In his epistle, the Apostle James asked a question that man has been asking for thousands of years:

James 4:14 "...For what is your life?"

James immediately answers this same question by saying:

James 4:14 "...It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

     James compares life to a swiftly fleeting mist - a "vapour" which does not just remain for a time, but for a "little time." Then it is gone completely, leaving no remnant or outline.

Job pleaded:

Job 7:1 "Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?"

And then Job cries out to God:

Job 7:7 "O remember that my life is wind..."

     It is as a "vapour" or a breath. Being compared to the "wind," it can be noisy and blustery at times, but it is also vain and empty and soon gone. As with life, there are moments that are quiet, but then there are others that are boisterous and full of great excitement and movement, leaving a great impact on all that is around us. Nonetheless, eventually the wind dies down and is no more. "So it is with life."

Job speaks again of the brevity of a man's life:

Job 14:1 "Man that is born of a woman is of few days..."

     Our lives are short. There is no getting around it. Ethan the Ezrahite makes a similar statement as he pleads with God for a quick answer to his earnest prayer:

Psalm 89:47 "Remember how short my time is..."

     The Scriptures abound with such depictions of the frailty and precarious nature of life. They describe the shortness and uncertainty of life using various comparative statements. Let's examine some of them more closely and see how they describe this life on earth that lies before us:

1. Swifter Than A Weaver's Shuttle

   Job 7:6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle..."

        "Life" is oftentimes compared to a web that is woven by a weaver. With an instrument called the shuttle, he inserts the filling into the woof of the material. With a rhythmic pattern matching the continuous succession of moments, hours, days, weeks, months, and years of a life, the weaver throws the shuttle from one side of the web to the other until it is exhausted of all thread, and the web becomes a finished product.

2. Swifter Than A Post

   Job 9:25 "Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away..."

        In this particular verse, "life" is compared to a light-footed messenger - courier, runner, racer - who carried messages in ancient times. These carriers would oftentimes travel by camels, horses, or by foot. Because they were employed by the royalty, they were known to travel with great speed and rapidity, carrying important commands from one place to another. "Life" is pictured as running by us with the speed of a fleet messenger.

3. As The Swift Ships

   Job 9:26 "They are passed away as the swift ships..."

        In this verse, "life" is compared to swiftly moving ships - possibly the light vessels made of papyrus which glided rapidly down the Nile. Or generally speaking, it could refer to any ship that is under full sail and carried along very quickly down the waters to its destination.

4. As The Eagle That Hasteth To The Prey

   Job 9:26 "...as the eagle that hasteth to the prey."

        Here "life" is compared to an eagle going after its prey. The eagle is an emblem of rapidity. In fact, there are very few things that are more rapid in motion than an eagle descending upon its victim.

5. As A Shadow

   Job 14:2 "...he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."

   Ecclesiastes 6:12 "...all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?"

   Psalm 109:23 "I am gone like the shadow when it declineth..."

   Psalm 102:11 "My days are like a shadow that declineth..."

        A "shadow" has no substance to it. Nor is it permanent. It moves gently and silently. After a "little time," it is gone. This is the nature of "human life" on this earth. It is likened to a declining "shadow."

6. As A Handbreadth

   Psalm 39:5 "Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee..."

        There are many measurements such as the foot (length of the foot) or the cubit (the length of the arm to the elbow) which could have been used in this comparison to "life". However, in order to emphasize the shortness and brevity of "life", the Holy Spirit inspired David to compare his "life" to the smallest form of measurement therein - the "handbreadth". The "handbreadth" is the distance from one finger to the fifth finger when the hand is expanded. It means the "spread hand." It always was used as a depiction of something very short or brief. In this case, it describes the life of every man. In the light of the Eternal God, we can see how it would be said to be as "nothing."

7. As A Sleep

   Psalm 90:5 "Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep..."

        A man's "life" is compared to a "sleep" - it passes away so quickly without notice or observation and seems to never accomplish enough.

8. Like Grass

   Psalm 90:5 "...in the morning they are like grass which groweth up."

        In the morning, the "grass" looks so green and flourishing. However, in the short course of the day and before evening, it is cut down by the mower. "So it is with life."

9. As A Shepherd's Tent

   Isaiah 38:12 "Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent..."

        The "shepherd's tent" is placed in a certain area. But then comes a time when it is broken up and transferred to another place. "So it is with all mankind." They live in this world for a designated period of time, and then are called to depart from this world and set up their tent so to speak in an eternal place called Heaven or Hell.

10. Like Smoke

    Psalm 102:3 "For my days are consumed like smoke..."

         "Smoke" vanishes away very easily and quickly. "So does the life of every man."

     Now that we have seen that our lives are very, very short in passing, what should we do?

     Should we give up and not even try to accomplish any goals or dreams?

     Should we just resign ourselves to a wasted life and wait for the inevitable moment of death and departing from this life?

As always, the Scriptures give us the answer:

Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

     In Psalms Moses prayed the above very powerful prayer that we would be wise to pray and do likewise. We need to constantly remind ourselves that "our lives are very short-lived and are soon to end." We must live under a consistent awareness of the uncertainty and frailty of life. We do not know the day nor the hour when we will step into eternity where there will be no more "life as we now know it".

     Consequently, we need to "live" each day with "eternity" in direct view. In other words, "live now for eternity". God's continual supply of wisdom will enable us to do so.

     We will see as God sees - "the whole picture of life" - rather than one small portion of each day at a time. We will be more aware of the end from the beginning rather than only living in the now. How important is it that we "apply our hearts unto wisdom" - God's Wisdom?

     The various writers in the Bible considered it crucial that we seek God for wisdom concerning our latter end. Moses earnestly prayed for the children of Israel:

Deuteronomy 32:29 "O that they were wise...that they would consider their latter end!"

David pleaded with the LORD:

Psalm 39:4 "LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am."

In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon continually exhorted us to seek for "wisdom":

Proverbs 2:2 "...incline thine ear unto wisdom..."

Proverbs 2:6 "For the LORD giveth wisdom..."

Proverbs 3:13 "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom..."

Proverbs 4:5 "Get wisdom..."

Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom..."

Proverbs 16:16 "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold..."

     "Life is short!" There is no doubt about it. May God by His Great wisdom enable us to deeply consider the frailty, uncertainty, and brevity of our own lives and to know our latter end insomuch that we unfailingly live with eternity in view:

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Last modified: 12/11/2002