My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,The grave is ready for me. ~Job 17:1
Job was a man who was in total anguish and he longed for the grave because the grave might provide some relief from his anguish. Not only had he lost his children, his possessions, and his health but friends did not understand his anguish and mocked him as a sinner deserving the suffering that he was going through.
These men did not know but assumed that God brought all of this calamity on Job because of some wickedness on the part of Job. They could not believe nor perceive that God would allow evil to overtake the righteous. However, God does allow evil to overtake the righteous. God allows evil to overtake the righteous for his glory and our good.
The best man that ever lived was the Son of God whose name is Jesus. Jesus came from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, a northern region of Judea. It was an area that many Jews lived in, north of Jerusalem in the midst of gentiles. Gentiles were what the Jews called non-jewish people. These Jews could not conceive that anything good could come out of Nazareth. (Jn.1:46) The Jews rejected Jesus, the very Son of God, whom God had given as their Messiah who is called Christ. They believe that he was cursed because God allowed Him to be hung on a tree. (Gal.3:13 & Deut.21:3)
God allowed Jesus to suffer for His glory and our good. God allowed Job to suffer for the same reason. His friends thought that they understood God and the reason for Job’s suffering but they did not know God. The Jews thought that they understood God and the reason for Jesus’ suffering but they did not know God. Jesus said to the Jews, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” (Jn.8:19)
