Job 14: Group Study Handout

Overview

In Job 14, Job continues his lament, reflecting on the brevity and frailty of human life. He compares life to flowers and shadows, emphasizing how fleeting and fragile human existence is. Job questions why God takes such notice of man and allows suffering.

Key verse

“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, until my release should come.”

Job 14:14 (WEB)

Outline

1. Job 14:1–6 The Frailty of Human Life
2. Job 14:7–9 Nature's Hope vs. Human Despair
3. Job 14:10–12 The Finality of Death
4. Job 14:13–15 Desire for Hidden Rest
5. Job 14:16–20 God's Scrutiny and Human Hope
6. Job 14:21–22 Loss of Awareness

Discussion questions

1. In v1, what does Job say about the days of man born of a woman?
2. What comparison does Job make about life in v2?
3. Job's question in v14, 'If a man dies, shall he live again?': what tension does this express about his hope?
4. In v17, what does Job mean by saying, 'My disobedience is sealed up in a bag'?
5. When have you felt like a 'flower' cut down, as Job describes in v2?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Job 14: Job 7, Psalm 39, Isaiah 40.

Before next time: read Job 15.