Job 14 Commentary
Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. Job is not writing a book about philosophy. He is speaking to God about humanity’s sad state of affairs. It is a prayer. The ‘you’ in this chapter refers to the LORD God Almighty.
What is the point of life? If we die, will we live again? Look at it this way, we are all adrift in the same boat: too few days, too many troubles. Is this all there is to life? Aren’t trees better off? At least they shoot up even when they are cut completely. Won’t humanity have a similar hope?
Job is talking about the possibility of an afterlife. There should be something of the sort for humanity. He cannot wait!
At the first whiff of water, the stump springs to life. Is Job anticipating the Living Water that we hear about in the Gospel of John? When Job is laid down in death, is there hope that this water will enable him to spring back to life?
This chapter has timeless questions. The Apostle Paul reflects on the same thought with the following: If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19.
Job can be seen as begging Heaven for a chance to have a better life, other than the brief and sad moments that men have on this side of existence.
What is the point of life? Humanity has always asked this question. Pagans answer this question by downloading all they can to themselves. They build a world for themselves and of their own making. But it all comes down to a chase after wind!
We have tried to make it better. Technology has scaled boundaries. But with each innovation comes countless headaches for humanity. Deathtraps or innovations? It is always a cut-twenty-two debate.
A Remote-control has solved one small problem, but it has created bigger health problems. So the Hospital and the Gym are constructed. These solutions create more problems, and the chain goes on and on. This life! No wonder Job is complaining. This rat race! This vanity! It’s a punishment from the LORD!
Indeed, mortals are of few days and full of trouble. But we cannot say more as the New Testament gives us a different picture. It’s a picture we find in the first chapter of this Book. Job enjoyed God’s favor, living behind the green zone, under God’s direct protection.
Job’s life was lived in this life – this life under the sun. All was fine until trouble interrupted the smooth flow of life. The New Testament saint may not be a Job, but they all enjoy peace from their Lord, given not as the world gives. Even when they suffer, the peace of the LORD remains on them!
Indeed, there is something that interrupts the world described by pain and suffering. There is definitely more to life! As we read this Book, we must maintain focus on the rest of the written word, and specifically, the events and the environment that Calvary created.
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