Main Highlights
Job responds to Eliphaz, arguing that his suffering is so great that his complaints are justified. He desires death as a release from his pain and accuses his friends of being unhelpful and disloyal.
Key Verses
"Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!"— Job 6:2
"What strength have I, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?"— Job 6:11
"But now you have come, and now you see my calamity and are afraid."— Job 6:21
Related Scripture
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."— Proverbs 17:17
Scholar Insight
""Job does not deny God's justice; he simply insists that his suffering is disproportionate to any sin he has committed." Francis Andersen, Job: An Introduction and Commentary (InterVarsity Press, 1976), p. 130."
Theological Analysis
What we learn about God
Though Job is in immense pain he does not curse God, showing he acknowledges that God is still God even in the midst of his suffering. "The Almighty, that I may be comforted; for I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One." Job 6:10
Christological Connection
Job's plea for relief from suffering, even to the point of desiring death, can be seen as a faint echo of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” Matthew 26:38
Systematic Theology
The Problem of Evil: The existence of suffering, particularly among the righteous, raises difficult questions about God's justice and goodness.
Law & Grace
Job does not feel that his sin warrants the suffering he is going through. "Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone wrong." Job 6:24 In this instance we do not see law and grace, but rather the question of it.
Personal Application
We should be compassionate and supportive to those who are suffering, listening to their pain without judgment. "To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty." Job 6:14