THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
Do you perceive the profound temptation of the night, which is both unusual and remarkable? While many endure countless hardships—imprisonment, chains, mourning over losses, mutilation, and the burdens of poverty, illness, toil, and distress—the onset of night typically offers solace, easing the body from its toils and granting the soul respite from its worries. Yet for Job in that moment, what should have been a safe harbor became a precipice, what would generally bring relief turned into affliction, and the comfort of night instead amplified his grief. The night that normally provides rest became for him a fierce tempest.
Read more (194 words)
He avoided the daylight as one would avoid crashing waves due to overwhelming anguish, only to encounter dread, turbulence, hazards, and steep cliffs, prompting him to seek out the waves of the day. In his yearning for what once was, he craved what was no longer his, eager to grasp fleeting moments amid his sufferings. For this reason, he lamented concerning his unique torment: "When I lie down, I say, When will it be day? When I rise, I say again: When will it be evening?" Why, you may wonder? During daylight, one naturally longs for the night, which promises rest from the daily grind. Yet in the stillness of night, amidst the forgetfulness of tribulations, why then yearn for the day? It is because the night is burdened with greater weight than the day, offering not relief but escalating burdens, turmoil, and disarray. Acknowledging this, he declared: "Thou dost terrify me with dreams and terrify me with visions" (Job 7:14). He found himself haunted by fearsome dreams, experiencing deep dread and turmoil; while night is intended as a time of rest for others, for him it instead became a source of multiplied suffering.