I’ve Had Enough! Series

Job 6: 1 – 13

I’ve Had Enough!

1 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid with it on the scales! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—therefore my words have been rash. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me. 5 Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, or does the ox low over its fodder? 6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7 My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me. 8 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant me the thing that I long for! 9 That it would please God to crush me, that He would loose His hand and cut me off! 10 Then I would still have comfort; Though in anguish I would exult, He will not spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. 11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? 13 Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?

Have you ever been there? Have you ever thought or said ‘I’ve had enough!’ It says in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

If you are aware of this verse then you might have come to the conclusion that the Lord has not followed His Word and has given you a trial that is beyond what you can endure. In fact some people are so overwhelmed that they want out of life no matter what. Sadly, they drop out of the race of life by taking their own lives.

We have learned so far of the brutal attack by the enemy of our souls – Satan – against a man whom the Lord was very proud of. Having received permission to go after Job, Satan killed all his kids; Took away all his possessions; Left him a heart broken wife; Afflicted him with severe physical ailment; and then sent to him 3 evil counselors.

We will learn in this study Job’s desire to quit. He wants our Holy Maker to end his life.

We learned in our last study that Eliphaz had been very sharp and extremely critical on Job, and yet it does not appear that Job gave him any interruption, but heard him patiently till he had said all he had to say. Eliphaz concluded his discourse with an air of assurance; very confident that what he had said was so plain and so pertinent that nothing could be objected in answer to it.

1 Then Job answered and said

Job is not convinced by all Eliphaz had said, but will still justifies himself in his complaints and condemns Eliphaz for the weakness of his argument. Job's reply is ‘I'm in pain here buddy’, ‘of course I'm going to complain.’

2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid with it on the scales! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—therefore my words have been rash.

Job represents his calamity, in general, as much heavier than either he had expressed it or they had apprehended it. The number of attacks was too great to be counted; their weight was too great to be estimated.

Job wished to be dealt with according to justice; as he was willing that his sins, if they could be proved, should be weighed against his sufferings; and if this could not be done, he wished that his sufferings and his complaining might be weighed together; and it would then be seen that, bitter as his complaint had been, it was little when compared with the distress which occasioned it.

We all need people in our lives. It is good to be able to share your concerns of life with someone. There is an old saying ‘about someone walking in your shoes.’ In other words you have experienced the same things the person has going on in his or her life.

Job complains of his unhappiness that his friends undertook to administer spiritual psychotherapy to him before they thoroughly understood his case and knew the worst of it. It is seldom that those who are at ease themselves rightly weigh the afflictions of the afflicted. Everyone feels most from his own burden; few are able to feel what other people are going through.