Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
His life draws near to its end, with his living self sinking toward the grave and destruction. The soul here is mortal life itself, subject to death and going down toward the grave as the man goes down toward death, not a deathless part that lives on apart from the body. When His speaking by word and by dreams and visions is not perceived, God permits chastening sickness and severe pain until flesh wastes away and even bread is loathed. He does this not by chance but to open dull ears, to turn man from his proud purpose and from ruin, and to bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living. At that crisis a messenger must show him God's uprightness and kindness, or he will go down to the pit, and pain itself is God's corrective voice to teach more truth, not an enemy to be hushed and stifled.
Words and Setting in Job
The verse stands in the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, which form the third of the four parts of the book of Job, coming after the prologue and the debate between Job and his three friends and before the speeches of the Lord. Within that setting Elihu is trying to convince Job that Job is not great in himself while God is everything, spoken while Job is still defending himself as one who has committed no open sins against God and is earnest and anxious for God to manifest Himself to him.
In the verse, soul means the person's life, the Hebrew nephesh. A soul drawing near to the grave shows that a soul can approach death. This nephesh draws near to the grave, which means the soul is mortal and in danger of death rather than an immortal part of man, since immortality is never affirmed of it. The Hebrew word rendered grave in this verse, shokhath, means destruction. The verse describes a person whose life is nearing death, with soul drawing near to the grave as life approaches its end. In that condition the soul is subject to death, not an immortal part that survives it.
God's Discipline Through Affliction
God first speaks once, yea twice, by His Word and by visions and dreams, yet man perceives it not because indulgence in fullness of bread and dainty meat has dulled his nerves and ears to hearing. When that speaking is not heeded, He permits chastening sickness and severe pain upon his bed and strong pain in the multitude of his bones. Under that chastening the sufferer becomes emaciated with bones sticking out, his life abhors bread and dainty meat, and he becomes sick spiritually and physically and draws very near to death and destruction. This is the approaching crisis in God's effort to mold man after the divine similitude when he would not bend in prosperity, God then speaking through other nerves.
This suffering does not come by accident or chance, but so God may open ears dull of hearing, withdraw man from his proud purpose, correct him to return to the path of right, preserve him from destruction, and bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living, and then deliver him. He works all these things oftentimes with man to that end. At that crisis, unless a messenger who can translate the meaning of trouble shows him God's uprightness and kindness in both roses and the bitter cup, he will go down to the pit. That leading results in grace, a ransom, and new life.
The suffering that brings a person near death is therefore disciplinary instruction, and pain is God's corrective voice to turn man from ruin to teach him more truth. Affliction allowed to that point belongs to that discipline by which God teaches more truth. Pain is not an enemy to be hushed and stifled with phenacetin, acetanilid and other coal-tar products.
Soul Is Mortal
The soul draws near to the grave as life approaches its end, and life is given over to the destroyers. Soul and life alike can draw near to the grave and to destruction. The soul is therefore subject to death, not an immortal and deathless part that survives death. The soul of a sick man draws near to the grave as he draws near to death, which proves that the soul goes into the grave when a person dies. The nearer he came to death, the nearer his soul came to the grave, and had he died his soul would have gone into the grave.
The statement belongs with the statements that speak of the soul in connection with death and the grave. Together they support that the soul can die. The soul here is the Hebrew nephesh, and this nephesh draws near to the grave, which means the soul is mortal and in danger of death. Here soul is mortal life in danger of death rather than a necessarily immortal, conscious being separate from the body. Immortality is never affirmed of it.
The soul is shown drawing near to the grave. To replace soul in that drawing near to the grave with intellectual principle makes the statement absurd. That absurdity exposes the failure of defining soul only as a thinking, reasoning principle.
His life draws near to its end, with his living self sinking toward the grave and destruction. The soul here is mortal life itself, subject to death and going down toward the grave as the man goes down toward death, not a deathless part that lives on apart from the body. When His speaking by word and by dreams and visions is not perceived, God permits chastening sickness and severe pain until flesh wastes away and even bread is loathed. He does this not by chance but to open dull ears, to turn man from his proud purpose and from ruin, and to bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living. At that crisis a messenger must show him God's uprightness and kindness, or he will go down to the pit, and pain itself is God's corrective voice to teach more truth, not an enemy to be hushed and stifled.
Words and Setting in Job
The verse stands in the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, which form the third of the four parts of the book of Job, coming after the prologue and the debate between Job and his three friends and before the speeches of the Lord. Within that setting Elihu is trying to convince Job that Job is not great in himself while God is everything, spoken while Job is still defending himself as one who has committed no open sins against God and is earnest and anxious for God to manifest Himself to him.
In the verse, soul means the person's life, the Hebrew nephesh. A soul drawing near to the grave shows that a soul can approach death. This nephesh draws near to the grave, which means the soul is mortal and in danger of death rather than an immortal part of man, since immortality is never affirmed of it. The Hebrew word rendered grave in this verse, shokhath, means destruction. The verse describes a person whose life is nearing death, with soul drawing near to the grave as life approaches its end. In that condition the soul is subject to death, not an immortal part that survives it.
God's Discipline Through Affliction
God first speaks once, yea twice, by His Word and by visions and dreams, yet man perceives it not because indulgence in fullness of bread and dainty meat has dulled his nerves and ears to hearing. When that speaking is not heeded, He permits chastening sickness and severe pain upon his bed and strong pain in the multitude of his bones. Under that chastening the sufferer becomes emaciated with bones sticking out, his life abhors bread and dainty meat, and he becomes sick spiritually and physically and draws very near to death and destruction. This is the approaching crisis in God's effort to mold man after the divine similitude when he would not bend in prosperity, God then speaking through other nerves.
This suffering does not come by accident or chance, but so God may open ears dull of hearing, withdraw man from his proud purpose, correct him to return to the path of right, preserve him from destruction, and bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living, and then deliver him. He works all these things oftentimes with man to that end. At that crisis, unless a messenger who can translate the meaning of trouble shows him God's uprightness and kindness in both roses and the bitter cup, he will go down to the pit. That leading results in grace, a ransom, and new life.
The suffering that brings a person near death is therefore disciplinary instruction, and pain is God's corrective voice to turn man from ruin to teach him more truth. Affliction allowed to that point belongs to that discipline by which God teaches more truth. Pain is not an enemy to be hushed and stifled with phenacetin, acetanilid and other coal-tar products.
Soul Is Mortal
The soul draws near to the grave as life approaches its end, and life is given over to the destroyers. Soul and life alike can draw near to the grave and to destruction. The soul is therefore subject to death, not an immortal and deathless part that survives death. The soul of a sick man draws near to the grave as he draws near to death, which proves that the soul goes into the grave when a person dies. The nearer he came to death, the nearer his soul came to the grave, and had he died his soul would have gone into the grave.
The statement belongs with the statements that speak of the soul in connection with death and the grave. Together they support that the soul can die. The soul here is the Hebrew nephesh, and this nephesh draws near to the grave, which means the soul is mortal and in danger of death. Here soul is mortal life in danger of death rather than a necessarily immortal, conscious being separate from the body. Immortality is never affirmed of it.
The soul is shown drawing near to the grave. To replace soul in that drawing near to the grave with intellectual principle makes the statement absurd. That absurdity exposes the failure of defining soul only as a thinking, reasoning principle.