suffering is associated with sin. God “does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Num. 14:18). Yet suffering can also be instruction: it can be a means of grace by which God shows the sinner his need for repentance. It was suffering which often led people to call on the Lord for relief (Isa. 14:3). Third, several of the words for suffering in the Old Testament are associated with childbirth. The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words suggests that in Hebrew terms, “Pain’s essence is summed up in the writhing