Job 14:19, commentary and pictures

The verse pictures death wearing away human life and earthly prospects as water wears stone and washes away what grows from the dust, for God prevails against man and sends him away with his hope in this life destroyed. In death man lies in blank, unconscious sleep with no continuing conscious life, knowing nothing of what happens on earth even to his own children. The departed therefore do not linger near the living to communicate with them or to watch over them as guardian angels in sorrow and prosperity. Job's hope beyond this destruction is resurrection, when after decay he will be called from sleep in the dust to answer God and see his living Redeemer at the last day. This loss of earthly hope in death and promise of reunion at the first resurrection comforts mourners when a faithful believer falls peacefully asleep in Jesus.

Imagery, Setting and Wording

The wearing away of stones by water and the washing away of what grows out of the dust of the earth pictures how death destroys human life and earthly prospects and ends hope in this existence. The image of water wearing stone and of growth washed from the soil shows death as the passing away of the person, with no conscious knowledge of what happens afterward on earth, not even of children honored or brought low, and no communication with the living. The same figure illustrates that quiet, gradual forces can wear away or split what seems hard and lasting, so that power is not measured by noise or display, as water rends rock and growing plants lift stone.

The verse belongs to Job 14:7-21, where death is set forth as the opposite of life and the cessation of continued conscious existence. It is silence and darkness, a land of darkness and forgetfulness with no remembrance, where thoughts perish, a blank unconscious quiet sleep with no work nor device and no knowledge nor wisdom. Without resurrection from that sleep in the dust, even those fallen asleep would have perished, so the passage denies natural inherent immortality and places hope in being called forth to see the living Redeemer.

The chapter stands within the arguments between Job and his friends about the cause and purpose of human suffering, in which claims often generally true were misapplied to Job, showing that suffering does not prove God's displeasure. In this chapter Job prayed to be hidden in Sheol, the common place of the dead for both the righteous and the wicked, so that grave here represents Sheol. The word man in the verse means all people, including Gentiles.

Death as Unconscious Sleep

God destroys the hope of man by death, prevailing forever against him so that he passes away, his countenance changed and he sent away. Death wears away human life and destroys the hope a person has in earthly existence, ending hope in this present life. What follows explains that passing: after death a man has no knowledge of what is done here or what happens to his friends in this world.

In this context death is a state of unconsciousness, like people who are asleep, a blank, quiet sleep with no continuing conscious life. It is the exact opposite of life, the cessation of continued conscious existence, a land of darkness and forgetfulness with no remembrance where thoughts perish, with no work nor device and no knowledge nor wisdom. Without a resurrection the dead have no conscious life or hope, so that even they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished, which disproves natural inherent immortality. The wearing away of stones by water and the washing away of plants growing from the dust pictures that destruction of human hope in death.

After death a person does not know when his sons come to honor nor perceive when they are brought low, not knowing whether his children prosper or suffer nor perceiving their troubles. The dead lie in unconscious sleep, unaware of what happens to their children on earth until called to answer and rise. They have no knowledge or wisdom and know nothing, even about their own children, and therefore cannot give communications of intelligence. For this reason the spirits of departed friends and relatives do not stay hovering near the living, do not come back to communicate with the living, and do not become guardian angels watching over the living, sympathizing in sorrow and rejoicing in prosperity.

The dead are unconscious and do not suffer before the final judgment, their hope of life resting in resurrection. They do not pass into endless life at death, for the grave is gloomy apart from resurrection, and the hope that dispels that gloom is the resurrection.

Resurrection Hope and Comfort

The destruction of human hope by death is not the end, for beyond decay the dead will be called from sleep in the dust to answer God. That call is resurrection to see the living Redeemer, and in that coming resurrection life there is rejoicing. The grave apart from this is gloomy, with no passing at death into endless conscious life elsewhere, and it is resurrection alone that dispels that gloom. Death wears away life as water wears stones and washes away growth from the earth, ending earthly prospects and leaving no conscious knowledge or communication with the living, so that the dead do not know or perceive what happens to their children, and their hope of life rests in resurrection.

This loss of hope lasts only while the dead remain in the grave and does not mean they will never rise. They will rise at the last day, when the heavens pass away.

The chapter thus shows the frailty of human life and the loss of earthly hope in death, yet gives words that comfort the living at a funeral service. Death for the faithful believer is falling peacefully and trustingly asleep in Jesus. Wife and children left behind mourn their loss but not without hope, with hope pointed to glorious reunion at the first resurrection for one who embraces truth and remains faithful without turning to the moment of death.