Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
Job's words are a plea for God to withdraw the hand of affliction lying upon him and to refrain from overwhelming him with fear of divine dread. He asks for relief from the weight of suffering and for freedom from being terrified by God's majesty, so that he can stand without dread. The request occurs within the debate between Job and his three friends concerning his afflictions.
It stands in the portion of the book that sets forth the great problems of overruling providence, sin, and suffering. There God is disciplining Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction, while his three friends charge him with sin and insist his sufferings are because of sin. It belongs to Job's struggle to understand his suffering while maintaining his integrity. The lesson illustrated here is that affliction does not prove a person is under God's displeasure, since God may chasten those He loves and work through suffering for good. The friends' misjudgment of Job reflects the way people still misjudge their fellows.
Job's words are a plea for God to withdraw the hand of affliction lying upon him and to refrain from overwhelming him with fear of divine dread. He asks for relief from the weight of suffering and for freedom from being terrified by God's majesty, so that he can stand without dread. The request occurs within the debate between Job and his three friends concerning his afflictions.
It stands in the portion of the book that sets forth the great problems of overruling providence, sin, and suffering. There God is disciplining Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction, while his three friends charge him with sin and insist his sufferings are because of sin. It belongs to Job's struggle to understand his suffering while maintaining his integrity. The lesson illustrated here is that affliction does not prove a person is under God's displeasure, since God may chasten those He loves and work through suffering for good. The friends' misjudgment of Job reflects the way people still misjudge their fellows.