Job 3:1  After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
2  And Job spake, and said,
3  Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
4  Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5  Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6  As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
7  Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.
8  Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
9  Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
10  Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

The Bible is unique in many ways. It reveals the holiness and authority of God. It also reveals the frailty of man in many ways. God does not hide reality from us. God spoke highly of Job in the opening chapters of this book. He was not lying. He was telling us the truth. Now we see that even a man who eschews evil and knows the fear of God, can still sin. We are not given the length of time from Job chapter 1 until the end of the book. We know that there was a time when Job was very discouraged with life.
There have been many sermons preached on the patience of Job. James was directed to write about that. Job was a very patient man. We can learn much from the book of Job. God does not want us to be arrogant and mock Job. He also does not want us to think that a human being is beyond sin. God did not force Job to sin. The devil accused Job falsely. God gave the devil opportunity to inflict severe trouble upon Job’s life. Job would fail God to a certain degree, but as we have noted before, he had the right foundation. The God of Creation was his God and He would not leave Job in his low spot. His three friends would challenge Job’s faith in different ways. Job would question God’s actions. Job did not see the big picture. We often don’t see the big picture either. Through the book of Job we can understand better, what Paul was directed to write about in Ephesians 6 and in II Corinthians 10.
We start chapter 3 with God revealing the frustration of Job. He had suffered the loss of all his possessions and of his children and their families. His wife turned her back on God and on him. He was left all alone. He was alone, humanly speaking, but God was still there with him.
Job cursed the day of his birth. He wished he had never been born. He wished his mother had never conceived him. He spoke against God’s design for reproduction.
His parents were blessed of God in being able to have a son. They were obedient to God’s command in Genesis 1 and repeated in Genesis 9. They were seeking to be fruitful and multiply. They would have been excited to know that a baby was on the way. When Job was born, they would have rejoiced in having a son. Job had been blessed with good health. He grew up in an environment that afforded him the ability to learn how to be a successful business man. He married and God blessed them with seven sons and three daughters. Job was well known in that area for his business skills and his wealth. Things had gone well for him. Most importantly, he knew the fear of God in his heart and life and thus he knew the importance of walking with the Lord.
Things had fallen apart for him rather quickly and the depth of his loss began to sink in. Job was not prepared for his current situation.
It was quite useless for Job to curse the day of his birth. It was also useless for him to speak ill of his parents’ actions in bringing about his conception.
God does not erase facts. Job needed to wait on the Lord in this time of uncertainty, for him. God knew what was going on. God was still in charge. In the following chapters we will see glimpses of the patience of Job. We will also see glimpses of the impatience of Job.
God gave us this book to help us to learn the patience of Job, but also to remember that the One we need to follow is God. Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life”. No man is the ultimate example. There are many things we can learn from the examples that God gives us in His Word.
In these verses we can learn to give thanks in everything. God had not failed Job in allowing him to be born. His parents had not failed him in conceiving him and giving birth to him. He had been blessed in many ways and he had been a blessing to many. God would continue to bless Job and also direct him to be a blessing to many. As we study this book we can be reminded of how needful it is to know the Lord, first of all. We can also learn how important it is for us to learn of Him every day. As we look at what He is trying to teach us, we can be better prepared for the “surprises” in life. When we want to complain to God, we can look at the book of Job and see how that we really have nothing to complain about. We also need to guard against being a “friend” who knows things that we really do not know.
Let us choose to walk in the fear of God as Job did and to let Him give us that right attitude in everything we face.

I Thessalonians 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Pastor Bartel