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Job 29:18
18 Then I said ['amar], I shall die [gava`] in my nest [qen], and I shall multiply [rabah] my days [yowm] as the sand [chowl]. KJV-Interlinear
18 'Then I thought, 'I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand. NASB
Seeing that his life was going very well. Job had extraordinary prosperity, health, position and so forth, there was no reason that he should not expect to live a long and contented life.
Job was successful in every sense of the word. He expected to live to a ripe old age and then, after living his length of years, he expected to die in peace, in his home, surrounded by his family and friends, in very comfortable surroundings.
But there is much more to this verse than meets the eye.
The word for sand, 'chowl,' is also a reference to a mythical bird, the Phoenix. There is an old fable which says that Noah had many animals on his Ark. Among them was the Phoenix. The bird went out of its way to not make more work for Noah, and in so doing, Noah granted the bird an infinite life.
Later, after living many centuries, the bird died and was given a funeral fire service with spices and incense. After the funeral service, the bird later arose up out of its own ashes to live again, and this time forever.
And thus it is Jobs desire and his expectation, that after a long life in this life, he would ultimately die and then after his death, he would again rise up and live eternally in heaven.
Recall that we have already studied his views on the hereafter, the redeemer, the advocate, and his expectations of life after death in heaven.
As his prosperity was spectacular in this life, so too he expected a continuation of that prosperity in the next life. And as his years in the next life would be very long, so too he expected that his prosperity would increase proportionately in eternity. But not simply because he was successful, but because he wore righteousness (cleanliness through fellowship) and justice (faith in a savior through the work of the savior), combined with his understanding (living a day-to-day life in doctrine), and wisdom (the complete application of the spiritual life for ones existence).
