who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?
Job has lost his children, his wealth and his health. In this verse he pictures people who dance for joy when they find a grave, and he asks why God keeps giving life to anyone who wants it to end.
The shape of the cry
This verse sits inside a question that runs from verse 20 to verse 23. Here is that whole question, translated from the Hebrew by one writer.
William KellyWhy does He give light to the wretched one, and life to the bitter in soul? Why to those who long for death, and it does not come, and who dig for it more than for hidden treasure — who rejoice so much that they dance, and shout for joy when they find the grave? Why to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
A question aimed at God
Job is not only describing other sufferers. He is asking why God keeps him from the one thing he wants, and in the same breath he makes his first accusation.
Samuel RidoutHe longs for death (vv. 20-23). Having pictured death as a state of dreamless sleep, Job gives vent to his longing for this rest. He asks why one so wretched as he should be kept from the repose he seeks. He adds to this the first of his charges against God, calling himself "the man whom God has hedged in."
Wanting death, but not taking it
Job digs for death, yet he never lifts a hand against himself. That restraint matters, and so does the reason death never came.
Leslie M. GrantIn these verses Job comes closer to facing facts as they actually were. He was in misery and bitterness of soul, and he questions why life should be given to one in such a state, though he longs for death and it does not come. It is good, however, that he does not even consider suicide, as many would do today who are in such a condition. Satan had been told to spare Job's life, though he was allowed to make him suffer terribly. God knew Job's sufferings were needed to bring about great blessing. So Job's wish for death was not according to the will of God. Job would not die until God ordained it so.
Not the first believer to ask this
The longing in this verse is not unique to Job. Other faithful men wanted the same release.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWe see from these expressions that his mind turned to death as the great rescuer. Moses and Elijah show the same trend of thought and weakness; so did disappointed Jonah when he said, "It is better for me to die."
Where Job's logic breaks
If a grave is the best thing a sufferer can hope to find, then hope itself ends at a hole in the ground. One writer weighs Job's words against the New Testament, and finds them short.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWeighed in the light of the New Testament all these expressions are found wanting. Death is not a friend whose visit we should want, but an enemy. In the light of the gospel, the hope of God's people in affliction and sorrow is not relief by death, but the coming of the Lord. The promise of the New Testament, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:51-52), is unknown in the Old Testament, for it is one of the mysteries hidden in former ages. Job's language is that of a man in despair; he seems to have quite forgotten the bright and blessed days of the past and fears a hopeless future.
The answer Job could not yet have
Job's question never got an answer on his own terms. One writer points forward to where the answer lies.
William KellyThe last verses (20-26) put the question, first in general, and then aimed straight at himself: why should he live, when he is this miserable? … The full answer could only come in a dead and risen Christ. If it were not so, the most miserable of all men would be the Christian. But now He is risen, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For the one who now walks by faith, fear of evil is gone for ever… So the Christian can glory in tribulations, and die daily. But Job can only say that, if he so much as felt a fear, it came upon him at once.
Summary
- Rest wanted. Job pictures people hunting death like buried treasure and dancing when they find the grave. To him, the grave looks like the only rest left.
- Rest refused. He asks why God keeps that rest from him. The question becomes his first complaint against God: he is the man God has hedged in.
- Rest denied on purpose. Death never came, because Satan had orders to spare Job's life. God knew the suffering was working toward blessing. Job would not die until God ordained it.
- Rest misjudged. Moses, Elijah and Jonah wanted the same release. But death is an enemy, not a friend, and the believer's hope is not relief by dying but the coming of the Lord.
- Rest found. Only a dead and risen Christ fully answers Job's "why." That is why a Christian can glory in trouble, while Job could only dread the next blow.