Job 3:1-26: Life without God Is Worse than Death

After seven days of silence with his friends, Job speaks first. With vivid imagery, he curses the day of his birth and says it would be better if he were now dead. Yet this is not a despairing desire for death. The key to understanding Job's lament is the reality that Job's suffering has made him unsure if God remains for him. The thing that Job fears is that God is now his enemy. If that is the case, then Job has no hope at all, for life without God is worse than death.

Rev. Zelwyn Heide, pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hanover, ND and Zion Lutheran Church in New Salem, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Job 3:1-26.

To learn more about St. Peter and Zion Lutheran Churches, visit stpeterzion.org.

“There Is a Redeemer” is a series on Sharper Iron that studies the book of Job. The suffering of Job raises important questions. Does man fear God for no reason? Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil? Who can be an arbiter for man? As this book of wisdom literature wrestles with such questions, God reveals to us that He is our Living Redeemer whom we are right to fear, love, and trust above all things.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Pastor Appel serves at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, IL. Learn more at flcgodfrey.org. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org