JOB

Chapter 3

"Job Lamented his Birth [1-10]."
"Job Lamented his Infancy [11-19]."
"Job Lamented his Manhood [20-26]."

This Bible Study is is provided by http://www.theseason.org/ and shared with permission from it's author R. Christopherson

"Job 3:1 "After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day."

Job didn't curse God, but he cursed his own birthday, the day that he was born.

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 is saying that he wished that God would take the very day that he was born, and remove it altogether from history.

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 is saying remove the day from all existence, and those things that happened on that day be removed completely.

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."

He is asking that not only the day of the month, but the month also be removed from the year, and made as if it had never existed.

Job 3:7 "Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein."

"Solitary" is isolation, Job is wishing in his remorse that the sun that shone to make that day of his birth would have not shined, so there could be no joyful voice that could ever refer to that day. Job is expressing himself as he was thinking them, while his three friends are sitting beside him, and trying to find a way to comfort him. Job did not have that light of understanding that we have today from the Scriptures; to call upon when the bad times and health are going from us. We have the light of the Word, and the Holy Spirit of God to comfort us when we are down. So don't get to hard on Job quite yet. Remember that God was allowing this to happen, and Job can't quite figure out why it is all happening to him.

Job 3:8 "Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning."

In the days of Job they had expert professional cursers, and Job is saying let these friends go out and hire these cursers that they may curse the day that he was born.

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 is saying let the stars of the twilight of the night cease to shine on that day, for they also should not remember that day that he was born.

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 is saying, why didn't God take me from his mother's womb, and cause me to be still born. He is saying, God knew this would happen to me, so why did He allow it to happen to me in the first place. You can tell that Job was not enjoying life in the flesh.

Job 3:12 "Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?"

Why did God provide the knees that I could sit upon to sustain my life as a baby.

Job 3:13 "For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,"

Job knew that to be out of the flesh body was to be in the presence of the Living God. If Job was "lain still" and dead, he would not be in the disease torn body, full of sores, but he would be with God. This pain and suffering would not be going on, and he would be at rest.

Job 3:14 "With kings and counselors 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."

The "hidden untimely birth" is a "still born birth", and the infant that has never seen the light, is one that would never know of God or who the Father is. If you know Christ and understand His love for you, you have seen the light. If you can understand this love of God, than the entire book of Job should mean much more to you. Joob did not have Christ nor the Holy Spirit standing by his side.

Job 3:17 "There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest."

Yes, Satan may have walked before God, but he has no power in the presence of God. You have the power today to order Satan our of your life, and to stay away from you. When the wicked are under this lawless one, they grow weary. There is no rest.

Job 3:18 "There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor."

If he had not lived, he would be rest from these troubles and the voice of the oppressor.

Job 3:19 "The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master."

It was thought that those that have not overcome are called the prisoners, and were not with God; however Job is now telling us that all souls that pass on are present with God immediately. The guards and masters of this life are not there to hastle them in heaven.

Job 3:20 "Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;"

When a person is "bitter in soul" there is not much that you can do for him (her). They have just given up. There is no hope for them, for it is up to each person themselves to reach up and take hold of the light to find security with the Father.

Job 3:21 "Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;"

When one has given up all hope for this life in the flesh, they seek after death even more than a person would go out and seek for a hidden treasure. But that hope and death does not come.

Job 3:22 "Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, whih they can find the grave?"

Then when they do die and their body is placed in the grave; but are they relieved from that bitterness in their soul?

Job 3:23 "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?"

Remember that this whole chapter is a poem in the Hebrew, and though in the translation it has lost a lot; but Job is asking; "why the light of God is given to a person that is at wit's end, and in the grave?"

Job 3:24 "For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roaring 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."

In all this, Job is saying, "I wasn't sitting there in a safe place, nor was I lazy in my life, nor did I sit back when trouble came but met it face on, yet the trouble came to me." By this world's standards, this sounds very unfair to have Job suffer all these things when he did not deserve them. Job was perfect in his attitude and character before this trouble came his way, yet all these things did come against him. Why would God do such a thing to Job?

If we answered that question now it would spoil the rest of the book of Job. These questions will be answered before this book of Job is completed. The answer is written in Job, however rest assured God is always fair, and every thing that happens is within the divine plan of God. Job was perfect, but he lacked one big thing, and we will find out what that was before we have finished this book.

God uses his people, and that is your purpose for being on this earth; You are to be used by God for that is the only way that other will be reached with the saving knowledge of His Word. If God has used you in any manner, than you had better thank Him that you are found worth to be a vessel of the Lord's. That is the purpose for the elect of God, and if you are one of God's elect you will be able to handle any thing that Satan can dish out to you. Sometimes God will cause things to happen around you to move you to the place that He wants you to be, He moves you to a high place to give forth His Word, or do a service for Him. When it happens, don't forget to thank him for it, and if there is a separation between you and God, it was you that walked away, and not God. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Last Chapter Job Next Chapter
Old Testament Return to all Books New Testament

PLEASE NOTE: These studies may be stored on your private computer as a library, printed out in single copy (or you may print enough for a study group) for private study purposes provided the Author and Source are included with each and every excerpt or copy.

These studies
may not be reproduced collectively ONLINE , or in successive part, on any WEBSITE, EMAIL LIST or PUBLIC ELECTRONIC LIBRARY without expressed written consent.

©2006 http://www.theseason.org 

Home   Plough   Seeds  Vine   Potter   Seasons   Sonshine   Rain  Field