Job 3:20-26

Job 3:20-26

[20] Wherefore is light  given  to him that is in misery,  and life  unto the bitter  in soul;  [21] Which long  for death,  but it cometh not; and dig  for it more than for hid treasures;  [22] exceedingly,  and are glad,  when they can find  the grave?  [23] Why is light given to a man  whose way  is hid,  and whom God  hath hedged in?  [24] For my sighing  cometh  before  I eat,  and my roarings  are poured out  like the waters.  [25] For the thing which I greatly  feared  is come  upon me, and that which I was afraid  of is come  unto me. [26] I was not in safety,  neither had I rest,  neither was I quiet;  yet trouble  came. 

What does Job 3:20-26 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Much of Job"s suffering was intellectual. He asked, "Why?" frequently in this soliloquy ( Job 3:11-12; Job 3:20; Job 3:23) and in the dialogue that follows ( Job 7:20-21; Job 9:29; Job 13:24; Job 21:4; Job 24:1).
"My groaning comes at the sight of my food" ( Job 3:24) may mean that food was not appealing to him. Probably he also meant that his groaning was as regular and frequent as his meals. The parallel idea at the end of Job 3:24 means his pain was as unending as a stream.
This is how Job felt when he uttered this soliloquy. He was bitter ( Job 3:20) but not out of control. He was angry with God ( Job 3:23) but not cursing God. The writer used the same Hebrew word to describe Job as one "hedged in" by God with darkness and disfavor ( Job 3:23) that Satan used to describe Job as one whom God had "made a hedge about" to protect him from evil ( Job 1:10). Job was in despair but not defiant toward God. He was feeling his pain intensely but not accusing God of being unjust. His grief had not yet descended to its lowest depths.
Many people reach the same level in the strata of grief that Job did here. They long to die but do not contemplate suicide. Job evidently did not entertain the option of suicide because suicide implied that one had lost all hope in God. [1] The pressure of pain squeezes out the memories of past pleasures. The present agony becomes so overwhelming that sufferers often cannot see hope beyond it. My own father suffered with bone cancer and before he died longed for death even though he was a godly believer. This experience of great pain is the will of God for some people. We must not make the mistake of misjudging those who are going through this "valley of the shadow of death"-as Job"s friends did.
"These are the harshest words Job utters against himself in the entire book." [2]