What does Job 5:7 Mean?

Question: Job 5:7 states, "Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward." What does this mean?

Answer: Every person is born into this world with a corrupted nature. This is unavoidable due to the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). Through Adam’s sin, humanity became separated from God and in need of reconciliation (Rom. 5). This concept is sometimes referred to as original sin or inherited sin. This is a primary revelation in the book of Job: that man is absolutely going to, on account of sin (either their own or the sins of others), experience trouble.

In the book of Job, this natural and unavoidable corruption is equated to the natural state of sparks that burn from a flame. As sparks inevitably fly upward from a fire, people will assuredly encounter trouble in life because of sin. The Apostle Paul says that we are all born as “natural” people (1 Cor. 2:14), and King David echoes this, even hinting that our corruption is present from the moment of conception (Psalm 51).

This natural corruption is why a person needs to be born again to be saved (reconciled to God) and receive eternal life. The “new birth” (John 3) gives the believer a new nature, which is governed by the Holy Spirit and capable of pleasing God. And while the old nature still exists within us, the Spirit works to manifest the image of God within every believer, leading to a perfected image when we receive our glorified bodies (Rom. 8:28-30).

Even though this condition will not be fully eradicated until the new Heaven and new Earth (Rev. 22), being born again through faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ will provide the opportunity for freedom from the bondage of our fallen state (Rom. 8). But, just as sparks will continue to fly upward from a fire, so too will sin cause trouble in our lives. However, those who are members of the Body of Christ will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to not only deal with, but also potentially overcome, any obstacle that comes our way.