Job 3: The Cry of an Anguished Man

Dear Friends, Family and Fellow Students,

Here is the outline and themes for tomorrow's class:

September 5, 2010

Job 3: Job's Curse and Lament

Class Outline:

1. Questions from Prologue or Propositions (10)
2. Review 2:1-13 (10)
3. Chapter 3 Verse-by-Verse (30)
4. Close with Devotion (5)

Themes from Chapter 3

1. Unexplained evil or innocent suffering cause us to ask "Why", due to our sense of justice and our limited knowledge, and our need for relief. Job shocks us and his friends in Chapter 3 with his harsh words and curse upon his own birth and lament of his own life.
2. Profound suffering and loss can drive us into deep despair, even to the point of wishing we did not exist.
3. When we suffer greatly, we enter the common plight of others who share in suffering.
4. Although Job does not curse God, he comes close in wishing he were dead by calling down incantations against his day of birth and moment of conception.
5. Job's curse-lament sets the stage for the following dialogue with his friends as they try to comfort and correct Job in his despondent state.