Why does Job question the purpose of life in Job 3:20? Setting the Scene • Job has just lost his children, wealth, and health (Job 1–2). • Three silent friends sit with him for seven days; then Job breaks the silence with a lament (Job 3). • In chapter 3 he does not curse God, but he does curse the day of his birth and questions why life continues in misery. Reading the Verse “Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul?” (Job 3:20) Unpacking Job’s Question • Light = the gift of ongoing life and consciousness (Psalm 56:13). • Given = God is the giver; Job still knows life comes from Him (Acts 17:25). • Miserable / bitter of soul = one crushed under grief, pain, and what appears to be meaningless suffering (Psalm 69:29). Job’s question: If life is God’s gift, why does God keep handing it to someone who can no longer find joy in it? Layers of Meaning 1. Honest Lament – Scripture records raw human anguish without rebuke (Jeremiah 20:14–18; Psalm 88). – Job’s words show that faithful people can struggle honestly before God. 2. Clash between Experience and Theology – Job knows God is just (Job 1:1; 9:22), yet his experience feels unjust. – The tension forces him to voice the question; it is not disbelief but disorientation. 3. Suffering under a Larger Spiritual Contest – Chapters 1–2 reveal Satan’s challenge: will a righteous man still honor God when stripped of blessings? – Job, unaware of this backdrop, experiences only the pain, intensifying his confusion (Isaiah 55:8–9). 4. Echoes of the Fall – Since Genesis 3, pain and toil accompany human life (Romans 8:20–22). – Job’s cry exposes the universal groan for redemption. Why Job Phrases It as “Why Give Light…?” • Life comes from God; Job is asking God directly, affirming divine sovereignty even in protest. • By personifying life as a gift that keeps arriving, Job highlights the mismatch between gift and felt ability to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 2:17). • The wording underscores that the problem is not life itself but life under crushing sorrow. Lessons for Us Today • Scripture validates lament: suffering believers are permitted to question without sinning (Ephesians 4:26). • God’s purposes may remain hidden for a season, yet He remains just (Deuteronomy 32:4). • Perseverance has an end in view: “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:11). • Present anguish cannot outweigh future glory (Romans 8:18). |
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