JOB: Can't See the Forest for the Trees; "there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, but man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he?"

Then Job answered and said:... (Job 12:1)

Previously Job responded directly to his third friend's, Zophar the Naamathite accusations.  Now, Job would pray to God directly:
“Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You: Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You respond to me. How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy? Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble? For You write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. You put my feet in the stocks, and watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet. (Job 13:20-27) 

Let this be a lesson to all of us, if we have a problem with God or the things He's allowed to happen in our lives, voice it to Him directly. He is able to handle it!  Just be prepared that that won't necessarily change the outcome, but it will allow us to hear from Him and learn to accept His will.  "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) Job pleaded with God to reveal to him what his transgression and sin was, but to also realize that he did not do anything, from his youth up to this point, that God didn't allow, because his steps had been ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23)

“Man decays like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten. (Job 13:28) “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue. And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; you have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day. (Job 14:1-6) 

Job explains that the glory of man fades away. We all were conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5), because we all were born in to flesh bodies. (Romans 8) He also pointed out that God determined how long we would be on this earth, and how far we would go, so why wouldn't God just leave us alone until our appointed time had expired.  Or as the Apostle Paul stated, You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:19-20)

Job continued by comparing the trees to man, because often through scripture the comparison is made (Mark 8:24), “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant. But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he? As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. (Job 14:7-12) 

The scriptures say Job was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1) But it didn't say that he was wise, which is proved by the above scriptures. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) But what about the soul?  Job was focusing on the flesh body in this world so much, he wasn't thinking about the spiritual body that will spend eternity somewhere else, either in the presence of God or in hell.

However, we would ask the question of what happens to man after this life is over; “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. For now You number my steps, but do not watch over my sin. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You cover my iniquity. (Job 14:13-17) 

...love covers all sins. (Proverbs 10:12) And that's exactly what God did through His Son, Christ Jesus, cover our iniquities. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17) This life is not all there is.  When this life is over, the soul will have a home somewhere.  Through faith in Christ Jesus, we know that the love of God for us will allow us to spend eternity with them.

Unfortunately, Job's limited spiritual vision would not allow him to see beyond his suffering, which is the problem many of us have also. “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, and as a rock is moved from its place; as water wears away stones, and as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so You destroy the hope of man. You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away. His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he does not perceive it. But his flesh will be in pain over it, and his soul will mourn over it.” (Job 14:18-22) This back and forth between Job and his friends would continue...