What is the meaning of Job 14:6? look away from him • Job pleads that God would momentarily turn His gaze away. The request does not deny God’s omniscience; Job is asking for a pause in corrective scrutiny, much as David did in Psalm 39:13, “Turn Your gaze from me, that I may again be cheered.” • Earlier, Job voiced the same longing (Job 7:19; 10:20). Scripture records this literally, showing us a righteous man wrestling honestly with suffering while still acknowledging God as Judge (Job 13:15). • The verse also echoes God’s measured dealings with mankind: “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). The Lord’s look can wound or heal; Job seeks a season of the latter. and let him rest • “Rest” here is relief from relentless pain, a respite God alone can grant. • Rest is a divine gift throughout Scripture: Genesis 2:2 sets the precedent; Exodus 33:14 promises, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” • Jesus later extends the same offer, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Job’s cry anticipates that gospel comfort. • Physical rest pictures spiritual refreshment. Even in trial, believers “do not lose heart” because “our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). so he can enjoy his day • Job asks not for luxury but for a single day’s simple pleasure—ordinary, God-given joys that suffering had eclipsed. • Ecclesiastes 2:24 commends such modest enjoyment as a gift from God. • Psalm 90:14 prays, “Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Job longs for that song again, even if briefly. • The request underlines life’s brevity (Job 14:1-2). When God allows gladness within fleeting days, it magnifies His mercy. like a hired hand • A hired laborer works under fixed limits: a set task, a defined wage, and an end-of-day release (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:15). • Job previously compared himself to such a worker: “Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired worker?” (Job 7:1-2). • The picture stresses both hardship and hope. A laborer toils, yet expects completion and payment. Likewise, Job believes his suffering has an appointed boundary and that God, the just Master, will settle accounts (James 5:4). • By asking to “enjoy his day,” Job seeks the brief satisfaction a laborer feels when the sun sets and wages are secured—an assurance that toil is not endless. summary Job 14:6 records a faithful man imploring God for temporary relief. He asks the Almighty to look away for a moment, grant restorative rest, permit a taste of daily joy, and treat him like a hired hand whose toil has a clear endpoint. The verse affirms God’s sovereignty over human limits, the legitimacy of seeking mercy within those limits, and the promise that our labor and suffering are measured by a just and compassionate Lord. |
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