The Great Equalizer
Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
Job 3:16-19
+
The Great Equalizer
The old saying goes, “The only things certain in this life are death and taxes.” And it is true we will all face death one day, unless Christ returns before that day. Death makes all equal. The slave and the master, the king and the servant, rich and poor alike all are equal in death. Which is to say they all will die. We cannot escape it. Yet we live in a world which tries to deny it. Our scientists are busy in their labs attempting to find the fountain of youth which will once and for all cheat death. We talk of uploading our conscience to the internet in hopes of achieving immortality. But why? Why do so many fear death? Job does not fear it, in fact he welcomes it. He desires to be in the grave, away from the trials and troubles of life. But Job is not saying there is no difference between those who are saved and those who are not, in death. He speaks to this later on (19:25). He is simply recognizing the fact that in death all are equal. And the equality does not stop in just the cessation of physical life here on earth, but it also extends to judgement. In death, all will face God. All will face judgement day. And that is where the similarities stop. For the believer, judgement day is one of joy in being welcomed into God’s kingdom. For the unbeliever, it is a day of unspeakable tragedy as they realize their eternity will be spent apart from God. This is why Job does not fear death and why all who have been given the gift of faith should not either. Sin is no longer our master because in our death of the old Adam in us through the waters of Holy Baptism, we are freed from its chains to be the children of God. Christ’s death and resurrection destroys even death itself.
Job 3:16-19
+
The Great Equalizer
The old saying goes, “The only things certain in this life are death and taxes.” And it is true we will all face death one day, unless Christ returns before that day. Death makes all equal. The slave and the master, the king and the servant, rich and poor alike all are equal in death. Which is to say they all will die. We cannot escape it. Yet we live in a world which tries to deny it. Our scientists are busy in their labs attempting to find the fountain of youth which will once and for all cheat death. We talk of uploading our conscience to the internet in hopes of achieving immortality. But why? Why do so many fear death? Job does not fear it, in fact he welcomes it. He desires to be in the grave, away from the trials and troubles of life. But Job is not saying there is no difference between those who are saved and those who are not, in death. He speaks to this later on (19:25). He is simply recognizing the fact that in death all are equal. And the equality does not stop in just the cessation of physical life here on earth, but it also extends to judgement. In death, all will face God. All will face judgement day. And that is where the similarities stop. For the believer, judgement day is one of joy in being welcomed into God’s kingdom. For the unbeliever, it is a day of unspeakable tragedy as they realize their eternity will be spent apart from God. This is why Job does not fear death and why all who have been given the gift of faith should not either. Sin is no longer our master because in our death of the old Adam in us through the waters of Holy Baptism, we are freed from its chains to be the children of God. Christ’s death and resurrection destroys even death itself.
Recent
Archive
2026
January
In The GardenBy Your Own LawA Kingdom Not From HereThe King Who Bears Witness to the TruthWhich Jesus Will You Have?Behold the King We MockedBehold the Man, Lifted for YouAuthority from Above, Glory from the CrossBehold Your King, Lifted Up to JudgeThe Place of the SkullIt Is WrittenEvery Promise KeptStabat MaterIt Is FinishedThese Three TestifyA True TestimonyA Quiet Courage at the CrossThe Empty Tomb and the Wounded SaviorSeeing, Believing, and the Linen Left BehindCalled by Name in the GardenDo Not Cling, Go and TellPeace in Wounded HandsThe Wounds That Speak PeaceYou May Have LifeMy Lord and My GodFishingIt Is the LordThey KnewFeed My LambsFollow HimFollowing Jesus, Not Comparing Paths
February
The Testimony That Is EnoughBefore Kings, Before the CrossBefore You Were Born, the Word Was GivenSet Like FlintRemembering First LoveForsaking the FountainBroken Cisterns and the Living CrossAshamed of Our False RescuesForgottenWe Have SinnedLift Up Your EyesLike SisterReturn to the LordThe Gift of ShepherdsOur Only HopeShame That Leads to SalvationCircumcised HeartsBlow the Trumpet in the LandWhen Wisdom FailsThe Storm We Have SummonedThe Sound of the TrumpetWhen Wisdom Becomes FollyThe Earth Shall MournCan You Find One?There Is No DifferenceThe Lord Must InterveneSpeak Truth
2025
January
Not AshamedIn Every RespectWe Are In His HouseHear His VoiceTodayBut You BelieveRest in ChristRest in FaithRest in Christ’s WordConfidence in Our Great High PriestOur Eternal High PriestCalled by GracePerfect Through SufferingA Little MilkFoundationGod Comes to UsFaith in ChristObtaining the PromiseThe King of PeaceBlessed by the SuperiorA Priest Forever in ChristThe Forever PriestA Better HopeOur Eternal IntercessorOur Perfect High PriestOur Eternal High PriestThe Better Covenant in ChristA New CovenantPromises KeptOnly The High PriestNot the Blood of Goats