Monday: Rest in the Grave
Read Job 3:11–26. What is Job saying here? How is he continuing his lament? What does he say about death?
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We can only imagine the terrible sorrow that poor Job was facing. However hard it must have been to have his possessions destroyed and his health taken away from him, Job lost all his children. All of them. It’s hard enough to imagine the pain of losing one child. Job lost them all. And he had ten! No wonder he wished that he were dead. And again, Job had no idea of the background behind it all, not that it would have made him feel better had he known, would it?
Notice, though, what Job says about death. If he had died, then what? The bliss of heaven? The joy of the presence of God? Playing a harp with the angels? There is nothing of that kind of theology there. Instead, what does Job say? “ ‘For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; then I would have been at rest’ ” (Job 3:13, NKJV).
Read Ecclesiastes 9:5 and John 11:11–14. How does what Job says fit in with what the Bible teaches on what happens after death?
Here, in one of the oldest books of the Bible, we have what is perhaps one of the earliest expressions of what we call the “state of the dead.” All Job wanted, at this point, was to be “at rest.” Life suddenly had become so hard, so difficult, and so painful that he longed for what he knew death was, a peaceful rest in the tomb. He was so sad, so hurt, that, forgetting all the joy he had in life before the calamities came, he wished he had died even at his birth.
As Christians, we certainly have wonderful promises for the future. At the same time, amid present sufferings, how can we learn to remember the good times we had in the past and to draw comfort and solace from them?
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The lesson today explains the terrible pains and sorrows Job undergoes.He curses the day he was born and in his perception, he feels death is the only ultimate solution to his suffering. In an African setup, people are so much concerned with the dead. I have a problem with immortality of the soul,can somebody help please?!?
Hi Simeon - the Bible teaches that when a person dies the life source goes back to God - the person does not know what is going on around him/her - the person is not in Heaven or anywhere else, just resting in the grave. When Jesus returns He will resurrect those who had died who were faithful to Him, and they will live forever with Him in the earth made new. I hope this helps 🙂
This topic is a Controversal topic. "!Rest in peace"!When a person dies he does not know anything , his thoughts has perished.He is not able to enjoy physical rest. Job.3:11-26 Job wished that he were dead because he would not experience pain & distress. There are so many people who believe that if a bad person die ,his spirit will rise out of the grave & walk around on this earth again. Hence they use cultural practices to ward off evil.The lesson do bring out this point that there is no bliss of heaven or the joy of the presence of God after death.I would like
to add that in my belief based on Bible teachings there is no such thing that after death one go to heaven or hell.Why do so many people believe this myth?
I trust that someone will discuss this topic further.
This myth is believed by so many, because it's ''comforting'' to those in grief, and religious leaders use this lie due to its effectiveness of the mental state that it brings its believers. The comfort of a lie is NOT better than the pain of truth, regardless of the outcome. The Bible clearly states 'the dead know nothing',[Ecclesiastes 9:5-6] just like it clearly states other topics that receive so much controversy. the devil provides a counterfeit to everything God made, even the understanding of death.
This belief makes people have good closers. It makes them feel good about their loved ones.
Hi Dawn, I agree it helps some persons to have better closures but at the same time it is a false belief and when they find out the truth it can be more devastating. I think we can start by understanding what death is. We are made up of body, soul and spirit (1 Tess 5:23). Our bodies/soma can die (sleep) our souls/psyche and spirit/pneuma return to God until the day of resurrection when Jesus brings them back with Him and joins them back to our new bodies and we (the righteous) live forever (1 Tess 4:13-14). The unrighteous however will have a different fate where their bodies will be resurrected after the millennium and their souls and spirit will be be returned to them (they will live again)also and they will fight against the new Jerusalem and be eternally destroyed by God -the 2nd death (Rev. 20:5,6). I hope this lends some clarity to the issue.
We are body and breathe to make a soul when we die the breathe goes for good
The soul does not hang around somewhere to return at the last day
Jesus makes this body immortal when He comes
Lazarus soul wasn't out when Jesus called him
He came out of the tomb
I can't remember the text but it says they saw the souls
Yes, we can read in Genesis 2:7 "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (soul) Again in Ecclesiastes 12:7 "and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Again Psalm 146:4 When their sprit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing." (thoughts perish) And Ecclesiastes 9:10 "...for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."
My favorite though is the verses in Genesis, which explains how from dirt and the breath of God, man became a living soul. We don't have a soul, we are souls with His breath of life in us. Now that is how amazing this gift of life is!! When we breath our last, His breath is no longer in us and the soul perishes, we return to dust, no more thoughts, plans or deeds for we surely cannot exist without God.
Gen 2:7 states it clearly 'And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul'- KJV, the word soul is what is misunderstood by many, there are two components the body and the breathe of life from god that result in man living, not a third component, i may pose a question, when man dies, the body goes back to the dust, the breathe of life goes back to God, then where does the soul go, assuming that the soul is a third component? .. think of it this way, a light bulb has current( electricity) and the bulb to give you light (the product of heating the tunsten wire). when u switch off the bulb (ie take away the electricity) the light goes off, it doesnt linger anywhere until the bulb is switched on again. so the light is a product of current and the bulb, and it does not exist in its own right or capacity without the two. so in essence 1+1=1 instead of 2, same goes for man, when you die, the breathe is taken from the body and goes back to the giver who is God, and the body returns to the dust. Many have on this basis brought in theories to the extent where they have services for the dead and masses are held, communion on behalf of the dead is take 1 cor 15 vs 30 'If these things are not so, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? -kjv, ecclesiastes 9vs 10, there is device( activity) in the grave..these verses for me dispell any christian belief system that says is based on the bible but adopts immortality of the soul, cause its clear in the scriptures that its appointed for one to live then to die there after judgement, but this judgement is not during the time in the grave no,its at the close of time. There is no immortality the only immortal being is God, and yes we will be become immortal in the new jerusalem. Beleiving otherwise will lead us astray.
Goodday!!
I think Jill put it well. We are not a body, we HAVE a body and combined with the breath (= spirit; Job 27:3) God gives us we ARE a soul. When we die, our breath (spirit) returns to God, our body decays and returns to dust and we (souls) sleep until Jesus comes.
Keyword is "Health".
God's Word heals both physical & Spiritual. Job has great hope & face life beyond the grave : with no doubts suffering is all over the world today. "The Day of the Lord" is coming.
Amos 5:18.
When Job speaks about his longing for death (Job 3:21-22), what he does not do, (and I don't think he even comes close to it,) is to inflict death upon himself.
But I do suggest that this is what his wife had advised him to do, when she said "curse God and die". Because this can also be translated, "curse God and kill/slay [yourself]."
He talks about the "advantages" of death. He says that "there [in the grave] the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest" (Job 3:17), and yet, suicide does not appear to have been an option in Job's mind.
this is very true, thanks for this insight!!!
Surely, THERE IS HOPE BEYOND THE GRAVE!
Yes there is hope beyond the grave for those that die in Christ.
The lesson of Job, and the issues impacting him at the time caused him grief, and provides some deep truths about what we should believe. Firstly to answer Simeon, the immortality of the soul, is based around a persons righteousness and belief in Christ. The righteous will be standing (they are on the side of Christ) at the resurrection following the judgement and at the time of Christ's eturn. Christ thru His grace immortalises the soul, which means he preserves it or as we know, our names are written in the book of life. For those who perish like Jobs children, it is upto God to determine if they were righteous. No doubt SS classes will ask the question and discuss the reality of their lives, which were likely sinful and neglectful of God, as Job had to offer regular sacrifices for them. The lesson for us is to love Jesus with all our heart, and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit so we discourage and avoid a sinful life. We then know thru our own God given faith that we will have eternal life.
Yes there is the blessed hope that one day soon and very soon we will be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 KJV
It will all soon be done. We just have to hold fast till Jesus comes. The dead in Christ will rise first along with the living in Christ. This Bible lesson has come at a good time in my life. I needed reminding of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Let us use these verses to comfort one another. 1Thessalonians 4:13-18.
How many of us have gone through sufferings like Job and thought that death was the answer. I don't know the statistics of death by suicide, especially among young people, who have no hope in this life that things were going to get better. But that's where faith in God takes over. God has given to each one of us a measure of faith. Romans 12:3, that we can believe in, and act on, just as Job did.
Until I read a comment today that Job's wife, when she said "curse your God and die" that she may have meant for him to kill himself. But Job called her foolish. Job understood that even though there is no immediate life after death, (heaven or hell's fire) he thought that the grave could give him rest, where he could wait, for the second coming of Christ. Jesus doesn't want us to die to glorify God, He wants us to live to GLORIFY HIM.
Think it not strange that when going through fiery trials they are to try you and make you strong in character. 1 Peter 4:12-13. Which, by the way, is the only thing that we will take with us to the new heaven and new earth. So my brothers and sisters this CONTROVERSY is almost over so hang in there. "When you have done all you can to stand. JUST STAND. Peace out!!!
My God of the past is still the God today and will be the God of tomorrow. God of the living is God of the dead and God of all.Through all our life experience God is leading His children. Jesus knows the way to the new heaven and new earth let us follow Him all the way.
So what do you remember of your thoughts and senses before you were born? Even so will your thoughts and senses will be after you die. It will be a complete blank. Thank God, for this is what Job was longing for at that point.
Hi Robert, I think it was more than amnesia Job wanted here.I see that he trusted in God and believed that God was doing the right thing but I think he really wanted to know what was happening.In my mind I believe he was looking for God to strengthen his resolve by giving him even a small,tiny little bit of a hint of what was happening. God bless.
Yes, in reading these verses we realize poor Job was suffering such anguish. And his wish for death is understandable BECAUSE of his understanding of the peace that comes in death, until the resurrection. "I know that my Redeemer lives...".
Thank you hope sabathschool ,this book of job teaches us all chalenges of the world and that humanity undergoes in our life caused by satan ,but in all situations,calamities and disasters God ALWAYS HAVE PLANS AND REWARDS FOR US, we will always win if our hopes and trust are in the living God [jesus]
This lesson shows us a Job facing heaviness of the life; he has lost everything. He's woundering why he was not stillborn... is not it a wealth we have left free to make our choices in life? Job was seeking God and trusted Him so he was blessed. But when God left his hands off from Job, he was not covered by the grace of God. Will he hold on? The rest of the book will tell us so, but in this situation of having lost everything .... he asks questions?
To answer lesson's question:
1 Thess 5:18 (KJV) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Cor 13:10 (Berean) In fact, we rejoice when we are weak . . .
2 Tim 1:7 (Berean) For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-control.
Psalm 56:10,11 (NASB) In God, whose word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
May He hide His word in our hearts and minds so that we can recall in good and, esp., hard times.