Job is continuing the monologue he started back in Job 12.
Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
But man dies and is laid away;
Indeed he breathes his last
And where is he?
As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
Do you think about death a lot?
I don't. Certain events in life (death of someone I know, a personal health problem, some tragedy in the news) will cause me to think about death. And when I sit and think about it, I do have to say what Job is saying here: we are here and gone just like that.
Can I wake up every morning and think, I'm going to die today? I suppose it might focus my mind more on gratitude and making the most of the opportunity of life? Or would it just be depressing leading me to not even bother going out the door?
Of course, we have to allow Job this time of reflection because of his circumstances.
As one pastor shared with me, I don't have to preach too loud at funerals. At other times, pastors can get a megaphone in our face and we don't listen!
So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.
Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
Do you think Job believes in an afterlife?
A lot of times, Job talks of death and it seems like he is saying, that's it, you are in the ground and there is nothing more.
This passages seem to hint that he believes there might be something more.
What do you think?
Is it the part of me that knows of Jesus and the resurrection that biases me to think that Job had at least a hint of an afterlife?
From the next passage, I can't help but feel that Job is of two minds about the afterlife. At times, it seems like he thinks there is nothing more and at other times he seems to be hinting he believes there is more.
For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.
But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.
It does seem bleak doesn't it?
I think the "hint" of an afterlife is that Job seems to care about justice as he talks about sin.
For now You number my steps,Job believes he has sin in his life but that God has forgiven him of his sins.
But do not watch over my sin.
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.
The simple calculation is that he is suffering right now and so he must have sin. If there is no afterlife, where is the vindication of his standing before God?
Perhaps, that is a reach of convoluted logic.
Lord, the physical life is precious to me. You want me to do justice in this life but I know there is still lots of injustice. You want me to show mercy to people in this life but sometimes that just doesn't seem like enough to make up for has happened. You want me to walk humbly with you but it seems hard when things happen that don't make a lot of sense. Help me to be like Job to be able to say like him,
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
Amen.
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