Job 14:1

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."[1] 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."[2] 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."[3] "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."[4]

"(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).