1.3.25 – Job 3

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Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Alan J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.

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Today brings us to Job chapter 3. At the end of Job chapter 2, there was seven days of silence. Job is now going to speak. Let’s listen to what Job has to say after all the suffering he’s been through.

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Job 3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, A man is conceived, let that day be darkness. May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it. Let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night, let thick darkness seize it. Let it not rejoice among the days of the year. Let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren. Let no joyful cry enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark. Let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning, because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb, and expire? Why did the knees receive me, or why the breasts that I should nurse? For then I would have laid down and been quiet. I would have slept. Then I would have been at rest with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together, they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest, but trouble comes.

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In my personal Bible reading journal back in 1984, after reading this chapter, I wrote, Job curses the day of his birth. Why? He had been blessed for years. Jumping up 31 years later, in 2015, when I read Job 2 and 3 on the same day, concerning chapter 3, I wrote, Job curses the day of his birth. In his terrible suffering, he longs for peace and rest. We all do the same when we suffer. We can’t wait for it to end, even in death. And I wrote a part of my prayer in my journal that year after reading Job chapter 3. I wrote, don’t put me to the test. Thanks for every blessing. I do not deserve any. Your goodness only is why I have any blessing. Job reminds me today, you can take it all in a moment. Thanks for your love, grace, mercy, goodness to me. Thus ends my journal entries. Let’s take a look at Job chapter 3. Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. Has life come your way in such a way as that, that that is your response? That you curse the day you were born? That you long for death as a way of escape? Certainly, many of us have suffered. Certainly, life doesn’t always turn out the way we hope it will. Circumstances come our way that are very difficult to deal with. God puts our faith to the test. Job did pretty good for two chapters, didn’t he? And maybe you did too. The first attack, the second attack, maybe even the third attack. But finally, it gets pretty wearing. You cry out for relief as Job is crying out. You question your very existence as Job questions his. You long for answers, but only hear silence. Job questions God, and you may question God as well. Verse 20 says, why is light given to him who is in misery and life to the bitter in soul who long for death, but it comes not? Verse 23 says, why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? Why is Job questioning God in chapter 3? It ends with these few verses. For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest, but trouble comes. You may feel that way this very day. If so, remember the book of Job does not end in chapter 3. So let’s ponder a few things before we close. So many people ask, why do bad things happen to good people? The book of Job answers that kind of question, doesn’t it? There is a battle for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls in the heavenly places we cannot and do not understand. Secondly, Satan is alive and well on planet Earth. He is the one that searches to and fro, seeking whom he may devour. He wreaks havoc on the Earth. And we saw in the first two chapters, he has conversations with God, gaining permission to sift us like wheat. So why do bad things happen to good people? Because God allows Satan to test us. Remember in chapter 1 we said Satan was going to test the heart of Job. God knew his heart. God knows your heart. He knows what kind of test you can withstand. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13 is one of the first verses I memorized. It says this, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. God knew Job’s heart. He knows your heart. He knows what we can withstand. He will only allow Satan to tempt us that far. May our practical application from Job chapter 3 be one of great hope. Though Job seems to be in despair, he hasn’t given up yet. Nor shall we, as we face the difficult temptations that God allows our way. As we close, remember the theme of Job is, Can we trust God? I hope this book is building our faith in doing just that. Father, we ask you to come against the difficult trials of our lives. We pray for strength to endure the temptations and the trials. We pray for your encouragement through the book of Job. Whisper in our hearts, yes, you can trust me. Build our faith. Build our trust in you. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. Thank you for listening to AdBible. Though the Bible can be read at the speed I’m speaking in about 78 hours, surveys show we don’t read it. How many of you have ever read the Bible cover to cover? How many have tried and failed? I want to encourage you to try it again. I want to share with you what I call the Triple I Doctrine and some powerful reasons to stay in your Bible daily. I begin with a verse from 2 Peter 1.21. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s how we got the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved holy men of God to write it, all of it. Because He did, we can now look at the Triple I Doctrine, the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. But what do these terms mean? Inspired means God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, What does infallible mean? It means no potential or ability to err. Totally reliable. It cannot contradict itself. And Hebrews 6.18 says, And the last one is inerrant. What does that mean? It means it’s technically correct. It’s free from falsehood and deceit. Wholly true. It’s doctrine. It’s history. It’s science. It’s geography. And Matthew 5.18 says, For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. And Revelation 22, 18 and 19 say, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. So the Triple I Doctrine is reason enough to be in God’s Word each day. But in case you need more encouragement, here are three more thoughts. First, improve your spiritual maturity. According to Barna Research, of the seven dimensions in which Americans were asked to rate their faith maturity, Bible knowledge ranked dead last. So if you want to improve your spiritual maturity, stay in God’s Word daily. Number two is develop a dynamic relationship with God. Dr. Woodrow Kroll, former president of Back to the Bible, wrote a book called Taking Back the Good Book. He said, When people tire of reading the Bible, it’s because they read it for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. They read the Bible to gain knowledge, store facts, or pick up a few principles to live by. When you see the Bible as a means to a dynamic relationship with God, you can’t get enough of it because you can’t get enough of Him. And the third thought is to be transformed. Don’t read the Bible to be informed. Read it to be transformed. And I’m going to share a fun little story with you about being transformed by the Word of God. It’s about an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early, sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, Papa, I try to read the Bible, just like you, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do? The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water. The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, You’ll have to move a little faster next time and send him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, I don’t want a bucket of water. I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough. And he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, See, Papa, it’s useless. So you think it’s useless, the old man said. Look at the basket. The boy looked at the basket, and for the first time, he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. So read the Bible so you can improve your spiritual maturity, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed, not informed. The Bible came to us from the Holy Spirit, directed by holy men of God. The triple I doctrine reminds us it’s inspired, God-breathed, infallible, without error, and inerrant, technically correct, and wholly true. Read it to grow spiritually, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed.