5 Men in the Bible Had a Death Wish

Five of God's greatest and most faithful men in the Bible had reached their breaking point and had a death wish. Even though they stated it in different ways, the wish was still the same: death.

They want to die. However, God was not ready for them to leave the world because they still had work to do.

The stories of those five people are told below in the order in which they appear in the Bible.

1. Moses

Moses was one of the most faithful servants in the Bible, but he got fed up with the rebellious Israelites whom he had delivered out of slavery in Egypt from under Pharaoh's hand. The millions of people grumbled and murmured. At one point, they wanted to turn back. They rationalized that even though they were slaves, at least they had food to eat. When Moses spoke to God on their behalf, He provided bread for them to eat in the wilderness. After a few days, they were tired of that, so God provided quail for them to eat.

The Israelites' attitudes grew so bad that Moses told God the burden was too heavy for him to carry. According to Numbers 11:13-15, Moses made a request to God.

God did not honor Moses' request. Instead, God provided help for Moses, so the entire burden would not be on him alone, according to Numbers 11:16. God told Moses to choose 70 elders to share the burden of the people with him.

2. Elijah

Elijah was a mighty prophet who prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough, LORD. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” (1 Kings 19:4).

God did not honor Elijah's request. He did not take his life. God had more work for Elijah to do. In fact, Elijah never died. According to 2 Kings 2:11, "Chariots of fire and horses of fire appeared, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

3. Job

Job had everything a man could want in the first chapter of the book that bears his name. He was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil. Job had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred donkeys, and he had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Job was a family man, a wealthy man, a good businessman, and he was well respected in the community.

By Chapter 2, Job had lost everything, including all ten of his children. He was afflicted with sores over his body, and his wife told him to curse God and die. Job was more concerned that God had forsaken him than he was over his losses.

Then Job cursed the day of his birth. He said, "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?" (Job 3:11)

Job suffered through the entire book until God answered. He was restored and blessed by God so much that he eventually got double of everything he had previously lost except for his children because he will be with them in heaven.

4. Jeremiah

Jeremiah was one of the major prophets, but even he said, "Cursed be the day I was born! The day my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!" (Jeremiah 20:14). He had been preaching for 40 years with no noticeable results. He was weary and had received only persecution and sorrow.

Jeremiah reached a point where he no longer wanted to prophesy God's word to the people. However, when he tried to stop, it became fire in his bones, and he could not hold it back. He was doing what he was destined to do, but he felt unappreciated.

Before he was born, God had plans for Jeremiah, but now Jeremiah didn't believe those plans were working out for his good. We can look back on the prophet's life and see that God told him:

“Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

5. Jonah

God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach to rebellious people. The prophet did not want to go, so he went in the opposite direction. He was thrown off the boat into the sea, where a big fish swallowed him.

Jonah prayed, and the fish spit him out, and he went on his way to Nineveh, where he preached to the Ninevites as God had told him to do. They received the word of God and repented. Jonah should have been happy about that, but he became frustrated when the city repented and avoided God’s wrath.

Jonah sat down under a vine that began to wither. The prophet cried out to God, saying he wanted to do as the vine did. He told God, "It would be better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:8).

Then God asked Jonah a question, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead” (Jonah 4:5-11).

Conclusion

• God did not grant Jonah's wish.
• God did not honor any of the men's requests

They had served God, and they were tired. None of the five men committed suicide because God interceded and ministered to them.

All of them completed the work God had assigned them before they finally died, but not at their request. As has been stated, Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind.

What do we learn from these five men?

When life becomes overwhelming, even the best of the best want to give up. The five men continued to live to fulfill God's purpose for their lives.

Whenever we become overwhelmed and want to give up and die, we should realize that God has a purpose for our lives that must be completed before our lives end here on earth.