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In chapter 2 Job refuses to curse God but states:

"Shall we accept good from God and not trouble"

and then in chapter 3v3-4 it says that Job cursed the day he was born:

'May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, "A boy is conceived!" 4 That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.'

God created Job. So is it correct to say that Job is actually cursing God indirectly?

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Good question, and welcome to BHB.

As you will find out very quickly if you continue to participate in BHB, perhaps the most important principle of hermeneutics is context. A good mantra for a site such as ours should be:

"A text without a context is a pretext."

The habit of contextualizing a text saves us students of the Bible from jumping to conclusions when faced with apparent contradictions in Scripture. You did well in comparing one verse in Job to another verse in the same book. To get rid of the apparent contradiction between Job 2:10 and 3:1, however, we need to consider the verses in the context of the whole of Job and even the whole of Scripture.

Let's set the stage for an answer to your question by looking at Job 1:20-22, which is preceded by Job's having experienced three tragedies back to back, including the loss of all his children:

"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.' Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (1:20-22).

In his behavior Job was not prey to what I call "easy believism." He recognized clearly that God, despite the tragedies Job had just experienced, was still Sovereign and in control of Job's life. It is easy to believe in a god (small G) who gives us only what we want and not what we don't want. It is not so easy to believe in the one true God who in His infinite wisdom gives us both! Job was not an easy believer!

The words "Curse God and die" came from the mouth of Job's supportive(!) wife. What triggered the words was Job's having been stricken by Satan--with God's permission--with painful and hideous "boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (2:7). What was Job's response to this near blasphemy coming from his wife? Job said,

"'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips."

Are we justified at this point in concluding that given his "druthers" Job would still have chosen disaster over blessing? No. Job was not a masochist saying to God, "Pile it on, Lord, it hurts so good." He was, rather, a realist who bowed to the sovereign will of the God he worshiped (again, see 1:20).

When we come to chapter 3 (entitled in the NASB "Job's Lament") after his three friends had joined him in silence for an entire week, we read

". . . Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, 'Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, A boy is conceived. May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it'" (vv.1-4).

Is wishing you had never been born tantamount to cursing God? Before you answer, consider the words of another saint of God who endured suffering beyond human comprehension and subsequently cried out

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. . . . But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people" (Psalm 22:1-4,6).

This prophetic psalm, which gives us remarkable details concerning the cross-death of Jesus Christ, underscores the role of emotions in giving voice to words that reflect accurately the inner turmoil of a saint. This saint, as with Job, felt he was being punished unfairly and unjustly but who knew in his heart he was actually called upon to endure for a greater good the seemingly inexplicable actions of a sovereign God.

Was Jesus truly forsaken of God while on the cross? No. If He were, why would His last words be,

"'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last" (Luke 23:46).

No, Jesus was not forsaken of the Father, nor did the Father avert His eyes from His Son while Jesus as the Lamb of God was bearing away the sin of the world. Where some Christians have gotten the notion that God the Father turned His back on Jesus as He hung on the cross, I do not know. It is certainly not from Scripture.

Did Jesus feel forsaken by His God? Yes. Was He in fact forsaken? No.

Finally, did Job, like Jesus, feel forsaken by the God whom he worshiped? Perhaps yes. If you were to ask Job, "Job, were you in effect cursing God when you cursed the day you were born?", I suggest Job would have answered invariably, "No! God forbid. But I certainly felt as if I were accursed, knowing as I did that I was blameless before God!"

Job knew in his heart that God had adjudged him as blameless in His sight. God Himself had said,

"'For there is no one like [Job] on earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil'" (1:8).

Despite his moments of despair, perplexity, and incomplete knowledge about the inscrutable ways of the transcendent God whom he worshiped, Job did not sin with his lips. Had he done so, the book of Job may not have become part of sacred Scripture!

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  • Respectfully disagree that Jesus felt forsaken. Feb 23, 2017 at 18:42
  • @GigiSanchez: That's quite OK. I've always said that it is better to agree to disagree agreeably with someone than to call him an ignoraumus! (Just a little light humor.) Regarding your comment, I commend to you the reading of Hebrews 4:14-16. Acc. to those verses, Jesus experienced every temptation his children do, yet without sin. One temptation which is common to most of us is the temptation of feeling forsaken by someone, and that includes God, sometimes. Christians can know in their heads that God never leaves or forsakes them, but at times their hearts feel it. So too did our Lord. Feb 24, 2017 at 0:48
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Yes, God's name is the reason humanity is alive, so he is forever connected to us through his title and name, God. So, cursing the life that was given to you is the same as cursing God because God is the author of life itself. This deals with a challenge and not a deal struck. If it was, Job would have been in serious trouble for cursing the day he was born.

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    Welcome to the forum, Mario. The answers posted on this forum are different than those on other forums. People are expected to support their answers using references from the Bible or by quoting what scholars have written on the subject. What you've posted is classified as an opinion. Your opinion might be right on, but it won't be accepted unless you can prove it. Also, I'd suggest not using all caps because it looks like your SHOUTING. Instead, italicize words by enclosing them with asterisks (*). Power speaks softly. ;-)
    – Dieter
    Jun 1, 2018 at 2:27
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Job did not curse God at all.

Job lateral curse the day he was born. Job 3:1 " At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth." NLT

We also gather that Job was not so sure whether his power to curse can work or not, this tell us that Job was doing these for the first time in his life. Job 3:8 "Let those who are experts at cursing— whose cursing could rouse Leviathan — curse that day."

On verse 6 He says "Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months." When remove a day from the calender, God still exist without a curse directed to Him. We might conclude Job as a man of a good heart had an opinion the if someone can be born on the same birth date He can encounter the same calamities he was faced with.

When we say " Job cursed God indirectly " This clearly place a wrong thoughts about the kind a character we are talking about here. Job speak good God amid every trouble he went through. We quote saying " “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. " Job chapter 19:25

The last of chapter 19 paint another good picture about Job, he is very confident that he is in goid standing with the Lord, and he warn his accusers about judgement.

Job was so direct on what he was cursing here. Anything indirectly altered is grounded in fault finding and thoughts that Job take his God very ordinary. The indirect intentions to blame usual used on men to men because they cannot read the intentions of the heart but God do and Job knew it well.

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