Death Wish Denied

“Oh, that my request might come to pass, and that God would grant my hope!
Oh, that God would decide to crush me, that He would let loose His hand and cut me off! But it is still my comfort, and I rejoice in unsparing pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”  Job 6:8-10  NASB

Not denied the words – Job agrees with the ancient poets.  It seems better to die than to continue in all this pain.  Perhaps you’ve heard the same sentiment.  Someone who is living in agony, someone whose life has been decimated, someone who can’t see any reason to go on.  “Just end it now, God, while I am still trusting in You.”  But Job isn’t about to commit suicide.  He rejoices—a paradoxical expression in these circumstances.  What does he celebrate?  Ah, that he hasn’t blasphemed.  That he has not denied the words of the Holy One.

The expression is לֹ֥א כִ֜חַ֗דְתִּי אִמְרֵ֥י קָדֽוֹשׁ, “not have I denied the words of the Holy [One].”

The verb is kāḥad, to “kick, conceal, cut off, cut down, make desolate.”^[1]

It means to keep something back, to refuse to make it known. Since something which is unknown has no independent existence, the verb also denotes non-existence or effacement. There are no known cognates in the other Semitic languages.

In distinction from the other Hebrew words rendered “hide” or “conceal” (ḥābāʾ, ṭāman, sātar, and ʿālam, which see), kāḥad has to do with refusing to declare something.^[2]

We can see why Job chooses this verb.  It is the opposite of his desire to be “cut off.”  While everything in his present condition causes him to wish to hide in death, his faith refuses to embrace that possibility.  He will not conceal what God has spoken.  We might imagine that this implies some written doctrine, but the Hebrew ʾimrâ means “utterance” or “spoken word.”  Job tells Eliphaz, “I’ve heard from God.  He has spoken to me.  I know Him.  I will not deny my relationship now.”  Job’s assertion also implies that God knows he is innocent.  If this were not the case, God would tell him directly.  Eliphaz is wrong.  This is not punishment for some unknown offense.  If Job has done something sinful, he would know it.  And because God has said nothing, Job can assert his trust in the relationship regardless of the present conditions.

We need to listen carefully to this declaration.  If we’ve ever come to the place of despair, we need to remember Job.  It would be difficult to imagine a life more tragic than his, and yet he does not opt to end it.  There is still that thread of conviction that the God he has known still regards him. How that is the case he cannot say, but until God declares him persona non grata Job is determined to trust Him.  What Job teaches us is that faith isn’t assent to some correct beliefs.  It is perseverance, plain and simple.  It’s going on, through it all, gripping those words once spoken by the Lord of all and not letting go.  It’s the will to believe no matter what.  That’s all.  That’s enough.

Topical Index: deny, kāḥad, suicide, faith, perseverance, Job 6:8-10

^[1] Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 972 כָחַד. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 436). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.