessantly or gave some superficial spiritual diagnosis as to why I was in the hospital.
Let me close with these words (quoted by Swindoll on page 53) from Joe Bayly’s book titled, “The Last Thing We Talk About” (The Bayly’s had lost three of their children):
I was sitting, torn by grief. Someone came and talked to me of God’s dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly; he said things I knew were true.
I was unmoved, except I wished he’d go away. He finally did.
Another came and sat beside me. He didn’t talk. He didn’t ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour and more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left.
I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.
(Please feel free to copy, print, or email any of these devotionals)
NASV = New American Standard Version
OT = Old Testament
K&D = Commentary by Keil and Delitzsch (from PC Bible Study)
JFB = Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown (from PC Bible Study)
Adam Clarke = Adam Clarke Commentary (from PC Bible Study)
Barnes = Barnes Notes (from PC Bible Study)
Hartley = The New International Commentary on the Old Testament:
The Book of Job by John E. Hartley
Swindoll = Job, Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll
FIA = Tyndale OT Commentaries: Job by Francis I. Anderson
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