Here is a saint in trouble, pouring his heart out to God, seeking comfort and instruction for his afflicted soul. Job came boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in his time of need. In the opening verses of this chapter he declares four facts about life in this world which he had learned. The sooner we learn these four facts of life, the better.
1. LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS SHORT. "Man that is born of woman is of few days."
Our days on earth are short. What is your life? It is a momentary vapor, a passing ship, a fleeing shadow, a fading flower, a weak blade of withering grass. The strongest man is feeble, frail, and fragile. May God "so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Ps. 90:12).
2. LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS SORROWFUL. "Man that is born of woman is of few days, and (those few days are) full of trouble."
The days of man upon the earth are shortly lived and sadly lived. Every day is filled with labor and sorrow, toil and trouble, fretting and fearing, hurting and grieving.
Is it not so with you? Life in this world is filled with trouble. The Master said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." There are no exceptions. Anyone who always appears to be happy is either a liar, or insane. You cannot escape trouble in this world. You simply have to face it and learn to live with it. Where there is sin, there is sorrow. We will never escape sorrow until we escape sin. And that will not happen in this world.
3. LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS SINFUL. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"
Here Job traces all the sorrows of our race to sin and all the sin of our race to its original source. Our lives are unclean because we are all unclean by nature. Our lives are short and sorrowful because we are sinful. We are all born in a state of sin (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12). You will never be able to understand and deal with the problems of life until you understand and deal with original sin.
4. LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS FOR A SET TIME. Man's "days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass."
Yes, you and I must die. And the time of our death has been appointed by God from eternity. No amount of care, diligent exercise, strict diet, or medicine can add one second to your life. At God's appointed time, he will call, and you will answer.