Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 14:5-6

"Seeing his days are determined, The number of his months is with thee, And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; Look away from him, that he may rest, Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day." — Job 14:5-6 (ASV)

Job had wondered about God's high regard for humanity, given our frail and unhappy condition in this present life. This wonder, however, would cease if one considers that another life is reserved for us after this one—a life in which we will remain for eternity. From this point on, Job attempts to demonstrate this.

He begins by stating his premise: the brevity of our present life. He says, "The days of man are short." He shows that the very measure of human life is determined by God when he says, "the number of his months is with you," similar to how we say something is "with us" when we have established its number. Furthermore, he uses the unchangeable nature of God's determination as a premise, saying, "You set up limits which cannot be passed."

God's decree cannot be thwarted. Therefore, it is impossible to live either longer or shorter than what divine providence has established. This is true even though, from a human perspective, it may seem contingent whether a particular person dies now or later. Natural boundaries are also set for human life by physical causes, such as one's constitution. A person's life cannot extend beyond these natural limits, though it can be shortened by some accidental cause. However, a person's life can ultimately be neither longer nor shorter than the limits determined by divine providence, under which all things fall.

Job also uses the expectation of the next life as a premise when he says, "Leave him a little while so that he might rest until the desired day comes like a hired man." Here, we must observe that just as the sun is the cause of the day, God is the author of life. When the sun departs, the day ends and night comes. Similarly, Job understands God's "leaving" as the end of the present life, which we have from God.

This present life, however, is filled with many tribulations. Indeed, Job spoke of this when he said that man "is filled with many sorrows" (Job 14:1). Since rest is the end of toil, he calls death "rest." Thus, he says, "Leave him for a little while so that he might rest," meaning, "Withdraw the power by which you give life so that he may die."

But a person's death is not final, for he will be made whole again for a life that does not die. The state of human death—however long the resurrection is deferred—is brief in comparison to the state of future immortality. This is why Job specifies, "for a little while." God allows other things that will not return to perish for eternity, but He departs from humanity for only a short time, for a person perishes in such a way that he will rise again.

Job said earlier that human life on earth is like the day of a hired worker (Job 7:1), who desires his payday. But the time of repayment is not in this life, as Job's friends believed, but in the life to which we are restored by the resurrection. He says, "that he might rest"—that is, that he might die, yet not forever—but "until the day comes he desires," which is like the desired payday for a hired worker.

Here, Job finally makes his intention clear. He does not deny that present adversities are punishments, as if God does not reward or punish human actions. Instead, he maintains that the proper time of retribution is in the life to come.