If a Man Dies, Will He Live Again?

Job 13:28-14:22

Key Verse 14:14

Job is the oldest book of the Bible, they say. The Bible calls Noah, Daniel, and Job as the righteous. Ezekiel 14:14,20 This indicates that Job had faith in the Lord. This passage shows that Job had resurrection faith. 

What is Job’s present condition? (1:13-19; 2:7-8)

** He lost his possessions, his children; his body was in torment. 

Think about the life of a man in a physical body (13:28-14:2). In what respect is man’s life like: a) something rotten; b) a garment eaten by moths; c) a flower; and d) a fleeting shadow?

** Something rotten – eventually it will waste away like something rotten. Paul says that our body is dead because of sin. Romans 8:10b

** a garment eaten by moths: like a garment our body is a housing of our soul; this housing, (shell, or simply clothes,) is eaten up as a house being eaten by termites; the aging (wasting away) is a slow process; moths = sin; cf. for those who are in Jesus although our bodies are wasted away, our soul is getting renewed (2Co 4:16)

** a flower – its glory lasts only temporarily; it quickly fades away; 1Pe 1:24 (Again Job is talking about the physical aspects of our body; inwardly for those who believe in the Lord, they are being renewed going from glory to glory) 2Co 3:18

** a fleeting shadow – a shadow is different from a reality; reality is in Jesus Christ. Col 2:17 So Jesus is the source of resurrected life which is real life to come. A shadow is fleeting, as the sun moves from east to west. Life under the sun is like this. Our life at birth is like the sun rising, but our life in old ages is like sun setting to the west. 

Read verses 3-6. Whom is Job talking to (or asking these questions)? What is Job’s point?

** He is talking to God, the Creator. (The word “you” in v. 5 refers to God.) 

** 1) The three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) came to comfort Job, only to make him embarrassed. They advised Job to do this or not to do that (4:1-5:27; 8:1-22; and 11:1-20), but their advice had one thing in common: that is, the innocent do not suffer; their point was that the disasters happened to Job to purge Job of sins; they advised Job to admit his guilt, make a confession of sins, turn away from sins, and ask God for the forgiveness; then God would restore him back to a blessed status. 

2) Job calls them worthless physicians (meaning their advice is worth nothing). Job 13:4

3) Job is asking God for mercy. In his opinion the fact that man is born only to die is enough of punishment for man’s sins, so he is asking God for mercy, so that he could somehow be allowed to die in peace. 

4) Job was correct in that he did not paint God as a merciless God; rather he understood that God is the God of compassion, ready to comfort those who are broken hearted. Unlike his three friends, God is not legalistic. Being the God of comfort, he has promised to send the Savior from the very moment of Adam sinning. Gen 3:15; this promise of comfort runs through the line of faith, such as Noah. And the name Noah means “comfort”. Indeed, the Prophet Isaiah talks about the comfort to come through the Savior. Isaiah 40:1 

Compare the way of a tree described in verses 7-9 and the way of a man described in verses 10-12a. How are they different?

** Trees did not sin, so they are as they are, that is, they grow back according to the cycle of nature. 

But men are different. Man dies once, and rises back only once. This truth teaches us that the theory of re-incarnation is wrong, for people like Buddhists believe that man is born and rises again and again a million different times, sometimes being born as a snake, another time as a cow, another time as a man, if he is lucky. 

Read verse 12b. What does “awake” or “sleep” indicate about: a) the question Job asks in verse 14; and b) the nature of the life that is to come (if at all)? 

** The answer is positive: Yes he will live again. The Apostle Paul says the same thing in 1Co 15:12-13. 

** There is a numerical equation, that is, your identity before and after physical death would remain the same; but the after-life will be a renewed one, just like a baby wakes up with a fresh new look and vigor. It also indicates that for those who are saved, physical death is not a cessation of existence, but a continuation of one’s existence except that upon physical death he is going into a sleeping mode. 

Read verses 13-17. In this passage the expression “I will” or “you will” is repeated. What do these expressions indicate about the kind of faith Job had in regard to the life to come (after physical death)?

** I will wait for “my” renewal – this expression indicates that Job personally believed in personal resurrection; renewal = resurrection (with himself having been made brand new);

You will call – he is sure that there will come a time when all who are in the grave will hear the voice of the Savior. John 5:25

I will answer – this refers to Job’s personal conviction that as he kept his faith and will die believing, he will sure hear the voice of the Savior, only to rise and join the Savior. John 5:25; this indicates that he had a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord (the Savior to come). 

You will long for… - this expression expresses Job’s knowledge of God who loves his children so in love is looking forward to the time of reunion with his children all in a resurrected body. 

You will count my steps – this shows Job’s intimate knowledge of the Lord who is not indifferent to the steps his children are making.

You will cover over my sin – most likely Job refers to the effect of the atoning sacrifice to be made by the Savior of the world. Eph 1:7; Heb 9:12; 1Pe 4:8; Pro 10:12

 

Read verses 18-22. Verse 19 mentions “man’s hope”. What does this passage tell us about “man’s hope”? 

** Man’s hope will come to nothing, period. [Man’s hope = the hope which man has in man; man’s hope stands in contrasts with God’s hope, or simply the hope we have in the Lord. Psalm 25:3 The point we learn here is that we need to put trust (or hope) in the Lord not in what man can do. God has to destroy man’s hope for ultimately man is not the source of living hope, for man is limited, and therefore not capable of saving man from the effects of fall. 

The end