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Commentary on Job 14 verses 16–22
Job here returns to his complaints; and, though he is not without hope of future bliss, he finds it very hard to get over his present grievances.
I. He complains of the particular hardships he apprehended himself under from the strictness of God's justice, Job 14:16, Job 14:17. Therefore he longed to go hence to that world where God's wrath will be past, because now he was under the continual tokens of it, as a child, under the severe discipline of the rod, longs to be of age. "When shall my change come? For now thou seemest to me to number my steps, and watch over my sin, and seal it up in a bag, as bills of indictment are kept safely, to be produced against the prisoner." See Deu 32:34. "Thou takest all advantages against me; old scores are called over, every infirmity is animadverted upon, and no sooner is a false step taken than I am beaten for it." Now, 1. Job does right to the divine justice in owning that he smarted for his sins and transgressions, that he had done enough to deserve all that was laid upon him; for there was sin in all his steps, and he was guilty of transgression enough to bring all this ruin upon him, if it were strictly enquired into: he is far from saying that he perishes being innocent. But, 2. He does wrong to the divine goodness in suggesting that God was extreme to mark what he did amiss, and made the worst of every thing. He spoke to this purport, Job 13:27. It was unadvisedly said, and therefore we will not dwell too much upon it. God does indeed see all our sins; he sees sin in his own people; but he is not severe in reckoning with us, nor is the law ever stretched against us, but we are punished less than our iniquities deserve. God does indeed seal and sew up, against the day of wrath, the transgression of the impenitent, but the sins of his people he blots out as a cloud.
II. He complains of the wasting condition of mankind in general. We live in a dying world. Who knows the power of God's anger, by which we are consumed and troubled, and in which all our days are passed away? See Psa 90:7-9, Psa 90:11. And who can bear up against his rebukes? Psa 39:11.
1.We see the decays of the earth itself. (1.) Of the strongest parts of it, Job 14:18. Nothing will last always, for we see even mountains moulder and come to nought; they wither and fall as a leaf; rocks wax old and pass away by the continual beating of the sea against them. The waters wear the stones with constant dropping, non vi, sed saepe cadendo - not by the violence, but by the constancy with which they fall. On this earth every thing is the worse for the wearing. Tempus edax rerum - Time devours all things. It is not so with the heavenly bodies. (2.) Of the natural products of it. The things which grow out of the earth, and seem to be firmly rooted in it, are sometimes by an excess of rain washed away, Job 14:19. Some think he pleads this for relief: "Lord, my patience will not hold out always; even rocks and mountains will fail at last; therefore cease the controversy."
2.No marvel then if we see the decays of man upon the earth, for he is of the earth, earthy. Job begins to think his case is not singular, and therefore he ought to reconcile himself to the common lot. We perceive by many instances, (1.) How vain it is to expect much from the enjoyments of life: "Thou destroyest the hope of man," that is, "puttest an end to all the projects he had framed and all the prospects of satisfaction he had flattered himself with." Death will be the destruction of all those hopes which are built upon worldly confidences and confined to worldly comforts. Hope in Christ, and hope in heaven, death will consummate and not destroy. (2.) How vain it is to struggle against the assaults of death (Job 14:20): Thou prevailest for ever against him. Note, Man is an unequal match for God. Whom God contends with he will certainly prevail against, prevail for ever against so that they shall never be able to make head again. Note further, The stroke of death is irresistible; it is to no purpose to dispute its summons. God prevails against man and he passes away, and lo he is not. Look upon a dying man, and see, [1.] How his looks are altered: Thou changest his countenance, and this in two ways: - First, By the disease of his body. When a man has been a few days sick what a change is there in his countenance! How much more when he has been a few minutes dead! The countenance which was majestic and awful becomes mean and despicable - that was lovely and amiable becomes ghastly and frightful. Bury my dead out of my sight. Where then is the admired beauty? Death changes the countenance, and then sends us away out of this world, gives us one dismission hence, never to return. Secondly, By the discomposure of his mind. Note, The approach of death will make the strongest and stoutest to change countenance; it will make the most merry smiling countenance to look grave and serious, and the most bold daring countenance to look pale and timorous. [2.] How little he is concerned in the affairs of his family, which once lay so near his heart. When he is in the hands of the harbingers of death, suppose struck with a palsy or apoplexy, or delirious in a fever, or in conflict with death, tell him then the most agreeable news, or the most painful, concerning his children, it is all alike, he knows it not, he perceives it not, Job 14:21. He is going to that world where he will be a perfect stranger to all those things which here filled and affected him. The consideration of this should moderate our cares concerning our children and families. God will know what comes of them when we are gone. To him therefore let us commit them, with him let us leave them, and not burden ourselves with needless fruitless cares concerning them. [3.] How dreadful the agonies of death are (Job 14:22): While his flesh is upon him (so it may be read), that is, the body he is so loth to lay down,: it shall have pain; and while his soul is within him, that is, the spirit he is so loth to resign, it shall mourn. Note, Dying work is hard work; dying pangs are, commonly, sore pangs. It is folly therefore for men to defer their repentance to a death-bed, and to have that to do which is the one thing needful when they are really unfit to do any thing: but it is true wisdom by making our peace with God in Christ and keeping a good conscience, to treasure up comforts which will support and relieve us against the pains and sorrows of a dying hour.
Since Job wants to show that not only the body is resurrected but also the soul whose thoughts are fixed on God, he says, “You would call, and I would answer you.” For listening when God calls is a quality of a creature endowed with reason, that is, the soul.
21. Our ‘transgressions are sealed up as it were in a bag,’ in that that thing which we ourselves do in outward act, except we wash away by penance in the mean while, is kept in the secresy of God’s judgments under a kind of hiding, that one day it may also come forth out of the bag of secresy into the publicity of the Judgment. Hence it is said by Moses too; Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures? In the day of vengeance I will repay them. [Deut. 32, 34] But when for the evil things that we have done, we are bruised with the stroke of discipline, and lament the same by penance, He ‘sealeth up,’ and ‘healeth’ our iniquity, in that He neither leaves things unpunished here, nor reserves them to be punished in the Judgment. Thus He ‘seals transgressions,’ in that He marks them with exactness here, to chastise them with the rod, but He ‘heals’ them, in that He wholly remits them in the stroke. Hence the iniquity of that persecutor of Him, whom He laid prostrate on the ground, He did also by sealing heal, seeing that He said concerning him to Ananias; He is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake. [Acts 9, 15] For to that man, whom on account of past transgressions He still threatens with future sufferings, what he had done wrong, surely He kept sealed in the heart; but as surely in so sealing He had healed his transgressions, in that He called him ‘a chosen vessel.’ Or, surely, ‘our transgressions are sealed in a bag,’ when the evil things we have been guilty of, we reflect on continually with a heedful heart. For what is the heart of man, but God’s ‘bag?’ wherein whilst we earnestly look to see how much we transgress, we carry our sins as it were ‘sealed up in God’s bag.’ Did not David keep his sin ‘sealed up in a bag,’ when he said, For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. [Ps. 51, 3] And because the faults, which we are made acquainted with in reviewing and repeating, the pitiful Creator remits to us, after the ‘transgressions being sealed in a bag,’ it is rightly subjoined, But Thou hast healed mine iniquity: as if he said in plain speech, ‘What things Thou dost now seal, so that I in repenting should see, doubtless Thou doest it, that in the retribution they should never be seen.’
We are said to answer anyone, when we work in a way answerable to what another requires. Thus, in that change the Lord “calls,” and a person “answers.” Thus, before the brightness of the Incorrupt, humankind is shown forth as incorrupt even after being corrupted. For now so long as we are subject to corruption, we do not in any way “answer” our Creator, seeing that whereas corruption is far from incorruption, there is no similarity suitable to our answering. But of that change it is written, “When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Then, therefore, we shall truly “answer God,” who “calls,” when at the bidding of the supreme Incorruption we shall arise incorruptible.
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SUMMARY
Job 14:17 powerfully articulates Job's profound despair and his perception of God as a meticulous and unyielding adversary. He believes his every transgression and iniquity are not merely remembered but are carefully documented, sealed, and preserved by God, ready to be brought against him. This imagery conveys Job's overwhelming sense that his past misdeeds are the direct cause of his current suffering, intensifying his anguish under the weight of perceived divine scrutiny and an inescapable record of his faults.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse is exceptionally rich in Imagery and Metaphor. The central metaphor portrays God as a meticulous record-keeper or a divine accountant. Job's "transgression" and "iniquity" are personified as tangible items that can be "sealed up in a bag" and "sewn up." This vivid imagery draws from ancient Near Eastern legal and administrative practices, where important documents, contracts, or valuables were carefully bundled and sealed to ensure their preservation and authenticity. By applying this to God's dealings with him, Job powerfully conveys his overwhelming sense that his every fault is meticulously recorded and held against him, making his suffering feel like a direct consequence of an unyielding divine prosecution. The Hyperbole in Job's lament underscores his extreme distress and the intensity of his perceived divine scrutiny, as he feels every minute detail of his life is being preserved for judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 14:17 encapsulates a profound human fear: that our sins are eternally remembered and held against us, leading to inescapable judgment. This perspective, born of Job's intense suffering and his struggle to reconcile his blamelessness with his affliction, stands in stark contrast to the redemptive promises found elsewhere in Scripture. While God is indeed omniscient and perfectly just, the biblical narrative progressively reveals His character as one who delights in mercy, compassion, and forgiveness for those who turn to Him. Job's lament highlights the deep human need for a definitive solution to the problem of sin and its record, a need that finds its ultimate and glorious answer in the New Covenant.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job's agonizing cry in this verse resonates deeply with the universal human experience of guilt, shame, and the fear of being held perpetually accountable for our past. His perception of God as a meticulous record-keeper of sins reveals a deep-seated anxiety about divine judgment and the permanence of our moral failures. For us today, this verse serves as a powerful reminder of the profound relief and liberation offered by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unlike Job, who felt his transgressions were sealed and sewn into his very being, believers in Christ find that their sins are not merely overlooked or temporarily set aside, but are truly forgiven, atoned for, and remembered no more by God. This transformative truth liberates us from the crushing burden of a perpetually remembered and condemning past, inviting us into a relationship with a God who, through Christ, has dealt decisively and completely with sin. It calls us to embrace God's radical grace, to live in the freedom of His forgiveness, and to extend that same grace and understanding to others, knowing that our Heavenly Father does not hold our past against us when we are found in Christ.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Job 14:17 mean God keeps a permanent record of all our sins?
Answer: Job 14:17 reflects Job's perception of God during a time of intense suffering and profound despair. He believes that God is meticulously cataloging his transgressions, holding them against him as a reason for his affliction. While the Bible affirms God's omniscience—He knows all things, past, present, and future—and that He is a righteous judge, the New Testament, especially, reveals a crucial aspect of God's redemptive character: for those who are in Christ, sins are truly forgiven and remembered no more. Passages like Hebrews 8:12 state, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Similarly, Psalm 103:12 declares that God removes our transgressions "as far as the east is from the west." So, while God knows all, His redemptive work through Christ means that for the repentant, the "record" of sin is effectively erased, leading to reconciliation and new life. Job's lament here powerfully highlights the human longing for such radical and complete forgiveness.
What is the significance of the imagery "sealed up in a bag" and "sewest up"?
Answer: This powerful imagery draws from ancient Near Eastern legal and administrative practices, making it highly significant. To "seal up in a bag" (Hebrew: ḥātam bĕtsĕrôwr) refers to the common practice of bundling important documents, contracts, legal records, or valuable items and then sealing them with a signet. This act served to ensure their authenticity, prevent tampering, and preserve them securely for future reference or judgment. The phrase "sewest up" (Hebrew: ṭâphal) further reinforces this idea, suggesting a meticulous binding, attaching, or affixing. Together, these metaphors convey Job's profound conviction that his sins are not forgotten or dismissed by God but are meticulously preserved and permanently affixed to his record, as if God is building an undeniable case against him. It speaks to a deep sense of inescapable accountability and the perceived permanence of divine memory from Job's anguished perspective.
How does Job's understanding of God in this verse compare to the broader biblical understanding?
Answer: Job's understanding of God in Job 14:17 is heavily colored by his intense suffering and his desperate desire for vindication. He perceives God as a relentless prosecutor, meticulously archiving his sins as the basis for his affliction. This perspective, while understandable given his circumstances, contrasts sharply with the broader, progressive biblical revelation of God's character, particularly as revealed in the New Covenant. While God is indeed holy, righteous, and just, He is also revealed as merciful, gracious, and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Psalm 103:8). The New Testament reveals God's ultimate solution to the problem of sin through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ, where sins are not sealed up for condemnation but are atoned for and forgiven, leading to reconciliation and new life rather than condemnation (Romans 5:8). Job's lament here powerfully underscores the deep human need for this divine solution to the problem of sin and its record.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 14:17, with its poignant imagery of sins "sealed up in a bag" and meticulously "sewn up" by God, vividly portrays humanity's desperate need for a definitive solution to the problem of sin and its indelible record. Job's lament expresses the crushing weight of perceived divine memory and accountability, a fear that resonates with every human conscience. This profound human cry finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Unlike Job's fear that his transgressions were permanently stored for judgment, the New Covenant declares that through Christ's atoning sacrifice, our sins are not merely overlooked but are decisively dealt with, removed, and remembered no more by God. On the cross, Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, bearing the full weight of humanity's "sealed up" iniquities. His shed blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and through faith in Him, we are declared righteous, our debt paid in full. The very record of our condemnation, which stood against us, has been cancelled and nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Thus, what Job feared—a permanent, condemning record of sin—is precisely what Christ has abolished for those who believe, offering not judgment, but the glorious freedom of complete forgiveness and new life in Him (Romans 8:1).