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Job 27:14-15
14 If his children [ben] be multiplied [rabah], it is for [lamow] the sword [chereb]: and his
offspring [tse'etsa'] shall not be satisfied [saba`] with bread [lechem].
15 Those that remain [sariyd] of him shall be buried [qabar] in death [maveth]: and his
widows ['almanah] shall not weep [bakah]. KJV-Interlinear
14 'Though his sons are many,
they are destined for the sword; And his
descendants will not be satisfied with bread. 15 'His survivors will be buried because of
the plague, And their widows will not be
able to weep. NASB
Having sons was viewed as being successful or
prosperous, back in those early ancient times.
Having many sons was always considered a
blessing. 'Live long and prosper and
have many sons.' This was considered the
epitome of a good life.
Here Job describes the success of wicked people by
means of the 'many sons' phrase.
Anyone can have children. That should be obvious. Having children does not require any special
talent, ability, wealth, or status in life.
That too, should be obvious. So,
at the very outset of the phrase, the idea that having children as a sign of
prosperity or a successful life, was a very subjective concept.
But because it has been always considered as such, worldly
prosperity comes with the stereotype of having many sons.
But worldly prosperity is temporary at best.
No matter who you are, prosperity can come to you or
not. Whether you are a good person or
bad, is irrelevant.
The subject here is wicked people, and Job has already
established the principle that wicked people can be prosperous throughout their
life. To some it might seem as though
God has given them a pass on punishment, but that is not the case.
Job points out that despite a persons worldly
successes, that will not dislodge their inevitable judgment or punishment. Some people get their due during this
life. Others will get their due in the
next life.
Everyone is evaluated on their own life. Having sons, having grandsons, having great
grandsons, having a dynasty of sorts for a family name or empire, will not
cancel out ones certain scheduled time before Jesus.
Some folks might try, in their success, to perpetuate
their name after they have gone. They
get buildings, streets, schools, companies and so forth, named after them. They
establish trusts and foundations, they might even be successful in having a
large number of descendants. But none of
these will offset or diminish their appointment with judgment.
And by the way, having numerous descendants is
something that others accomplish, not you.
Just as everything in your life comes courtesy of God, not you. So even this blessing principle should be
easily visible to the unspiritual person.
Remember, that we can look all around us in this life and see Gods hand,
or the principles of Gods handiwork, even in the activity of others in life.
There are typically three broad forms of judgment -
the sword, famine, and pestilence.
The sword can include any form of adversarial
confrontation, whether it be from criminal activity, from social disorder, or
even violence in accidents. Famine can
include the obvious starvation from hunger, or economic depravity from
unemployment, business downturns, or bankruptcy. Pestilences can include illnesses, cancers,
handicaps, or just about anything that is medically related to the physical
form.
These three broad concepts cover probably all types
for troubles in which a person can find himself. If you can think of a problem, you can easily
fit it into any one of these concepts.
Sons, descendants, survivors, and widows all point to
worldly activities. None of which will
add one ounce of blessing to ones spiritual life, nor take away one ounce of
judgment from ones destiny.
All of these folks, descendants and such, are other
people. A person cannot project his life
onto others, nor can one reach into the lives of others, and claim their
successes for ones own.
The sword, famine, and pestilences, all result in
death or the ultimate failure in ones life.
Life cannot perpetuate itself without the aid of
God. Man has no power over his own life
let alone the lives of others.
The widows, the ones who are left behind, the one to
whom one was married throughout ones life.
And that marriage was to ones chosen pattern of life in worldly affairs
to the exclusion of ones spiritual life.
In life we all have our perfect match in
marriage. Spiritually speaking this is
Bible doctrine. But when we pursue the
world we are in effect pursuing the wrong marriage partner, or a prostitute, in
other words. This kind of affair will
always end up in disaster.
When we die, as is inevitable for all of us, then
those we leave behind, our things, our plans, our desires, our widows as it
were, will have no feelings for us. They
will not mourn. They will not weep. The things of this world have no concerns
for our well-being.
When the wicked person is gone, they are soon
forgotten.
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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