Job 38:17

After the disposition of the land and the sea he proceeds to the disposition of heaven under which air is contained. He lingers a little longer on this because of the many marvelous things which appear there. First, he considers the disposition of the light …

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?.... Meaning not by which death has entered into the world, and which have been the causes and occasion of it; as the sin of man, the appointment of God, and various providences, calamities and diseases; but by which men enter into the state of the dead.

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee - That is, the gates of the world where death reigns; or the gates that lead to the abodes of the dead. The allusion here is to “Sheol,” or “Hades,” the dark abodes of the dead. This was supposed to be beneath the ground, and was entered by the grave, and was inclosed by gates and bars; see the notes at Job 10:21-

seen--The second clause heightens the thought in the first. Man during life does not even "see" the gates of the realm of the dead ("death," Job 10:21); much less are they "opened" to him. But those are "naked before God" (Job 26:6).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Last Sabbath our spirits flew forward as far as the Judgment Day. We stood with wondering awe to gaze upon the Great White Throne and the fillet of gold about the head of the Reaper who gathered in the harvest of the earth. We trembled as we saw the other angel take the sharp sickle and reap the world's vintage and hurl it into the winepress of Jehovah's wrath where it was trampled underfoot until the blood of men flowed forth in torrents. [See Sermon #2910, Volume 50—THE HARVEST AND THE VINTAGE] Our excursion at this time will not take us so far in human history. We shall halt at a nearer stopping place. We shall not journey even to the Resurrection—only to the doors of the shadow of death. The question is, "Have you seen the doors of the shadow at death?" And the answer implied is—"No." In this chapter, God is questioning Job in order to show him his inability and his ignorance. To each question which the Lord puts to the Patriarch, a negative answer is expected. "Have you entered into the springs of the sea?" "Have you walked in the search of the depth?" "Have the gates of death been opened to you?" "Have you perceived the breadth of the earth?" Job had done none of these things. Well, then, Job, "Have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?" The only answer the Patriarch could have given or that we can give is, "No." We can get as far as the gates of death, but we cannot pry within. Apart from Revelation, we have no information about the dreary land beyond that land which lies enshrouded, as far as we are concerned, in perpetual gloom. We cannot tell when or how we, ourselves, shall die, so we know little of the dread mystery. The message will someday come to us that the pitcher is to be broken at the cistern, but when it shall come, we little dream. It may be much nearer than we think and, on the other hand it, may be farther off than we have feared.