The will to continue
is delivered a blow.
Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).
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Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
Pistons explode from shoulder to fist to face. In a boxing bout the word “jabs” describes one opponent snapping his adversary’s head back with each blow. This is Job 3.11-26. Job then picks up an automatic pistol, firing controlled bursts of bullets expressing the subject of his agony. Every single line and each nuance of meaning in the Hebrew throughout this chapter depicts the ferocity of blows and bullets. The power of this gut-wrenching groan that reaches a roar at the end of the poem constantly repeating in verses 11-26, “Why? Why? Why?” I would encourage every listener to stop the video here to read Job 3:11-26. And I should warn you, these verses are not for the faint of heart.
Job “piles on” the words for death: death will be a repose, an anticipated rest, lying down, be at peace, tranquility, what we call “the big sleep” or “the long dirt nap.” Death is better than life to Job because life is full of trouble. Job makes a long list that says life is nothing but trouble, in every way, for everyone. Pick a social group, they are all represented here: the powerful, rich, leaders, wicked, the weary, slaves, forced laborers, prisoners, the small (underprivileged) and the great (the privileged). Right in the middle of this grouping is what Job would have wished for originally—to be stillborn, dead at birth. Why does Job suggest death is best? Because it releases us from life’s miseries.
Psychologists and physicians alike tell us that suffering produces questions of purpose and the will to continue in life. Our best to response to anyone who is in pain is simply to listen and then do as Paul says, “Weep with those who weep.”
My Truth in Two series during Fall 2022 is a tribute to our son Tyler Micah. We lament his death while desiring to give voice to all who suffer in any way.
[This material is drawn from a sermon I preached on Job 3 at Zionsville Fellowship (Indiana) the spring of 2008. A number of articles have used the same words and ideas since and can be found by searching for “lament” at MarkEckel.com where you can also find a tribute to my son.]