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1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said: 3 "May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, 'A boy is conceived!' 4 That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it. 5 May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it. 6 That night—may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months. 7 May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it. 8 May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. 9 May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn, 10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.
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I. Job cursed the day of his birth, vv. 1-10
A. Job laments the day of his birth. It is here that we first see the back drop of creation in Job's speech.
1. This we might call an un-creation account. Notice v.4. "That day__may it turn to darkness....let God above not seek it and ..../That night---let deep darkness take it. It is here that Job asks not only to reverse his birth but to reverse the order of creation. God's first act in Genesis was "let there be light." In contrast, Job curses his birth by saying, "let there be darkness." Job's first act is let there be darkness and he will end his speech as in Genesis by seeking the "rest." The rest for Job is death. (v.25)
2. In Genesis, God separates the light from darkness. God separates the waters above the earth and waters below the earth. God contains the waters (a micvah) so that the dry land will appear. Job in his lament, seeks to abolish these limits. He calls on darkness to claim the day of his birth and likewise utter darkness to consume the night of his conception. Job abolishes the stars with which God marked the separation of day and night.
Job further seeks to prohibit the night of his conception from being counted among the days of the year by banishing the light of sun and moon by which God separated both day and night and month from month (Job 3:6-9; Gen 1:14-16).
3. In chapter 3, Job the patient becomes Job the impatient. Job now curses the events that have fallen on him. He speaks of darkness, gloom and Leviathan. Job then curses the cosmic order. Look here for Leviathan.
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11 "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb12 Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? 13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest 14 with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, 15 with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? |
II. Job on his birth vv.11-12-16
A. Job now wishes he had been left to die at birth.
1. The knees that received him, the breast that nursed him are now negative things. These are things that only brought him misery.
2. But now Job wishes for something even more radical. He wishes that he had been still born or a miscarriage. Once again we have the reference to light and a reversal of creation at least as far as Job is concerned (v. 13).
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17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. 18 Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver's shout. 19 The small and the great are there, and the slaves are freed from their owners. 20 "Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, 21 to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, 22 who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? 23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24 For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. 25 What I feared has come upon me;what I dreaded has happened to me. 26 I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil." |
III. Job continues to lament over his condition. His life has become nothing but turmoil and he only wants death. We are now ready for his friends who will give him all the wonderful advice!
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