Quality of Life in the Land of the Living

 

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.             Psalm 27:13

I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.              Psalm 116:9

I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.                                 Psalm 142:5

In each of the above verses, the psalmist refers to the quality of life available to the one who finds his life within a personal relationship, in communion with God. There is a clear sense of walking in His presence and the provision for life that this relationship brings to the believer. It speaks of a purity of heart that allows him to see the Lord (Matthew 5:8).

Hezekiah’s Prayer

A writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, after his illness and recovery: I said, “In the middle [prime] of my life, I am to enter the gates of Sheol [the grave]; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.” I said, “I will not see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world. “Like a shepherd’s tent, my dwelling [body] is pulled up and removed from me. As a weaver, I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night, You make an end of me. “I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He breaks all my bones, from day until night, You make an end of me. “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; my eyes look wistfully to the heights. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.               Isaiah 38:9-14

After God healed him, Hezekiah wrote a song to express his thanks to God. He was facing death in the prime of his life. The Aramaic translation found in the Targum of verse 11 could be: I shall not see the Lord's Lord in the land of the living; or the Lord's Christ in the flesh. By death, he would be cut off like a cloth being cut from a weaver's loom. He had hoped he would get well, but he got worse. His illness was as if God were a lion breaking all his bones, a figure of speech depicting his deep inner anguish. His cries of pain were like the sound of a swallow or crane, and his mourning was like the sound of a dove. Hezekiah had gazed directly at death, yet he found the Lord as his deliverance. God allows some to view death from both sides of the grave.

Hope for the Living

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards, they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope [bittahon – trust]; surely, a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die, but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed, their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.             Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

Solomon states that all people share the same fate or common destiny. However, there are variations as to the nature of that fate. Fate relates to love or hatred, adversity or prosperity. Everyone experiences both love and hate; there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked. This applies to the good and the bad, those who are ritually clean as well as those who are ritually unclean. The same destiny befalls everyone; this common fate causes people to be full of evil. Solomon added that not only does everybody share this same destiny of adversity or prosperity during life, but they also share the same ultimate fate after life; they all join the dead. 

However, even though all people, both righteous and wicked, are subject to the same adversity or prosperity and ultimately join in death, they should not despair of life. Life has advantages over death. Comparing the lot of a live dog with that of a dead lion, Solomon affirmed that it is better to be alive and dishonored. The living, at least, are self-aware and have hope, things they can look forward to enjoying. But the dead have no consciousness or hope of reward or enjoyment. Their passions, love, hate, and jealousy are non-existent. Thus, the living have opportunities and capacities for fruitful labor, but the dead do not. Life has value beyond itself. 

Body, Soul, & Spirit

According to the Bible, man is a conglomeration of 3 parts: body, soul, and spirit. Each part has a life of its own. The biological life (bios) includes all appetites of the physical body, while the soul (pseuche) speaks of the life of the mind and self. Since the fall of Adam, man has been born with a living body and soul. The third part is the spirit [pneuma], and although present at man’s first birth (Genesis 2:7), it is dead or dormant because of the fall until the second birth, the regeneration of the believer. God always intended that there would be a hierarchy so that man would find his highest quality of life. When the spirit of man is allowed to exercise priority over the soul and body, he finds order and not chaos. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law (Galatians 5:17-18).

When the appetites of the body take control (i.e., addictions), man is a slave to these appetites, and his quality of life is compromised. In the same way, when his mind is in charge, he is subject to all kinds of obsessive behaviors. All a man's labor is for his mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living? What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This, too, is futility and a striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 6:7-9). When the Lord puts things in their proper place, man finds His presence and fullness of joy in his salvation. 

Arguing with God

“Be silent before me so that I may speak; then let come on me what may. “Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hands? “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before Him. “This also will be my salvation, for a godless man may not come before His presence. “Listen carefully to my speech, and let my declaration fill your ears. “Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated. “Who will contend with me? For then, I would be silent and die.                Job 13:13-19

Amid Job's trial, he wrestled with God in light of the reason and purpose for his struggles. In Job 13:3, “But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue [yakach - refers to the clarification of people's moral standing, which may involve arguments being made for them or against them] with God.” He was anxious to hear from God, but only after he could express his heart in the matter. “This also will be my salvation, for a godless man may not come before His presence. Job understood that his relationship with God defined his quality of life. “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” He also knew that the Lord was willing to hear his case. Job was not afraid to argue with God. 

Waiting for My Change 

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. “Like a flower, he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. “You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself. “Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You, and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass. “Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest until he fulfills his day like a hired man. “For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. “Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, At the scent of water, it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. “But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? “As water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, he will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. “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! “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle, I will wait until my change comes.                Job 14:1-14

Job had a clear understanding of the master plan of God for each life, both in terms of its length and its boundaries. Paul had similar insights in Acts 17:26-27, and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God. The uniqueness of man and his ordained life on earth is not to be repeated, as is true of the tree that is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Man is different. At his death, So man lies down and does not rise. His death represents the end of something meaningful but also the beginning of something greater. All the days of my struggle, I will wait until my change comes.

The Finality of Death

“You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. "For now, You number my steps; You do not observe my sin. "My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You wrap up my iniquity. "But the falling mountain crumbles away, and the rock moves from its place; Water wears away stones, its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; so, You destroy man's [enos – emphasizing man’s frailty] hope. “You forever overpower him, and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away. “His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it, or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it. “But his body pains him, and he mourns only for himself.”              Job 14:15-22

 Job affirmed his certainty that God would summon him to court, for He would be longing to see Job, the work of Your hands. Job said that when God spoke, he would answer Him. And yet, when God did speak, Job could not answer even one of His questions. Though counting his steps, God would no longer record his sin, for his offenses would be sealed up in a bag. This is the message of the gospel.

Though Job anticipated that death would release him from life's deepest struggles, he had no hope of correcting any wrong steps before his demise. Like a crumbling mountain, like stones worn down by water, and like soil washed away by rainstorms, the hope of man in his frailty disappears. At death, God forcibly overcomes him, changes his appearance, and sends him away from all he knew and possessed in this life. What view does a man have of his future generations after death? He views his own life according to its pains. 

Now My Eye Sees You

And Job again took up his discourse and said, “Oh that I were as in months gone by, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp  shone over my head, and by His light, I walked through darkness; as I was in the prime of my days when the friendship of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were around me;       Job 29:1-5 

As Job considers his past as he sensed the presence of God and His ongoing care, when God watched over me, he still did not understand the purpose of this trial in light of the counsel of his “friends.” Contemplating all the good things he had done, it did not make sense. In verses 14-15, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. “I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. Why would God want to destroy his life in so many ways? 

The answer came later, in chapter 42, when he told God, “I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; Therefore, I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2-6). His sight was now allowing him to recognize the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The Lord’s plan for Job’s life was perfect!

Inherit a Blessing 

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. "HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. "FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL." Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.          1 Peter 3:8-15

Peter’s conclusion to the whole matter was to sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope in you, yet with gentleness and reverence. When Jesus is set apart, made holy in the heart as Lord and Master, the believer’s quality of life is confirmed by a readiness to defend the faith by expressing to others the hope and confident expectation of His return and his eternal future. The value and quality of life are recognized in the way it is lived, as giving a blessing instead of pursuing one. When the believer stops performing to earn something and instead finds his joy in serving others as the Lord Himself would be doing, he is no longer concerned with perfection. His perfection is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

An Enigma

For now, we see in a mirror dimly [en ainigma – obscurely, an enigma], but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.               1 Corinthians 13:12-13 

While in the land of the living, man cannot see things as they are, but rather, in obscurity, abstract, as inaccurate reflections of reality. Functioning in this physical realm, he must rely on faith, hope, and love. These are the elements that provide clarity when things are not transparent or discernable. Faith (trust) looks back 2,000 years to Jesus’s first coming, and hope (confident expectation) looks ahead to His second coming. Agape (unconditional) love is the overriding factor that holds everything together. God is love, and the love of Christ motivates the believer. Faith and hope will no longer be present in eternity, but love remains as the eternal consequence of spiritual life. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures (hupomeno – remains steadfast in) all things (1 Corinthians 13:7).