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.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
Our poor brother Job sadly complains here, of what he felt were the arrows of Almighty God. They have shot him through. The poison or heat of these arrows is said to drink up his spirit, because it disturbed his reason, shook his resolution, exhausted his vigor, and threatened his life
It was, however, not so much the troubles themselves he was under that put him into this confusion, that is, his poverty, his disgrace, and the bodily pain; but that which cut him to the heart and put him into this agitation, was to think that the God he loved and served had brought all this upon him and laid him under these marks of His displeasure.
In this verse we see the suffering that our Holy Lord Jesus went through. In our Lord’s sufferings, He spoke most of the sufferings of his soul. Trouble of mind is the sorest trouble to have to deal with. In the Gospel of John 12:27 He said, “Now is my soul troubled” In Matthew 26:38 “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful”. And we read in Matthew 27: 46, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 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.
Job reflects upon his friends for their severe censures of his complaints and their unskillful management of his case. Their reproofs were causeless. A farm animal might be noisy when it needs food. Such an animal is complaining because it is hungry. When Job spoke, he too made a noise. When he spoke, Job was complaining like the hungry animal..
Job is convinced that underneath all the pain and insanity that has happened to him is that something is terribly out of order and so it must be protested. Job uses examples to say something like this ‘You condemn me for complaining; do I complain without a cause? The wild ass will not bray, and the ox will not low, unless in want. If they have plenty of provender, they are silent. Were I at rest, at ease, and happy, I would not complain.
In amazing wisdom Job relates that food that is flavorless such as egg white needs salt in order for a person to enjoy eating it. I do not think that there are many people who just order a plain egg white on a plate. I am sure that you would add some type of bread and some meat or other condiments. In the same way Job is relating that he is having a hard time stomaching or coming to grips with the fact that all the pain and heartache has all piled up on him.
Job complains he had nothing now offered to him for his relief that was proper for him, no cordial, nothing to revive and cheer his spirits; what these three un-consoling friends had afforded him was in itself as tasteless as the white of an egg, and, when applied to him, as loathsome and burdensome as the most spoiled meat.
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?
As Job had no hope that he should ever be redeemed from his present helpless state, he earnestly begs God to shorten it by taking away his life. He could see no end to his trouble but death, and did not have the patience to wait for the time appointed for that. He has a request to make; there is a thing he longs for; and what is that? One would think it should be, "That it would please God to deliver him, and restore him to his prosperity again;’’ no, that it would please God to destroy him.
Look with me again at the statement in verse 9 –‘Let loose his hand’. – It is a metaphor taken from an archer drawing his arrow to the head, and then losing his hold, that the arrow may fly to the mark. Please turn to Psalm 38. Here we see David thinking in like manner and adds fullness in regard to Job’s thoughts for our understanding of the depths of mental pain. “O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! 2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off. 12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.”
We see here that Job is saying that once The Lord let loose his hand to make him poor, and to make him sick, so now he asks our Holy Maker to loose His hand once more to put an end to his life. Let him give the fatal stroke; it shall be to Job the stroke of favor.’’ Please note that though Job was extremely desirous of death, and very angry at its delays, yet he did not offer to destroy himself, nor to take away his own life, only he begged that it would please God to destroy him.
Job says that the expectation he has in that The Majestic Ruler over all will speedily make an end of his life would cause him to rejoice with great joy. I see the same thing happening consistently today. You would be amazed at the amount of suicide phone calls that come to the church. There are certain stages individuals go through;
stage one denial- ‘no I will not / cannot kill myself I have to will get through this’
stage two anger- ‘This isn't getting any better everything is only getting worse and I’m running out of options on how can I get through this’
stage three bargaining- ‘I turn to family, turn to friends, turn to religion, turn to medication, and therapist, try and try again to fight the urge of suicide but get nowhere’
stage four depression- ‘why does it seem like no one cares, why can’t I fight this, what is wrong with me, I don't want to feel like this, I don't want it to have to end this way, I can’t do this alone why won’t anyone help me, why did it have to go this far, why did it have to get so bad, will this ever get better?’
stage five acceptance- ‘if no one cares about me, the world will be better off without me, my existence is worthless, I am never going to get out of this situation, the world hates me, I don't belong here, no one will even realize that I’m gone so why fight this, I’ve got nothing to live for, I can’t escape this fate so I might as well be dead anyway.’
In some people who have mentioned that they wanted to commit suicide you see a dramatic emotional change where they seem at peace. In their mind they are free because they are going to put an end to all their pain and suffering. In a way this is what we are hearing from Job as he says, - ‘Then I would still have comfort; though in anguish I would exult.’
He grounds his comfort upon the testimony of his conscience for him that he had been faithful and firm to his profession of his knowledge of God’s Word, and in some degree useful and serviceable to the glory of God in his generation as he reveals: ‘I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.’
Job had the words of the Holy One committed to him. The people of God were at that time blessed with divine revelation. It was his comfort that he had not concealed them, had not received the grace of God in vain. He had given them full scope to operate upon him, and in everything to guide and govern him. He had not stifled his convictions, imprisoned the truth in unrighteousness, nor done anything to hinder its truth in his life. Additionally, He had not kept them all to himself, but had been ready, on all occasions, to communicate his knowledge for the good of others.
Job comments to his infirmities, ‘I am neither a rock, nor is my flesh brass, that I can endure all these calamities’ .He justifies himself, in this extreme desire of death, from the deplorable condition he was now in. Job is at a state now that he is thinking that he can never suppose that his strength will be restored; and, if it was possible, would he have any comfortable prospect of a happy termination of his life? He has reason with himself that if he had any prospect of future happiness, then he might well bear his present ills; but coming to a grip of reality he understands that the state of his body and circumstances preclude all hope.
Eliphaz, in the end of his discourse, had tried to put Job in hopes that he should yet see a good issue of his troubles; but poor Job puts these cordials away from him, refuses to be comforted, abandons himself to despair, and very efficiently, argues against the encouragements that were given him.
Job is wrestling with his inner emotions. He is trying to pull himself together. This is important, for this is where Job is off balance spiritually. Job is relying on his own ability. He is using ‘my help’ and ‘my wisdom’. We have the same me, me, I, I, problems.
In answer to the pleasing prospects Eliphaz had flattered him with, Job here intimates;
1. That he had no reason to expect any such thing: "What is my strength that I should hope? You see how I am weakened and brought low, how unable I am to grapple with my physical illnesses, and therefore what reason have I to hope that I should out-live them, and see better days? Is my strength the strength of stones? Are my muscles brass and my sinews steel? No, they are not, and therefore I cannot hold out always in this pain and misery
2. That he had no reason to desire any such thing: "What is my end that I should desire to prolong my life? What comfort can I promise myself in life, comparable to the comfort I promise myself in death?’’
He is cut off and without support. He is in a predicament where his own efforts and his own understanding do him no good what-so-ever. I know that you know this Proverb well, [Proverbs 3:5-6] “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths”.
This is why I have a difficulty with psychology in general. It is intended to reinforce the self. There are some Christian psychologists which do not fall into this trap, but most are secular psychologies papered over with Christian terminology. They are Christian in name only. Psychology is a secular, if not atheistic, self-centered philosophy which sees the individual as body and mind. We have been given a human body that is cursed. In it we have a brain. Psychology tries to make itself out as a medical treatment. The human brain is still the one area that is quite unknown. Psychologists make a gigantic leap of make believe that they know the brain. More importantly they speak of the brain and the mind like they are the same. They are not.
Then you have Psychiatrists. They are different than Psychologists. Psychiatrists bring relief through drugs, but not healing. I like to say that they try healing of the mind through drugs or as I like to say, ‘Better healing through drugs.’ Christians have no business drinking from these wells. What fellowship does light have with darkness?
In essence, Job is drinking from that well. It will give him strength, but will not deliver him from his torment. His sanity is intact, wrapped as it is in personal dignity. I do not believe he is sinning, so Eliphaz is off the mark with his innuendos. Job is not guilty of any of the imagined infractions. Instead his independence is trapping him. He is wild and free–starving, cold and naked. He has lost everything. He is wracked with pain. He clutches his personal dignity, which his friends see as tragic. We will see that our Holy God has an entirely different approach to Job's healing. The Book of Job outlines an entirely different way to the healing of the body, soul, and spirit.
