Hope Erosion (Job 14:1-22)

Dead stumps, dried up lakes, and worn down mountains. In this chapter Job weaves together all three metaphors as he tries to convey his “hope erosion.”

14:1 “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. 2 Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. 3 You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself. 4 Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! 5 Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”

There are four different Hebrew words for “man” in this chapter:

“adam” (vss. 1 & 10) – originally meaning “ruddy [red, man created from red clay?]” or “from the ground”; it refers to mankind in general, man as being created in God’s image.

“geber” (vss. 10 & 14) – warrior man, mighty and noble man.

“iysh” (vs. 12) – man as an individual, man in his manliness, husband man.

“enosh” (vs. 19) – man as weak and mortal and vulnerable.

Each word points to a different quality of man. The implication is that the sufferings Job touched every area of his life.

God’s design for man (vs. 1) was that he would be “full of days” and “short of turmoil.” But Job intentionally reverses it…he finds that his life is “short of days” and “full of turmoil.” His short-of-days life withers like a wildflower and is as fleeting as a shadow (vs. 2).

When you are young life doesn’t seem to be fleeting. My shop teacher in Junior High placed a sign below the clock in the back of the class. If you turned around to look at it (wondering how many eons it would be till the end of shop class), the little sign reminded you that “Time will pass…will you?” And when you are old life doesn’t seem to be very long at all. As the famous philosopher Grant Gonyo (our 75 year old Sunday School teacher) loved to state, “Man is too soon old and too late smart.”

In verse 5 Job reminds us that mortals have a limited life span, “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” (New Living Translation)

14:6 “Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest, until he fulfills his day like a hired man. 7 For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. 8 Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, 9 at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. 10 But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? 11 as water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, 12 So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.”

A missionary told the story of how his dad, wanting to rid the yard of a tree stump, decided to blast it out with dynamite. Kaboooom! For several seconds it rained wood. But part of it hit a transformer on a power line (which took out the electricity) and part of it went through their roof! It seems however that some trees, even if they are blasted into eternity, will keep sprouting (bamboo?). Hartley notes, “Even though a stump may be dormant for a long time, a good soaking rain often spurs new growth.” “But man dies…” writes Job in verse 10. Job is not like a tree that could grow again if a supply of water became available; he is more like a dried up lake than a dead tree stump. If you Google “dried up lakes in the Sahara,” you will find some interesting articles about how the Sahara (or at least parts of it) at one time was lush and green. Immense lakes covered vast portions of this arid area. But they dried up. And that is how Job feels – his water (the presence of God) has completely vanished and his life seems to be nothing but arid ashes.

14:13 "Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, that You would set a limit for me and remember me! 14 If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. 15 You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands."

Job frantically and desperately wants to find a refuge from the storm and from the hideous monster he has become. Since it seems that his ash heap residence and life on earth will afford no relief from his misery, he asks that God would hide him in Sheol, the underworld, the Old Testament designation for the abode of the dead. (In most instances it is incorrect to translate this word as simply “the grave.”). But because Sheol is “the land of no return and the place where one is forgotten” (Hartley), something has to be done to remind God that Job is in the netherworld! The words “remember me” are the same words that Joseph cried out to his cellmate (a former prominent servant to Pharaoh) when Joseph was wrongly thrown into prison, “When you get out of here, remember me and mention me to Pharaoh and get me outta here!” (Genesis 40:14).

The end of verse 13 states, “…that You would set a limit for me and remember me!” The New Living Translation has it, “But mark your calendar to think of me again!” God, don’t forget that you’ve temporarily hidden me down here; set up a reminder in Outlook, and let it keep popping up until you come down to Sheol and get me out!

Verse 14b reads, “…until my change (or renewal) comes.” The word “change” comes from the same word as “sprout” in verse 7. Job may not “sprout” again like a tree from a dried up stump, but he does believe that he will live again! It’s not a full-blown New Testament type of resurrection that he has in view, but nevertheless these are words of tremendous faith.

The words “long for” (desire, yearn) in verse 15 come from a word meaning “to grow pale.” It implies that God will one day again “long for” His servant Job with such intensity that He will grow pale! (God does “long for” Job at the present time, but Job is unaware of it).

14:16 “For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin. 17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You wrap up my iniquity."

To gain a sense of what Job is saying here, let me quote Hartley a little more extensively, “The picture could be that of storing valuables like gems or silver coins in a bag. Such valuables were put into a bag, which was fastened or daubed with wax, and pressed with a seal. The bag could not be opened without breaking the seal. Or the picture could be that of an old accounting practice in which a stone was placed in a bag to represent one item of a commodity, e.g. a sheep. Whenever a sheep was added or deleted from the flock, a stone was added or removed from the bag. The basic question of interpretation is, does God seal Job’s sins in a bag in order to put an end to Job’s accountability for them, or does He store them in a bag in order that He might open that bag at the final judgment and execute a full sentence against Job for all his sins?”

From the context it seems to me that the latter is in view here (“that He might open that bag at the final judgment and execute a full sentence against Job).

14:18 "But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place; 19 Water wears away stones, its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; so You destroy man’s hope. 20 You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away. 21 His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it. 22 But his body pains him, and he mourns only for himself."

“Water wears away stones…” Hope doesn’t just suddenly disappear; more often than not it gradually wears away. Hope erodes. In the version “The Message,” Eugene Peterson translates verses 18 and 19 this way, "Meanwhile, mountains wear down and boulders break up, stones wear smooth and soil erodes, as You relentlessly grind down our hope.” An unrelenting grinding down of hope. Each fresh jab of pain, each sleepless night, each taunt and jeer from a neighbor caused Job’s hope to wither.

Perhaps hope has eroded in your life. You didn’t just determine one day to give up, but the ongoing difficulties, the chronic illness or the “one thing after another” storms have eroded your faith and resolve and hope. Job’s difficulties will intensify in the next few chapters and his hope will erode even further. But God came to Job, and God will come to you! Don’t give up hope!