This spiritual condition of madness and folly is what Solomon called, “a wounded spirit” (Prov. 18:14,Eccl. 2:17) – a seemingly senseless agony where the man feels that he is imploding within, or mortally wounded inside (Jer. 15:18)
Biblical Theology·Jul 29, 2025·Updated Aug 19, 2026
Job is afflicted! However, what Job describes of his suffering throughout the discourse from here on out comes as a result of being backslidden or fallen from grace which means that he is painfully aware that he is under the wrath of God because of a crushing sense of unforgiven sin Such souls are prone to rashness that grossly exaggerates reality. Unrealistic thoughts prevail because unhappy souls find a strange delight in cursing themselves while they bemoan their misery and speak loftily about what they suppose is their unavoidable fate. Ah! Bitterness of soul makes really bad nights much worse
“Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”— Job 3:23-25
Miserable souls are so dark within and blackened by sin, instead of feeling cheered by the sunrise, they feel that it rises in hostility against them This spiritual condition of madness and folly is what Solomon called, “a wounded spirit” – a seemingly senseless agony where the man feels that he is imploding within, or mortally wounded inside which then makes him desperately grasp after even a momentary glimpse of spiritual sanity all to no avail To all such men even the dullest moment is dreadfully unbearable. The afflictions suffered outwardly are unimaginably exaggerated by the pain and torment experienced inwardly. This is the bitter cup of the backslider!
Job was deceived to think that death would ease his “sorrow” He became delusional at the thought of enduring another night, when all the former nights felt like an eternity for the disquietness of his soul every moment For, though he lies down for slumber, he was without any sense of “rest” or stillness of body and soul He anxiously awaits the passing of each second and minute with a haunting sense of eternity within time! Therefore, if you can believe it, Job demonically covets the supposed freedom of “rest” enjoyed by “the prisoners” of the underworld in Hell If he could dig into Hades…he would
“Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?”— Job 3:20-22
Job vainly imagines what rejoicing and gladness would come over him if he could bid mortal life goodbye However, because he is unable to bring himself to the point of suicide for a restraining sense of fear toward God, Job continues to “eat” food in order to survive albeit with “sighing” and “roarings” all throughout the unpleasant exercise Nevertheless, at sundry times, a gust of divine providence clears the smoke to allow the depressed sinner to breathe a breath of fresh air, and thus he is made to remember the real problem all along. An allusion to this is made in to underscore the main issue. Namely, that Job feels forsaken by God and lost in sin
Job speaks less of his physical suffering and more about his personal confusion about the situation. Job’s physical suffering is truly unfathomable without comprehending his confusion. The fact that Job feels condemned before God is the crux of the matter!
Dying men sometimes pray for death. Mortally ill people who teeter on the brink of death for a prolonged period of time sometimes give into these desires. However, even believers can be driven to this dark place through spiritual illness.
Job claims that if his grievous calamity were to be “thoroughly weighed” in a balance, so as to determine its weight, then “it would be heavier than the sand of the sea” (Job 6:3)!
The angel went on to say, “they perish for ever without any regarding it” (Job 4:20), which is to say that men perish so frequently, and nearly continuously, there are people dying worldwide “from morning to evening” (Job 4:20).
Somehow, someway, they become delusional in the midst of their physical suffering to think that death would grant them some sense of relief. On the physical side of things, there is some truth to this,
A book written about a controversy is bound to be controversial. A situation that confounded the most godly men of the Early Church will no doubt confuse readers today. Doubtful readers of the Book of Job
