Happy Birthday Series

The elders are those who lived in ancient times who had witness borne to them by God of things hoped for and things not seen, which they accepted as sure through their faith, and which they passed on down to us. Our faith is in part thus based on the valid religious experience of men and women as it has been established through history, religious experience which testifies to itself in our hearts. But additionally, in these last days, as the writer has been emphasizing, it is faith in the Son Who has come and revealed Himself through His life and teaching, and through His death and resurrection.

We have begun our study of the book of Job. This righteous man did not know what was going on in the spiritual world. Our Holy and Great God El Shaddai, has watched a faithful servant and so has His angels including the fallen ones. Our Creator has spoken out that He Is proud of Job. This does not please God’s former ‘anointed’ cherub.

We fight the world, the flesh, and the devil in our daily lives. Just think, we have three strikes against us before our feet even hit the floor. We see all three areas come into play against our brother Job. Job has been suffering for some time and starts to beat himself up of course with the prodding of Satan. Then to add insult to the pain the enemy of our souls sends along some lousy counselors who beat Job up with their tongues.

1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job spoke, and said: 3 “May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’

After the seven days' mourning was over, there being no prospect of relief, Job is represented as thus cursing the day of his birth and thus he gave vent to the agonies of his soul, and the distractions of his mind. Like most of us, Job's first response is to turn inward. Self-centered pity is the response of the ‘natural’ man. It leads Job to despair. “Despair is a killer, it takes away all opportunities for deliverance”.

Job's cry is a deep lament out of the great pain that he is suffering. While the hand of his oppressor is that of Satan, he knows that the authority is God's. While previously Satan was hedged out (1:10), Job is now “hedged in” (3:23) by God. He is not yet trying to reason out why he is suffering. This is a cry of agony, “I wish I was never born”. There is no criticism or blame assigned. Job is no longer putting on the brave face. Deep and powerful as this chapter is, there is a formal dignity about it.

Chapter 1 gives us a clue as to why this is now going on in the mind of Job. We read starting in verse 4”And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.”