Main Highlights
Job laments the brevity and futility of human life, expressing a desire for relief from suffering and a hope for eventual resurrection.
Key Verses
Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and does not stay. If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.
Related Scripture
— Psalm 90:10 "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away."
Scholar Insight
""Job 14 articulates the fragility of human existence and the despair that can arise when facing the inevitability of death. It points to a deeper longing for hope beyond the grave." - David Atkinson, The Message of Job (IVP, 1991)."
Theological Analysis
What we learn about God
We learn about the sovereignty of God. Job 14:5 "Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass"
Christological Connection
The hope of resurrection foreshadows the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live"
Systematic Theology
This passage is about Eschatology. 1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive"
Law & Grace
This passage demonstrates the need for grace and forgiveness as Job struggles with the perceived injustices of life. Romans 3:23-24 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"
Personal Application
People should respond by trusting in God's plan for all things. Job 14:14 "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come."