Job 14: 7-9 Analysis

SERMON 3:

The Meaning of HOPE:

Part 3

Job 14 : 7 - 9

(picture taken by Rev. Darrell Armstrong in Venice, Italy (2004) ) (THIS SERMON IS THE SERMON FOR WHICH THE BOOK IS NAMED!) Reading of Scripture and Prayer

This morning, the Holy Spirit is leading me to teach out of the book of Job. Please turn with me to Job Chapter 14, verses 1-9. Verse 7a reads, “For there is hope for a tree when it is cut down.” The clear image in this text is that of a tree. The author makes the tree analogous to hope, meaning that a tree that is cut down, can basically grow again. The author goes on to say in verse 7b, “that it will sprout again and that its tender shoots will not cease.” How can hope that is robbed or cut down, ‘sprout’ again? This is the majesty and true beauty of this text. In Job 14:8-9, the author writes, “Through its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” And that verse struck me… I don’t know if it struck you the same way it struck me, “at the scent of water.” What does water smell like? Ask yourself the question, “What does water smell like?” There are various key words within this study that I wish to bring to your attention.

INTRODUCTION:

Hope is the possibility of

And so Paul says that, “the God of patience and comfort help us to be like- minded toward one another.” Now what Paul isn’t just citing the old adage that “patience is a virtue;” he really wants to impress upon hus that how we treat one another matters in the Kingdom of God. It matters how we talk to one another, how we treat one another… that we don’t stab each other in the back… that we are long suffering with one another, that we have patience with one