Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 19:7
Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but [there is] no judgment.
7. This drew from him in his helplessness cries of wrong, which were unheeded.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 12. God’s hostility to him and destructive persecution of him.
In Job 19:6 the transition is already made to the account of God’s hostility. The picture is sufficiently graphic. First there was the general feeling of being entangled, as a creature snared.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, I cry out of wrong – Margin, or violence. The Hebrew word ( chamas) means properly violence. The violence referred to is that which was brought upon him by God. It is, indeed, harsh language; but it is not quite sure that he means to complain of God for doing him injustice. God had dealt with him in a severe or violent manner, is the meaning, and he had cried unto him for relief, but had cried in vain.
No judgment – No justice. The meaning is, that he could obtain justice from no one God would not interpose to remove the calamities which he had brought upon him, and his friends would do no justice to his motives and character.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. I cry out of wrong] I complain of violence and of injustice; but no one comes to my help.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I cry out, to wit, unto God by prayer or appeal.
Of wrong; that I am oppressed, either,
1. By my friends; or rather,
2. By God, who deals with me according to his sovereign power and exact and rigorous justice, and not with that equity and benignity which he showeth to the generality of men, and hath promised to good men, such as he knoweth me to be.
There is no judgment: God will not hear my cause, nor pass sentence; which I might reasonably expect from him; but he quite neglects me, and hath utterly forsaken me, and left me in the hands of the devil and wicked men. See the like complaints of other good men in the like case of desertion, Psa 13:2; 22:2; 88:15; Lam 3:8; Hab 1:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. wrongviolence: brought onhim by God.
no judgmentGod willnot remove my calamities, and so vindicate my just cause; and myfriends will not do justice to my past character.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, I cry out of wrong,…. Or of “violence” m, or injury done him by the Sabeans and Chaldeans upon his substance, and by Satan upon his health; this he cried out and complained of in prayer to God, and of it as it were in open court, as a violation of justice, and as being dealt very unjustly with:
but I am not heard; his prayer was not heard; he could get no relief, nor any redress of his grievances, nor any knowledge of the reasons of his being thus used; see Hab 1:2;
I cry aloud, but [there is] no judgment; notwithstanding his vehement and importunate requests; and which were repeated time after time, that there might be a hearing of his cause; that it might be searched into and tried, that his innocence might be cleared, and justice done him, and vengeance taken on those that wronged him; but he could not obtain it; there was no time appointed for judgment, no court of judicature set, nor any to judge. Now seeing this was the case, that the hand of God was in all his afflictions; that he had complained to him of the injury done him; and that he had most earnestly desired his cause might be heard, and the reasons given why he was thus used, but could get no answer to all this; therefore it became them to be cautious and careful of what they said concerning the dealings of God with him, and to what account they placed them; of which he gives a particular enumeration in the following verses.
m “violentiam”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. “injuriam”, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 Behold I cry violence, and I am not heard;
I cry for help, and there is no justice.
8 My way He hath fenced round, that I cannot pass over,
And He hath set darkness on my paths.
9 He hath stripped me of mine honour,
And taken away the crown from my head.
10 He destroyed me on every side, then I perished,
And lifted out as a tree my hope.
11 He kindled His wrath against me,
And He regarded me as one of His foes.
He cries aloud (that which is called out regarded as accusa. or as an interjection, vid., on Hab 1:2), i.e., that illegal force is exercised over him. He finds, however, neither with God nor among men any response of sympathy and help; he cries for help (which , perhaps connected with , Arab. st , from , Arab. ws , seems to signify), without justice, i.e., the right of an impartial hearing and verdict, being attainable by him. He is like a prisoner who is confined to a narrow space (comp. Job 3:23; Job 13:27) and has no way out, since darkness is laid upon him wherever he may go. One is here reminded of Lam 3:7-9; and, in fact, this speech generally stands in no accidental mutual relation to the lamentations of Jeremiah. The “crown of my head” has also its parallel in Lam 5:16; that which was Job’s greatest ornament and most costly jewel is meant. According to Job 29:14, and were his robe and diadem. These robes of honour God has stripped from him, this adornment more precious than a regal diadem He has taken from him since, i.e., his affliction puts him down as a transgressor, and abandons him to the insult of those around him. God destroyed him roundabout ( destruxit ), as a house that is broken down on all sides, and lifted out as a tree his hope. does not in itself signify to root out, but only to lift out (Job 4:21, of the tent-cord, and with it the tent-pin) of a plant: to remove it from the ground in which it has grown, either to plant it elsewhere, as Psa 80:9, or as here, to put it aside. The ground was taken away from his hope, so that its greenness faded away like that of a tree that is rooted up. The fut. consec. is here to be translated: then I perished (different from Job 14:20: and consequently he perishes); he is now already one who is passed away, his existence is only the shadow of life. God has caused, fut. Hiph. apoc. , His wrath to kindle against him, and regarded him in relation to Himself as His opponents, therefore as one of them. Perhaps, however, the expression is intentionally intensified here, in contrast with Job 13:24: he, the one, is accounted by God as the host of His foes; He treats him as if all hostility to God were concentrated in him.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(7) Behold I cry out of wrong.The description he now gives of himself as persecuted and forsaken by God is necessary to enhance the value of the confession he is about to make. Severely has God dealt with him, but that severity of dealing has only drawn him nearer to God and made him trust the more. He groups together a rich variety of figures to express his desolate condition. He is suffering assault, and can get no protection or redress; he is imprisoned on every side, his hope is torn up like the tree of which he had before spoken (Job. 14:7).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Of wrong Behold, I cry aloud, “Violence!” and am not answered.
Hab 1:2
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 19:7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but [there is] no judgment.
Ver. 7. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard ] Nothing is more natural and usual than for men in misery to cry out for help. Job’s great grief was, that neither God nor man would regard his moans or deliver him out of the net. God did not rescue him, men did not right him or relieve him. His outcry seemeth to be the same in effect with that of Habakkuk the prophet, Hab 1:2-3 , “O Lord, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save? Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are those who raise up strife and contention.” “Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously,” &c., Job 19:13 . Thus Job, but without an answer; as the lion letteth his whelps roar themselves hoarse for hunger, yea, till they are almost dead, before he supplieth them. Sure it is, that God always heareth his Jobs, though he doth not always answer in our time, and in our way. Yea, it is a hearing and an answer of prayer (saith one) that we can pray, though unheard and unanswered.
I cry aloud
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6. See translation below.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 19:7-12
Job 19:7-12
JOB’S ACCOUNT OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE TO HIM
“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard:
I cry for help, but there is no justice.
He hath walled up my way that I cannot pass,
And hath set darkness in my paths.
He hath stripped me of my glory,
And taken the crown from my head.
He hath broken me down on every side, and I am gone;
And my hope hath he plucked up like a tree.
He hath also kindled his wrath against me,
And he accounteth me unto him as one of his adversaries.
His troops come on together,
And cast up their way against me,
And encamp round about my tent.”
Many do not understand the tenor of these words. They do not mean that Job considers God unjust, unmerciful, or unfair in any way. His attitude here is exactly that of the grieving and bereaved parent whose only son was run over and killed by a drunken driver; and, at the funeral, he cried, “The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He did not mean that God had unjustly killed his son; but that the disaster had come under the umbrella of God’s permissive will. It is the ancient view that nothing can occur, or happen, except that which God’s permissive will allows. This is profoundly true; and Job was exactly right in ascribing the disasters that came upon him as being indeed what God (in that permissive sense) had willed, or allowed. Satan was the perpetrator of all that injustice to Job, but he could not have lifted a finger against him without God’s permission.
To the prior question of whether or not it is morally right for God to allow such evil, the answer is clear enough. When God allowed mankind the freedom of the will, and the inalienable right to choose good or evil, that Divinely conferred endowment made it absolutely certain that wickedness would prevail upon the earth. It could not possibly have been otherwise.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 19:7. Wrong is rendered by “violence” in the, margin and refers to Job’s afflictions. He complained that his hearers did not pay any attention to his cries of pain and anguish. Instead, they added to it by their false accusations.
Job 19:8-10. He refers to God whom Job understood to be the one who allowed the misfortunes to come on him. He has never disputed the claim of the “friends” that God had brought on the condition. The disagreement has been as to why it was brought. The friends have maintained that it was for some specific punishment for Job’s sin, while he has denied that in view of the fact that all classes of men are afflicted.
Job 19:11. This verse is more along the same line of thought expressed above.
Job 19:12. The great number of Job’s afflictions is compared to a division of soldiers making an attack upon a helpless position.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I cry: Job 10:3, Job 10:15-17, Job 16:17-19, Job 21:27, Psa 22:2, Jer 20:8, Lam 3:8, Hab 1:2, Hab 1:3
wrong: or, violence
no judgment: Job 9:32, Job 13:15-23, Job 16:21, Job 23:3-7, Job 31:35, Job 31:36, Job 34:5, Job 40:8
Reciprocal: Job 8:3 – God Job 30:20 – I cry Job 35:2 – My Job 35:14 – yet Psa 55:17 – cry
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Calvary Foregleams in Job
Job 19:7-21
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
1. The story of Calvary is the story of the whole Bible. The Cross is not a message relegated to the Four Gospels and brought out therein merely because history forced its unfolding. The Cross was known to God and to Christ from before the foundation of the world. It was toward the Cross that Jesus Christ steadfastly moved during the whole course of man’s history.
Since Calvary and its redemptive work was the only basis by which sinners of old could be saved, we expect to find the story of the Cross, in testimony and in type, all through the Old Testament Scriptures.
No one will doubt that the Cross is seen in Genesis. Even before man sinned, God opened Adam’s side, and took out a rib. “And, the rib He made a woman.” In this Divine act there was the foregleam of Christ’s open side, and of the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife.
The Cross is seen in Genesis in the particular “sorrow” that befell the woman. Christ was the “Man of Sorrows.” The sweat that marked Adam’s brow anticipated the sweat, as of blood, that fell from the brow of Christ. The thorns and the thistles which became a part of the curse anticipated the thorns that pressed the Saviour’s brow. The skins of the slain beasts that clothed the Edenic pair, looked forward to the Blood-bought robes which clothes the saints. Thus, we might go on through Genesis and Exodus and the Old Testament writings-the Cross is everywhere.
If the Cross is everywhere throughout the Old Testament, we certainly ought to be able to find it in the Book of Job. That is just what we do find, and we find it in terms so positive and plain that even the fool need not err therein.
2. Job’s experiences convey no accidental similarity to the Calvary experiences of Christ. The Book of Job carries far more than a historical message; it carries a message of deeper meaning than God’s vindication of His servant Job; it carries more than a Divine explanation of the causes of suffering and sickness.
The Book of Job is speaking of Christ. It speaks of Christ as the Righteous and Sinless One; it speaks of Christ as the One beset by His foes; it speaks of Christ in the. unswerving and indomitable visions of His faith; it particularly speaks of Christ in the bitterness of His Calvary sufferings.
I. JOB A TYPE IN HIS PHYSICAL SUFFERINGS
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh” (Job 19:20).”I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me” (Psa 22:17).
“My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.”
“They pierced my hands and my feet” (Psa 22:16, l.c.).
We know that the Psalmist was referring to Christ, as the Spirit gave him words quoted above. We wonder if the Spirit was not also speaking of Christ and His passion in the words of Job?
There is a supreme lesson for us in all of this. God does not place upon one of His servants more than He would place upon His own Son, Job’s lot was indeed almost unbearable, but Job’s lot was not comparable to that of Christ.
For a moment let us leave the pains of Job, and think of those which racked the body of our Lord. Our Scripture speaks of His pierced hands and feet. The nails, however, that passed through His hands and His feet did not tell the half of His physical sufferings. There was the unnatural position, the inflamed wounds from the whipping post, and the carried cross; there was the thorn-pierced brow, the unquenchable thirst, and the exposed nerves.
II. JOB A TYPE IN THE TREATMENT OF HIS BRETHREN
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook” (Job 6:15).”All the disciples forsook him, and fled” (Mat 26:56).
“Miserable comforters are ye all” (Job 16:2).”I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psa 69:20, l.c.).
“He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me” (Job 19:13).
“Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zec 13:7).
“My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me * * I am an alien in their sight” (Job 19:14).
“I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children” (Psa 69:8).
“All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me” (Job 19:19).”Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (Psa 41:9).
The men who came from afar to comfort Job proved no more than a disappointment. Of them Job said, “Miserable comforters are ye.”
Of the disciples, we read, “And they all forsook Him, and fled.” When Job needed comfort he found none; when Christ needed His disciples to watch and pray, they slept. When the mob came to arrest the Lord, His sheep were scattered. Peter still followed, but he followed afar off.
Let each of us take a double warning. First, that we nev-er prove a Job’s comforter to any one in the hour of his trial. Secondly, let us beware lest we also fail our Lord, and refuse to go outside the camp with Him, bearing His reproach.
There was another great grief to Job. We read that his own brethren and acquaintance were estranged from him, and that his kinsfolk failed him. Along the same line, it was prophesied concerning Christ.-“I am become a stranger to My brethren, and an alien unto My mother’s children.”
There was a third sorrow that fell upon Job, and likewise upon Christ. Of Job it was said, “My inward friends abhorred me.” Of Christ it was said, “Mine own familiar friend, * * hath lifted up his heel against Me.”
III. JOB A TYPE IN THE MOCKERS THAT SURROUNDED HIM
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“They have gaped upon me with their mouth; * * they have gathered themselves together against me” (Job 16:10).”They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion” (Psa 22:13).
“Many bulls have compassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round” (Psa 22:12).
“His archers compassed me around about (Job 16:13).
“Are there not mockers with me?” (Job 17:2).”In mine adversity they rejoiced * * they did tear me, and cease not: with hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth” (Psa 35:15-16).
“He hath made me also a byword of the people” (Job 17:6).
“Children of base men: * * viler than the earth. * * now am I their song, yea, I am their byword” (Job 30:8-9).
“I am a * * reproach of men, and despised of the people” (Psa 22:6).
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip” (Psa 22:7).
The physical anguish which befell Job was by no means the acme of his trial. Satan had been given the right to touch Job’s body, but God had never granted him the privilege to poison all of his erstwhile friends against him. There is no pity with Satan. He will go to any length to destroy one of God’s chosen ones. He is a heartless tyrant, a pitiless demigod.
Job, in bitterness of soul, saw the people whom he had so often sought to bless with his bounties and to comfort with his words, turning their heel upon him.
As we mark the words which Job spoke concerning these false people, we are struck with the similarity between what he said, and what was said of Christ. Follow the parallel readings carefully and you cannot fail to wonder at this. Both Job and Christ saw the ones whom they had blessed gaping upon them with their mouths. Both were compassed round about; both were mocked; both were a byword, that is, a reproach of the people.
If you want to understand what Job had done for the people, read the twenty-ninth chapter of the Book of Job. If you want to see the villainy of what they did toward him, remember how those who had been his honored and trusted servants; how those who had eaten the bounty of his table, and who had sat under the spell of his counsel, forsook him, and derided him.
IV. JOB A TYPE IN GOD’S DELIVERANCE OF HIM TO THE UNGODLY
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked” (Job 16:11).”Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief (Isa 53:10).
“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Act 2:23).
“He hath kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies” (Job 19:11).
“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant” (Php 2:7).
“He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head” (Job 19:9).
“Christ * * suffered * * the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1Pe 3:18).
“Not for any injustice in mine hands” (Job 16:17).
We now come to that part of the message which is most difficult to understand. Knowing the heart of man and its utter depravity, we can, perhaps, grasp something of the import of the madness of friend and comrade, both against Job and against our Lord. We have another vision now.
Job’s false friends would have had no power against him, nor would the foes of Christ have been able to have prevailed against Him, had God not delivered them both into the power of Satan’s hand.
What did Job say? “God hath delivered me to the ungodly.” He knew that God had turned him over into the hands of the wicked. Job quailed under the wrath of the Almighty.
What did the Prophet say of Christ? He said, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief.” It was God who, in His determinate counsel and foreknowledge, delivered Christ into the hands of wicked men.
Why did God deliver Job to the ungodly? It was because Satan had slandered Job’s integrity, and God was proving the true value of his worth. Why did God deliver Christ to the ungodly? It was because He would make Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
There is yet another thing in our Scripture. Job complained that God had stripped him of his glory, and that, not for any injustice which lay in his own hands. Was not Christ also stripped of His glory? Did He not make Himself of no reputation as He took upon Himself the form of a man, and as He made His way steadfastly toward the Cross, and that, as the spotless and innocent Lamb of God?
V. JOB A TYPE IN BEING FORSAKEN OF GOD
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment” (Job 19:7).”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring”? (Psa 22:1).
“I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not” (Job 30:20).
“O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not” (Ps, Job 22:2).
“I waited for light, there came darkness * * I went mourning without the sun” (Job 30:26-28).”Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour” (Mat 27:45).
Job, in the hour of his anguish, felt that God had forsaken him. He said, “I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard.” Again he said, “I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost not hear me.” The truth was that God had not forsaken Job. He was watching over him every moment. Had God forsaken Job Satan would have slain him. The same God who had hedged Job in of old, still hedged him in. By permission Satan was allowed to do many things against Job, but not all things.
Jesus Christ cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” He felt that God was far away from helping Him, and from the words of His roaring. He cried, but God seemed to hear Him not. In the case of our Lord, His sense of being forsaken was far more keen than that of Job. Christ had been forever one with the Father; now, as He died upon the tree, He was, in reality, left alone.
Christ was forsaken of God, because He was the bearer of our sins. He was dying in our stead; suffering, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Let the unsaved, who has rejected the Christ of Calvary, ponder the lot which shall befall him when God shall cast him into outer darkness-there, shall be wailing and weeping; there, shall be gnashing of teeth.
When Job waited for light, darkness came about him. He went mourning, without the sun. Thus, also, do we read of the hour of travail that fell upon Christ, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”
The darkness that shrouded the Cross was so dense that men beat upon their breasts and groped their way homeward. The darkness that shall fall upon the wicked will strike dismay to their hearts. The Bible says, “To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
Thank God, the darkness which fell upon Job and also upon Christ was but for a little while. The darkness, however, which shall fall upon the wicked will be forevermore.
VI. JOB A TYPE IN HIS IGNOMINY AND SHAME
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death” (Job 16:16).”I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God” (Psa 69:3).
“They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face” (Job 30:10).”And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head” (Mat 27:30).
“Upright men shall be astonied at this” (Job 17:8).”As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men” (Isa 52:14).
When Job’s friends first came to see him, “They lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not.” The sickness of Job was one that made his face and form unsightly. His skin was thick upon him; his face was foul with weeping; and his eyebrows carried the shadow of death. Those who saw Job would flee from him. He said that they spared not to spit in his face.
The analogy of all this with the Lord Jesus Christ is plain. The Prophet spoke of Christ as being weary with His crying, with His throat dry and His eyes failing. We know that they spit upon Him. The visage of Christ was more marred than that of any man, and His form more than the sons of men. Let us picture Him in our mind’s eye with the long hair that fell to His shoulders, clotted with the blood from the thorn-pierced head. Let us behold the beaten back, with its inflamed wounds and exposed nerves; let us catch the picture of the blood, dripping from hands and feet.
The truth is that our Lord was covered with shame and spitting. He was a man from whom men turned their faces. There was no beauty that any should desire Him.
Job spoke of the fact that the upright would be astonished at his plight. The Prophet said of Christ, “As many were astonied at Thee.” Thus, both Job and Christ caused a startled astonishment as they were looked upon.
Let us think deeply that all of this shame and ignominy came upon Christ as a matter of His own choice. He went like a Lamb to the slaughter. He went, foretelling the shame and the spitting. He knew it all before hand, and yet, “having loved His own * *, He loved them unto the end.”
As we think of how He suffered for us, are we not willing to go outside the camp with Him bearing His reproach? Others may be ashamed to take His Name, and walk with Him, but we count it “all joy.”
VII. JOB A TYPE IN HIS TRANSCENDENT HOPE
Job said:Of Christ it was said:
“He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: but he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:9-10).”When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isa 53:10).
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation” (Job 13:15-16).”I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high” (Psa 69:29).
“Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy” (Psa 16:10-11).
“Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26).
In our closing consideration, we are linking our message on to the chapter which will follow. We could not close the typology of Job without bringing this last thought upon the triumph of his faith. It was not fitting to leave Job under the shadow, when Job himself pierced through it, and, at times, saw the glimmerings of the glory that lay beyond. Job said, “He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him; but He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
And what was it that Christ saw? He saw beyond the anguish of His passion the glorious results that His sufferings would bring. He saw the travail of His soul, and was satisfied. He saw the redeemed of all ages presented unto Him as the trophy of His Cross, It was this glory that led Him to despise the shame and endure the Cross.
Job, in the deepest hour of his physical suffering, cried, that in his flesh he would see God. Jesus Christ knew also that His soul would not be left in hell, neither would His body see corruption. He knew also that He would be exalted to the Father’s right hand as a Prince and a Saviour. Even as Christ approached the Cross, He prayed, “Father, glorify Thou Me * * with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
Who is he who is not willing to pass, as far as he is able, into the sufferings of Christ, when he knows that suffering is the pathway to glory? The way to get up is to get down; the way to be enriched is to become poor; the way to live is to die. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.”
AN ILLUSTRATION
“I was deeply interested in hearing of an incident that took place at a soldier’s grave in one of the Southern States of America. A person was seen decking it with flowers; and a stranger, observing him, asked, with a tone of sympathy, ‘If his son were buried there?’ ‘No,’ was the reply. ‘A brother?’ ‘No.’ ‘Same other relation?’ ‘No.’ ‘Whose memory, then, may I venture to ask, do you thus so sacredly and tenderly cherish?’ Pausing a moment from emotion, he replied-‘When the war broke out, I was drafted for the army; and as I was unable to procure a substitute, I prepared to go. Just as I was leaving home to report myself for duty, a young man whom I knew came to me, and said: ‘You have a large family, whom your wife cannot support when you are gone. I am a single man, and have no one depending upon me-I will go for you.’ He went. In the battle of Chickamauga the poor fellow was dangerously wounded, and was taken to the hospital. After a lingering illness, he died, and was buried here. Ever since his death I have wished to visit this place, and having saved sufficient funds, I arrived yesterday, and today have found his grave.’
“The touching story concluded, he planted the rest of the flowers. Then taking a rude board, he inserted it at the foot of the grave. On it were written these simple words and no more-
‘He died for me.'”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
The hostility of God 19:7-12
Job agreed with his friends that God was responsible for his troubles, but while they believed God was punishing him for his sins, he contended that God was acting unjustly. He saw evidence of God’s injustice, too, in God’s silence when he cried out for help (Job 19:7). Job then named ten (cf. Job 19:3) hostile actions of God against himself (Job 19:8-12). Note the recurrence of "He" in these verses that emphasizes God’s responsibility. Bildad had previously cited what overtakes the wicked. Job now showed that God was the source of their troubles (cf. Job 19:8 b with Job 18:5-6; Job 18:18; Job 19:9 with Job 18:16-17; Job 19:10 a with Job 18:7; Job 18:12; Job 19:10 b with Job 18:16; and Job 19:12 with Job 18:14).
Some readers of Job’s words in this pericope have accused Job of blasphemy. However, blasphemy is "any remark deliberately mocking or contemptuous of God." [Note: Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language.] Job was neither mocking God nor was he being contemptuous of God. He was simply describing God as he perceived Him to be. He could not understand why God was apparently treating him unjustly, and he repeatedly asked God to solve this mystery for him.