Job 3:2-5

2 And Job ['Iyowb] spake [`anah], and said ['amar],

3 Let the day [yowm] perish ['abad] wherein I was born [yalad], and the night [layil] in which it was said ['amar], There is a man child [geber] conceived [harah].

4 Let that day [yowm] be darkness [choshek]; let not God ['elowahh] regard [darash] it from above [ma`al], neither let the light [naharah] shine [yapha`] upon it.

5 Let darkness [choshek] and the shadow of death [tsalmaveth] stain [ga'al] it; let a cloud [`ananah] dwell [shakan] upon it; let the blackness [kimriyr] of the day [yowm] terrify [ba`ath] it. KJV-Interlinear

2 And Job said, 3 'Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, 'A boy is conceived.' 4 'May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. 5 'Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. NASB

Job feels lower than dog doodoo. Job's wife is angry to the max. And, the first lesson we learn when we get really down in the dumps on life, is that we have absolutely no power whatsoever, over life.

Job is so sick, everyone thinks that he is on deaths doorstep. Yet Job is able to speak, and he is the first to speak. But no matter what he says, neither Job, nor his wife, nor his friends, nor you, nor I, can will anything into or out of, life.

We can wish for this and that, and curse this and that, but our words, even our deeds, have no power. We are only in chapter three and it won't be until we get to chapter 38 before Gods whirlwind begins to set things straight.

Job is miserable, and in his misery, he begins to wish for things that cannot occur. He begins with his birthday. There is but one day on which he was born, and that day repeats itself each year reminding us that we are one year older.

Most folks celebrate their birthday with presents, and cake and ice cream, and such. But Job wants to declare his date of birth, and his annual birthday, void from the calendar.

We know that there are 365 days in the year and 366 in the leap year. That will not change until the end of human history. No one can say that any given day is hereby non-existent. We can't go from June 5 to June 7, and pretend that the sixth never existed.

Days will come and go. What is past cannot be undone. Neither can we return to that day and undo or redo its events.

Job curses the day of his conception, which led to the day of his birth. Obviously, no one can be born unless they have first been conceived. If the day of his birth did not exist, then back tracking he can prevent the night of his conception.

But of course, when one does not exist, how can you prevent the actions of your parents?

If neither of these events had occurred, then there would be no declaration of a son. When a son is born, then back in those days, the birth of a son is an extremely happy affair. That means the continuation of the family name. Daughters are given away in marriage, to perpetuate other family names.

Job is worn out from the time he has been sick. His strength, and his emotions are stretched and frazzled.

If the day of his birth did not exist, then no light would shine on it. The sun would not rise. God Himself, would not even consider it.

If your 'today' did not exist, then your yesterday would turn into your tomorrow, and your life for today would never have happened. If it never happened then you would not have any memories of it.

Job wants to wipe out, his entire existence as though he had never been born, and therefore he would never have been rich, and thus he would never have had anything to lose, and therefore, he wouldn't suffer.

Of course, such a person, who never exists, would never have the opportunity for a future in heaven with God. Job did not have the book of Revelation, but he did know of its promises. He was a mature believer.

You might want to review those last couple of chapters in Revelation, just to refresh your memory as to what awaits us all in the future. Compare that to any and all of the misery of the world, throughout history, and nothing you might suffer in this life, is worth giving up your future in heaven.

So even if you are a blind, and deaf, quadriplegic, cancer ridden, leprosy infested, prison camp victim of life, and I presume that your life is not near that bad off, then you are still better off just toughing it out until God takes you home. Your future is worth infinitely more than all of the misery of the world combined.

Extreme despair does not reason with reality. It just wants the hurting to go away. And if the hurting doesn't go away, then it wants everything to go away.

It is far better, though extremely difficult, to ponder the graces of God, than to dwell on the pains of misery and suffering. I know, it's easier said than done. Nevertheless, in life we will all face some sort of difficulty. Whether it is the loss of a job, ones health, a home, or a loved one, or whatever, mental or physical, makes no difference. You can't know hurting until you are really hurting, and that is when the adults are separated from the children in this life.

As if Job can't get rid of the day of his birth, then he wishes for darkness like a dark cloud, to loom over his birthday, like a bad omen. This then will let everyone know that this day is not a good day. This is a day of great fear and trepidation. No one should even venture out, lest they be struck with the same bad luck, which struck Job.

Hummm! Maybe it is a good thing that we don't know what day Job was born on. Maybe it really was cancelled from the calendar long ago and we just don't realize that the calendar year should have been one day longer than it is today. Hummm!

But then, if everyone who has ever suffered in history, had their way, then our calendar year wouldn't have any days on the calendar. That means no birthdays, no presents, no ice cream. Bummer!

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