Life Erased

Job laments, wishing he had never been born.

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. Job said: ‘Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, “A man-child is conceived.” Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, or light shine on it. Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds settle upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Yes, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it. Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none; may it not see the eyelids of the morning because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide trouble from my eyes. ‘Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts for me to suck? Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest with kings and counsellors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves, or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver. Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slaves are free from their masters. ‘Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in? For my sighing comes like my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.’ -  Job 3:1-26

Imagine being so despondent that you wish you had never been born.

Before all this started, Job had a wonderful life.  Sure there may have been things he wished were better.  He says early on that his children didn't have the same kind of relationship with God that he had, but for the most part, he was happy.

He had worked hard and amassed great wealth.  He had a loving family and wanted for little.

So why would he now wish all of that away?  If we judge our lives by the outcomes, we all will face the end.  Does that mean we shouldn't choose to live, because eventually we will die?

So long as we are alive, there is hope for tomorrow.  And if tomorrow brings more agony, there is hope for the next day, and the next.

Job cried out wanting the life he had to be erased.  Perhaps he should think of all the lives he touched and all the good he brought to the world.  None of that would have happened without him.

More to come...