Job 14 Job continues his frustration with God
“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?
Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.”
Humanity is fragile! The Ashantis have a saying “Nkwa hia,” “Life is precious.” I have seen patients survive long difficult operations; on the other hand, we have had a few patients who have suddenly died without any perceivable reason. Each time I have questioned God, He reminds me that the day that patient was born, He knew the day that patient would die.
“Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches. Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling. But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they? As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.”
The photo is that of a tree in our village. Although the tree toppled several years ago, some of the roots have remained intact, allowing the tree to flourish. Job has seen trees such as ours survive and sprout again. But unlike trees, human death is final.
“I wish you would hide me in the grave and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again! Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins. My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt.
“But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff, as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope. You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away. They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance. They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble.”
When things were going well, Job trusted God, but now Job’s life has fallen apart and he doesn’t trust God anymore. Job feels that God has destroyed his life just as God brings about natural disasters just as floods. Job is also accusing God of generally spoiling people’s lives. At this point, Job’s faith is sagging.
Before judging Job too harshly, let’s look at his situation. Job has lost virtually everything; his wife thinks he should curse God and die. When Job hopes for comfort, the friends who show up immediately begin lecturing and blaming him rather than encouraging him. After trusting God for all these years, Job is even beginning to doubt God’s goodness.
Interestingly, by the end of the Book of Job, God commends Job for having spoken properly of Him, unlike Job’s friends. While Job is depressed and discouraged, he still recognizes God as being sovereign and continues to honor God and to acknowledge His greatness and authority.
What can we do when facing terrible situations from which there is no escape? Even in the depths of despair, we can still praise God. While it is tempting to be swayed by circumstances, we must remember that God is still on the throne and that God is the One who can totally deliver us from all our problems and all our fears.
I love the old hymns, for many times their words express what I cannot. And I am lifted and comforted by these words. May God who has called us give us hope, so that we will continue to follow hard after Him, even in the midst of our trials!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust where we cannot see. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
3 To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish but naught changeth thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
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