Job having warmly given vent to his passion, and so broken the ice, his
friends here come gravely to give vent to their judgment upon his case,
which perhaps they had communicated to one another apart, compared
notes upon it and talked it over among themselves, and found they were
all agreed in their verdict, that Job's afflictions certainly proved
him to be a hypocrite; but they did not attack Job with this high
charge till by the expressions of his discontent and impatience, in
which they thought he reflected on God himself, he had confirmed them
in the bad opinion they had before conceived of him and his character.
Now they set upon him with great fear. The dispute begins, and it soon
becomes fierce. The opponents are Job's three friends. Job himself is
respondent. Elihu appears, first, as moderator, and at length God
himself gives judgment upon the controversy and the management of it.
The question in dispute is whether Job was an honest man or no, the
same question that was in dispute between God and Satan in the first
two chapters. Satan had yielded it, and durst not pretend that his
cursing his day was a constructive cursing of his God; no, he cannot
deny but that Job still holds fast his integrity; but Job's friends
will needs have it that, if Job were an honest man, he would not have
been thus sorely and thus tediously afflicted, and therefore urge him
to confess himself a hypocrite in the profession he had made of
religion: "No," says Job, "that I will never do; I have offended God,
but my heart, notwithstanding, has been upright with him;" and still he
holds fast the comfort of his integrity. Eliphaz, who, it is likely,
was the senior, or of the best quality, begins with him in this
chapter, in which,
I. He bespeaks a patient hearing, ver. 2 .
II. He compliments Job with an acknowledgment of the eminence and
usefulness of the profession he had made of religion, ver. 3, 4 .
III. He charges him with hypocrisy in his profession, grounding his
charge upon his present troubles and his conduct under them, ver. 5, 6 .
IV. To make good the inference, he maintains that man's wickedness is
that which always brings God's judgments, ver. 7-11 .
V. He corroborates his assertion by a vision which he had, in which he
was reminded of the incontestable purity and justice of God, and the
meanness, weakness, and sinfulness of man, ver. 12-21 .
By all this he aims to bring down Job's spirit and to make him both
penitent and patient under his afflictions.
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but
who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened
the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast
strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth
thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the
uprightness of thy ways?
I. Eliphaz excuses the trouble he is now about to give to Job by his
discourse
( v. 2 ):
" If we assay a word with thee, offer a word of reproof and
counsel, wilt thou be grieved and take it ill?" We have reason to fear
thou wilt; but there is no remedy: " Who can refrain from words? "
Observe,
1. With what modesty he speaks of himself and his own attempt. He will
not undertake the management of the cause alone, but very humbly joins
his friends with him: "We will commune with thee." Those that plead
God's cause must be glad of help, lest it suffer through their
weakness. He will not promise much, but begs leave to assay or attempt,
and try if he could propose any thing that might be pertinent, and suit
Job's case. In difficult matters it becomes us to pretend no further,
but only to try what may be said or done. Many excellent discourses
have gone under the modest title of Essays. 2. With what tenderness he speaks of Job, and his present afflicted
condition: "If we tell thee our mind, wilt thou be grieved? Wilt
thou take it ill? Wilt thou lay it to thy own heart as thy affliction
or to our charge as our fault? Shall we be reckoned unkind and cruel if
we deal plainly and faithfully with thee? We desire we may not; we hope
we shall not, and should be sorry if that should be ill resented which
is well intended." Note, We ought to be afraid of grieving any,
especially those that are already in grief, lest we add affliction to
the afflicted, as David's enemies, Ps. lxix. 26 .
We should show ourselves backward to say that which we foresee will be
grievous, though ever so necessary. God himself, though he afflicts
justly, does not afflict willingly, Lam. iii. 33 .
3. With what assurance he speaks of the truth and pertinency of what he
was about to say: Who can withhold himself from speaking? Surely
it was a pious zeal for God's honour, and the spiritual welfare of Job,
that laid him under this necessity of speaking. "Who can forbear
speaking in vindication of God's honour, which we hear reproved, in
love to thy soul, which we see endangered?" Note, It is foolish pity
not to reprove our friends, even our friends in affliction, for what
they say or do amiss, only for fear of offending them. Whether men take
it well or ill, we must with wisdom and meekness do our duty and
discharge a good conscience.
1. As to his particular conduct under this affliction. He charges him
with weakness and faint-heartedness, and this article of his charge
there was too much ground for, v. 3-5 .
And here,
(1.) He takes notice of Job's former serviceableness to the comfort of
others. He owns that Job had instructed many, not only his own children
and servants, but many others, his neighbours and friends, as many as
fell within the sphere of his activity. He did not only encourage
those who were teachers by office, and countenance them, and pay for
the teaching of those who were poor, but he did himself instruct many.
Though a great man, he did not think it below him (king Solomon was a
preacher); though a man of business, he found time to do it, went among
his neighbours, talked to them about their souls, and gave them good
counsel. O that this example of Job were imitated by our great men! If
he met with those who were ready to fall into sin, or sink under their
troubles, his words upheld them: a wonderful dexterity he had in
offering that which was proper to fortify persons against temptations,
to support them under their burdens, and to comfort afflicted
consciences. He had, and used, the tongue of the learned, knew how to
speak a word in season to those that were weary, and employed himself
much in that good work. With suitable counsels and comforts he strengthened the weak hands for work and service and the
spiritual warfare, and the feeble knees for bearing up the man in his
journey and under his load. It is not only our duty to lift up our
own hands that hang down, by quickening and encouraging ourselves
in the way of duty
( Heb. xii. 12 ),
but we must also strengthen the weak hands of others, as there is
occasion, and do what we can to confirm their feeble knees, by saying to those that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, Isa. xxxv. 3, 4 .
The expressions seem to be borrowed thence. Note, Those should abound
in spiritual charity. A good word, well and wisely spoken, may do more
good than perhaps we think of. But why does Eliphaz mention this here?
[1.] Perhaps he praises him thus for the good he had done that he might
make the intended reproof the more passable with him. Just commendation
is a good preface to a just reprehension, will help to remove
prejudices, and will show that the reproof comes not from ill will.
Paul praised the Corinthians before he chided them, 1 Cor. xi. 2 .
[2.] He remembers how Job had comforted others as a reason why he might
justly expect to be himself comforted; and yet, if conviction was
necessary in order to comfort, they must be excused if they applied
themselves to that first. The Comforter shall reprove, John xvi. 8 .
[3.] He speaks this, perhaps, in a way of pity, lamenting that through
the extremity of his affliction he could not apply those comforts to
himself which he had formerly administered to others. It is easier to
give good counsel than to take it, to preach meekness and patience than
to practise them. Facile omnes, cum valemus, rectum consilium
ægrotis damus--We all find it easy, when in health, to give good
advice to the sick.--Terent. [4.] Most think that he mentions it as an aggravation of his present
discontent, upbraiding him with his knowledge, and the good offices he
had done for others, as if he had said, "Thou that hast taught others,
why dost thou not teach thyself? Is not this an evidence of thy
hypocrisy, that thou hast prescribed that medicine to others which thou
wilt not now take thyself, and so contradictest thyself, and actest
against thy own know principles? Thou that teachest another to faint,
dost thou faint? Rom. ii. 21 .
Physician, heal thyself." Those who have rebuked others must expect to
hear of it if they themselves become obnoxious to rebuke.
(2.) He upbraids him with his present low-spiritedness, v. 5 .
" Now that it has come upon thee, now that it is thy turn
to be afflicted, and the bitter cup that goes round is put into thy
hand, now that it touches thee, thou faintest, thou art
troubled. " Here,
[1.] He makes too light of Job's afflictions: "It touches thee."
The very word that Satan himself had used, ch. i. 11, ii. 5 .
Had Eliphaz felt but the one-half of Job's affliction, he would have
said, "It smites me, it wounds me;" but, speaking of Job's afflictions,
he makes a mere trifle of it: "It touches thee and thou canst not bear
to be touched." Noli me tangere--Touch me not. [2.] He makes too much of Job's resentments, and aggravates them: "Thou
faintest, or thou art beside thyself; thou ravest, and knowest not what
thou sayest." Men in deep distress must have grains of allowance, and a
favourable construction put upon what they say; when we make the worst
of every word we do not as we would be done by.
2. As to his general character before this affliction. He charges him
with wickedness and false-heartedness, and this article of his charge
was utterly groundless and unjust. How unkindly does he banter him, and
upbraid him with the great profession of religion he had made, as if it
had all now come to nothing and proved a sham
( v. 6 ):
" Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness
of thy ways? Does it not all appear now to be a mere pretence? For,
hadst thou been sincere in it, God would not thus have afflicted thee,
nor wouldst thou have behaved thus under the affliction." This was the
very thing Satan aimed at, to prove Job a hypocrite, and disprove the
character God had given of him. When he could not himself do this to
God, but he still saw and said, Job is perfect and upright, then
he endeavoured, by his friends, to do it to Job himself, and to
persuade him to confess himself a hypocrite. Could he have gained that
point he would have triumphed. Habes confitentem reum--Out of thy
own mouth will I condemn thee. But, by the grace of God, Job was
enabled to hold fast his integrity, and would not bear false witness
against himself. Note, Those that pass rash and uncharitable censures
upon their brethren, and condemn them as hypocrites, do Satan's work,
and serve his interest, more than they are aware of. I know not how it
comes to pass that this verse is differently read in several editions of our common English Bibles;
the original, and all the ancient versions, put thy hope before the uprightness of thy ways. So does the Geneva, and most of the
editions of the last translation; but I find one of the first, in 1612,
has it, Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, the uprightness of thy
ways, and thy hope? Both the Assembly's Annotations and Mr. Pool's
have that reading: and an edition in 1660 reads it, " Is not thy fear
thy confidence, and the uprightness of thy ways thy hope? Does it
not appear now that all the religion both of thy devotion and of thy
conversation was only in hope and confidence that thou shouldst grow
rich by it? Was it not all mercenary?" The very thing that Satan
suggested. Is not thy religion thy hope, and are not thy ways thy
confidence? so Mr. Broughton. Or, "Was it not? Didst thou not
think that that would be thy protection? But thou art deceived." Or,
"Would it not have been so? If it had been sincere, would it not have
kept thee from this despair?" It is true, if thou faint in the day
of adversity, thy strength, thy grace, is small ( Prov. xxiv. 10 );
but it does not therefore follow that thou hast no grace, no strength
at all. A man's character is not to be taken from a single act.
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?
or where were the righteous cut off?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow
wickedness, reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his
nostrils are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout
lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
Eliphaz here advances another argument to prove Job a hypocrite, and
will have not only his impatience under his afflictions to be evidence
against him but even his afflictions themselves, being so very great
and extraordinary, and there being no prospect at all of his
deliverance out of them. To strengthen his argument he here lays down
these two principles, which seem plausible enough:--
I. That good men were never thus ruined. For the proof of this he
appeals to Job's own observation
( v. 7 ):
" Remember, I pray thee; recollect all that thou hast seen,
heard, or read, and give me an instance of any one that was innocent
and righteous, and yet perished as thou dost, and was cut off as thou
art." If we understand it of a final and eternal destruction, his
principle is true. None that are innocent and righteous perish for
ever: it is only a man of sin that is a son of perdition, 2 Thess. ii. 3 .
But then it is ill applied to Job; he did not thus perish, nor was he
cut off: a man is never undone till he is in hell. But, if we
understand it of any temporal calamity, his principle is not true. The righteous perish ( Isa. lvii. 1 ): there is one event both to the righteous and to the wicked ( Eccl. ix. 2 ),
both in life and death; the great and certain difference is after
death. Even before Job's time (as early as it was) there were instances
sufficient to contradict this principle. Did not righteous Abel perish being innocent? and was he not cut off in the beginning
of his days? Was not righteous Lot burnt out of house and harbour, and
forced to retire to a melancholy cave? Was not righteous Jacob a
Syrian ready to perish? Deut. xxvi. 5 .
Other such instances, no doubt, there were, which are not on
record.
II. That wicked men were often thus ruined. For the proof of this he
vouches his own observation
( v. 8 ):
" Even as I have seen, many a time, those that plough
iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap accordingly; by the blast of God
they perish, v. 9 .
We have daily instances of that; and therefore, since thou dost thus
perish and art consumed, we have reason to think that, whatever
profession of religion thou hast made, thou hast but ploughed iniquity
and sown wickedness. Even as I have seen in others, so do I see in
thee."
1. He speaks of sinners in general, politic busy sinners, that take
pains in sin, for they plough iniquity; and expect gain by sin, for
they sow wickedness. Those that plough plough in hope, but what is the
issue? They reap the same. They shall of the flesh reap
corruption and ruin, Gal. vi. 7, 8 .
The harvest will be a heap in the day of grief and desperate
sorrow, Isa. xvii. 11 .
He shall reap the same, that is, the proper product of that
seedness. That which the sinner sows, he sows not that body that
shall be, but God will give it a body, a body of death, the end
of those things, Rom. vi. 21 .
Some, by iniquity and wickedness, understand wrong and injury done to
others. Those who plough and sow them shall reap the same, that is,
they shall be paid in their own coin. Those who are troublesome shall
be troubled, 2 Thess. i. 6; Josh. vii. 25 .
The spoilers shall be spoiled ( Isa. xxxiii. 1 ),
and those that led captive shall go captive, Rev. xiii. 10 .
He further describes their destruction
( v. 9 ): By the blast of God they perish. The projects they take so much
pains in are defeated; God cuts asunder the cords of those ploughers, Ps. cxxix. 3, 4 .
They themselves are destroyed, which is the just punishment of their
iniquity. They perish, that is, they are destroyed utterly; they are consumed, that is, they are destroyed gradually; and
this by the blast and breath of God, that is,
(1.) By his wrath. His anger is the ruin of sinners, who are therefore
called vessels of wrath, and his breath is said to kindle
Tophet, Isa. xxx. 33 . Who knows the power of his anger? Ps. xc. 11 .
(2.) By his word. He speaks and it is done, easily and effectually. The
Spirit of God, in the word, consumes sinners; with that he slays them, Hos. vi. 5 .
Saying and doing are not two things with God. The man of sin is said to
be consumed with the breath of Christ's mouth, 2 Thess. ii. 8.
Compare Isa. xi. 4; Rev. xix. 21 .
Some think that in attributing the destruction of sinners to the blast
of God, and the breath of his nostrils, he refers to the wind
which blew the house down upon Job's children, as if they were
therefore sinners above all men because they suffered such
things. Luke xiii. 2 .
2. He speaks particularly of tyrants and cruel oppressors, under the
similitude of lions, v. 10, 11 .
Observe,
(1.) How he describes their cruelty and oppression. The Hebrew tongue
has five several names for lions, and they are all here used to set
forth the terrible tearing power, fierceness, and cruelty, of proud
oppressors. They roar, and rend, and prey upon all about them, and
bring up their young ones to do so too, Ezek. xix. 3 .
The devil is a roaring lion; and they partake of his nature, and do his
lusts. They are strong as lions, and subtle
( Ps. x. 9; xvii. 12 );
and, as far as they prevail, they lay all desolate about them.
(2.) How he describes their destruction, the destruction both of their
power and of their persons. They shall be restrained from doing further
hurt and reckoned with for the hurt they have done. An effectual course
shall be taken,
[1.] That they shall not terrify. The voice of their roaring shall be
stopped.
[2.] That they shall not tear. God will disarm them, will take away
their power to do hurt: The teeth of the young lions are broken. See Ps. iii. 7 .
Thus shall the remainder of wrath be restrained.
[3.] That they shall not enrich themselves with the spoil of their
neighbours. Even the old lion is famished, and perishes for
lack of prey. Those that have surfeited on spoil and rapine are
perhaps reduced to such straits as to die of hunger at last.
[4.] That they shall not, as they promise themselves, leave a
succession: The stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad, to
seek for food themselves, which the old ones used to bring in for them, Nah. ii. 12 . The lion did tear in pieces for his whelps, but now they must
shift for themselves. Perhaps Eliphaz intended, in this, to reflect
upon Job, as if he, being the greatest of all the men of the
east, had got his estate by spoil and used his power in oppressing
his neighbours, but now his power and estate were gone, and his family
was scattered: if so, it was a pity that a man whom God praised should
be thus abused.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear
received a little thereof.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep
falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to
shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh
stood up:
16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an
image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a
voice, saying, 17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more
pure than his maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he
charged with folly:
19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose
foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for
ever without any regarding it. 21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they
die, even without wisdom.
Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his
discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured
with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes
immediately from God all men will pay a particular deference to, and
Job, no doubt, as much as any. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth
wherewith to reason with him; and it would have been well if he had
kept to the purport of this vision, which would serve for a ground on
which to reprove Job for his murmuring, but not to condemn him as a
hypocrite. Others think he had it formerly; for God did, in this
way, often communicate his mind to the children of men in those first
ages of the world, ch. xxxiii. 15 .
Probably God had sent Eliphaz this messenger and message some time or
other, when he was himself in an unquiet discontented frame, to calm
and pacify him. Note, As we should comfort others with that wherewith
we have been comforted
( 2 Cor. i. 4 ),
so we should endeavour to convince others with that which has been
powerful to convince us. The people of God had not then any written
word to quote, and therefore God sometimes notified to them even common
truths by the extraordinary ways of revelation. We that have Bibles
have there (thanks be to God) a more sure word to depend upon than even
visions and voices, 2 Pet. i. 19 .
Observe,
I. The manner in which this message was sent to Eliphaz, and the
circumstances of the conveyance of it to him.
1. It was brought to him secretly, or by stealth. Some of the
sweetest communion gracious souls have with God is in secret, where no
eye sees but that of him who is all eye. God has ways of bringing
conviction, counsel, and comfort, to his people, unobserved by the
world, by private whispers, as powerfully and effectually as by the
public ministry. His secret is with them, Ps. xxv. 14 .
As the evil spirit often steals good words out of the heart
( Matt. xiii. 19 ),
so the good Spirit sometimes steals good words into the heart, or ever
we are aware.
2. He received a little thereof, v. 12 .
And it is but a little of divine knowledge that the best receive in
this world. We know little in comparison with what is to be known, and
with what we shall know when we come to heaven. How little a portion
is heard of God! ch. xxvi. 14 . We know but in part, 1 Cor. xiii. 12 .
See his humility and modesty. He pretends not to have understood it
fully, but something of it he perceived.
3. It was brought to him in the visions of the night ( v. 13 ),
when he had retired from the world and the hurry of it, and all about
him was composed and quiet. Note, The more we are withdrawn from the
world and the things of it the fitter we are for communion with God.
When we are communing with our own hearts, and are still ( Ps. iv. 4 ),
then is a proper time for the Holy Spirit to commune with us. When
others were asleep Eliphaz was ready to receive this visit from Heaven,
and probably, like David, was meditating upon God in the
night-watches; in the midst of those good thoughts this thing was
brought to him. We should hear more from God if we thought more of him;
yet some are surprised with convictions in the night, ch. xxxiii. 14, 15 .
4. It was prefaced with terrors: Fear came upon him, and
trembling, v. 14 .
It should seem, before he either heard or saw any thing, he was seized
with this trembling, which shook his bones, and perhaps the bed under
him. A holy awe and reverence of God and his majesty being struck upon
his spirit, he was thereby prepared for a divine visit. Whom God
intends to honour he first humbles and lays low, and will have us all
to serve him with holy fear, and to rejoice with trembling.
II. The messenger by whom it was sent-- a spirit, one of the good
angels, who are employed not only as the ministers of God's providence,
but sometimes as the ministers of his word. Concerning this apparition
which Eliphaz saw we are here told
( v. 15, 16 ),
1. That it was real, and not a dream, not a fancy. An image was
before his eyes; he plainly saw it; at first it passed and repassed
before his face, moved up and down, but at length it stood still to speak to him. If some have been so knavish as to impose false
visions on others, and some so foolish as to be themselves imposed
upon, it does not therefore follow but that there may have been
apparitions of spirits, both good and bad.
2. That it was indistinct, and somewhat confused. He could not
discern the form thereof, so as to frame any exact idea of it in
his own mind, much less to give a description of it. His conscience was
to be awakened and informed, not his curiosity gratified. We know
little of spirits; we are not capable of knowing much of them, nor is
it fit that we should: all in good time; we must shortly remove to the
world of spirits, and shall then be better acquainted with them.
3. That it puts him into a great consternation, so that his hair stood
on end. Ever since man sinned it has been terrible to him to receive
an express from heaven, as conscious to himself that he can expect no
good tidings thence; apparitions therefore, even of good spirits, have
always made deep impressions of fear, even upon good men. How well it
is for us that God sends us his messages, not by spirits, but by men
like ourselves, whose terror shall not make us afraid! See Dan. vii. 28; x. 8, 9 .
III. The message itself. Before it was delivered there was
silence, profound silence, v. 16 .
When we are to speak either from God or to him it becomes us to address
ourselves to it with a solemn pause, and so to set bounds about the
mount on which God is to come down, and not be hasty to utter any
thing. It was in a still small voice that the message was delivered,
and this was it
( v. 17 ):
" Shall mortal man be more just than God, the immortal God? Shall a man be thought to be, or pretend to be, more pure
than his Maker? Away with such a thought!"
1. Some think that Eliphaz aims hereby to prove that Job's great
afflictions were a certain evidence of his being a wicked man. A mortal
man would be thought unjust and very impure if he should thus correct
and punish a servant or subject, unless he had been guilty of some very
great crime: "If therefore there were not some great crimes for which
God thus punishes thee, man would be more just than God, which is not
to be imagined."
2. I rather think it is only a reproof of Job's murmuring and
discontent: "Shall a man pretend to be more just and pure than God?
more truly to understand, and more strictly to observe, the rules and
laws of equity than God? Shall Enosh, mortal and miserable man,
be so insolent; nay, shall Geber, the strongest and most eminent
man, man at his best estate, pretend to compare with God, or stand in
competition with him?" Note, It is most impious and absurd to think
either others or ourselves more just and pure than God. Those that
quarrel and find fault with the directions of the divine law, the
dispensations of the divine grace, or the disposals of the divine
providence, make themselves more just and pure than God; and those who
thus reprove God, let them answer it. What! sinful man! (for he
would not have been mortal if he had not been sinful) short-sighted
man! Shall he pretend to be more just, more pure, than God, who, being
his Maker, is his Lord and owner? Shall the clay contend with the
potter? What justice and purity there is in man, God is the author of
it, and therefore is himself more just and pure. See Ps. xciv. 9, 10 .
IV. The comment which Eliphaz makes upon this, for so it seems to be;
yet some take all the following verses to be spoken in vision. It comes all to one.
1. He shows how little the angels themselves are in comparison with
God, v. 18 .
Angels are God's servants, waiting servants, working servants; they are
his ministers
( Ps. civ. 4 );
bright and blessed beings they are, but God neither needs them nor is
benefited by them and is himself infinitely above them, and therefore,
(1.) He puts no trust in them, did not repose a confidence in them, as
we do in those we cannot live without. There is no service in which he
employs them but, if he pleased, he could have it done as well without
them. He never made them his confidants, or of his cabinet-council, Matt. xxiv. 36 .
He does not leave his business wholly to them, but his own eyes run
to and fro through the earth, 2 Chron. xvi. 9 .
See this phrase, ch. xxxix. 11 .
Some give this sense of it: "So mutable is even the angelical nature
that God would not trust angels with their own integrity; if he had,
they would all have done as some did, left their first estate; but he
saw it necessary to give them supernatural grace to confirm them."
(2.) He charges them with folly, vanity, weakness, infirmity, and
imperfection, in comparison with himself. If the world were left to the
government of the angels, and they were trusted with the sole
management of affairs, they would take false steps, and everything
would not be done for the best, as now it is. Angels are intelligences,
but finite ones. Though not chargeable with iniquity, yet with
imprudence. This last clause is variously rendered by the critics. I
think it would bear this reading, repeating the negation, which is very
common: He will put no trust in his saints; nor will he glory in his
angels (in angelis suis non ponet gloriationem) or make his boast of them, as if their praises, or services, added any thing to him: it
is his glory that he is infinitely happy without them.
2. Thence he infers how much less man is, how much less to be trusted
in or gloried in. If there is such a distance between God and angels,
what is there between God and man! See how man is represented here in
his meanness.
(1.) Look upon man in his life, and he is very mean, v. 19 .
Take man in his best estate, and he is a very despicable creature in
comparison with the holy angels, though honourable if compared with the
brutes. It is true, angels are spirits, and the souls of men are
spirits; but,
[1.] Angels are pure spirits; the souls of men dwell in houses of
clay: such the bodies of men are. Angels are free; human souls are
housed, and the body is a cloud, a clog, to it; it is its cage; it is
its prison. It is a house of clay, mean and mouldering; an earthen
vessel, soon broken, as it was first formed, according to the good
pleasure of the potter. It is a cottage, not a house of cedar or a
house of ivory, but of clay, which would soon be in ruins if not kept
in constant repair.
[2.] Angels are fixed, but the very foundation of that house of
clay in which man dwells is in the dust. A house of clay, if
built upon a rock, might stand long; but, if founded in the dust, the
uncertainty of the foundation will hasten its fall, and it will sink
with its own weight. As man was made out of the earth, so he is
maintained and supported by that which cometh out of the earth. Take
away that, and his body returns to its earth. We stand but upon the
dust; some have a higher heap of dust to stand upon than others, but
still it is the earth that stays us up and will shortly swallow us up.
[3.] Angels are immortal, but man is soon crushed; the earthly house
of his tabernacle is dissolved; he dies and wastes away, is
crushed like a moth between one's fingers, as easily, as quickly;
one may almost as soon kill a man as kill a moth. A little thing will
destroy his life. He is crushed before the face of the moth, so
the word is. If some lingering distemper, which consumes like a moth,
be commissioned to destroy him, he can no more resist it than he can
resist an acute distemper, which comes roaring upon him like a lion.
See Hos. v. 12-14 .
Is such a creature as this to be trusted in, or can any service be
expected from him by that God who puts no trust in angels
themselves?
(2.) Look upon him in his death, and he appears yet more despicable,
and unfit to be trusted. Men are mortal and dying, v. 20, 21 .
[1.] In death they are destroyed, and perish for ever, as
to this world; it is the final period of their lives, and all the
employments and enjoyments here; their place will know them no more.
[2.] They are dying daily, and continually wasting: Destroyed from
morning to evening. Death is still working in us, like a mole
digging our grave at each remove, and we so continually lie exposed
that we are killed all the day long.
[3.] Their life is short, and in a little time they are cut off. It
lasts perhaps but from morning to evening. It is but a day (so some
understand it); their birth and death are but the sun-rise and sun-set
of the same day.
[4.] In death all their excellency passes away; beauty, strength,
learning, not only cannot secure them from death, but must die with
them, nor shall their pomp, their wealth, or power, descend after them.
[5.] Their wisdom cannot save them from death: They die without
wisdom, die for want of wisdom, by their own foolish management of
themselves, digging their graves with their own teeth.
[6.] It is so common a thing that nobody heeds it, nor takes any notice
of it: They perish without any regarding it, or laying it to
heart. The deaths of others are much the subject of common talk, but
little the subject of serious thought. Some think the eternal
damnation of sinners is here spoken of, as well as their temporal
death: They are destroyed, or broken to pieces, by death, from
morning to evening; and, if they repent not, they perish for ever (so some read it), v. 20 .
They perish for ever because they regard not God and their duty; they consider not their latter end, Lam. i. 9 .
They have no excellency but that which death takes away, and they die,
they die the second death, for want of wisdom to lay hold on eternal
life. Shall such a mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying creature as this
pretend to be more just than God and more pure than his Maker? No, instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him wonder that he
is out of hell.
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 4
Job's sore afflictions, and his behaviour under them, laid the foundation of a dispute between him and his three friends, which begins in this chapter, and is carried on to the end of the thirty first; when Elihu starts up as a moderator between them, and the controversy is at last decided by God himself. Eliphaz first enters the list with Job, Job 4:1; introduces what he had to say in a preface, with some show of tenderness, friendship, and respect, Job 4:2; observes his former conduct in his prosperity, by instructing many, strengthening weak hands and feeble knees, and supporting stumbling and falling ones, Job 4:3; with what view all this is observed may be easily seen, since he immediately takes notice of his present behaviour, so different from the former, Job 4:5; and insults his profession of faith and hope in God, and fear of him, Job 4:6; and suggests that he was a bad man, and an hypocrite; and which he grounds upon this supposition, that no good man was ever destroyed by the Lord; for the truth of which he appeals to Job himself, Job 4:7; and confirms it by his own experience and observation, Job 4:8; and strengthens it by a vision he had in the night, in which the holiness and justice of God, and the mean and low condition of men, are declared, Job 4:12; and therefore it was wrong in Job to insinuate any injustice in God or in his providence, and a piece of weakness and folly to contend with him.
Ver. 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said. When Job was done cursing his day, and had finished his doleful ditty on that subject, then Eliphaz took the opportunity of speaking, not being able to bear any longer with Job and his behaviour under his afflictions; Eliphaz was one of Job's three friends that came to visit him, Job 2:11; very probably he might be the senior man, or a man of the greatest authority and power; a most respectable person, had in great esteem and reverence among men, and by these his friends, and therefore takes upon him to speak first; or it may be it was agreed among themselves that he should begin the dispute with Job; and we find, that in the close of this controversy the Lord speaks to him by name, and to him only, Job 42:7; he "answered"; not that Job directed his discourse to him, but he took occasion, from Job's afflictions and his passionate expressions, to say what he did; and he "said" not anything by way of condolence or consolation, not pitying Job's case, nor comforting him in his afflicted circumstances, as they required both; but reproaching him as a wicked and hypocritical man, not acting like himself formerly, or according to his profession and principles, but just the reverse: this was a new trial to Job, and some think the sorest of all; it was as a sword in his bones, which was very cutting to him; as oil cast into a fiery furnace in which he now was, which increased the force and fury of it; and as to vinegar an opened and bleeding wound, which makes it smart the more.
Job 4:2
Ver. 2. [If] we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?.... Eliphaz speaks in the name of himself and his two friends, who had doubtless consulted together, and compared their sentiments of Job; which appearing to be the same, they formed a plan and scheme in which they should attack him, and the part which each should take, and the order in which they should proceed: these words are said, either as seemingly doubting whether they should speak or be silent; for they may be rendered, "shall we try", or attempt, to drop or speak a "word to thee"; to enter into a conversation with thee? or, "shall we take up a discourse", and carry it on with thee, "who art grieved" already? or art weary and heavy laden, and bore down with the burden of affliction, with sorrows and troubles; or art impatient {h} under them; we fear, should we, that thou wilt be more grieved and burdened, and become more impatient; and therefore know not well what to do: or else, as supposing and taking it for granted that he would be grieved and burdened, and made more restless and uneasy, impatient and outrageous, yet they had determined to enter into a debate with him; for so the words are by some rendered, "should we speak a word unto thee"; or, "against thee" {i}; even should the least word be spoken against thee, thou wilt be weary {k}, or burdened, or grieved, or take it ill: we know thou wilt; yet, nevertheless, we must not, we cannot, we will not forbear speaking: or else interrogatively, as our version and others, "wilt thou be grieved?" we desire thou wouldest not, nor take it ill from us, but all in good part; we mean no hurt, we design no ill, but thy good, and beg thou wilt hear us patiently: this shows how great a man Job had been, and in what reverence and respect he was had, that his friends bespeak him after this manner in his low estate; however, this was artifice in them, to introduce the discourse, and bring on the debate after this sort:
but who can withhold himself from speaking? be it as it will; Eliphaz suggests, though Job was already and greatly burdened, and would be more so, and break out into greater impatience, yet there was a necessity of speaking, it could not be forborne; no man could refrain himself from speaking, nor ought in such a case, when the providence of God was reflected upon, and he was blasphemed and evil spoken of, and charged with injustice, as was supposed; in such circumstances, no good, no faithful man, could or ought to keep silence; indeed, when the glory of God, the honour of the Redeemer, and the good of souls require it, and a man's own reputation with respect to his faithfulness lies at stake, silence should not be kept, let the consequence be as it may; but how far this was the case may be considered.
{h} halt Kyla rbd honh "num suscipiemus verbum ad te, qui impatiens es?" Schmidt; "qui jam dum lassatus", Michaelis. {i} "Contra te", Piscator. {k} "Forsitan moleste accipies", V. L. "fatisces", Schultens.
Job 4:3
Ver. 3. Behold, thou hast instructed many,.... This is introduced with a "behold", either as a note of admiration, that such a man, who had instructed others, should act the part he now does; or as a note of attention to Job himself, and all others that should hear and read this, to observe it, and well consider it, and make the proper use of it; or as a note of asseveration, affirming it to be true and certain, notorious and unquestionable, as no doubt it was: Job was the instructor, a great man, and yet condescended to teach and instruct men in the best things, as did also Abraham, David, Solomon, and others; and a good man, and so fit to teach good things, as every good man is, and who, according to his ability, the gift and measure of grace received should instruct others; and a man of great gift he was, both in things natural, civil, and religious; one that could speak well, and to the purpose, and so was apt and able to teach; and such should not disuse and hide their talents: the persons he instructed were not only his own family, his children and servants, as Abraham before him did; but others who attended him, and waited for his counsel and advice, his words and doctrine, as for the rain, and latter rain, and which dropped and distilled as such, see Job 29:15; and these were "many"; his many ignorant neighbours about him, or many professors of religion, as there might be, and it seems there were in this idolatrous country; and many afflicted ones among these, which is usually the case: Job had many scholars in his school, of different sorts, that attended on him; and these he instructed in the knowledge of the true God, his nature, perfections, and works; and of the living Redeemer, his person, office, grace, and righteousness; and of themselves, the impurity of their nature through original sin, he was acquainted with; their impotency and inability to purge themselves, to atone for sin, and to justify and make themselves acceptable to God; as well as he instructed them in the worship of God, and the manner of it, their duty to him and to one another, and to all their fellow creatures: some render it, "thou hast corrected", or "reproved many" {l}; he had taught the afflicted to be patient under their afflictions, and had reproved them for their impatience; and the design of Eliphaz is to upbraid him with it, as in Ro 2:21; thou that didst correct others for their unbecoming behaviour under afflictions, art thyself guilty of the same: "turpe est doctori, cure culpa redarguit ipsum":
and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; either such as hung down through want of food, by giving it to them, both corporeal and spiritual, which strengthens men's hearts, and so their hands; or through sluggishness, by exhorting and stirring them up to be active and diligent; or through fear of enemies, especially spiritual ones, as sin, Satan, and the world; by reason of whose numbers and strength good men are apt to be dispirited, and ready to castaway their spiritual armour, particularly the shield of faith and confidence in God, as faint hearted soldiers in war, to which the allusion is: and these were strengthened by telling them that all their enemies were conquered, and they were more than conquerors over them; that the victory was certain, and their warfare accomplished, or would quickly be: or else, whose hands were weak through a sense of sin and danger, and being in expectation of the wrath, and vengeance of God; and who were strengthened by observing to them that there was a Saviour appointed and expected, a living Redeemer, who would stand upon the earth in the latter day, and save them from their sins, and from wrath to come; see
Isa 35:3; or rather, such whose hearts and hands were, weak through sore and heavy afflictions, whom Job strengthened by showing them that their afflictions were of God; not by chance, but by appointment, and according to the sovereign will of God; that they were for their good, either temporal, spiritual, or eternal; and that they would not continue always, but have an end; and therefore should be patiently bore, see 1Co 12:11.
{l} troy, "corripuisti", Mercerus, Michaelis; "castigasti", Codurcus, Drusius, Schmidt, Schultens.
Job 4:4
Ver. 4. Thy words have up, holden him that was falling,.... Or "stumbling" {m}; that was stumbling at the providence of God in suffering good men to be afflicted, and wicked men to prosper; which has been the stumbling block of God's people in all ages; see
Ps 73:2; or that was stumbling and falling off from the true religion by reason of the revilings and reproaches of men, and their persecutions for it; which is sometimes the case, not only of nominal professors, Mt 13:21; but of true believers, though they do not so stumble and fall as to perish: or else being under afflictions themselves, were ready to sink under them, their strength being small; now Job was helped to speak such words of comfort and advice to persons in any and every of these circumstances as to support them and preserve them from failing, and to enable them to keep their place and station among the people of God. The Targum interprets it of such as were falling into sin; the words of good men to stumbling and falling professors, whether into sin, or into affliction by it, are often very seasonable, and very useful, when attended with the power and Spirit of God:
and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees; that were tottering and trembling, and bending, and not able to bear up under the weight of sin, which lay as an heavy burden, too heavy to bear; or of afflictions very grievous and intolerable; to such persons Job had often spoken words that had been useful to alleviate their troubles, and support them under them. It may be observed, that the cases and circumstances of good men in early times were much the same as they are now; that there is no temptation or affliction that befalls the saints but what has been common; and that Job was a man of great gifts, grace, and experience, and had the tongue of the learned, to speak a word in season to every weary soul, in whatsoever condition they were: and all this, so very laudable in him, is not observed to his commendation, but to his reproach; to show that he was not a man of real virtue, that he contradicted himself, and did not act according to his profession and principles, and the doctrines he taught others, and was an hypocrite at heart; though no such conclusion follows, supposing he had not acted according to his principles and former conduct; for it is a difficult thing for any good man to act entirely according to them, or to behave the same in prosperity as in adversity, or to take that advice themselves in affliction, and follow it, they have given to others, and yet not be chargeable with hypocrisy. It would have been much better in Eliphaz and his friends to have made another use of Job's former conduct and behaviour, namely, to have imitated it, and endeavoured to have strengthened, and upheld him in his present distressed circumstances; instead of that, he insults him, as follows.
{m} lvwk "offendentem", Cocceius; "impingentem", Drusius, Schmidt, Schultens, Michaelis.
Job 4:5
Ver. 5. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest,.... The affliction and evil that he feared, Job 3:25; or rather the same trials and afflictions were come upon him as had been on those whom he had instructed and reproved, and whose hands and hearts he had strengthened and comforted; and yet now thou thyself "faintest", or "art weary" {z}, or art bore down and sinkest under the burden, and bearest it very impatiently {a}, quite contrary to the advice given to others; and therefore it was concluded he could not be a virtuous, honest, and upright man at heart, only in show and appearance. Bolducius renders the words, "God cometh unto thee", or "thy God cometh"; very wrongly, though the sense may be the same; God cometh and visits thee by laying his afflicting hand upon thee:
it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled; suggesting that it was but a touch, a slight one, a light affliction; thereby lessening Job's calamity and distress, or making little and light of it, and aggravating his impatience under it, that for such a trial as this he should be so excessively troubled, his passions should be so violently moved, and he be thrown into so much disorder and confusion, and be impatient beyond measure; no bounds being set to his grief, and the expressions of it; yea, even to be in the utmost consternation and amazement, as the word {b} signifies.
{z} Defatigaris, Cocceius. {a} alt aegre tulisti, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus; "impatienter fers", Schmidt, Michaelis, Piscator. {b} lhbt "consternaris", Mercerus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens.
Job 4:6
Ver. 6. [Is] not [this] thy fear,.... The fear of God, that which is of him, comes from him, is a grace of his implanted in the hearts of his people at conversion, and is increased and encouraged, and drawn forth into fresh exercise through the grace and goodness of God displayed; for a slavish fear, or a fear of punishment, of wrath and damnation, is not the true grace of fear, which maybe in unregenerate men, and even in the devils; but this lies in a reverential affection for God on account of his goodness, and in a carefulness not to offend him on that account; in an hatred of sin, and a departure from it; in an attendance on the worship of God, and is sometimes put for the whole of it; and is accompanied with faith in God, joy in the Holy Ghost, humility of soul, and holiness of heart and life: now Job professed to have this fear of God in his heart, and was thought to have it; this was his general character, Job 1:1; but, in his present case and circumstances, Eliphaz asks what was become of it, where it was now, and in what it appeared? and jeers him about it, as if he should say, does it lie in this, in fainting and sinking under afflictions, in being troubled and terrified, and thrown into a consternation by them, and in breaking out into such rash expressions of God and his providence? is it come to this at last, or rather to nothing at all? for he suggests either that Job never had the true grace of fear in him, contrary to the character given of him, and confirmed by God himself, Job 1:1; or that he had cast it off and it was gone from him, and left, Job 15:4; which can never be, where it once is, it being the great security against a final and total apostasy from God,
Jer 32:40; or that what he had was merely hypocritical, like that which is taught by the precept of men, was only in appearance, and not in reality, as his conduct now showed; for had he had the true fear of God before his eyes, and on his heart, he could never have cursed the day of his birth, nor arraigned the providence of God, and charged him with injustice, as he supposed he did; whereby his fear, his piety, his religion he had professed, appeared to be just nothing at all {c}: it follows,
thy confidence; that is, in God; for Job professed none in any other, in any creature or creature enjoyment, Job 31:24; this when right is a strong act of faith and trust in the Lord, a thorough persuasion and full assurance of interest in him as a covenant God, and in his love and favour, and in Christ as the living Redeemer, and of the truth of the work of grace upon the heart, and of the certainty of the performance of it; also a holy boldness in prayer to God, and a firm and assured belief of being heard and answered; as well as an open and courageous profession of him before men, without any fear of them; for all this Job had been famous, and now he is asked, where it all was? and what was become of it? how it appeared now? and intimates he never had any, or had cast it away, and that it was come to nothing; as was concluded from the rash expressions of his lips, and from the sinkings of his spirit under his present afflictions; but Job's trust and confidence in God and in Christ still continued; see Job 13:15;
thy hope; which also is a grace wrought in the heart, in regeneration; is of things unseen and future, yet to be enjoyed either here or hereafter; and that which is right has Christ for its object, ground, and foundation, and is of singular use to keep up the spirits of men under afflictive providences: and Eliphaz observing Job to be very impatient under them, inquires about his hope; and intimates that what he had professed to have was the hope of the hypocrite, and not real, and was now come to nothing; hope that is true, though it may become low, it cannot be lost; nor was Job's, especially with respect to spiritual and eternal things; see Job 14:7;
and the uprightness of thy ways? before God and men, walking uprightly in the ways of God, according to the revelation of his will made unto him, and acting the just and upright part in all his dealings with men; and for which he was celebrated, and is a part of the character before given of him, Job 1:1; but it is insinuated by Eliphaz that there was nothing in it; it was only in show, in appearance, it was not from the heart; or it would not be thus with him as it was, nor would he behave in the manner he now did: some read the words as in the margin, and in some copies of our Bible, "is not thy fear thy confidence? and the uprightness of thy ways thy hope?" and with some little variation Mr. Broughton; "is not thy religion thy hope, and thy right ways thy confidence?" that is, didst thou not hope and expect, and even wert thou not confident of it, that because of thy fear of God, and of the uprightness of thy ways before men, that thou shouldest not only be increased in thy worldly substance, but be preserved and protected in the enjoyment of it? and were not these the reasons which induced thee to be religious, and make such a show of it? suggesting, that he was only religions from mercenary views and selfish principles, and so tacitly charges him with what the devil himself did, Job 1:9; and this way go many Jewish and Christian interpreters {d}: some render the words much in the same way, but to a better sense, and more in favour of Job, and by way of instruction and comfort to him: "should not thy fear be thy confidence, and thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?" {e} shouldest thou not take encouragement from thy fear of God, and the uprightness of thine heart and ways, to expect deliverance and salvation, and not faint and sink as thou dost? or is not this the cause of all thine impatience, thy fear of God, trust and hope in him, and thine integrity? concluding thou shouldest have been dealt with after another manner for the sake of these things, and therefore art ready to think thou art hardly dealt with by God, having deserved better treatment; thus making Job to think highly of himself, and to entertain wrong notions of God; so Schmidt; but the first sense I have given of the words seems best.
{c} Ktary alh "adeone nihil pietas tua?" Schultens. {d} Montanus, Mercerus, Piscator, some in Vatablus; so Ben Gersom and Bar Tzemach. {e} So some in Michaelis.
Job 4:7
Ver. 7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?.... Here Eliphaz appeals to Job himself, and desires him to recollect if ever anyone instance had fallen under his observation, in the whole course of his life, or it had ever been told him by credible persons, that an "innocent" man, by whom he means not one entirely free from sin original or actual, for he knew there was no such persons in the world, since the fall of Adam, but a truly good and gracious man, who was not guilty of any notorious and capital crime, or did not live a vicious course of life; if he ever knew or heard of any such persons that "perished", which cannot be understood of eternal ruin and destruction, which would be at once granted, that such as these described can never perish in such a sense, but have everlasting life; nor of a corporeal death, which is sometimes the sense of perishing, since it is notorious that innocent and righteous persons so perish or die, see Ec 7:15
Isa 57:1; and could it be meant of a violent death, an answer might have been returned; and Eliphaz perhaps was not acquainted with it himself, that that innocent and righteous person Abel thus perished by the hands of his brother: but this is rather to be understood of perishing by afflictions, sore and heavy ones, not ordinary but extraordinary ones; and which are, or look like, the judgments of God on men, whereby they lose their all, their substance, their servants, their children, as well as their own health, which was Job's case; and therefore if no parallel instance of an innocent person ever being in the like case, it is insinuated that Job could not be an innocent man:
or where were the righteous cut off? such as are truly righteous in the sight of God, as well as before men, who have the gift of righteousness bestowed on them, and live soberly, righteously, and godly; in what age or country was it ever known that such persons, in their family and substance, were cut off by the hand and providence of God, and abandoned and forsaken by him, and reduced to such circumstances that there could be no hope of their ever being in prosperous ones again? and Job now being in such a forlorn and miserable case and condition, it is suggested, that he could not be a righteous man: but admitting that no such instance could be produced, Eliphaz was too hasty and premature in his conclusion; seeing, as it later appeared, Job was not so cut off, abandoned, and forsaken by God, as not to rise any more; for his latter end was greater than his beginning: and besides, innocent and righteous persons are often involved in the same calamities as wicked men are, and their afflictions are the same; only with this difference, to the one they are the proper punishment of sin, to the other they are fatherly chastisements and trials of their grace, and issue in their good; the Targum explains it of such persons, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, none such as they perishing, or being cut off.
Job 4:8
Ver. 8. Even as I have seen,.... Here he goes about to prove, by his own experience, the destruction of wicked men; and would intimate, that Job was such an one, because of the ruin he was fallen into:
they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same; figurative expressions, denoting that such who devise iniquity in their hearts, form and plan schemes of it in their minds, signified by "plowing iniquity", and who were studious and diligent to put into practice what they devised; who took a great deal of pains to commit sin, and were constant at it, expressed by "sowing wickedness": these sooner or later eat the fruit of their doings, are punished in proportion to their crimes, even in this life, as well as hereafter, see Ho 8:7 Ga 6:7; though a Jewish commentator {b} observes, that the thought of sin is designed by the first phrase; the endeavour to bring it into action by the second; and the finishing of the work, or the actual commission of the evil, by the third; the punishment thereof being what is expressed in Job 4:9; the Targum applies this to the generation of the flood.
{b} R. Simeon Bar Tzemach.
Job 4:9
Ver. 9. By the blast of God they perish,.... They and their works, the ploughers, sowers, and reapers of iniquity; the allusion is to the blasting of corn by the east wind, or by mildew, &c. having used the figures of ploughing and sowing before; and which is as soon and as easily done as corn, or anything else, is blasted in the above manner; and denotes the sudden and easy destruction of wicked men by the power of God, stirred up by his wrath and indignation, because of their sins; who when he blows a blast on their persons, substance, and families, they perish at once:
and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed; meaning his wrath and anger, which is like a stream of brimstone, and kindles a fire on the wicked, which are as fuel to it, and are soon consumed by it; the allusion is to breath in a man's nostrils, and the heat of his wrath and fury discovered thereby: some think this refers to Job's children being destroyed by the wind, see Isa 11:4.
Job 4:10
Ver. 10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets of God himself, who is compared to a lion; who not only by his voice terrifies, but in his wrath tears the wicked in pieces, and destroys them, and so is a continuation of the preceding account; and others, as R. Moses and R. Jonah, whom he mentions, take this to be a continuation of the means and methods by which God destroys wicked men sometimes, namely, by beasts of prey; this being one of his sore judgments he threatens men with, and inflicts upon men, see Le 26:22; and in this they are followed by some Christian interpreters, who render the words "at" or "by the roaring of the lion, and by the voice of the fierce lion, by the teeth of the young lions" {c}, they the wicked "are broken", ground to pieces, and utterly destroyed; but it is better, with Jarchi, Ben Gersom, and others, to understand it of kings and princes, of the mighty ones of the earth, tyrannical and oppressive rulers and governors; comparable to lions of different ages; because of their grandeur and greatness, their power and might, their cruelty and oppression in each of their different capacities; signifying, that these do not escape the righteous judgments of God: the Targum interprets the roaring of the lion of Esau, and the voice of the fierce lion of Edom; and another Jewish writer {d} of Nimrod, the first tyrant and oppressor, the mighty hunter before the Lord; but these are too particular; wicked men in power and authority in general are here, and in the following clauses, intended, see Jer 4:7 2Ti 4:17; and the sense is, that such ploughers and sowers of iniquity as are like to fierce and roaring lions are easily and quickly destroyed by the Lord:
and the teeth of the young lions are broken: the power of such mighty ones to do mischief is taken away from them, and they and their families are brought to ruin; the teeth of lions are very strong in both jaws; they have fourteen teeth, four incisors or cutters, four canine or dog teeth, six molars or grinders.
{c} "Rugitu leonis et voce ferocis leonis", &c. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so some in R. Someon Bar Tzemach. {d} R. Obadiah Sephorno.
Job 4:11
Ver. 11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,.... Or rather "the stout" and "strong lion" {e}, that is most able to take the prey, and most skilful at it, yet such shall perish for want of it; not so much for want of finding it, or of power to seize it, as of keeping it when got, it being taken away from him; signifying, that God oftentimes in his providence takes away from cruel oppressors what they have got by oppression, and so they are brought into starving and famishing circumstances. The Septuagint render the word by "myrmecoleon", or the "ant lion", which Isidore {f} thus describes;
"it is a little animal, very troublesome to ants, which hides itself in the dust, and kills the ants as they carry their corn; hence it is called both a lion and an ant, because to other animals is as an ant, and to the ants as a lion,''
and therefore cannot be the lion here spoken of; though Strabo {g} and Aelianus {h} speak of lions in Arabia and Babylon called ants, which seem to be a species of lions, and being in those countries, might be known to Eliphaz. Megasthenes {i} speaks of ants in India as big as foxes, of great swiftness, and get their living by hunting:
and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad; or "the whelps of the lioness" {k}, these are scattered from the lion and lioness, and from one another, to seek for food, but in vain; the Targum applies this to Ishmael, and his posterity; Jarchi, and others, to the builders of Babel, said to be scattered, Ge 11:8; rather reference may be had to the giants, the men of the old world, who filled the earth with violence, which was the cause of the flood being brought upon the world of the ungodly. Some think that Eliphaz has a regard to Job in all this, and that by the "fierce lion" he designs and describes Job as an oppressor and tyrant, and by the "lioness" his wife, and by the "young lions" and "lion's whelps" his children; and indeed, though he may not directly design him, yet he may obliquely point at him, and suggest that he was like to the men he had in view, and compares to these creatures, and therefore his calamities righteously came upon him.
{e} vyl "leo major", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt; "leo strenuns et fortis", Michaelis; "robustior leo", Schultens. {f} Origin. l. 12. c. 3. {g} Geograph. l. 16. p. 533. {h} De Animal. l. 7. c. 47. & l. 17. c. 42. {i} Apud Strabo, l. 15. p. 485. {k} aybl ynb "filii leaenae", Bochart, Schultens.
Job 4:12
Ver. 12. Now a thing was secretly brought to me,.... From reason and experience, Eliphaz proceeds to a vision and revelation he had from God, showing the purity and holiness of God, and the frailty, weakness, folly, and sinfulness of men, by which it appears that men cannot be just in the sight of God, and therefore it must be wrong in Job to insist upon his innocence and integrity. Some indeed have thought that this was a mere fiction of Eliphaz, and not a real vision; yea, some have gone so far as to pronounce it a diabolical one, but without any just foundation; for there is nothing in the manner or matter of it but what is agreeable to a divine vision or to a revelation from God; besides, though Eliphaz was a mistaken man in the case of Job, yet was a good man, as may be concluded from the acceptance of a sacrifice for him by the Lord, which was offered for him by Job, according to the order of God, and therefore could never be guilty of such an imposture; nor does Job ever charge him with any falsehood in this matter, who doubtless would have been able to have traversed and exposed him; add to all this, that in his discourse annexed to and continued along with this account, stands a passage, which the apostle has quoted as of divine inspiration, 1Co 3:19; from Job 5:13. When Eliphaz had this vision, whether within the seven days of his visit to Job, or before, some time ago, which he might call to mind on this occasion, and judging it appropiate to the present case, thought fit to relate it, is not certain, nor very material to know: it is introduced after this manner, "a thing" or "word", a word of prophecy, a word from the Lord, a revelation of his mind and will, which was hidden and secret, and what before he was not so well acquainted with; this was "brought" unto him by the Spirit of God, or by a messenger from the Lord, sent on this occasion, and for this purpose; and the manner in which it was brought was "secretly" or "by stealth", as Mr. Broughton and others {l} render it; it was "stolen" unto him, or "secretly" brought, as the Targum, and we, and others {m}; it was in a private way or manner; or "suddenly", as some others {n}, at unawares, when it was not expected by him: it may have respect to the still and silent manner in which it was revealed to him, "there was silence, and he heard a voice"; a still one, a secret whisper; or to the almost invisible person that revealed it, whose image he saw, but could not discern his form and likeness; or it may be to the distinguishing favour he enjoyed, in having this revelation particularly made to him, and not to others; he heard this word, as it were, behind the curtain, or vail, as the Jews {o} say, explaining this passage:
mine ear received a little of it; this revelation was made, not by an impulse upon his spirits, but vocally, a voice was heard, as after declared, and Eliphaz was attentive to it; he listened to what was said, and heard, and took it in with much delight and pleasure, though but a small part of it, as his capacity was able to retain it; or it was but a small part of the will of God, an hint of his only, as some interpret it {p}. Schultens has shown, from the use of a word near this in the Arabic language, that it signifies "a string of pearls"; and so may design a set of evangelic truths, comparable to gold, silver, and precious stones, and which are indeed more desirable than them, and preferable to them; what they are will be observed hereafter.
{l} bngy "furtive", V. L. Montanus, Cocceius, Drusius; "furtivum verbum venit", Schultens. {m} "Clanculum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "clam", Beza. {n} "Subito", Schmidt, Michaelis. {o} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 89. 2. {p} In David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 217. 3.
Job 4:13
Ver. 13. In thoughts from the visions of the night,.... While Eliphaz was thinking of and meditating upon divine things, or while he was revolving in his mind some night visions he had, before this was made unto him, see Da 2:29; in meditation the Lord is often pleased to make known more of his mind and will to his people; and this is one way in which he was wont to do it in former times, in a vision either in the day, as sometimes, or in the night, as at others, and as here, see
Nu 12:6;
when deep sleep falleth on men; on sorrowful men, as Mr. Broughton renders it; such who have been laborious all the day, and getting their bread with sorrow and trouble, and are weary; who as soon as they lie down fall asleep, and sleep falls on them, and to such it is sweet, as the wise man says, Ec 5:12; now it was at such a time when men ordinarily and commonly are asleep that this vision was had.
Job 4:14
Ver. 14. Fear came upon me, and trembling,.... Not only a dread of mind, but trembling of body; which was often the case even with good men, whenever there was any unusual appearance of God unto them by a voice, or by any representation, or by an angel; as with Abraham in the vision of the pieces, and with Moses on Mount Sinai, and with Daniel in some of his visions, and with Zechariah, when an angel appeared and brought him the tidings of a son to be born to him; which arises from the frailty and weakness of human nature, a consciousness of guilt, a sense of the awful majesty of God, and an uneasy apprehension of what may be the consequences of it:
which made all my bones to shake; not only there was inward fear and outward tremor of body, but to such a degree, that not one joint in him was still; all the members of his body shook, and every bone was as if it was loosed, which are the more firm and solid parts, as is common many considerable tremor.
Job 4:15
Ver. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face,.... Which some interpret of a wind {q}, a blustering wind, that blew strong in his face; and so the Targum renders it, a stormy wind, such an one as Elijah perceived when the Lord spoke to him, though he was not in that, 1Ki 19:11; or such a whirlwind, out of which the Lord spake to Job, Job 38:1; or rather, as Jarchi, an angel, an immaterial spirit, one of Jehovah's ministering spirits, clothed in an human form, and which passed and repassed before Eliphaz, that he might take notice of it:
the hair of my flesh stood up; erect, through surprise and dread; which is sometimes the case, when anything astonishing and terrible is beheld; the blood at such times making its way to the heart, for the preservation of that, leaves the external members of the body cold, and the skin of the flesh, in which the hair is, being contracted by the impetuous influx of the nervous fluid, causes the hair to stand upright, particularly the hair of the head, like the prickles or hedgehogs {r}; which has been usual at the sight of an apparition {s}.
{q} xwr "ventus", Vatablus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Broughton. {r} "Obstupui, steteruntque comae----". Virgil. Aeneid. l. 2. ver. 774. & l. 3. ver. 48. "arrectaeque horrore comae". Aeneid. 4. ver. 286. & l. 12. ver. 888. {s} Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. p. 665.
Job 4:16
Ver. 16. It stood still,.... That is, the spirit, or the angel in a visible form; it was before going to and fro, but now it stood still right against Eliphaz, as if it had something to say to him, and so preparing him to attend to it; which he might do the better, it standing before him while speaking to him, that he might have the opportunity of taking more notice of it:
but, notwithstanding this advantageous position of it,
I could not discern the form thereof; what it was, whether human or any other:
an image [was] before mine eyes; he saw something, some appearance and likeness, but could not tell what it was; perhaps the fear and surprise he was in hindered him from taking in any distinct idea of it, or that particular notice of it, so as to be able to form in his own mind any suitable notion of it, or to describe it to others:
[there was] silence both in the spirit or image, which, standing still, made no rushing noise, and in Eliphaz himself, who kept in his breath, and listened with all the attention he could to it; or a small low voice, as Ben Melech interprets it: so it follows,
and I heard a voice; a distinct articulate voice or sound of words, very audibly delivered by the spirit or image that stood before him:
[saying]; as follows.
Job 4:17
Ver. 17. Shall mortal man be more just than God?.... Poor, weak, frail, dying man, and so sinful, as his mortality shows, which is the effect of sin; how should such a man be more righteous than God? who is so originally and essentially of himself, completely, perfectly, yea, infinitely righteous in his nature, and in his works, both of providence and grace; in chastising his people, punishing the wicked, and bestowing favours upon his friends, even in their election, redemption, justification, pardon, and eternal happiness: yea, not only profane wicked sinners can make no pretensions to anything of this kind, but even the best of men, none being without sin, no, not man in his best estate; for the righteousness he had then was of God, and therefore he could not be more just than he that made him upright. This comparative sense, which our version leads to, is more generally received; but it seems not to be the sense of the passage, since this is a truth clear from reason, and needed no vision or revelation to discover it; nor can it be thought that God would send an angelic spirit in such an awful and pompous manner, to declare that which every one knew, and no man would contradict; even the most self-righteous and self-sufficient man would never be so daring and insolent as to say he was more righteous than God; but the words should be rather rendered, "shall mortal man be justified by God, or be just from God?" or "with" him, or "before" him {t}, in his sight, by any righteousness in him, or done by him? shall he enter into his presence, stand at his bar, and be examined there, and go away from thence, in the sight and account of God, as a righteous person of himself? no, he cannot; now this is a doctrine opposed to carnal reasoning and the common sentiments of men, a doctrine of divine revelation, a precious truth: this is the string of pearls Eliphaz received, see Job 4:12; that mortal man is of himself an unrighteous creature; that he cannot be justified by his own righteousness in the sight of God; and that he must look and seek out for a better righteousness than his own, to justify him before God; and this agrees with Eliphaz's interpretation of the vision, Job 15:14; with the sentiments of his friend Bildad, who seems to have some respect to it, Job 25:4; and also of Job himself, Job 9:2; and in like manner are we to understand the following clause:
shall a man be more pure than his Maker? even the greatest and best of men, since what purity was in Adam, in a state of innocence, was from God; and what good men have, in a state of grace, is from the grace of God and blood of Christ, without which no man is pure at all, and therefore cannot be purer than him from whom they have it: or rather "be pure from", or "with", or "before his Maker" {u}, or be so accounted by him; every man is impure by his first birth, and in his nature state, and therefore cannot stand before a pure and holy God, who of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; or go away his presence, and be reckoned by him a pure and holy creature of himself; nor can any thing that he can do, in a moral or ceremonial manner, cleanse him from his impurity; and therefore it is necessary he should apply to the grace of God, and blood of Christ, for his purification.
{t} qduy hwlam vwnah "an mortalis a Deo justificabitur?" Codurcus' Bolducius, Deodatus, Gussetius, Ebr. Comment. p. 709. "Num mortalis a numine justus erit?" Schultens; so Mr. Broughton, "can the sorrowful man be holden just before the Puissant?" {u} rbg rhjy whvem "an quisquam vir a factore suo mundus habebitur?" Codurcus; "an a conditore suo purus erit vir?" Schultens; so Mr. Broughton, "can the human being be clear before him that was his Maker?"
Job 4:18
Ver. 18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants,.... Some think the divine oracle or revelation ends in Job 4:17, and that here Eliphaz makes some use and improvement of it, and addresses Job, and argues with him upon it, with a view to his case and circumstances; but rather the account of what the oracle said, or was delivered by revelation, is continued to the end of the chapter, there being nothing unworthy of God, either in the matter or manner of it: and here Eliphaz himself is addressed, and this address ushered in with a "behold", as a note of admiration, asseveration, and attention; it being somewhat wonderful and of importance, sure and certain, and which deserved to be listened to, that God, the Maker of men and angels, did not, and does not, "put" any "trust" or confidence "in his servants"; meaning not the prophets in particular, as the Targum, though they are in an eminent sense the servants of God; nor righteous men in general, as Jarchi and others, who though heretofore servants of sin, yet through grace become servants of righteousness, and of God; but as men who dwelt in houses of clay are opposed to them, and distinguished from them, in Job 4:19, they must be understood of angels, as the following clause explains it; who always stand before God, ministering unto him, ready to do his will, and to do it in the most perfect manner creatures are capable of; they go forth at his command into each of the parts of the world, and execute his orders; they worship him, and celebrate his perfections, ascribing honour and glory, wisdom, power, and blessing to him; and this they do cheerfully, constantly, and incessantly. Now though God has intrusted these servants of his with many messages of importance, both under the Old and New Testament dispensation, yet he has not trusted them with the salvation of men, to which they are not equal, but has put it into the hands of his Son; nor indeed did he trust them with the secret of it, so as to make them his counsellors about it; no, Christ only was the wonderful Counsellor in this affair; the counsel of peace, or that respecting the peace and reconciliation of men, was only between him and his Father; God was only in and with Christ, and not angels reconciling men, or drawing the plan of their reconciliation; and when this secret, being concluded on and settled, was revealed to angels, it is thought by some to be the reason of so many of them apostatizing from God; they choosing rather to have nothing to do with him, than to be under the Son of God in human nature: but, besides this, there are many other things God has not trusted the angels with, as his purposes and decrees within himself, and the knowledge of the times and seasons of the accomplishment of them, particularly the day and hour of judgment; though the sense here rather seems to be this, that God does not and did not trust them with themselves; he knew their natural weakness, frailty, mutability, how liable they were to sin and fall from him, and therefore he chose them in Christ, put them into his hands, and made him head over them, and so confirmed and established them in him; and, as it may be rendered, "did not put stability or firmness" {w} in them, so as to stand of themselves; or "perfection" in them, as some render it {x}, which cannot be in a creature as it is in God:
and his angels he charged with folly; that is, comparatively, with respect to himself, in comparison of whom all creatures are foolish, be they ever so wise; for he is all wise, and only wise; angels are very knowing and intelligent in things natural and evangelical, but their knowledge is but imperfect, particularly in the latter; as appears by their being desirous of looking into those things which respect the salvation of men, and by learning of the church the manifold wisdom of God, 1Pe 1:2; or by "folly" is meant vanity, weakness, and imperfection {y}, a liableness to fall, which God observed in them; and which are in every creature in its best estate, and were in Adam in his state of innocence, and so in the angels that fell not, especially previous to their confirmation by Christ, see Ps 39:5; and so the sense is the same with the preceding clause: some render it by repeating the negative from that, "and he putteth not glorying" or "boasting in his angels" {z}; he makes no account of their duties and services, so as to glory in them; it is an humbling himself to regard them; or he puts nothing in them that they can boast of, since they have nothing of themselves, all from him, and therefore cannot glory as though they had received it not. Others observe, that the word has the signification of light, and differently render the passage; some, "though he putteth light in his angels" {a}, makes them angels of light, comparable to morning stars, yet he puts no trust in them; and what they have is from him, and therefore not to be compared with him, nor can they glory in themselves; or, "he putteth not light", or "not clear light into [them]" {b}; that which is perfect, and fire from all manner of darkness; such only is in himself the Father of lights, with whom it dwells in perfection, and there is no shadow of turning in him: some would have this understood of the evil angels, whom God charged with folly; but this is too low a term, a phrase not strong enough to express their sin and wickedness, who are not chargeable only with imprudence, but with rebellion and treason against God; nor does this sense agree with parallel places, Job 15:14; and besides, the beauty of the comparison of them with men would be lost, and the strength of the argument with respect to them would be sadly weakened, which we have in Job 4:19.
{w} Nymay al "non posuit stabilitatem", Mercerus, Vatablus; "firmitatem", Junius & Tremellius. {x} So Mr. Broughton. {y} hlht "vanitatem", Codurcus; "omissionem, lapsationemve", Schultens. {z} "Gloriationem", Montanus. {a} Sic Beza & Belg. nov. vers. {b} "Lumen", Pagninus, Mercerus; "lucem", Junius & Tremellius; so R. Levi Ben Gersom, Sephorno, and others; "lucem exactissimam", Vatablus; "clear light", Broughton.
Job 4:19
Ver. 19. How much less [on] them that dwell in houses of clay,.... Meaning men, but not as dwelling in houses, in a proper sense, made of clay dried by the sun, as were common in the eastern countries; nor in mean cottages, as distinguished from cedar, and ceiled houses, in which great personages dwelt, for this respects men in common; nor as being in the houses of the grave, as the Targum, Jarchi, and others, which are no other than dust, dirt, and clay; for this regards not the dead, but the living; but the bodies of men are meant; in which their souls dwell; which shows the superior excellency of the soul to the body, and its independency of it, being capable of existing without it, as it does in the separate state before the resurrection; so bodies are called tabernacles, and earthen vessels, and earthly houses, 2Pe 1:13 2Co 4:7; and bodies of clay, Job 13:12; so the body is by Epictetus {c} called clay elegantly wrought; and another Heathen writer {d} calls it clay steeped in, or macerated and mixed with blood: being of clay denotes the original of bodies, the dust of the earth; and the frailty of them, like brittle clay, and the pollution of them, all the members thereof being defiled with sin, and so called vile bodies, and will remain such till changed by Christ, Php 3:21; now the argument stands thus, if God put no trust in angels, then much less in poor, frail, mortal, sinful men; he has no dependence on their services, whose weakness, unprofitableness, and unfaithfulness, he well knows; he puts no trust in their purposes, and resolutions, and vows, which often come to nothing; nor does he trust his own people with their salvation and justification, or put these things upon the foot of their works, but trusts them and the salvation and justification of them with his Son, and puts them upon the foot of his own grace and mercy: and if he charges the holy angels with folly, then much more (for so it may be also rendered) will he charge mortal sinful men with it, who are born like the wild ass's colt, and are foolish as well as disobedient, even his chosen ones, especially before conversion; or thus if so stands the case of angels, then much less can man be just before him, and pure in his sight: the weakness, frailty, and pollution of the bodies of men, are further enlarged on in some following clauses:
whose foundation [is] in the dust; meaning not the lower parts of the body, as the feet, which support and bear it up; rather the soul, which is the basis of it, referring to its corruption and depravity by sin; though it seems chiefly to respect the original of the body, which is the dust of the earth, of which it consists, and to which it will return again, this being but a poor foundation to stand upon, Ge 2:7; for the sense is, whose foundation is dust, mere dust, the particle b being redundant, or rather an Arabism:
[which] are crushed before the moth? that is, which bodies of men, or houses of clay founded in the dust; or, "they crush them"; or "which" or "whom [they] crush" {e}; either God, Father, Son, and Spirit, as some; or the angels, as others; or distresses, calamities, and afflictions, which sense seems best, by which they are crushed "before the moth" or "worm" {f}; that is, before they die, and come to be the repast of worms, Job 19:26; or before a moth is destroyed, as soon, or sooner {g}, than it is; so a man may be crushed to death, or his life taken from him, as soon as a moth's; either by the immediate hand of God, as Ananias and Sapphira, Ac 5:5; or by the sword of man, as Amasa by Joab, 2Sa 20:10; or rather, "like a moth" {h}, as easily and as quickly as a moth is crushed between a man's fingers, or by his foot: some, as Saadiah Gaon, and others, render it, "before Arcturus" {i}, a constellation in the heavens, Job 9:9; and take the phrase to be the same as that, "before the sun"; Ps 72:17; and to denote the perpetuity and duration of their being crushed, which would be as long as the sun or Arcturus continued, that is, for ever; but either of the above senses is best, especially the last of them.
{c} Arrian. Epictet. l. 1. c. 1. {d} Theodor. Gadareus, apud Sueton. Vit. . c. 57. {e} Mwakdy "conterent eos", Montanus, Mercerus, Michaelis, Schultens; "sub trinitas personarum", Schmidt; "angeli", Mercerus; so Sephorno and R. Simeon Bar Tzemach; "calamitates", Vatablus; so some in Bar Tzemach. {f} ve ynpl "conam verme", Coceius; so the Targum and Bar Tzemach. {g} "Antequam tinea", Junius & Tremellius; "citius quam tinea", Piscator. {h} shtov tropon, Sept. "instar tineae", Noldius, Schmidt; so Aben Ezra and Broughton. {i} "Donec fuerit Arcturus", Pagninus, Vatablus; so some in Aben Ezra, Ben Melech.
Job 4:20
Ver. 20. They are destroyed from morning to evening,.... That is, those that dwell in houses of clay, before described; the meaning is, that they are always exposed to death, and liable to it every day they live; not only such who are persecuted for the sake of religion, but all men in common, for of such are both the text and context; who have always the seeds of mortality and death in them, that is continually working in them; and every day, even from morning to evening, are innumerable instances of the power of death over men; and not only some there are, whose sun rises in the morning and sets at evening, who are like grass in the morning, gay, and green, and by evening cut down and withered, live but a day, and some not that, but even it is true of all men, comparatively speaking, they begin to die the day they begin to live; so that the wise man takes no notice of any intermediate time between a time to be born and a time to die, Ec 3:2; so frail and short is the life of man; his days are but as an hand's breadth,
Ps 39:5;
they perish for ever: which is not to be understood of the second or eternal death which some die; for this is not the case of all; those that believe in Christ shall not perish for ever, but have everlasting life; but this respects not only the long continuance of men under the power of death until the resurrection, which is not contradicted by thus expression; but it signifies that the dead never return to this mortal life again, at least the instances are very rare; their families, friends, and houses, that knew them, know them no more; they return no more to their worldly business or enjoyments, see Job 7:9;
without any regarding [it]; their death; neither they themselves nor others, expecting it so soon, and using no means to prevent it, and which, if made use of, would not have availed, their appointed time being come; or "without putting" {k}, either without putting light into them, as Sephorno, which can only be true of some; or with out putting the hand, either their own or another's, to destroy them, being done by the hand of God, by a distemper of his sending, or by one providence or another; or without putting the heart to it, which comes to the sense of our version; though death is so frequent every day, yet it is not taken notice of; men do not lay it to heart, so as to consider of their latter end, and repent of their sins, and reform from them, that they may not be their ruin; and this is and would be the case of all men, were it not for the grace of God.
{k} Myvm ylbm "propter non ponentem", Montanus; "sub. manum", Codurcus; "cor", R. Levi, Jarchi, Mercerus, Piscator, Michaelis.
Job 4:21
Ver. 21. Doth not their excellency [which is] in them go away?.... Either the soul which is in them, and is the most excellent part of them; this, though it dies not, yet it goes away and departs from the body at death; and so do all the powers and faculties of it, the thoughts, the affections, the mind, and memory, yea, all the endowments of the mind, wisdom, learning, knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences, all fail at death, 1Co 13:8; and so likewise all that is excellent in the body, the strength and beauty of it depart, its strength is weakened in the way, and its comeliness turned into corruption: or, as it may be rendered, "which is with them" {l}; and so may likewise denote all outward enjoyments, as wealth and riches, glory and honour, which a man cannot carry with him, do not descend into the grave with him, but then go away: a learned man {m} renders the words, "is not their excellency removed [which was] in them?" and thinks it refers to the corruption of nature, the loss of original righteousness, and of the image of God in man, which formerly was his excellency in his state of innocence, but now, through sin and the fall, is removed from him; and this, indeed, is the cause, the source and spring, of his frailty, mortality, and death; hence it follows:
they die even without wisdom; that dies with them, or whatsoever of that they have goes away from them at death; wise men die as well as fools, yea, they die as fools do, and multitudes without true wisdom, not being wise enough to consider their latter end; they die without the wisdom which some are made to know, in the hidden part, without the fear of God, which is real wisdom, or without the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, which is the beginning, earnest, and pledge of life eternal. Now then since man is such a frail, mortal, foolish, and sinful creature, how can he be just before God, or pure in the sight of his Maker? which, is the thing designed to be proved and illustrated by all this; and here ends the divine oracle, or the revelation made to Eliphaz, when he had the vision before related.
{l} Mb "cum ipsis", Piscator; so some in Mercerus and Drusius, and Mr. Broughton. {m} Schmidt; "quae fuerat", Beza.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Satan undertook to prove Job a hypocrite by afflicting
him; and his friends concluded him to be one because he was so
afflicted, and showed impatience. This we must keep in mind if we
would understand what passed. Eliphaz speaks of Job, and his
afflicted condition, with tenderness; but charges him with weakness
and faint-heartedness. Men make few allowances for those who
have taught others. Even pious friends will count that only a touch
which we feel as a wound. Learn from hence to draw off the mind of
a sufferer from brooding over the affliction, to look at the God of
mercies in the affliction. And how can this be done so well as by
looking to Christ Jesus, in whose unequalled sorrows every child of
God soonest learns to forget his own?/
Satan undertook to prove Job a hypocrite by afflicting
him; and his friends concluded him to be one because he was so
afflicted, and showed impatience. This we must keep in mind if we
would understand what passed.
Learn from hence to draw off the mind of
a sufferer from brooding over the affliction, to look at the God of
mercies in the affliction. And how can this be done so well as by
looking to Christ Jesus, in whose unequalled sorrows every child of
God soonest learns to forget his own?/
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary