“After
this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.” Job
3:1
Much has been written on Job, his
patience and faithfulness in his relationship with God. This verse is a clear
reminder that even men who have grown in relative perfection and in such graces
of God as patience, compassion and generosity, are yet human and capable, under
circumstances of pressure, pain and affliction, to open their mouths and utter
things which may be unwise, negative or unedifying! This is not to say that if
a believer expresses sorrow, disappointment or another negative feeling, he is
automatically sinning. Sin can take hold however, if we do not deal with the
negative emotions correctly, give place to them, and become controlled by them.
Instead we should yield them to God and trust Him for help, solutions and strength
to overcome. Job had by this time endured seven days of mourning after the loss
of all his family, possessions and health, without apparent relief to his
condition, and he does something here, which was not unusual among the people
of his time, when they were faced with intense distress and sorrow – he curses
the day he was born. Although this may be considered a slip in his spiritual
compass, let us note a few things which may be explanatory. Firstly, Job did not ‘curse’ God as the
devil had falsely predicted, and his wife had so callously incited, nor did he
curse anyone else or even himself as creatures of God. In fact he did not even
curse the present condition and suffering he found himself in. Secondly, it is questionable that man
can of his own accord, actually ‘curse’ anything, since such power lies outside
his ability, and is therefore merely reflective of an attitude or desire to do
so, if only it were possible. Thirdly,
he turned his despair and ill will, towards something that could not be changed
nor was in any way in his control, making his ‘cursing’, a mere token expression
of his inner despair, his discomfort and disconsolate situation. Lastly, later in the narrative of his
life, we find Job repenting of anything he may have spoken unwisely and without
due regard toward God. He was conscious that even this moment of negative
expression from his lips, should have been avoided. Such cursing isn’t
necessarily saying any bad word or oath, but a wishing that the event, in this
case his birth, had never taken place. Jeremiah stated something similar (Jer
20:14-18) when he was in distress over Israel rejecting God’s word and
torturing God’s prophets. The reasoning behind this expression of negative emotion
is that the present suffering and distress, which is so painful and
discomforting, would not have taken place if the individual had not been born;
we would relate it to the expression - ‘sorry you were ever born’. So whilst it
is an expression of suffering humanity, it is nevertheless inappropriate for
the believer to make such a statement, because it reflects a lack of acceptance
that God is in control of all things. If we truly know and believe that Yahwah
is Omniscient, then not only the time and event of our birth, but all the
details of every aspect of our human lives are known to Him, and ultimately in
His control. True faith, in spite of our despairing humanity, would call and demand
that we remember this fact. It would encourage us to believe that somehow God’s
mind, His wisdom and plan is perfect and higher than what we can comprehend in
our despair, appropriate to us by His allowance, and that we should take
nothing in our hands and away from His, even if only in token complaint or misplaced
desire, born out of our human affliction.
This high standard of trust and reliance upon God is a goal of all true
believers, and it is only from God that we can draw the strength to perform our
lives in this manner and remain pleasing to the Lord.
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
