Job 30:16-31 (ESV)

“And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me. The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. With great force my garment is disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my tunic. God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help? Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? But when I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came. My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me. I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches. My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat. My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.”

This lament is different. Job’s pain here isn’t physical; it’s emotional. God has abandoned Job and that hurts more than anything else.

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. … My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me. I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

This is a preview of the agony Christ suffered. Notice the similarity between Job’s words Christ’s on the cross.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Matthew 27:46 (ESV)

This is a portrait of hell. The pain of hell is not merely physical; it’s mostly separation from God.

We underappreciate how comforting God’s presence is. Even when He’s disciplining us, it’s still reassuring to feel His presence.

Imagine if, as a child, your parents suddenly stopped punishing you for anything. They were just busy and ignored you. You might be happy about it at first, but eventually you’d crave what was lost, even though that was mostly things you thought you hated.

If that’s your reaction to losing the punishment aspect of a relationship, imagine how you’d feel if you mostly lost the good things in a relationship, and got a boatload of pain in its place.

That’s the agony of Job – and of Christ.

 The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies