Job 6:10

You see, he had not the slightest fear of death. He was far above it. But he did not look at death so much as gain — he could not do that. He did not have Christ to make it gain. He looked at death as the ending of his trouble, the end of his suffering. And so it would be. That, of course, was a very partial view, and by no means up to the level of what God was going to show him. But I mention it to show that it was not any fear of the unseen world at all. It was the trial he could not solve in this present tangled life.

The ordinary meaning of "concealed" is not the idea here at all. "I have not violated" — I have not denied — "the words of the Holy One." That is what they were doing. They were denying the words of the Holy One. In their zeal, and in their shallow judgment, they were not guided by the Holy One at all. They were acting on their own thoughts. They judged by their own feelings, on the mere surface of poor Job's intense affliction.

Again he expresses his desire for death, for which he had prayed before. He could not understand why God did not answer such a prayer. He was sure death was better than the anguish he was suffering. Yet he did not think of suicide as an option. He says he has not concealed the words of the Holy One. He had not been guilty of covering up anything God has spoken: could God not then listen to Job's prayer for death?

Job has only one thing to ask of God: that He would take his life. This, he says, would be a comfort, because his conscious uprightness would sustain him. He has not rejected God's words, and he has not been rebellious against Him. Here, as all through his long conflict, we have a statement of conscious uprightness. It is true — indeed it was the fruit of God's grace in him. But Job is using this righteousness in a self-righteous way, to justify himself at the expense of God's righteousness. He follows this course until he grows bolder in it. His friends have no answer for it, but God will vindicate Himself.

But is this the language of faith — even Old Testament faith? What about that noble army of martyrs? They "were tortured, refusing to accept release … suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment … destitute, afflicted, mistreated" (Hebrews 11:35–38). Would we expect to hear from these the complaints that fall from Job's lips? Paul could "take pleasure" in what fell upon him. But Job needs light, and must learn to trust God when he cannot understand Him.

His grief was sharp because he felt that God's wrath was upon him. He felt that the dreadful poison of His indignation was consuming him. We know this was a mistake. God was chastening His poor servant in this way, and that was one more proof of His love. But he did not know it, and we should not be harsh with a man who felt that the Lord was dealing bitterly with him.