Job 3:13
For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest
For now I would be lying down in peace
In this opening phrase, Job expresses a longing for rest and tranquility, which he believes would have been his state had he not been born. The Hebrew word for "lying down" (שָׁכַב, shakab) often connotes rest or sleep, suggesting a cessation of life's struggles. The concept of "peace" (שָׁלוֹם, shalom) in Hebrew encompasses not just the absence of conflict but a completeness and wholeness. Job's lament here is deeply rooted in his desire for the ultimate peace that he believes death would have brought him, contrasting sharply with his current turmoil.

I would be asleep and at rest
The repetition of the idea of sleep reinforces Job's yearning for relief from his suffering. The Hebrew word for "asleep" (יָשֵׁן, yashen) is often used metaphorically in the Old Testament to describe death, emphasizing the finality and escape from earthly troubles. "Rest" (נוּחַ, nuach) further underscores this desire for a cessation of pain and struggle. In the ancient Near Eastern context, rest was a highly valued state, often associated with divine blessing and favor. Job's lamentation reflects a deep-seated belief that death would have provided him with the rest that life, in its current state, denies him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and perseverance.

2. Uz
The land where Job lived. It is often associated with the region east of Israel, possibly in Edom or northern Arabia.

3. Job's Lament
This chapter marks the beginning of Job's lament, where he curses the day of his birth and expresses a deep desire for relief from his suffering.
Teaching Points
The Reality of Suffering
Job's lament is a raw and honest expression of his suffering. It reminds us that even the most faithful can experience deep despair and that it is okay to bring our honest emotions before God.

The Search for Peace
Job's desire for rest in death reflects a deep longing for peace. As Christians, we are reminded that true peace is found in Christ, who offers rest for our souls even amidst life's trials.

The Value of Life
While Job wishes for death as an escape, the broader biblical account affirms the value and purpose of life, even in suffering. We are called to trust in God's sovereignty and goodness, even when we do not understand our circumstances.

Hope Beyond Despair
Job's account does not end in despair. It ultimately points to the hope and restoration that God provides. We are encouraged to hold onto hope, knowing that God is with us in our suffering and has a plan for our redemption.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's expression of despair in Job 3:13 resonate with your own experiences of suffering or hardship?

2. In what ways can we find peace and rest in God during times of trial, as opposed to seeking escape through other means?

3. How do the additional scriptures (Psalm 4:8, Ecclesiastes 4:2-3, Revelation 14:13) provide a broader biblical perspective on suffering and rest?

4. What practical steps can you take to support someone who is experiencing deep despair or questioning the value of life?

5. How can Job's account encourage us to maintain hope and faith in God's goodness, even when we do not see immediate relief from our suffering?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 4:8
This verse speaks of lying down in peace and safety, contrasting Job's desire for rest in death with the peace found in trusting God.

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3
These verses discuss the idea that those who have not yet been born are better off than those who have seen the evil under the sun, echoing Job's lament about the burdens of life.

Revelation 14:13
This verse speaks of the blessedness of those who die in the Lord, highlighting the rest and peace that Job longs for.
Birth DeploredT. T. Munger.Job 3:1-26
Defect in the Best of MenDean Farrar.Job 3:1-26
Good Men not Always At Their BestJ. Caryl.Job 3:1-26
Good Men Weakened by CalamitiesH. E. Stone.Job 3:1-26
Infirmity AppearingFootsteps of Truth.Job 3:1-26
Job Cursing His DayJoseph Caryl.Job 3:1-26
Job's DistemperGeorge Hutcheson.Job 3:1-26
Mistaken SpeechJ. Parker, D. D.Job 3:1-26
The Cry from the DepthsRobert A. Watson, D. D.Job 3:1-26
The Eloquence of GriefE. Johnson Job 3:1-26
The Maddening Force of SufferingHomilistJob 3:1-26
The Peril of Impulsive SpeechAlbert Barnes.Job 3:1-26
The Speech of Job and its MisapprehensionsJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 3:1-26
The Grave a RestR. Green Job 3:13-19
People
Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Asleep, Lain, Peace, Quiet, Rest, Sleep, Slept
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 3:13

     9110   after-life

Job 3:1-26

     5945   self-pity

Job 3:11-19

     5059   rest, eternal

Job 3:13-14

     5508   ruins
     9022   death, believers

Job 3:13-15

     4363   silver

Job 3:13-17

     5057   rest, physical

Job 3:13-19

     9540   Sheol

Library
March 2 Evening
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.--HEB. 4:9. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; they . . . rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth . . . Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. We that are in this tabernacle do groan,
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Trouble and Rest of Good Men "There the Wicked Cease from Troubling
Sermon 127 The Trouble and Rest of Good Men "There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest." Job 3:17. When God at first surveyed all the works he had made, "behold, they were very good." All were perfect in beauty, and man, the lord of all, was perfect in holiness. And as his holiness was, so was his happiness. Knowing no sin, he knew no pain. But when sin was conceived, it soon brought forth pain; the whole scene was changed in a moment. He now groaned under the weight of
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Sorrowful Man's Question
"Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?"--Job 3:23. I AM VERY THANKFUL that so many of you are glad and happy. There is none too much joy in the world, and the more that any of us can create, the better. It should be a part of our happiness, and a man part of it, to try to make other people glad. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," is a commission which many of us ought to feel is entrusted to us. If your own cup of joy is full, let it run over to others who
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900

A Prayer when one Begins to be Sick.
O most righteous Judge, yet in Jesus Christ my gracious Father! I, wretched sinner, do here return unto thee, though driven with pain and sickness, like the prodigal child with want and hunger. I acknowledge that this sickness and pain comes not by blind chance or fortune, but by thy divine providence and special appointment. It is the stroke of thy heavy hand, which my sins have justly deserved; and the things that I feared are now fallen upon me (Job iii. 25.) Yet do I well perceive that in wrath
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Whether Servile Fear is Good
Whether Servile Fear is Good We proceed to the fourth article thus: 1. It seems that servile fear is not good. If the use of a thing is evil, the thing itself is evil. Now the use of servile fear is evil, since "he who does something out of fear does not do well, even though that which is done be good," as the gloss says on Rom. ch. 8. It follows that servile fear is not good. 2. Again, that which has its origin in a root of sin is not good. Servile fear has its origin in a root of sin. For on Job
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Whether it is Lawful to Curse an Irrational Creature?
Objection 1: It would seem that it is unlawful to curse an irrational creature. Cursing would seem to be lawful chiefly in its relation to punishment. Now irrational creatures are not competent subjects either of guilt or of punishment. Therefore it is unlawful to curse them. Objection 2: Further, in an irrational creature there is nothing but the nature which God made. But it is unlawful to curse this even in the devil, as stated above [2960](A[1]). Therefore it is nowise lawful to curse an irrational
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether in the State of Innocence Children Would have Been Born Confirmed in Righteousness?
Objection 1: It would seem that in the state of innocence children would have been born confirmed in righteousness. For Gregory says (Moral. iv) on the words of Job 3:13: "For now I should have been asleep, etc.: If no sinful corruption had infected our first parent, he would not have begotten "children of hell"; no children would have been born of him but such as were destined to be saved by the Redeemer." Therefore all would have been born confirmed in righteousness. Objection 2: Further, Anselm
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Blessed virgin was Sanctified Before Animation?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified before animation. Because, as we have stated [4127](A[1]), more grace was bestowed on the Virgin Mother of God than on any saint. Now it seems to have been granted to some, to be sanctified before animation. For it is written (Jer. 1:5): "Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee": and the soul is not infused before the formation of the body. Likewise Ambrose says of John the Baptist (Comment. in Luc. i, 15): "As
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Servile Fear is Good?
Objection 1: It would seem that servile fear is not good. For if the use of a thing is evil, the thing itself is evil. Now the use of servile fear is evil, for according to a gloss on Rom. 8:15, "if a man do anything through fear, although the deed be good, it is not well done." Therefore servile fear is not good. Objection 2: Further, no good grows from a sinful root. Now servile fear grows from a sinful root, because when commenting on Job 3:11, "Why did I not die in the womb?" Gregory says (Moral.
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it is Lawful to Curse Anyone?
Objection 1: It would seem unlawful to curse anyone. For it is unlawful to disregard the command of the Apostle in whom Christ spoke, according to 2 Cor. 13:3. Now he commanded (Rom. 12:14), "Bless and curse not." Therefore it is not lawful to curse anyone. Objection 2: Further, all are bound to bless God, according to Dan. 3:82, "O ye sons of men, bless the Lord." Now the same mouth cannot both bless God and curse man, as proved in the third chapter of James. Therefore no man may lawfully curse
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Wesley and his Barber
Thursday, April 11 (Bolton).--The barber who shaved me said, "Sir, I praise God on your behalf. When you were at Bolton last, I was one of the most eminent drunkards in all the town; but I came to listen at the window, and God struck me to the heart. I then earnestly prayed for power against drinking; and God gave me more than I asked: He took away the very desire of it. Yet I felt myself worse and worse, till on April 5 last, I could hold out no longer. I knew I must drop into hell that moment unless
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The Rich Sinner Dying. Psa. 49:6,9; Eccl. 8:8; Job 3:14,15.
The rich sinner dying. Psa. 49:6,9; Eccl. 8:8; Job 3:14,15. In vain the wealthy mortals toil, And heap their shining dust in vain, Look down and scorn the humble poor, And boast their lofty hills of gain. Their golden cordials cannot ease Their pained hearts or aching heads, Nor fright nor bribe approaching death From glitt'ring roofs and downy beds. The ling'ring, the unwilling soul The dismal summons must obey, And bid a long, a sad farewell To the pale lump of lifeless clay. Thence they are
Isaac Watts—The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts

The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Writings of Israel's Philosophers
[Sidenote: Discussions the problem of evil] An intense interest in man led certain of Israel's sages in time to devote their attention to more general philosophical problems, such as the moral order of the universe. In the earlier proverbs, prophetic histories, and laws, the doctrine that sin was always punished by suffering or misfortune, and conversely that calamity and misfortune were sure evidence of the guilt of the one affected, had been reiterated until it had become a dogma. In nine out
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

One Thing is Needful;
or, SERIOUS MEDITATIONS UPON THE FOUR LAST THINGS: DEATH, JUDGMENT, HEAVEN, AND HELL UNTO WHICH IS ADDED EBAL AND GERIZZIM, OR THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE, by John Bunyan. London: Printed for Nath. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1688.[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. According to Charles Doe, in that curious sheet called The Struggler for the Preservation of Mr. John Bunyan's Labours, these poems were published about the year 1664, while the author was suffering imprisonment for conscience
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Death Swallowed up in victory
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory! D eath, simply considered, is no more than the cessation of life --that which was once living, lives no longer. But it has been the general, perhaps the universal custom of mankind, to personify it. Imagination gives death a formidable appearance, arms it with a dart, sting or scythe, and represents it as an active, inexorable and invincible reality. In this view death is a great devourer; with his iron tongue
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Meditations for the Morning.
1. Almighty God can, in the resurrection, as easily raise up thy body out of the grave, from the sleep of death, as he hath this morning wakened thee in thy bed, out of the sleep of nature. At the dawning of which resurrection day, Christ shall come to be glorified in his saints; and every one of the bodies of the thousands of his saints, being fashioned like unto his glorious body, shall shine as bright as the sun (2 Thess. i. 10; Jude, ver. 14; Phil. iii. 21; Luke ix. 31;) all the angels shining
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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