Job 14:4 | KingComments | STEP | Job goes on complaining. While he is so insignificant, God perceives everything he does ( ). However, He does not do this to take care of him (cf. ), but to “bring him into judgment”. Is that fair: he the weak mortal, opposite the almighty God? Of course God will find something that is not right. Who can stand before Him when He judges ( )? He is not only weak, but also unclean by his birth from a sinful man ( ). In this Job is right. He speaks here of what we call “original sin” (cf. ; ). However, Job seems to pronounce this more as an apology than an acknowledgment. Can he do anything about sinning? Surely, God can’t blame him, can He? Job indirectly blames God for his sin. In the same way many people speak about sin, both unbelievers and believers. In Job’s weak existence God has also determined the number of days of his life ( ). Job also counts in months ( ). It indicates the shortness of life. The times of a man’s life are in God’s hand ( ). Man cannot change the boundaries of the various stages of life or the various periods of prosperity or adversity in which he finds himself. If God has determined all this, so Job asks Him, let Him give him some rest to make his days on earth full ( ). Let God not look upon him for a moment and stop tormenting him. Then he will be able to enjoy life a little more, just as a hired man enjoys peace after a hard day’s work. He then is for a while not feeling the pressure of his boss. This is what Job misses.

‏ Job 14:4

God Determines the Time of Life

Job goes on complaining. While he is so insignificant, God perceives everything he does (Job 14:3). However, He does not do this to take care of him (cf. Jer 32:19), but to “bring him into judgment”. Is that fair: he the weak mortal, opposite the almighty God? Of course God will find something that is not right. Who can stand before Him when He judges (Rev 6:17)?

He is not only weak, but also unclean by his birth from a sinful man (Job 14:4). In this Job is right. He speaks here of what we call “original sin” (cf. Psa 51:5; Rom 5:12). However, Job seems to pronounce this more as an apology than an acknowledgment. Can he do anything about sinning? Surely, God can’t blame him, can He? Job indirectly blames God for his sin. In the same way many people speak about sin, both unbelievers and believers.

In Job’s weak existence God has also determined the number of days of his life (Job 14:5). Job also counts in months (Job 3:6 ; Job 7:3 ; Job 21:21 ; Job 29:2). It indicates the shortness of life. The times of a man’s life are in God’s hand (Psa 31:15). Man cannot change the boundaries of the various stages of life or the various periods of prosperity or adversity in which he finds himself.

If God has determined all this, so Job asks Him, let Him give him some rest to make his days on earth full (Job 14:6). Let God not look upon him for a moment and stop tormenting him. Then he will be able to enjoy life a little more, just as a hired man enjoys peace after a hard day’s work. He then is for a while not feeling the pressure of his boss. This is what Job misses.