Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
Job speaks of human life as brief and troubled, withering and ending in death, and asks God to leave the mortal alone in peace until the appointed time is finished, as a hired worker completes the day's labor. Death is a rest of dreamless sleep in silence and darkness until its appointed end is complete, while awaiting the Life-giver's call, and no spark of life remains in the dead, so any life beyond death depends on power outside the person. With the question whether the dead can live again, he waits in hope for the appointed change when God will call and he will answer, to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life, which, since sin has taken life away, can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ. It is therefore a fitting word at the burial of one who falls asleep in Jesus, showing the dead resting in hope of the first resurrection, reunion, and immortal life when Christ comes, so the living part with calm assurance and mourn with hope under God's care.
Death as Appointed Rest
Job 14:6 stands within Job 14:1-15 as part of Job's reflection on human frailty and mortality. Human life is brief and troubled, withering and dying and ending in death. Like other ancient believers Job was troubled about the future of the dead. In that trouble he pleads for shelter from divine wrath.
The plea to turn from him is a plea for God to leave the mortal person in peace until the end of appointed life. As a hireling accomplishes his day, so the person completes the day's labor and reaches the end of the appointed time. The dead are thus allowed to rest like a hired worker who has finished the day's labor. Their rest is under God's care even when people do not regard the righteous person's death as a loss.
Death is a period of rest or dreamless sleep in silence and darkness. That rest lasts until its appointed end is complete and until a change comes. It is a short sleep until Jesus comes, a rest while waiting for the resurrection morning and while awaiting the Life-giver's call. It gives calm assurance in the parting hour.
No spark of life remains in the dead person. Any life beyond death therefore depends on power outside the person and not on anything remaining in him. Job's hope that God will call and he will answer shows that life after death depends on God's power. Since sin has deprived humanity of life, life beyond death can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ, to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life.
Resurrection Hope and Comfort
Job joins the question whether the dead can live with hope to wait for the appointed change, when God will call and he will answer. Death is a period of rest until the appointed time is complete and a change comes, and that waiting rests on God's power rather than on any life remaining in the person. Human life is brief and ends in death, leaving no spark of life in the dead, so any life beyond death must come through power outside the person. The dead lie in silence and darkness in a rest or sleep that lasts until its appointed end, yet death is not the end.
That hope is to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life. Since sin has deprived humanity of life, life beyond death can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ. Human life withers and dies into dreamless sleep, with waiting until the present order of nature ends, joined to a plea for shelter from divine wrath and hope in the Redeemer. The prayer to be hidden in Sheol shows Sheol is the place of the dead for righteous as well as wicked, the common receptacle of all mankind in death, exactly equivalent to Hades and called the grave in the original.
The word man without an adjective means all men, Gentile men as well as Jewish men, and therefore shows that Gentiles should keep the Sabbath. The verse is a fitting funeral text for one who falls asleep in Jesus and dies in the triumph of faith, presenting death as rest and a short sleep until Jesus soon comes. It gives calm assurance in the parting hour and a calm and lovely countenance in death.
It gives fitting words to speak at the burial of a faithful believer, showing the dead sleep in Jesus and rest in hope of the first resurrection, reunion, and immortal life when brought forth to meet the deceased, so the living mourn with hope. The dead rest until their appointed time is complete while awaiting the Life-giver's call, and are laid to rest looking toward the resurrection morning. Death is like the end of a hired worker's day, a time of rest that comforts mourners as they look forward to reunion in the first resurrection. The rest is under God's care even when people do not regard the righteous person's death as a loss. Asking God to leave the mortal person in peace until the end of appointed life, like a hired worker who completes the day, brings comfort at funerals.
Job speaks of human life as brief and troubled, withering and ending in death, and asks God to leave the mortal alone in peace until the appointed time is finished, as a hired worker completes the day's labor. Death is a rest of dreamless sleep in silence and darkness until its appointed end is complete, while awaiting the Life-giver's call, and no spark of life remains in the dead, so any life beyond death depends on power outside the person. With the question whether the dead can live again, he waits in hope for the appointed change when God will call and he will answer, to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life, which, since sin has taken life away, can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ. It is therefore a fitting word at the burial of one who falls asleep in Jesus, showing the dead resting in hope of the first resurrection, reunion, and immortal life when Christ comes, so the living part with calm assurance and mourn with hope under God's care.
Death as Appointed Rest
Job 14:6 stands within Job 14:1-15 as part of Job's reflection on human frailty and mortality. Human life is brief and troubled, withering and dying and ending in death. Like other ancient believers Job was troubled about the future of the dead. In that trouble he pleads for shelter from divine wrath.
The plea to turn from him is a plea for God to leave the mortal person in peace until the end of appointed life. As a hireling accomplishes his day, so the person completes the day's labor and reaches the end of the appointed time. The dead are thus allowed to rest like a hired worker who has finished the day's labor. Their rest is under God's care even when people do not regard the righteous person's death as a loss.
Death is a period of rest or dreamless sleep in silence and darkness. That rest lasts until its appointed end is complete and until a change comes. It is a short sleep until Jesus comes, a rest while waiting for the resurrection morning and while awaiting the Life-giver's call. It gives calm assurance in the parting hour.
No spark of life remains in the dead person. Any life beyond death therefore depends on power outside the person and not on anything remaining in him. Job's hope that God will call and he will answer shows that life after death depends on God's power. Since sin has deprived humanity of life, life beyond death can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ, to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life.
Resurrection Hope and Comfort
Job joins the question whether the dead can live with hope to wait for the appointed change, when God will call and he will answer. Death is a period of rest until the appointed time is complete and a change comes, and that waiting rests on God's power rather than on any life remaining in the person. Human life is brief and ends in death, leaving no spark of life in the dead, so any life beyond death must come through power outside the person. The dead lie in silence and darkness in a rest or sleep that lasts until its appointed end, yet death is not the end.
That hope is to be called from the dust to see the living Redeemer and share resurrection life. Since sin has deprived humanity of life, life beyond death can be resumed only as God's gift through Jesus Christ. Human life withers and dies into dreamless sleep, with waiting until the present order of nature ends, joined to a plea for shelter from divine wrath and hope in the Redeemer. The prayer to be hidden in Sheol shows Sheol is the place of the dead for righteous as well as wicked, the common receptacle of all mankind in death, exactly equivalent to Hades and called the grave in the original.
The word man without an adjective means all men, Gentile men as well as Jewish men, and therefore shows that Gentiles should keep the Sabbath. The verse is a fitting funeral text for one who falls asleep in Jesus and dies in the triumph of faith, presenting death as rest and a short sleep until Jesus soon comes. It gives calm assurance in the parting hour and a calm and lovely countenance in death.
It gives fitting words to speak at the burial of a faithful believer, showing the dead sleep in Jesus and rest in hope of the first resurrection, reunion, and immortal life when brought forth to meet the deceased, so the living mourn with hope. The dead rest until their appointed time is complete while awaiting the Life-giver's call, and are laid to rest looking toward the resurrection morning. Death is like the end of a hired worker's day, a time of rest that comforts mourners as they look forward to reunion in the first resurrection. The rest is under God's care even when people do not regard the righteous person's death as a loss. Asking God to leave the mortal person in peace until the end of appointed life, like a hired worker who completes the day, brings comfort at funerals.