"Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me..." (Job 30:11a) Job feels deeply hurt. He claims innocence, and he wants both recognition and reward on account of that innocence. But innocence is no guarantee of recognition. It is not necessarily the harbinger of reward. Innocence often goes unnoticed, and it is often credited to those who are guilty.
Job makes me wonder about his integrity when he begins to invoke curses upon himself in Job 3. "...if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, then may other eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted." (Job 3:7-8)
And something seems perverse to me in this invocation: "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her." (Job 3:9-10) Talk about "over the top!"
Jesus says, "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37) It seems to me that by the invocation of curses, Job invites the evil one into his conversation.
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