I continue my reflection on Job.
Synopsis of Job 3
Surrounded by his friends Eliphaz, Bilad and Zophar, Job starts his lamentation. He shares his despair with his friends, saying in Job 3:11:
"Why did I not perish at birth
and die as I came from the womb?"
In other words, Job wished he was dead. He even cursed the day he was born (Job 3:8). He then concludes his lament in one of the most hopeless way possible in Job 3: 26.
"I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil."
Reflections
It is only natural that Job felt extremely depressed. In the previous chapters he had lost his children, his health and his property. Instead of comforting him, his wife encourages him to curse God (Job 2:9).
Job's lament reminds me of Psalms 39 and 88. Job and the Psalmists both languish in the despair and there are no hints that even indicate the slightest glimmer of hope. Yet such despair was left in the Bible.
Could it be God wants our honesty, rather than flattery? This would mean that God is not some earthly monarch who only wants to hear us in the good times, but to also comfort us in the bad times.
Prayer can be used for lamenting in our conversation with God.
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