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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Job 14:13 - 14:22
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A Prayer to be Delivered from his Affliction
v. 13. Oh, that Thou wouldest hide me in the grave, secure in the realm of the dead, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, safely hidden, until Thy wrath be past, change once more into kindness, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me! Job pleaded to be remembered in mercy, to be reestablished in God's grace. But for him, the reality differs much from this wish.
v. 14. If a man die, shall he live again? It is the voice of suspicion, of skepticism, which desires to banish all hope for the future, the doubt which endeavors to enter the heart of believers from time to time. All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. The figure is taken from the life of the soldier, who will not abandon his post until he is relieved, discharged, or exchanged. The idea of an eventual deliverance from the realm of death is brought out pretty strongly at this point.
v. 15. Thou shalt call, that is, God would call to him, in granting him the discharge which he hoped for, and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands, God would feel an affectionate yearning for Job, the poor, miserable creature, who was now groaning under such great afflictions.
v. 16. For now Thou numberest my steps, at this time God was still watching his every move as that of a transgressor; dost Thou not watch over my sin? So deep was Job's despair that he believed God was still holding back, that He was still keeping anger, that His full manifestation of it had not yet taken place.
v. 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, his guilt, or wickedness, was kept in remembrance, and Thou sewest up mine iniquity, literally, "Thou hast stitched on to my transgressions," that is, made Job's iniquity greater than it was in truth, and then punished him accordingly.
v. 18. And surely the mountain falling cometh to naught, it crumbles to pieces under the destroying influence of the elements, and the rock is removed out of his place, growing old and decaying in the same manner.
v. 19. The waters wear the stones, hollowing them out by continual dripping; Thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth, the floods of water carry away the fruitful soil very quickly; and Thou destroyest the hope of man, for mortal man also perishes without the slightest hope of being brought back to this life again. The strongest and most substantial things in nature are unable to withstand the destructive power of the elements in the hand of God; how much less will mortal man escape this destruction?
v. 20. Thou prevailest forever against him, overpowering him with His might, and he passeth; Thou changest his countenance, disfiguring him, distorting his features in the agony of death, and sendest him away, forth out of this earthly life.
v. 21. His sons come to honor, or, "should his children be in honor?" and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, abased and disgraced; but he perceiveth it not of them. Man in the realm of death is utterly ignorant of that which takes place on this earth, being affected neither by the good nor by the ill fortune of his surviving relatives.
v. 22. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, feeling pain in the thought of his own misery, and his soul within him shall mourn. Pain is here, by personification, from our feelings while alive, attributed to the flesh and the soul, as if man could feel it in his body when dead. Note that the restoration of the body together with the soul is assumed in this passage, in a final awakening of the dead.