Topical Bible: Man: Days of, As the Days of a Hireling

◄ Man: Days of, As the Days of a Hireling ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The phrase "as the days of a hireling" is a biblical metaphor that draws a parallel between the life of a man and the fixed, limited term of a hired laborer. This expression is found in the Old Testament and is used to convey the transient and predetermined nature of human life, emphasizing its brevity and the inevitability of its end.

Biblical References:

1. Job 7:1-2 : "Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages." In this passage, Job laments the hardships and fleeting nature of human life. The comparison to a hireling underscores the idea that just as a laborer works for a set period and anticipates his wages, so too is man's life limited and filled with toil, awaiting its conclusion.

2. Isaiah 16:14 : "But now the LORD says, 'In three years, as a hired worker counts the years, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.'" Here, the prophet Isaiah uses the metaphor to describe the impending judgment on Moab. The reference to a hired worker counting years highlights the certainty and fixed nature of the prophesied event, much like the predetermined term of a hireling's service.

3. Isaiah 21:16 : "For this is what the Lord has said to me: 'Within one year, as a hired worker counts the years, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.'" Similar to the previous passage, this verse uses the metaphor to emphasize the assured and limited duration of Kedar's glory, likening it to the finite contract of a hired worker.

Theological Implications:

The metaphor of man's days being "as the days of a hireling" serves to remind believers of the temporal nature of earthly life. It reflects the biblical worldview that life is a divinely appointed period of labor and testing, with a definite end known only to God. This understanding encourages a sense of humility and dependence on God, recognizing that human life, with all its struggles and efforts, is ultimately in His hands.

From a conservative Christian perspective, this metaphor also underscores the importance of living a life that is pleasing to God, as the time allotted to each person is limited and should be used wisely. The imagery of a hireling waiting for his wages can be seen as a call to faithfulness and diligence in one's spiritual duties, with the hope of receiving eternal rewards from the Lord.

In summary, the biblical metaphor of man's days being "as the days of a hireling" serves as a poignant reminder of life's brevity and the importance of living with an eternal perspective, acknowledging God's sovereignty over the span of human existence.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Job 7:1
Is there not an appointed time to man on earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Thy Rod and Thy Staff they Comfort Me.
... and full of miseries. "The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his
days are like the days of a hireling. He cometh forth like ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/callan/the shepherd of my soul/viii thy rod and thy.htm

In the Holy of Holies.
... and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his ...
Dan.8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of days, as presented ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /24 in the holy of.htm

In the Holy of Holies
... against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his ... Daniel
8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the great controversy/chapter 24 in the holy.htm

At the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple.
... Is an hireling, Am the good Shepherd ... And when the Jews ignored, as so many in our
days, this line of ... He had been guilty of blasphemy, since, being a man, He had ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xiv at the feast.htm

And Jesus Said, to Judge the World am I Come...
... the [17] hireling fleeth because he is an hireling, and hath ... sick, he abode in the
place where he was two days. ... If then a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not ...
/.../hogg/the diatessaron of tatian/section xxxvii and jesus said.htm

The Shepherd of Our Souls.
... The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth ... rulers and prophets of
Israel in the days of Ahab ... have no Master, let them return every man to his ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol viii/sermon xvi the shepherd of.htm

Saul's Conversion
... as in all probability he did) a few days before ... sincere convert: Nothing like opposition
to make the man of God ... None but a hireling, who careth not for the sheep ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/sauls conversion.htm

The Time of the Evening.
... A hireling ministry will be a feeble, a timid truckling ... in a manner that would do
credit to any man. ... from the church-door, and a thirty days' extension secured ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter ii the time of.htm

Scriptural Predictions of an Apostasy.
... Where is the aged man or woman but who remembers the day when ... with the twelfth verse
is a vivid description of the hireling ministry of these days. ...
/.../orr/the gospel day /chapter ii scriptural predictions of.htm

Whether the Old Law Set Forth Suitable Precepts About the Members ...
... of bondservants: but he shall be as a hireling and a ... not impose any penalty as regards
a man's own servant ... once after being struck, but after some days: for it ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the old law set.htm