14 If a man dieth -- doth he revive? All days of my warfare I wait, till my change come.
Is there not a warfare to man on earth? And as the days of an hireling his days?
Lo, He doth slay me -- I wait not! Only, my ways unto His face I argue.
and the sea did give up those dead in it, and the death and the hades did give up the dead in them, and they were judged, each one according to their works;
Be patient, then, brethren, till the presence of the Lord; lo, the husbandman doth expect the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it, till he may receive rain -- early and latter; be patient, ye also; establish your hearts, because the presence of the Lord hath drawn nigh;
for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God those asleep through Jesus he will bring with him, for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living -- who do remain over to the presence of the Lord -- may not precede those asleep, because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,
who shall transform the body of our humiliation to its becoming conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working of his power, even to subject to himself the all things.
lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we -- we shall be changed:
So also `is' the rising again of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body;
`Wonder not at this, because there doth come an hour in which all those in the tombs shall hear his voice, and they shall come forth; those who did the good things to a rising again of life, and those who practised the evil things to a rising again of judgment.
And Jesus answering said to them, `Ye go astray, not knowing the Writings, nor the power of God; for in the rising again they do not marry, nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers of God in heaven. `And concerning the rising again of the dead, did ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not a God of dead men, but of living.'
There hath been upon me a hand of Jehovah, and He taketh me forth in the Spirit of Jehovah, and doth place me in the midst of the valley, and it is full of bones, and He causeth me to pass over by them, all round about, and lo, very many `are' on the face of the valley, and lo, very dry. And He saith unto me, `Son of man, do these bones live?' And I say, `O Lord Jehovah, Thou -- Thou hast known.' And He saith unto me, `Prophesy concerning these bones, and thou hast said unto them: O dry bones, hear a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones: Lo, I am bringing into you a spirit, and ye have lived, and I have given on you sinews, and cause flesh to come up upon you, and covered you over with skin, and given in you a spirit, and ye have lived, and ye have known that I `am' Jehovah.' And I have prophesied as I have been commanded, and there is a noise, as I am prophesying, and lo, a rushing, and draw near do the bones, bone unto its bone. And I beheld, and lo, on them `are' sinews, and flesh hath come up, and cover them doth skin over above -- and spirit there is none in them. And He saith unto me: `Prophesy unto the Spirit, prophesy, son of man, and thou hast said unto the Spirit: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: From the four winds come in, O Spirit, and breathe on these slain, and they do live.' And I have prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit cometh into them, and they live, and stand on their feet -- a very very great force. And He saith unto me, `Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; lo, they are saying: Dried up have our bones, And perished hath our hope, We have been cut off by ourselves. Therefore, prophesy, and thou hast said unto them, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am opening your graves, And have brought you up out of your graves, O My people, And brought you in unto the land of Israel. And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My opening your graves, And in My bringing you up out of your graves, O My people. And I have given My Spirit in you, and ye have lived, And I have caused you to rest on your land, And ye have known that I Jehovah, I have spoken, and I have done `it', An affirmation of Jehovah.'
To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. I have diligently expected Jehovah, And He inclineth to me, and heareth my cry, And He doth cause me to come up From a pit of desolation -- from mire of mud, And He raiseth up on a rock my feet, He is establishing my steps.
Look unto Jehovah -- be strong, And He doth strengthen thy heart, Yea, look unto Jehovah!
That -- I have known my Redeemer, The Living and the Last, For the dust he doth rise. And after my skin hath compassed this `body', Then from my flesh I see God:
If determined are his days, The number of his months `are' with Thee, His limit Thou hast made, And he passeth not over;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Job 14
Commentary on Job 14 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 14
Job 14:1-22. Job Passes from His Own to the Common Misery of Mankind.
1. woman—feeble, and in the East looked down upon (Ge 2:21). Man being born of one so frail must be frail himself (Mt 11:11).
few days—(Ge 47:9; Ps 90:10). Literally, "short of days." Man is the reverse of full of days and short of trouble.
2. (Ps 90:6; see on Job 8:9).
3. open … eyes upon—Not in graciousness; but, "Dost Thou sharply fix Thine eyes upon?" (See on Job 7:20; also see on Job 1:7). Is one so frail as man worthy of such constant watching on the part of God? (Zec 12:4).
me—so frail.
thee—so almighty.
4. A plea in mitigation. The doctrine of original sin was held from the first. "Man is unclean from his birth, how then can God expect perfect cleanness from such a one and deal so severely with me?"
5. determined—(Job 7:1; Isa 10:23; Da 9:27; 11:36).
6. Turn—namely, Thine eyes from watching him so jealously (Job 14:3).
hireling—(Job 7:1).
accomplish—rather, "enjoy." That he may at least enjoy the measure of rest of the hireling who though hard worked reconciles himself to his lot by the hope of his rest and reward [Umbreit].
7. Man may the more claim a peaceful life, since, when separated from it by death, he never returns to it. This does not deny a future life, but a return to the present condition of life. Job plainly hopes for a future state (Job 14:13; Job 7:2). Still, it is but vague and trembling hope, not assurance; excepting the one bright glimpse in Job 19:25. The Gospel revelation was needed to change fears, hopes, and glimpses into clear and definite certainties.
9. scent—exhalation, which, rather than the humidity of water, causes the tree to germinate. In the antithesis to man the tree is personified, and volition is poetically ascribed to it.
like a plant—"as if newly planted" [Umbreit]; not as if trees and plants were a different species.
10. man … man—Two distinct Hebrew words are here used; Geber, a mighty man: though mighty, he dies. Adam, a man of earth: because earthly, he gives up the ghost.
wasteth—is reduced to nothing: he cannot revive in the present state, as the tree does. The cypress and pine, which when cut down do not revive, were the symbols of death among the Romans.
11. sea—that is, a lake, or pool formed from the outspreading of a river. Job lived near the Euphrates: and "sea" is applied to it (Jer 51:36; Isa 27:1). So of the Nile (Isa 19:5).
fail—utterly disappeared by drying up. The rugged channel of the once flowing water answers to the outstretched corpse ("lieth down," Job 14:12) of the once living man.
12. heavens be no more—This only implies that Job had no hope of living again in the present order of the world, not that he had no hope of life again in a new order of things. Ps 102:26 proves that early under the Old Testament the dissolution of the present earth and heavens was expected (compare Ge 8:22). Enoch before Job had implied that the "saints shall live again" (Jude 14; Heb 11:13-16). Even if, by this phrase, Job meant "never" (Ps 89:29) in his gloomier state of feelings, yet the Holy Ghost has made him unconsciously (1Pe 1:11, 12) use language expressing the truth, that the resurrection is to be preceded by the dissolution of the heavens. In Job 14:13-15 he plainly passes to brighter hopes of a world to come.
13. Job wishes to be kept hidden in the grave until God's wrath against him shall have passed away. So while God's wrath is visiting the earth for the abounding apostasy which is to precede the second coming, God's people shall be hidden against the resurrection glory (Isa 26:19-21).
set time—a decreed time (Ac 1:7).
14. shall he live?—The answer implied is, There is a hope that he shall, though not in the present order of life, as is shown by the words following. Job had denied (Job 14:10-12) that man shall live again in this present world. But hoping for a "set time," when God shall remember and raise him out of the hiding-place of the grave (Job 14:13), he declares himself willing to "wait all the days of his appointed time" of continuance in the grave, however long and hard that may be.
appointed time—literally, "warfare, hard service"; imlying the hardship of being shut out from the realms of life, light, and God for the time he shall be in the grave (Job 7:1).
change—my release, as a soldier at his post released from duty by the relieving guard (see on Job 10:17) [Umbreit and Gesenius], but elsewhere Gesenius explains it, "renovation," as of plants in spring (Job 14:7), but this does not accord so well with the metaphor in "appointed time" or "warfare."
15. namely, at the resurrection (Joh 5:28; Ps 17:15).
have a desire to—literally, "become pale with anxious desire:" the same word is translated "sore longedst after" (Ge 31:30; Ps 84:2), implying the utter unlikelihood that God would leave in oblivion the "creature of His own hands so fearfully and wonderfully made." It is objected that if Job knew of a future retribution, he would make it the leading topic in solving the problem of the permitted afflictions of the righteous. But, (1) He did not intend to exceed the limits of what was clearly revealed; the doctrine was then in a vague form only; (2) The doctrine of God's moral government in this life, even independently of the future, needed vindication.
16. Rather, "Yea, thou wilt number my steps, and wilt not (as now) jealously watch over my sin." Thenceforward, instead of severe watching for every sin of Job, God will guard him against every sin.
number … steps—that is, minutely attend to them, that they may not wander [Umbreit] (1Sa 2:9; Ps 37:23).
17. sealed up—(Job 9:7). Is shut up in eternal oblivion, that is, God thenceforth will think no more of my former sins. To cover sins is to completely forgive them (Ps 32:1; 85:2). Purses of money in the East are usually sealed.
sewest up—rather, "coverest"; akin to an Arabic word, "to color over," to forget wholly.
18. cometh to naught—literally, "fadeth"; a poetical image from a leaf (Isa 34:4). Here Job falls back into his gloomy bodings as to the grave. Instead of "and surely," translate "yet"; marking the transition from his brighter hopes. Even the solid mountain falls and crumbles away; man therefore cannot "hope" to escape decay or to live again in the present world (Job 14:19).
out of his place—so man (Ps 103:16).
19. The Hebrew order is more forcible: "Stones themselves are worn away by water."
things which grow out of—rather, "floods wash away the dust of the earth." There is a gradation from "mountains" to "rocks" (Job 14:18), then "stones," then last "dust of the earth"; thus the solid mountain at last disappears utterly.
20. prevailest—dost overpower by superior strength.
passeth—dieth.
changest countenance—the change in the visage at death. Differently (Da 5:9).
21. One striking trait is selected from the sad picture of the severance of the dead from all that passes in the world (Ec 9:5), namely, the utter separation of parents and children.
22. "Flesh" and "soul" describe the whole man. Scripture rests the hope of a future life, not on the inherent immortality of the soul, but on the restoration of the body with the soul. In the unseen world, Job in a gloomy frame anticipates, man shall be limited to the thought of his own misery. "Pain is by personification, from our feelings while alive, attributed to the flesh and soul, as if the man could feel in his body when dead. It is the dead in general, not the wicked, who are meant here."