By default, fallen mankind justly owns the wrath of God. We deserve a short miserable life, a long and painful death and eternity in Hell. That’s the starting place. Anything short of that is a blessing or mercy. So the worst that can happen is our due, and if this life is particularly difficult for some, that is merely breaking even. God pointedly warned He would not explain why some have it comfortable and some do not. While there is some correlation between those living according to His Laws and some measure of earthly blessing, His Laws remain our duty regardless of reward. Obedience is its own reward; God’s glory is all the glory we need in this life. Until we understand that critical truth, nothing in this world can ever make sense to us.
Job understands this. He’s had it good, and when God took it all away, he still had his own resolve to live justly. That resolve came from outside himself, a divine power not his own. His morally upright standing was a gift in itself. He understood that God could not be offended by mere human words spoken in private sorrow. What the three friends utterly failed to understand is that God’s glory was not defiled by Job’s words here, because words have no power. Job begins with a clarification: The only relief he had was in his complaint. He wasn’t putting any blame on God as he might any earthly authority, but was keeping it on himself. There was no need for restraint because it could hardly make things any worse. All that was left was death; even that would come as a relief.
Further, Job had nowhere else to turn but to God. No one else was going to help him; they could not. Certainly no one in present company truly understood his sorrow. So his questions are rhetorical, an appeal to God to answer if He would, but clearly prepared for none. Is it possible God is somehow pleased to bring suffering on those who serve Him, while evil people received good things? We see that it seems to come out that way, but we can never really know. That is precisely the point. It’s not as if God were a mere human ruler who would have to torture Job to get a full confession. Could anyone suggest God was unjust? He is the definition of Justice. Whatever it is, this is not a question of justice, because God already knew Job was about as righteous as men could be.
Since God made him, there was nothing Job could hide from Him. If God determined he should suffer, Job would suffer, indeed. If God chose to keep the reasons to Himself, there was nothing Job could do. All the more so if Job were actually guilty of any particular sin. Thus, Job asks for the final release, to die like all the rest of humanity. Can he get a break, maybe just a few moments of relief before he dies?
The notion God would get angry with such words could only come from a very poor understanding of His revelation.
