Job 14:15 Commentary and Bible Study

He expresses the deepest longings of his heart: for him to present himself to God as a humble and willing servant, ready to respond immediately to the call of God and to do all that he is asked. These are not the words of a rebel or of a proud man, nor of one who is essentially full of complaints. The believer responds readily to God and he feels no shame in doing so. He has a constant sense of privilege in being able to serve such his divine master. This would be a two-way relationship with responses on both sides and characterised on God’s part by a loving care for his servant and benevolence towards him. Fundamentally, Job sees himself as the product of God’s workmanship; it is only to be expected that God should love and bless the work of his hands. All this is so different to what Job currently feels: doubt about God’s intention towards him, a sense of rejection, confusion at the way he is being treated, hopelessness regarding the future, bodily pain and sorrow of mind. Yet he continues to look up and against hope, in hope he believes.This verse could be understood in very different ways. Translated as ‘For now ...’ the first words could signal a continuation of the optimistic note of the last few verses, and his steps would be numbered in the sense that God values them and blesses them. The negative in the second half of the verse would indicative and assert that God not count Job’s sin against him. Verses 16 and 17 then belong with the positive thought of verses 13 to 15, and it is not till verse 18 that there is a return to darker thoughts. However the word ‘now’ points to a shift in Job’s mind back to his present misery and the strong disjunctive word ‘but’ is better. The second half of the verse then needs to be translated as a question (KJV, ASV): ‘But now you number my days. Do you not watch over my sin?’ Job sees his steps as numbered by God not in a good sense but because his Creator is against him and tracking his every movement. How can he bear up under such scrutiny? His lack of faith in the promise of God prevents him drawing any other conclusion from his current experience.