What is the meaning of Job 14:13? If only You would hide me in Sheol Job’s first cry is for shelter, not annihilation. He pictures Sheol, the realm of the dead, as a hiding place crafted by God Himself. • Job acknowledges that “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). • Like Jonah who prayed “From the belly of Sheol I cried for help, and You heard my voice” (Jonah 2:2), Job believes God’s presence reaches even the grave. • By asking God to hide him, Job shows faith that the Lord rules over death as surely as life (Revelation 1:18). So, Job’s request springs from confidence in God’s absolute sovereignty and care, even when he can’t feel it. and conceal me until Your anger has passed! Job interprets his suffering as the heat of divine anger and pleads for temporary concealment until that wrath subsides. • Scripture confirms that God’s anger toward His children is real yet momentary: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor for a lifetime” (Psalm 30:5). • Isaiah echoes this hope: “For in a very little while My indignation will be spent” (Isaiah 10:25) and “With everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:8). • Job trusts that God’s justice and compassion are perfectly balanced; the anger will end, mercy will dawn. He is not trying to escape God, but to be tucked safely away by Him until the righteous storm is over. If only You would appoint a time for me Job next asks God to set a definite date for his release—a divine appointment. • Earlier he noted, “Man’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months” (Job 14:5). • Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 affirms “There is a time for everything… a time to be born and a time to die.” • Hebrews 9:27 agrees: “It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Job’s plea is for God to mark the calendar, assuring him that his suffering and even his stay in Sheol are on a leash held by the Lord. and then remember me! Finally, Job longs for God’s active remembrance—the kind that brings deliverance. • “God remembered Noah… and He sent a wind over the earth” (Genesis 8:1). • The dying thief begged, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” and received paradise that very day (Luke 23:42–43). • Job himself will later declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives… yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25–27). Thus, Job’s hope is resurrection: God will call his name, lift him from the grave, and restore fellowship. Remembering, in Scripture, always leads to saving action. summary Job 14:13 is a four–part plea showing remarkable faith amid agony. He asks God to: 1. Hide him in the grave, affirming God’s rule over death. 2. Shelter him until righteous anger runs its course, trusting mercy will follow. 3. Fix an appointed time, resting in God’s precise sovereignty over all events. 4. Remember him afterward, anticipating resurrection and restored relationship. Rather than despair, these words unveil a believer’s deep confidence that the Lord’s wrath is temporary, His timing perfect, and His final remembrance life–giving. |
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