Morning

September 18

Job 14:14-15 ¹⁴If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. ¹⁵You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.

Job continued to proclaim his innocence, and his friends continued to insist that he had to have some secret fault. At first, Job said no one can stand before God and if God gave man an audience, man would not be able to speak. Later, however, he asked if there could not be some mediator. There is a Mediator that will stand between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

In the middle of Job's complaint, he spoke the words of the passage for today. Though the people of Job's time did not believe in the afterlife, Job uttered these words in a way that fit with New Testament theology. Job's earlier words show he saw death as an end of being, and so we interpret the change here to mean his healing and restoration. "Will man live after death?" In the light of the New Testament we answer "Yes!" to his question. Our days upon earth are hard service, but our transformation, our metamorphosis, is coming. God will call with the sound of the Last Trump, and we will answer. He will long for the creatures His hands have made. The Son will come to receive His bride, and the marriage feast will begin.

Since the Holy Spirit crafted the words, we have the wonderful hope hidden within Job's imperfect understanding. In spite of the difficulties we face in life and the tests that God allows to come our way, we have the hope of our transformation and the call of God to those He longs for. Cling to your hope through times of trial.

Encouragement: Set your sights on eternity with Him! You will be renewed!