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Job 27:14-15
14 If his children [ben] be multiplied [rabah], it is for [lamow] the sword [chereb]: and his offspring [tse'etsa'] shall not be satisfied [saba`] with bread [lechem].
15 Those that remain [sariyd] of him shall be buried [qabar] in death [maveth]: and his widows ['almanah] shall not weep [bakah]. KJV-Interlinear
14 'Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread. 15 'His survivors will be buried because of the plague, And their widows will not be able to weep. NASB
Having sons was viewed as being successful or prosperous, back in those early ancient times.
Having many sons was always considered a blessing. 'Live long and prosper and have many sons.' This was considered the epitome of a good life.
Here Job describes the success of wicked people by means of the 'many sons' phrase.
Anyone can have children. That should be obvious. Having children does not require any special talent, ability, wealth, or status in life. That too, should be obvious. So, at the very outset of the phrase, the idea that having children as a sign of prosperity or a successful life, was a very subjective concept.
But because it has been always considered as such, worldly prosperity comes with the stereotype of having many sons.
But worldly prosperity is temporary at best.
No matter who you are, prosperity can come to you or not. Whether you are a good person or bad, is irrelevant.
The subject here is wicked people, and Job has already established the principle that wicked people can be prosperous throughout their life. To some it might seem as though God has given them a pass on punishment, but that is not the case.
Job points out that despite a persons worldly successes, that will not dislodge their inevitable judgment or punishment. Some people get their due during this life. Others will get their due in the next life.
Everyone is evaluated on their own life. Having sons, having grandsons, having great grandsons, having a dynasty of sorts for a family name or empire, will not cancel out ones certain scheduled time before Jesus.
Some folks might try, in their success, to perpetuate their name after they have gone. They get buildings, streets, schools, companies and so forth, named after them. They establish trusts and foundations, they might even be successful in having a large number of descendants. But none of these will offset or diminish their appointment with judgment.
And by the way, having numerous descendants is something that others accomplish, not you. Just as everything in your life comes courtesy of God, not you. So even this blessing principle should be easily visible to the unspiritual person. Remember, that we can look all around us in this life and see Gods hand, or the principles of Gods handiwork, even in the activity of others in life.
There are typically three broad forms of judgment - the sword, famine, and pestilence.
The sword can include any form of adversarial confrontation, whether it be from criminal activity, from social disorder, or even violence in accidents. Famine can include the obvious starvation from hunger, or economic depravity from unemployment, business downturns, or bankruptcy. Pestilences can include illnesses, cancers, handicaps, or just about anything that is medically related to the physical form.
These three broad concepts cover probably all types for troubles in which a person can find himself. If you can think of a problem, you can easily fit it into any one of these concepts.
Sons, descendants, survivors, and widows all point to worldly activities. None of which will add one ounce of blessing to ones spiritual life, nor take away one ounce of judgment from ones destiny.
All of these folks, descendants and such, are other people. A person cannot project his life onto others, nor can one reach into the lives of others, and claim their successes for ones own.
The sword, famine, and pestilences, all result in death or the ultimate failure in ones life.
Life cannot perpetuate itself without the aid of God. Man has no power over his own life let alone the lives of others.
The widows, the ones who are left behind, the one to whom one was married throughout ones life. And that marriage was to ones chosen pattern of life in worldly affairs to the exclusion of ones spiritual life.
In life we all have our perfect match in marriage. Spiritually speaking this is Bible doctrine. But when we pursue the world we are in effect pursuing the wrong marriage partner, or a prostitute, in other words. This kind of affair will always end up in disaster.
When we die, as is inevitable for all of us, then those we leave behind, our things, our plans, our desires, our widows as it were, will have no feelings for us. They will not mourn. They will not weep. The things of this world have no concerns for our well-being.
When the wicked person is gone, they are soon forgotten.
