What is the meaning of Job 14:20? You forever overpower him - Job acknowledges God’s sovereign authority over human life. No person can resist the Lord’s ultimate decree over the length of his days. - Psalm 90:3 echoes this truth: “You return man to dust, saying, ‘Return, O sons of men.’” - Ecclesiastes 8:8 reminds us, “No man has power over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death.” - This overpowering is not harsh caprice; it is the rightful rule of a Creator who both gives and takes life (Job 1:21). and he passes on - The phrase pictures the inevitable moment when life’s journey concludes. - Psalm 39:5 states, “Certainly every man at his best state is but a breath.” - James 4:14 asks, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” - “He passes on” underscores the brevity of earthly existence and the certainty of physical death. You change his countenance - Death alters the human face—color drains, expression fades, vitality departs. - Genesis 3:19 foretold this consequence of sin: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” - Psalm 104:29 adds, “You take away their breath; they die and return to their dust.” - The change in countenance highlights the finality of mortality and our utter dependence on God for life and breath. and send him away - After death, the body returns to the ground, and the spirit departs to the place God appoints. - Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” - Hebrews 9:27 affirms, “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.” - God “sends” each person to face His righteous evaluation, underscoring personal accountability beyond the grave. summary Job 14:20 affirms that God alone determines the span of every life, brings that life to its close, transforms the body in death, and dispatches each soul to its appointed destiny. The verse calls us to humble realism about our frailty, deep reverence for our Sovereign Lord, and earnest readiness to meet Him when He calls us home. |
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