Bible Commentaries
Job 14

Introduction

Job Chapter 14

Job 14:1 "Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble." It appears, to me, that Job was speaking of the flesh of man in this Scripture. The natural man is born of a woman. Most, all of the natural men of our day, can look to about seventy years of life. Some, by great strength, might even live to be a hundred. Even if a man lived to be a hundred, his days would be few, The flesh of man is not made to live forever. The body wears out from much age, and finally gives away. Life on this earth is filled with trials and tribulation. This was the thing that Job was relating here.

Job 14:2 "He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not." A flower blooms in the springtime, and is cut down in the fall. Eastern flowers usually last but one day, and they are gone. Oh! What a brief life. Shadows do not last very long either. They change constantly, and then are gone when the sun goes down.

Job 14:3 "And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?" Why would God bother with such short- lived, mortal man. It seemed amazing to Job that God would choose one man out of all humanity to judge. Job was aware that something was different about his circumstance compared to other men, but he had not decided why this was so.

Job 14:4 "Who can bring a clean [thing] out of an unclean? Not one." Men are born in sin. Perhaps, Job was speaking of the uselessness of trying to become righteous, after beginning in sin.

Job 14:5 "Seeing his days [are] determined, the number of his months [are] with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;" The number of days and years of man’s life is only known of God. He has our days numbered. Not everyone lives to adulthood, and certainly, not all live to be seventy years old. Only God knows the length of your life upon this earth. God lives in one eternal day. Our lives do not end when our flesh dies. Our spiritual bodies will rise out of the flesh bodies when the flesh dies.

Job 14:6 "Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day." Job was asking God to give rest to the weary body that was enduring until it died. This turning from him was speaking of a pause in constantly searching man out. Job was speaking of himself.

Job 14:7 "For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease." A tree can spring up from its roots, even after it is cut down. Sometimes, the tree that comes up from the root, will be even stronger than the tree that was cut down.

Job 14:8 "Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;"

Job 14:9 "[Yet] through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant." This is speaking of the roots appearing to be dead, and coming back to life, when water gets to the roots.

Job 14:10 "But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he?" Job was speaking of the flesh of man, as if it was what man really was. The flesh of man does die, and does not live again. The flesh which was made of dust returns to the dust of the earth. The ghost that man gives up, is the spirit that rises from that body to live either in heaven, or hell.

Job 14:11 "[As] the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:" The flood always goes away and leaves the clay of the earth. The river that dries up does the same. This was Job saying that he had dried up, and was returning to the clay of the earth.

Job 14:12 "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens [be] no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Notice, "till the heavens be no more". The body of man lies in the grave decaying away to return to the dust it came from. Job was not denying that there would be a resurrection, but was speaking of the immediate death awaiting him.

Job 14:13 "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!" Job would rather die and have his body lie in the grave, so that he would be hidden, until the anger of God was passed. He knew that God would not forget him, and let him stay there forever.

Job 14:14 "If a man die, shall he live [again]? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." The answer to this is, of course, yes. It was as if Job was wanting the answer to that to be no. He wanted to depart to get out of his pain and suffering. He was looking to that time when he would be changed. His body of flesh would give way to his spiritual body.

Job 14:15 "Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job was the "work of thine hands" here. Job knew that he was God’s creation. He knew that God would call him, and he would answer.

Job 14:16 "For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?" God knew each step that Job had made. He, also, knew if Job had sinned. Mankind has no secrets from God. God knows even the things that are done in secret.

Job 14:17 "My transgression [is] sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity." This was as if God had a bag that he put each sin into and sealed them up, so they could not escape.

Job 14:18 "And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place." Job was comparing his loss of everything he had, including his children, with the sudden collapse of a mountain. When a volcano erupts, sometimes half of the mountain comes off at the top. Rocks are thrown sometimes for miles away from where they had been. Just as this calamity of the mountain had been sudden, Job’s loss was sudden.

Job 14:19 "The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow [out] of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man." The never-ending washing of water over rocks can finally cut a hole into them. The never-ending pain of Job’s had cut a whole into his heart. He was full of despair and hopelessness.

Job 14:20 "Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away." Job would feel like fighting back, if he had known this was an attack from Satan. He knew it was useless to fight God. Job thought God was sending this endless oppression, and he was aware he would not be able to endure for long.

Job 14:21 "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them." After a man is dead, his family can come to honor him, but he would not even know they were there.

Job 14:22 "But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn." A man in such great pain as Job is here, was sorrowful of soul.

Job 14 Questions

1. Man that is born of woman is of _______ ______ , and full of trouble.

2. What was Job speaking of in this verse?

3. What is the normal life expectancy today?

4. The flesh of man is not made to live ___________.

5. What is man compared to in Job 14:2?

6. How long do Eastern flowers generally last?

7. How is a shadow like the flower?

8. What was amazing to Job about God’s relationship with man?

9. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

10. The number of days and years of a man’s life are known only of _________.

11. What happens when our flesh dies?

12. In Job 14:6, what was Job asking for?

13. How can a tree live again, after it is cut down?

14. What is the ghost that man gives up at the death of his flesh?

15. What is left when the flood goes away?

16. What does the author want you to notice in Job 14:12?

17. Even though Job died and was in the grave, what did he know God would do?

18. If a man die, shall he live again?

19. His body of flesh will give way to his _________ body.

20. Who was the "work of thine hands" in Job 14:15?

21. What was meant by transgressions sealed up in a bag?

22. How is one way a mountain falls suddenly?

23. What was Job comparing to the mountain falling suddenly?

24. The never-ending washing of water over rock will do what to it?

25. This never-ending pain of Job was doing what to him?

Verses 1-6

Job 14:1-6

Job 14

THE CONCLUSION OF JOB’S FOURTH DISCOURSE:

JOB’S SOLILOQUY UPON LIFE’S BREVITY

Job 14:1-6

"Man that is born of a woman

Is of few days and full of trouble.

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:

He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one,

And bringest me into judgment with thee?

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Seeing his days are determined,

The number of his months is with thee,

And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

Look away from him, that he may rest,

Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day."

"Man ... is of few days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1). The brevity of mortal life is a fact that is alike applicable to men who live but a few years or many. Jacob, when presented before Pharaoh said, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of my life" (Genesis 47:9). Troubles of all kinds fall upon mankind in every walk of life; and even in those instances of remarkable health, prosperity and longevity that come to a few; even for them, the disasters that fall upon their loved ones have tremendous impact, with the result that none are exempt. Troubles come to all.

Job did not have the advantage that we have. The Christ had not come; the apostles had not yet lived. And although Job recognized the fact of countless troubles, he might not have known why. Paul tells us why. "By one man, sin entered the world, and death by sin; so that death passed upon all men" (Romans 5:12). Also, that Evil One who engineered the entry of death into our mortal life through that `one man,’ Adam, was also the architect of all those evils that came upon Job.

Although Job mentions human misery and suffering here, "His emphasis in this paragraph is upon the brevity of life." The literature and musical excellence of mankind has been exhausted upon this very subject. As Shakespeare said it, "Life is like a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." From the H.M.S. Pinafore, who can forget the words, "Here today and gone tomorrow, yes I know, that is so"?

"Like a flower ... like a shadow" (Job 14:2). There are no more beautiful metaphors than are these, regarding the brevity of life. Mortal existence is like a falling star (a meteorite) that streaks across the November sky at night, only for a moment, and then disappears forever. When one thinks of all the powers and abilities of men at their best, their excellence, their brilliance, their genius, their incredible abilities, their beautiful and adorable persons - when one thinks of all this and then remembers that it all collapses and self-destructs at last in the rottenness of a grave, he will instantly understand why Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Life on earth, at its best, is an epic tragedy.

In view of the ephemeral nature of mortal life, Job marveled that God was concerned at all with such a creature as man.

"And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one" (Job 14:3)? "Job, not for an instant, questioned the fact of God’s interest in men; he only expressed amazement at it." However, there are profound implications in this. In spite of man’s fleeting citizenship on earth, God has planted eternity in his heart; and God’s attention to the affairs of mortals is itself a pledge of man’s cosmic importance and of his restored fellowship with the Creator.

"Who then can bring a clean thing out of an unclean" (Job 14:4)? This passage does not teach, as some have asserted that, "Anyone born of woman is born in sin." "It cannot be true that original sin is thus distinctly recognized. It is not man’s sinfulness, but his weakness, that Job was discussing here."

"(Man’s) days are determined" (Job 14:5). "It is appointed unto man once to die." There is nothing accidental about death. If it were merely a matter of chance, all of the billions who have lived on earth would certainly have exhibited one person who escaped it. Men vainly dream of conquering death, but it can never be done. We praise the medical fraternity, and well we should; but, although here and there, they may have plucked a feather from the wing of the death angel, his darkening shadow still falls upon us all.

"Thou hast appointed his (man’s) bounds that he cannot pass" (Job 14:5). God has set the boundaries, not only for men, but for nations also, "Having determined their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 17:26).

E.M. Zerr:

Job 14:1. It would be natural for us to think, "All men are born of women, hence the statement is meaningless." We will appreciate the statement more after a little closer examination of the originals. That for women has a wide range of meaning the outstanding one of which is "mortal." Man is from a word that has the idea of "human species." The phrase therefore might well be worded: "The species of creatures that is born of a mortal," etc. The additional words of Job are based on the truth in the first of the verse. The history of mankind also verifies the statement, and that fact further disproves the oft-repeated claim of the three friends, that trouble or affliction comes to man as a penalty for some special sin.

Job 14:2. The only point in this verse is the shortness of human life; the same thought is given in James 4:14. There is no comparison between man and flowers except as to the uncertainty of the length of existence on earth.

Job 14:3. The verse means to ask the friends if they think it is fair to require such a person to contend with another like him. Since mankind in general is subject to the frailties described above, it is unbecoming for one of such to set himself up as judge of another in the same class and involved in the same conditions.

Job 14:4. In view of the argument of the three friends, and of the facts established at V. 1, the clean man would be such a person as Job (and yet all men are in the same class as he). Therefore, it would be impossible for anyone to produce a clean man, because to do so it would be necessary to bring a clean thing out of that which is unclean and that could not be done.

Job 14:5. Job was addressing himself to God in whose hand is the life and existence of everyone. Determined and number should not be allowed to confuse us. It does not mean that God arbitrarily limits the exact length of man’s life. The key to the passage is in the words are with thee. God alone knows just how long any man is going to live, but that time will be brought about by the various conditions that may prove to be his lot in this earthly existence. Appointed his bounds was done when man was cut off from the tree of life and made subject to "vanity." (Romans 8:20.)

Job 14:6. Much of the language of Job was spoken as if addressed directly to God. However, it was also intended to suggest to the friends what they should do. The present verse is one of such and means for the friend to let Job alone and allow him to live out his days unmolested by others.

Verses 7-12

Job 14:7-12

Job 14:7-12

MAN GIVETH UP THE GHOST; AND WHERE IS HE?

"For there is hope of a tree,

If it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

And that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,

And the stock thereof die in the ground.

Yet through the scent of water it will bud,

And put forth boughs like a plant.

But man dieth, and is laid low:

Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

As the waters fail from the sea,

And the river wasteth and drieth up;

So man lieth down, and riseth not:

Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,

Nor be raised out of their sleep."

It is a sinful perversion of the Word of God to interpret this paragraph as a denial of the resurrection of the dead, a resurrection that Job certainly believed in, as did Abraham, the Psalmist, the prophets and many others, even in the Old Testament. What Job was saying here pertains exclusively to, "The return of men to this present life in its present form. Job was not ignorant of the resurrection hope, but a firm believer in it." A failure to understand this results in such a comment as this, "There is hope of a tree ... but for man there is none till the heavens pass away (Job 14:12), which is never, as far as Job knows." Kelly put it this way: "Job insists, against all suppositions to the contrary, that death is the end, that Sheol, rather than life, is man’s final destiny.”

We believe that such comments do an injustice to Job. The expression, till the heavens pass away, emphasizes that man’s resurrection shall not occur until indeed the heavens do pass away. This is made clear in 2 Peter 3:10.

In his summary of what this paragraph teaches, Matthew Henry wrote that, "This indicates that there will be a return of man to life again in another world, at the end of the time when the heavens shall be no more." Keil also stated that Job’s words in this paragraph. "Cannot be otherwise understood than that Sheol would be Job’s temporary hiding place from the divine wrath, instead of being his eternal abode." To construe this passage otherwise it is necessary to ignore, or delete altogether Job 14:15, below.

"As the waters fail from the sea, and the river ... drieth up" (Job 14:11). "Job had evidently seen both of these things happen. The formation of new land in the place of the sea is continually going on at the head of the Persian Gulf, through the deposits of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; and this formation was extremely rapid in ancient times, when the head of the gulf was narrower; and the drying up of river-courses is common in Mesopotamia, where arms thrown out by the rivers get blocked and become silted up."

E.M. Zerr:

Job 14:7-9. Besides the two thoughts expressed in the preceding paragraph, very much of Job’s teaching was intended for the benefit of all mankind. This paragraph showed his belief in another life; it was expressed by a comparision to the renewal of the life of a tree through its roots even after the body had been cut down.

Job 14:10. A materialist is one who says there is no part of man that exists or is conscious after death, and that when one dies all there ever was of him goes into the grave. Such a theory is one form of infidelity and puts human beings in the same class with dumb beasts. The present verse is claimed to prove the theory because it says that man wasteth away. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:23 man has three parts and the body is one of those parts; it is the part that wastes away. The question where is he shows there is something about man besides the body, for we all know where it is after death. Job did not answer the question in this place but we will have seen beyond all doubt that he believed in another life after death, before we are done with the various declarations made by him reported in this book.

Job 14:11-12. That part of man called the body will lie down in death and rise not; till the heavens be no more. The last phrase in italics clearly teaches there will be a resurrection when the time comes for the heavens to be no more. Certainly there will be no resurrection before that time comes.

Verses 13-17

Job 14:13-17

Job 14:13-17

JOB’S HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

"Oh, that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol.

That thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past.

That thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

If a man die, shall he live again?

All the days of my warfare WILL I wait,

Till my release should come.

Thou SHALT call, and I WILL answer thee:

Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.

But now thou numberest my steps:

Dost thou not watch over my sin?

My transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And thou fastenest up mine iniquity."

Note the capitalized words in Job 14:14-15. These are the marginal alternatives in the ASV, and by all means should be used here. This paragraph is not some kind of a vague hope on Job’s part, as if he were trying to lift himself by his own bootstraps; this passage is a prayer to God, in which he asks God to hide him (temporarily) in Sheol until his anger is spent, affirming Job’s conviction that at the time indicated, God WILL call (not a vague hope that he might) and that Job WILL hear and respond (Job 14:15). The discerning reader will understand at once that this is a radical departure from a lot that has been written on this chapter.

"If a man die, shall he live again" (Job 14:14)? The answer that the scholars generally give here is a decided NO; but we reject that misunderstanding of the passage.

We are delighted that in Vol. 13 of the Tyndale Commentary, we find a valid scholarly opinion which we can accept: "Job here gives a very clear expression to his belief that, even after he lies down in Sheol, God will call him out to life again (Job 14:15)." There is only one reason for the blindness of many scholars on this point; and, as cited by Andersen, it is solely due to, "Their a priori belief that the idea of a resurrection arose quite late in Israel’s thought." That false theory, like many another liberal axiom, is totally false. Abraham offered Isaac, being able to do so only because of his faith in the resurrection (Hebrews 11:19).

The true answer, therefore to the question in Job 14:14, "If a man die, shall he live again"? is Yes, Indeed! Amen.

It is a help in understanding Job to remember that God Himself, when he appeared in the mighty wind to Job and his friends, declared that Job, throughout this book spoke the truth regarding God; and we consider that such a declaration can mean only that Job was an inspired man in his great discourses throughout. He spoke by the Spirit of God. That is the reason we have the Book of Job in the canon.

The ridiculous notion that Job in this passage is "feeling his way" toward some epic truth, but that he has, as yet, no conviction about it should be rejected. Job’s firm faith in the resurrection of the dead (Ch. 19), is not something that Job cooked up out of his own subjective feelings. What Job stated in Job 19 is the same thing that he believed when he was speaking in chapter 14. What we have here is not the picture of some mortal man "feeling his way" toward God and finally, after all kinds of errors, at last coming up with a declaration that has inspired all men for ages. The great message of Job 19 is absolutely nothing that Job "worked out," and "finally arrived at." God spoke to all of us through Job.

"My transgression is sealed up in a bag" (Job 14:17). We agree with Andersen that, "These transgressions have been sealed up in order to hide them, and not for keeping them to be used at some time of reckoning." Thus we have the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins making its appearance here in the inspired words of Job.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 14:13. Job would have preferred death to life in misery if it had pleased God to release him from this life.

Job 14:14. All punctuation marks in the Bible have been added by man. Most of them are correct but we should be careful not to be misled by them. The question mark in the verse is not correct, for Job had no doubt of another life. The statement has the force of a positive declaration as if he had said, "Though a man die, he shall live again." Because of that belief Job was ready to wait for the appointed time to come when his vile, decaying, diseased body would be changed into one of deathless vigor and of immortal structure.

Job 14:15. Thou shalt call agrees with the exact words of Jesus in John 5:28-29.

Job 14:16. Numberest my steps means the steps on earth are limited by the restrictions that God has placed on all mankind. See Genesis 2:17; Romans 8:20; Hebrews 9:27.

Job 14:17. Sealed up in a bud means that God knows all about the conduct of man even though it is unknown to others.

Verses 18-22

Job 14:18-22

Job 14:18-22

THE FAILURE OF EARTH-LIFE TO SATISFY MANKIND

"But the mountain falling cometh to naught;

And the rock is moved out of its place;

The waters wear the stones;

The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth:

So thou destroyest the hope of man.

Thou prevailest forever against him, and he passeth;

Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not;

And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

But his flesh upon him hath pain,

And his soul within him mourneth."

This is indeed a sad and mournful picture of our lives upon earth. The notion that men continue to live on in the lives of their children is contradicted by the fact that whatever happens to them is unknown to the deceased. Man’s brief life is subjected to the very same erosive and destructive elements in our world that can wear down the mountains, and even wash away the stones; so "Little by little, man’s hope is destroyed, drop by drop." But it should not be overlooked that Job in this paragraph is pointing men away from the prospects as they are in this life and in the direction of the eternal things of God. The man who establishes his hope in this world only is a fool. It is a race he cannot win, a hope that he shall never realize, a trial that shall never end, and a warfare that he absolutely cannot win.

OH GOD; THROUGH JESUS CHRIST; HAVE MERCY UPON US ALL!

THOU ART HE BEFORE WHOM THE GENERATIONS OF MEN RISE AND FADE AWAY?

E.M. Zerr:

Job 14:18-19. The point in this paragraph is the power of God over all things in the universe, including man who was made in his own image.

Job 14:20. Countenance is from a word that also means "face." This is an impressive statement to my mind. And it is contrary to the teaching of the materialists who say that all there is of man goes to the grave at death. It that were so, then who or what is sent away as the text declares?

Job 14:21. Some part of man does not go away or his sons would not come to honor him. If it meant that they honored his memory, they could do that in their own homes without coming to any other place. He knoweth it not because his sons came to honor his dead body at the funeral and of course he (his body) would know nothing about it.

Job 14:22. I like the way Moffatt renders this verse which is as follows: "But his kinsfolk grieve for him, and for him his servants mourn."