What does Job mean in Job 14:7 about a tree that refuses to die?
7“ For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
8“ Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10“But man dies and lies prostrate.
Man expires, and where is he?
11“As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12So man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.
13“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14“If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.
Job 14:7 - 22
ESV - 7 For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil.
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Asked January 07 2019
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
As noted in the passage cited in the question, Job (in his discouraged state as a result of all the tragedy that had befallen him) was contrasting the way in which a tree's roots will eventually cause the tree to regenerate and grow again (even after it has been cut down and reduced to a stump) with the way in which a human body is unable to be revived through natural means after death (Job 14:34). However, elsewhere in his discourses (Job 19:26), Job also expressed confidence that, even after worms had destroyed his body, he would still in his flesh see God. This is consistent with the Christian's hope of resurrection in a glorified, immortal body, such as the body now possessed by Christ. In this manner, the way in which a tree regenerates is a foreshadowing or allegory of the resurrection experience.
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