Will Man Live Again?

“If a man die, shall he live again?  All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.  Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee:  Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands.”  Job 14:14-15

Job continued his conversation directed toward the LORD that he had begun in Chapter 13.  He spoke about the brevity of life and that a man’s life is full of trouble.  Compared to eternity, a lifespan of 70 or 80 years is only a tiny blip on the radar of God.  And trouble?  David Roper in his book, “Psalm 23, The Song of a Passionate Heart”, wrote how he used to think that life mostly consisted of good times and some heartaches occasionally, but then after living into old age, he realized that it is just the opposite.  There are some good days, but “much of life is a vale of tears”.  Both he and Job were right.  Things may be going well, and then one is slammed with bad news that overwhelms and confuses.  No one is immune no matter how diligently one attempts to do everything right, live by the Book, and avoid even the appearance of sin.  It rains on the just and the unjust as Jesus said (Matthew 5:45).  If anyone knew about trouble, it was Job.

Job thought about a tree.  No doubt he had cut down many trees to use for lumber, firewood, or to clear a field for crops.  He had seen stumps many times sprout new growth from the roots.  As long as the roots are alive and viable, they would produce offshoots.  However, it is not like that for man.  When his life is cut down, when he has breathed his last breath as a mortal man, his body decays in the ground.  There are no human roots to sprout and bring life back to him to allow him more time on the earth.  Our bodies are designed to die.  Death stalks our trail from the moment we are born.  When the baby son of David and Bathsheba died, David said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (II Samuel 12:23b).

Job asked the all-important question concerning death, “Where does the soul of man go?”   It disappears from sight.  So is the man who lies down in the grave, and his earthly body does not arise until the end of time.  We know that those who believe in Christ will rise again in the first resurrection, but their bodies will not be the same bodies that were buried.  Those bodies return to the dust from which they came.  We must remember that Job lived many years before Christ came to earth and even before God gave Moses the law for Israel, which at the time of Job was also not in existence.  Scripture had not been written, yet God made Job and those of that era understand that He required righteousness.  Job knew that God required a blood sacrifice for man to maintain a relationship with Him.  Sacrifices began just after Adam and Eve sinned when God provided the skins of animals to cover their bodies.  Thus, God allowed Job to know enough about Him to worship and honor Him.

Job asked, “If a man dies, shall he live again?”  Was Job enquiring of God if there was truly an afterlife?  No, I think that his question was more of a rhetorical question of which one doesn’t expect an answer.  Job was counting on an afterlife of peace and freedom from pain and misery.  He was willing to linger in this life as long as it took in anticipation of the new life ahead of him.  He looked forward to death as a release from his present anguish.  When that day came, Job would be ready to answer God’s call, and God would welcome him and make him into a vessel that pleased God.

However, for now, Job was faced with dealing with his pain and still perplexed as to why God was punishing him so severely when he felt that it was unjustified.  He felt that God was watching over him like a hawk watches over his prey just waiting to swoop down and devour him, counting and recording every sin.  This is how many people view God, but that’s because they don’t know Him in the person of Jesus Christ who came to earth to show men and women what God is really like, a loving and merciful Father who provided the way that folks could be forgiven of sin and become a member of His royal family.  Job never claimed to be sinless.  He understood that he was a sinful man, but one who had tried to live righteously before God.  Thus, he expected to be punished for his sins, but he charged God with keeping track of every one of his transgressions as if God was gathering them into an evidence bag and sealing it up to not allow any of the “goods” He had on Job to escape.  They would all be taken under consideration in the trial against him.  No sin would be omitted as Job faced sentencing.  He looked forward to the eventual change that would come, but he was now still in a place of uncertainty, misery, and confusion.

Those who have rejected Christ are still in their sins, and God is keeping a record, but those who have repented and trusted Christ have had their sin record expunged.  According to Job, God was always against His own creation, always winning every battle and thwarting the ambitions of men.  Job was right in one respect–no one ever prevails against the LORD.  Though many have tried, they have all lost, every one of them.

Next week:  Eliphaz Rebukes Job