Ordered Steps-Numbered Days

Job 14:1-14. "Ordered Steps-Numbered Days" Ajax Alliance Church. Sunday February 19th, 2023. Job 14:1-6. [14:1]"Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. [2] He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. [3] And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? [4] Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. [5] Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, [6] look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day. [7]"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. [8] Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, [9] yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant. [10] But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? [11] As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, [12]so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. [13] Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! [14] If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. (ESV) One of the most difficult situations to deal with is the time of suffering and death. Not only is the situation difficult to comprehend, but it can also be difficult to help others in distress. Rescue crews in Turkey and Syria continue to struggle to come to grasps of the enormity last week's earthquake. As reports continue to come out we see catastrophic damage to infrastructure to untold death. Not only are people in Turkey trying to figure out why so much devastation occurred but the event is a wake-up call to the reality of seismic events that can occur anywhere in the world. This event is a really a wake up call to the most serious event that each of us will handle: the reality of death. In Job 14:1-14, Job makes several remarkable statements. To the reader of today they may sound too pessimistic, but are they? Let's put ourselves in Job's place. He had lost his property and children, and now he was suffering indescribable pain, intense anxiety, and deep loneliness. He received no help from his unfeeling friends. Their visit rather increased his distress. His friend Zophar had assured Job that there was hope for him if only he would acknowledge his sins and repent (Job 11:13-20). From Job's point of view, his future was bleak. Job used several images to illustrate the hopeless condition of man in this world. He was tempted to feel that even God had forsaken him (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be patient. An Old Testament study. (51). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.). When you consider your present condition, do you know where you will spend eternity? Even if this is settled, do you know when you will enter the afterlife? If you knew if was tomorrow, or next week, would you live your life any different? How do we deal with these realities either for ourselves or others? With a crisis before Job, he considers the reality of death and eternity. In it, he speaks on 1) Life before Death (Job 14:1-6) and 2) Life After Death (Job 14:7-14) In order for us to order our steps and number our days we need to comprehend this: 1) Life before Death (Job 14:1-6) Job 14:1-6. [14:1]"Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. [2] He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. [3] And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? [4] Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. [5] Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, [6] look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day. From verses one we see that every person's life is filled with sorrow from birth. The language in these verses is generic, applying to both men and woman. The word for man is ʾāḏām, which serves as the name of the first man, Adam. This term connotes that man is "from the ground" (ʾăḏāmâ) and is thus limited and weak by nature. Three short phrases further underscore human limitations: born of woman, few of days/short-lived, and full of trouble/ turmoil. Since a person is born of woman, he or she is conditioned by their origin (cf. 15:14; 25:4; Sir. 10:18; Matt. 11:11; Luke 7:28). Some interpret this phrase as emphasizing frailty (e.g., Rowley), while others find a reference to the ritual impurity that attends birth (e.g., Tur-Sinai). The latter view is anchored in the cultic laws that regulate the uncleanness of the mother after she gives birth, seven days for a male child and fourteen days for a female child (Lev. 12:2-5). Since bodily discharges were categorically treated as unclean, the discharges that attend the birth process led to the declaration of the new mother as ritually unclean. Certainly the ritual made the parents aware that both the mother and the child had to prepare themselves to enter God's presence. In the context of the challenges of life, "born of woman" is a poetic way of saying "everyone." Contrary to the claims of Job's friends (8:12-13), the situation described here applies to righteous and wicked alike At best a person's life is few of days/short-lived. During the person's brief stay on earth their days will full of trouble/ turmoil (rōḡez; cf. 3:26). The verb form of the noun translated "trouble" means "tremble/quake" as in an earthquake (9:6; 1 Sam 14:15). It also describes persons trembling because of inner turmoil (2 Sam 18:33; Isa 14:2; 32:10-11) (Alden, R. L. (2001). Vol. 11: Job (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (165). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.). * Everyone will have to bear the emotional anguish that results from many ailments and difficult circumstances. The analogies in verse two of a flower and a shadow illustrate well a person's short life span. In Palestine after the spring rains, flowers bloom in abundance and the fields glow from their splendor. But they last for only a moment. They soon fade from the hot desert winds (cf. Isa. 40:6-8; Ps. 103:15; 90:5-6). Illustration: ("Flower Mixup"). A young business owner was opening a new branch office, and a friend decided to send a floral arrangement for the grand opening. When the friend arrived at the opening, he was appalled to find that his wreath bore the inscription: "Rest in peace." Angry, he complained to the florist. After apologizing, the florist said, "Look at it this way-somewhere a man was buried under a wreath today that said, 'Good luck in your new location.' (Bits & Pieces, June 23, 1994, p. 4). Compared to Scripture, which is permanent, Isaiah notes: Isaiah 40:6-8. [6]A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. [7] The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (ESV). Therefore, a Flower (Heb. tsits) can symbolize great beauty as well as great fragility and transience (Wilson, G. H. (2012). Job (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.; p. 148). Baker Books.). Not only is life brief; even worse, it passes so gradually into nothingness that a human being is hardly aware of the process. It is like a shadow, which grows longer as the daylight wanes, only to disappear at sunset leaving no trace of its existence (cf. 8:9; Ps. 102:12 [Eng. 11]; 144:4; Eccl. 6:12). Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? (ESV) The picture is of a constantly moving shadow which has little substance and no lasting existence (Wilson, G. H. (2012). Job (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.; p. 148). Baker Books.). * The swift passage of time compounds the sorrows of a hard life. Amazingly, contemporary human beings have an even harder time than the patriarchs had in coping with the aging process. Through fashion, ointments, and exercise, we seek to retard the decline of strength, but aging inevitably wins the battle. If humanity is so powerless, Job asks God caustically in verse three: [3]And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? In other words: why he must keep everyone under continual scrutiny. Your eyes means that God constantly surveys every person's ways. Is it compatible with God's greatness, unchangeableness, and majesty to take any notice of so poor, weak, and unstable a creature as mortal man? The question has been often asked, and answered by many in the negative, as by the Epicureans of old. Job does not really entertain any doubt upon the point; but only intends to express his wonder that it should be so (comp. Ps. 8:4, and above, ch. 7:17) (The Pulpit Commentary: Job. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (243). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). Here is the difference between those who are known by God, and for those to whom God is a mystery: The observant gaze of God is either comforting for those who know He cares for them, or else it is of a voyeur or even worse as Job Lamentingly Job asks God, Will you bring me into judgment with youf? The thrust of this question is that God is so mighty that no human being can survive a trial in which God is his plaintiff. Job is so distraught by God's hard line that he turns inside out another traditional concept. The belief that God's eyes see all things was a source of comfort to those afflicted, encouraging them to pray for God's help, for they were confident that God knew the truth of their petitions and the desperateness of their situation and would come to their rescue (cf. Isa. 37:17). But Job's thought is similar to the psalmist's: Psalm 143:2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. (ESV). With these probing questions Job challenges Bildad's proposition that God cuts off only the wicked in the prime of life (Job 8:12-13). From Job's viewpoint, no one, not even a supposed righteous person, is exempt from suffering. And if a righteous person should suffer unjustly, he or she cannot stand before the divine judge to win redress. We are depraved from the very beginning, gang. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. That is, we were born in sin. It's in our genes. That's why we need a change of jeans-to be clothed in His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) (Courson, J. (2005). Jon Courson's application commentary: Volume one: Genesis-Job (p. 1306). Thomas Nelson.). The interpretation of verse four is a puzzle. It expresses an unreal possibility, as signaled by Who can (mî yittēn) in the first line and the answer No one in the second line. "Clean" and "unclean" may be used both in a physical sense, e.g., "pure gold" (28:19), and in a moral sense, e.g., "clean hands," i.e., hands that have done no wrong (17:9). These terms may relate to the birth process mentioned in v. 1. Yet, in the most general terms, Job realized he was a sinner and didn't deny it. Ever since the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, sin has contaminated every human being except our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of sin we experience troubles, sorrows, and illnesses, and finally death. Job was keenly aware of that and confessed it (Honsey, R. E. (200 C.E.). Job (p. 98). Northwestern Pub. House.). Please turn to Romans 5 In giving birth an Old Covenant mother becomes ritually unclean. While it is not explicitly stated in any OT passage that this ritual impurity relates to inherited sin, a connection seems to be implied. That is, the ritual impurity attending birth foreshadows the certainty that the newborn child will become morally impure by transgressing the law. Since this is true, Job is asking God why he holds a person accountable for every wrong he has done. Surely God cannot expect a human being to be flawless. Paul explained to the Romans of the impact of impurity or inherited guilt upon humanity: Romans 5:12-21. [12] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- [13] for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. [14] Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. [15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. [16] And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. [17] For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. [18] Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. [19] For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. [20] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21]so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (ESV) "WE WILL RETURN TO ROMANS 5" * In a theological reality that we cannot fully reconcile this side of Heaven, we see the reality of Federal Headship: Through Adam we inherited sin, Adam's sin imputed to us. This is reflected in our propensity to sin. But through Christ, we have our sin imputed to Him and His righteousness imputed to us. In Job 14:5, we see that God has placed a limit to the number of days of each human life. Mention of such a restriction goes back to the time when God expelled the man and the woman from the Garden of Eden so that they would not have access to the tree of life (Gen. 3). That their lives would not be eternally separated from God. Later, before the food, God set a limit of 120 years to human life (Gen. 6:3). Of course, God allows for great variance among individuals and the race as a whole. Yet long life is exceptional. In the OT seventy years became the ideal length of life (cf. Ps. 90:10). Anyone who surpassed that mark believed that he had received a rich blessing from God. The concept here is that the length of a human life is firmly fixed, for determined (ḥārûṣ) refers to a strict decree (cf. 1 K. 20:40; Isa. 10:22), and limits (ḥōq) means a prescribed amount. Originally ḥōq meant "a statute," a law literally inscribed in stone. Then its meaning was extended to something "prescribed" as "an allowance" of food (Driver-Gray). His days are determined;" i.e. they are a limited period, known to and fixed beforehand by God. They are not like God's days, which "endure throughout all generations" (Ps. 102:24) (The Pulpit Commentary: Job. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (243). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) The reference to time moves from days to months to a lifetime. This verse shows God's sovereignty controls human life spans. Such a truth should not lead to despair but to assurance and hope. Our times are in his hands (Eccl 3:1-2a, 11a) (Alden, R. L. (2001). Vol. 11: Job (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (166). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers). Feeling the constraints of a limited life span, in Job 14:6, Job petitions God to look away/turn his gaze from humanity in general. If God would spare humanity his constant surveillance, everybody would be able to experience some joy during his days (cf. Job 7:19; 9:34; 13:21). Their joy would be like that experienced by a hired hand/worker (cf. 7:1-2). Satisfied and tired from a hard day's work, he rests well at night. His joy/pleasure, though it is limited, is rich. Job feels that God should grant each person at least that much relief from his painful burden. Therefore, at this point, whether or not Job has any hopes of restoration to a full relationship with God (as the Prodigal is restored to sonship) is uncertain (Wilson, G. H. (2012). Job (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.; p. 150). Baker Books.). Illustration: Stonewall Jackson The courage of Civil War leader Stonewall Jackson in the midst of conflict can be a lesson for the believer. Historian Mark Brinsley wrote, "A battlefield is a deadly place, even for generals; and it would be naive to suppose Jackson never felt the animal fear of all beings exposed to wounds and death. But invariably he displayed extraordinary calm under fire, a calm too deep and masterful to be mere pretense. His apparent obliviousness to danger attracted notice, and after the first Manassas battle someone asked him how he managed it. 'My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed.' Jackson explained, 'God (knows the) time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter where it may overtake me.' He added pointedly, 'That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.'" (Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press ) Finally, in order for us to order our steps and number our days we need to comprehend: 2) Life After Death: (Job 14:7-14) Job 14:7-14. [7]"For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. [8] Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, [9] yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant. [10] But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? [11] As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, [12]so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. [13] Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! [14] If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. (ESV) In verse 7, Job now speculates as to whether a person might live again after he or she dies. He observes that when a tree is cut down, sometimes a new shoot sprouts from the old stump. If that happens, a new tree eventually stands in place of the old. Even though a stump may be dormant for a long time, a good soaking rain often spurs new growth. Such a marvel suggests that the new growth has shot up at the scent of water. The stump has been waiting, so to speak, for an opportunity to send forth new life. The following verses contrast the tenuous nature of human life and the looming threat of death with the more hopeful future of a tree. Job's pessimism is clear-the implication of his metaphor is that there is no similar hope for humans (Wilson, G. H. (2012). Job (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.; p. 152). Baker Books.) A farmer takes advantage of this natural characteristic in trees. Job considers in verses 8 and 9 that when a tree in his orchard begins to grow old and its branches split beneath the weight of its fruit, he cuts it down and grafts a new shoot into the stump. That shoot will grow into a tree that will bear fruit sooner than a newly planted sapling would. This custom was practiced in the Near East for vines, figs, pomegranates, and walnuts (Driver-Gray). Poem: ("Made Like Him") John Oxenham wrote: "We drop a seed into the ground, A tiny, shapeless thing, shriveled and dry, And, in the fullness of its time, is seen A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned. Beyond the pride of any earthly queen, Instinct with loveliness, and sweet and rare, The perfect emblem of its Maker's care. This from a shriveled seed?- -Then may man hope indeed! For man is but the seed of what he shall be, When, in the fullness of his perfecting, He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way, Through earth's retardings and clinging clay, Into the sunshine of God's perfect day. No fetters then! No bonds of time or space! But powers as ample as the boundless grace That suffered man, and death, and yet in tenderness, Set wide the door, and passed Himself before-As He had promised-to prepare a place. We know not what we shall be-only this- That we shall be made like Him-as He is. (Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press) While a tree possesses great vitality, a human being, by comparison, is found wanting in verse 10. A man, or humans in general have no root system that will infuse new life into his decaying body. Nor is there a fountain of youth from which someone may drink. The Heb word for man here, is geḇer, "strong man"; cf v 14. Even strong men die! Even the most healthy person should be certain of death! As someone is laid low/falls, so they breathe their last/lie. A dead person cannot sprout new life on their own power (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the scriptures (Job 14:7-12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.). The question-where is he?-hauntingly affirms the finality of death. In the present world order no evidence exists that a person may return to life. As a sage comparing a person's future to the way of a tree, Job stands in the center of OT tradition, for often the righteous are compared very favorably to a tree planted by a stream (e.g., Ps. 1). A tree has great resilience to stand before mighty storms. And if it should be blown down, a new, beautiful tree may grow from its stump. But Job finds that the tree is an inadequate analogy for insight into the question of whether a person may live again after death. Some think perhaps that with this analogy Job is rejecting Bildad's illustration of the righteous as a luxurious plant (Job 8:16-19). In that passage Bildad may have hinted at a second life for a person who is cut off from his prosperity and health just as there would be new growth for a tree torn from its place. If so, Job finds his view faulty, for he realizes that a human being lacks the power of renewal that is inherent in a tree. Physically, death is final. There is no truth to religious theories of reincarnation. A tree may sprout again, but death for a person is the end (vv. 7-9). Humans have only one life to live (cf. Heb. 9:27). One must cast themselves upon God's mercy. Now is the time of salvation (Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer's Study Bible (electronic ed., Job 14:10). Thomas Nelson.) In verse 11 Job continues his search by comparing death with the way of water. This comparison, being vaguely stated, is variously interpreted. Job seems to refer to an inconceivable occurrence. It is improbable that all the water in the sea (yām, any large body of water such as a lake) would waste away/disappear or that a major river (nāhār) like the Jordan or the Nile would dry up. In the OT this concept emerges in the picture of God's providing a way across the Reed Sea (yām sûp̄) and the River Jordan (nāhār; cf. Ps. 114:1-8). Although it is unlikely that there is any direct allusion to Israel's history in this passage; more likely it draws on the rich mythopoetic imagery of the sea and its defeat by the powers of order. In Isa. 19:5, an oracle against Egypt, this same image occurs. In Isaiah the waters will dry up under God's great judgment on Egypt. The biblical hope of resurrection does not come from the fertility cults or the cycle of nature (Andersen, F. I. (1976). Vol. 14: Job: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (185). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.). It is just as impossible as it is stated in verse 12, that a human being who lies down in death will ever awake, i.e., rise from the dead. "A dead man is ... like a dried-up lake" (Andersen). Since there was no technical word for resurrection when the book of Job was written, the concept was expressed by the piling up of words associated with "awakening from sleep": Both Isa. 26:19 and Dan. 12:2, clear resurrection passages, use similar expressions for resurrection: yiḥyû, "they will live"; yəqûmûn, "they will rise"; hāqîṣû, "they will wake up." Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (ESV). For Job, this is not an absolute denial of a final resurrection, since he is speaking of the world as it lies before him, not of eventualities. Just as he sees the land encroach upon the sea, and remain land, and the river-courses, once dried up, remain dry, so he sees men descend into the grave and remain there, without rising up again. This is the established order of nature as it exists before his eyes (The Pulpit Commentary: Job. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (244). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). Poem: Sir Richard Blackmore poetically paraphrases this section: A flowing river, or a standing lake, May their dry banks and naked shores forsake; Their waters may exhale and upward move, Their channel leave to roll in clouds above; But the returning water will restore What in the summer they had lost before: But if, O man! thy vital streams desert Their purple channels and defraud the heart, With fresh recruits they ne'er will be supplied, Nor feel their leaping life's returning tide. (as found in: Henry, M. (1996). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Job 14:7-15). Peabody: Hendrickson.) Job knows that an individual will not "rise" (qûm), "awake" (qîṣ), "stir up, rouse" (ʿûr). from the dead til the heavens are no more. Ancient people thought the continuance of the world was as certain as the movement of the sun and stars across the heavens (cf. Jer. 31:35-36; Ps. 72:5, 17; 89:30 [Eng. 29], 37-38 [Eng. 36-37]). The heavens would never disappear save in a special, catastrophic divine judgment (Isa. 51:6; cf. Ps. 102:27 [Eng. 26]). Therefore, Job sees no possibility for an individual to be brought back from the dead and given a second life on earth in compensation for having some unjust suffering. Job is correct in affirming that his resurrection would require a radical alteration in the world order. Other texts teach that only at the end of this age will God raise the dead. Since Job is reflecting on his personal predicament separate from any eschatological concerns, he is correct in denying resurrection as a way of escape from his dilemma. Because his aim is purely personal, there is no conflict between his rejection of an individual's return to life and the NT doctrine of resurrection. No concept of an individual's resurrection will alleviate either his anguish or his feeling that God has been unfair to him. Those who identify themselves with the earth, will perish like it. Those who experience God's salvation will remain: Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed (ESV). (N. H. Snaith, The Book of Job, SBT 2/11 (London: SCM; Naperville: Allenson, 1968), p. 96.). Realizing that an individual has no hope for a return to life on this earth after death, Job in anguish (verse 13) utters an unrealistic wish. He pleads to God: hide me in Sheol ... until your wrath be past/ceases. This request makes clear that Job attributes the cause of his suffering to God's wrath. He is also conscious of the axiom that when God acts in hot anger, it is only for a moment (Isa. 54:8). Therefore, if he could find a refuge during this time of wrath, he would escape the painful punishment inflicted by that wrath. Since there is no place on earth for Job to hide, his only hope is for a place of refuge in Sheol. Job is not thinking of Sheol as his final resting place, but as a hideout safe from the blasts of the divine anger (cf. Ps. 139:8; Amos 9:2-3). But since Sheol is the land of no return and the place where one is forgotten, in order to be remembered Job requests that God would appoint a set time for his deliverance and remember him (lit. set a mark, i.e., erect a stela (ḥōq), inscribed with his name so that when God's wrath is past/has cooled, God will be reminded of his servant hidden in Sheol and restore him to life. Poem: ("None Other Lamb") Christina G. Rossetti wrote: None other Lamb, none other Name, None other Hope in heaven or earth or sea, None other Hiding-place from guilt and shame, None beside Thee. My faith burns low, my hope burns low Only my heart's desire cries out in me By the deep thunder of its want and woe Cries out to Thee. Lord, Thou are Life tho' I be dead, Love's Fire Thou are, however cold I be: Nor heaven have I, nor place to lay my head, Nor home, but Thee. (Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.) Please return back to Romans 5 Job believes that if God would grant this petition, he will in time restore and vindicate his servant. The deepflowing current of Job's genuine trust in God surfaces again. He appeals to God's mercy as the way of escape from God's wrath. Romans 5:1-9. [5:1]Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4]and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5]and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. [6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- [8]but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (ESV) * Life if full of affliction and people seek peace. There is no peace apart from being in Christ. Christians are promised to be spared the wrath of God, that which Job sought. Finally, in verse 14, the thought of a marker leads Job to ponder again the question "If a man dies, will he live again?" If God hides him in Sheol, there would have to be some way for him to be restored to earthly life. Although he has just discounted the possibility of personal resurrection, Job's wish pulls his mind back to this possibility. He affirms that he would bear the days of his service (ṣāḇā) Job said he was willing to wait out his hard service-(ṣāḇā', "military service," also trans "hard service" in 7:1; Isa. 40:2) in this life, anticipating his "release" (NIV marg the Heb for renewal is used of one group of soldiers relieving another group). Death, with its release from the burdens of this life, would be like an honorary discharge or a changing of the guard. A person continues to exist after death, for he is transferred from one condition to another (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Job 14:13-14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.). Renewal means a new vigorous life in a restored body. The Hebrew root is the same one translated will sprout again in reference to a tree in v. 7b. Returned to life, Job would have left his old, diseased body and be given a body full of vitality. Accompanying his renewal would be release from conscripted service. Given this possibility, he could endure his present affliction sustained by the vision of the wonderful future that would be his. Without that foreknowledge Job can only conclude death is final for a human being. Furthermore, Job is thinking of an individual's returning back to life for a limited time. His view here is closer to a concept of resuscitation than to resurrection. By contrast the biblical doctrine of resurrection posits that the entire human race will be raised from the dead, some to eternal life and others to eternal damnation. When Job asks: If a man dies, shall he live again? Our Lord answers the question in John 11:25-26: [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26]and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (ESV) For those who have repented of their sin, and trust in the work of Christ alone for eternal life, the NT teaches that Christ has defeated death, mankind's bitterest foe, and that God will raise the dead to a final judgment. But this doctrine becomes central to biblical faith only after the resurrection of Christ, for it gains its validation in Christ's triumph over death (H. H. Rowley, The Faith of Israel (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1956), pp. 150-76.). Believers today are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14); and God will not forget one of His children at the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:50-58) (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be patient. An Old Testament study. (52). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.). (Format Note: Some base commentary from Hartley, J. E. (1988). The Book of Job. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (229-238). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) 9 10