“How frail is humanity!
How short is life, how full of trouble!
2 We blossom like a flower and then wither.
Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
3 Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature
and demand an accounting from me?
4 Who can bring purity out of an impure person?
No one!
5 You have decided the length of our lives.
You know how many months we will live,
and we are not given a minute longer.
6 So leave us alone and let us rest!
We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace."
(Want a Different Translation? Click Here!)
Human life really is so frail. All it takes is one glance away from the road to cause a potentially fatal car crash. All it takes is one doctor's visit to receive some life altering news. Have you ever thought about how quickly your life can change for the better or for the worse? I think just recently, a wake up for me was yesterday. I left Williamsport at 5:30 am to head to North Carolina to play a concert. When I got here, I received news of tornadoes and severe weather back home in Lock Haven. Immediately my day changed from care-free to concerned because Emily is home by herself. There was no warning before I left that I was given that such a severe weather system was going to do what it did, but it happened nonetheless. These reminders should push us to recenter our lives on God because He, unlike our lives and this world, NEVER changes!
Verses 7-12:
7 “Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.
8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth
and its stump decays,
9 at the scent of water it will bud
and sprout again like a new seedling.
10 “But when people die, their strength is gone.
They breathe their last, and then where are they?
11 As water evaporates from a lake
and a river disappears in drought,
12 people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
nor be roused from their sleep."
Human life really is so frail. All it takes is one glance away from the road to cause a potentially fatal car crash. All it takes is one doctor's visit to receive some life altering news. Have you ever thought about how quickly your life can change for the better or for the worse? I think just recently, a wake up for me was yesterday. I left Williamsport at 5:30 am to head to North Carolina to play a concert. When I got here, I received news of tornadoes and severe weather back home in Lock Haven. Immediately my day changed from care-free to concerned because Emily is home by herself. There was no warning before I left that I was given that such a severe weather system was going to do what it did, but it happened nonetheless. These reminders should push us to recenter our lives on God because He, unlike our lives and this world, NEVER changes!
Verses 7-12:
7 “Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.
8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth
and its stump decays,
9 at the scent of water it will bud
and sprout again like a new seedling.
10 “But when people die, their strength is gone.
They breathe their last, and then where are they?
11 As water evaporates from a lake
and a river disappears in drought,
12 people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
nor be roused from their sleep."
It so crazy to think about Job's comparison here. Even a tree, when it dies, can come back to life. This isn't so with us (in a way, haha)! Verse 12 makes me think that Job is prophesying about the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. That tells me a little that if Job were alive in Jesus' day, he certainly wouldn't have been a Sadducee, haha! =) Thankfully, when our bodies die, those of us who are in Christ have our souls live on! =) Yay!
Verses 13-22:
and forget me there until your anger has passed.
But mark your calendar to think of me again!
14 Can the dead live again?
If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle,
and I would eagerly await the release of death.
15 You would call and I would answer,
and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
16 For then you would guard my steps,
instead of watching for my sins.
17 My sins would be sealed in a pouch,
and you would cover my guilt.
18 “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble
and as rocks fall from a cliff,
19 as water wears away the stones
and floods wash away the soil,
so you destroy people’s hope.
20 You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.
You disfigure them in death and send them away.
21 They never know if their children grow up in honor
or sink to insignificance.
22 They suffer painfully;
their life is full of trouble.”
Verses 12-17 might very well be my favorite verses so far in Job! Do me a favor and read them again, slowly if you have to! Despite his wish that God would let him die, he wouldn't want God to completely forget Him. He added that he would want God to think about him again, after His anger had passed! A lot in these verses reminds me of some of the benefits that come out of making Jesus your Lord and Savior. What do you guys see/think? =)
"Father thank You for loving us! I pray that when You become angry with us, that You would be patient with us as Your anger subsides! May we not anger You as we once did. I want to take this time to pray for our country and our leaders. I pray that You would expose any corruption and immorality to them and convict them of their need for Jesus to be not only their savior but also their LORD! Thank You for the opportunity we have to be Your servants here in this world, and I pray we wouldn't waste any of the opportunities that You bless us with. We love You so much. It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"
No comments:
Post a Comment