Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—June 2023

East Tallassee Church of Christ

June 9, Job 14

”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," - Job 14:14-15

Have you heard of The University of Hard Knocks? It's an educational institution with campuses all over the world. The curriculum varies from student to student. But regardless of the field of study, the courses, lessons and exams are challenging and difficult. But you won't find a website with photos of UHK’s beautiful campuses. There are no colorful recruiting brochures and you will not find any campuses on a map. I have taken a few courses in that prestigious school, and I suspect that you also have probably been a student there.

Some wise friend gave me a copy of Ralph Parlette's book, The University of Hard Knocks, when I graduated from high school. I don't remember all the books I read fifty years ago, but I remember and still have that one. Parlette wrote the book in 1915, and it has guided generations of readers to learn valuable lessons from the difficult experiences of life.

I suspect Job earned a Ph.D from dear old UHK. In Job's case, the Ph.D of his degree stood for Pain, Hardship and Disaster. Maybe that is why our righteous hero was so wise about some matters, when his contemporaries only had some theories and shadowy ideas. Job didn't know all the answers, and there were things he didn't understand. But in Chapter 14, he demonstrated a remarkable degree of understanding about some subjects that mystified his peers. Some of them still trouble us today, many centuries after these people lived.

From the midst of his painful experience and troubles, Job talked about the brevity of life. He compared human beings and their lifespans to flowers that bloom and quickly wither. (My wife

recently got some daylilies that are beautiful for a single, glorious day, and then quickly shrivel.) Like Jesus said, the lilies of the field are here today and tomorrow are cast into the oven. But God designed them to be beautiful while they last, even if their life span is so brief. Job also said our lives are like fleeting shadows, or water that evaporates from a lake or a stream. He sensed the brevity of life, even as he suffered.

Job was also confident that death was inescapable and coming to all. Job said he would like to hide in death from the pain and misery he had experienced. He imagined resting in death until God called and woke him. That's a very good picture of what you and I know about death and resurrection, too. In a time when there was much apprehension about life after death, Job said with certainty that God would call him from the dead, and he would answer. But until the resurrection, the dead would not know anything good or bad about what was happening in the world they left behind.

One way that Job thought he would be more at rest in death would be to escape the scrutiny of God. He felt that God watched him closely, searching for fault. Job acknowledged his impurity in God's sight, even though he defended his uprightness and integrity to his peers. He complained that he was born in human flesh, and that a clean thing cannot come from an unclean thing. Surely Job's misery colored his perception of God being a watcher trying to catch him in transgression. But he did have the understanding that God was witness to all he said and did.

Job was confident that there was life after death, but not the same kind of life in the same place. He said it was not like a tree, whose trunk could sprout new life from its roots after it had been cut down. He said when humans are cut down in death, they are no more, like evaporated water that disappears from a stream or lake. They are not awake until the heavens pass away. So he also knew that the world as

we know it, is destined by God to pass away someday. And while Job didn't know exactly how it would be done, he imagined that in the resurrection, his sin would be sealed up in a bag and covered by God. Do you hear the hope of the gospel and the salvation Jesus came to provide for us in his words?

How did Job know these things? Maybe it was from that University of Hard Knocks we mentioned before. Job himself said back in Chapter 3, "Why is light given to him who is in misery?" But I also think that Job spoke words of truth from God through inspiration of some things he could not know from human experience or perspective.

You and I are blessed to have more revelation and sure promises about such matters from God. We know life here is brief compared to eternity. We know death is coming, and that the resurrection and judgment will follow. We know there is an eternity after that when we will be in one of two places forever. And we know that God loves us and wants us to come to him, leaving sin behind, to enjoy salvation, hope and assurance of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Job knew these things to some degree, but you and I have been blessed with the precious knowledge of the gospel and called to be God's children, destined to spend eternity with him. Aren't you glad?

Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.