INTRODUCTION TO JOB

1. The man Job seems to have been a descendant of Esau, who was identified as Jacob, the second king of Edom, Gen 36:33. Names and places given in Job chapter 2 indicate that his home. was in Hauran, located east of the Sea of Galilee, north of Edom from the place which primitive tribes who descended from Abraham lived, reaching down to the border of Arabia, where Moses came to know them, while keeping Jethro’s flock.

2. The Book and author’s identity is uncertain. The view that Moses wrote it, as history of Job’s life and experiences, seems to be most plausible. For he was a man “learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, and mighty in words and deeds,” Act 7:22. He was himself trained in the school of affliction in the desert of Midian, and capable of writing sublime poetry, as indicated, Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 32, 33; Heb 11:25.

3. Job was certified by both Old and New Testament writers as a person of Godly integrity, along with Noah and Daniel, Eze 14:14; Jas 5:11. Both Jesus and the apostles accepted the book of Job as inspired and quoted from it, Heb 12:5; 1Co 3:19.

4. Three general divisions make up the book:

a) Chapters 1, 2 are introductory to Job’s life and problems.

b) Chapter 3-42 recount Job’s controversy.

c) Chapter 42:7-12 relate the rewards of holy patience.

5. Job was the greatest, best known man in that part of the northern Edomite world, at that time. In one day five calamities fell upon him:

1) His vast herds of camels were stolen and their attending servants were slain by a band of Chaldean robbers, Job 1:13-19.

2) His herds of oxen were stolen and their servants slain by a band of Sabaen robbers.

3) At the same time 7,000 of this sheep and their shepherds were killed by a thunderstorm, Job 42:10; Job 42:12.

4) His family of ten children was killed by a cyclone, Job 42:13.

5) And a little later Job was smitten by a most dreaded and hideous disease of the ancient world, Job 2:7-8. In this context the poetic drama of Job’s suffering-experience, his integrity, patience, and final victory of life are recounted, Job 42:10-17.

ANALYSIS OF JOB

WHO SPEAKS:

The Book of Job is an Historical, Poetic account of the life of a man called Job. No one knows who wrote the book, but ancient Jewish tradition attributes it to Moses, while he was in the wilderness of Midian, perhaps before he took command of Israel, to lead her from Egyptian bondage, Exo 2:15.

There are eight (8) primary, speaking Characters in the book: 1) God, 2) The Devil, 3) Job , 4) Job’s wife, 5) Eliphaz, 6) Bildad, 7) Zophar, and 8) Elihu. This is the first of the five Poetical Books of the Old Testament. The poetry consists of statements of parallelisms, thought rhymes and couplets of synonymous or antithetical ideas, often doubled, tripled, or quadrupled by the speaker.

TO WHOM?

Satan confronted God about the integrity of Job’s character, which the Lord defended. But the Lord granted Satan the power to test Job, through inflicting much suffering on him. There then followed 7 confrontation accounts that Job had with his three friends and Elihu. These pretended friends of Job confronted him with insinuations, accusations, and innuendoes to the effect that he had hidden sin, unconfessed, that caused his sufferings.

ABOUT WHAT?

The theme of the Book is the issue of the cause, purpose, and rewards of human sufferings. The material is given in a form of poetic and philosophic meditations on the ways of God in relation to His universe and mankind.

Three approaches are suggested for the cause of human suffering, such as came upon Job:

1) His three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar each attributed such suffering exclusively as punishment for personal sins, and they held that great suffering came only from great personal sins. They further asserted that to try to keep such sins secret was evidence of ones hypocrisy.

2) Elihu contended that suffering was sent as punishment on men, not so much or necessarily evidence of ones sins, as corrective to keep men from sinning.

3) God’s speech, at the end, conveys the idea that not all human suffering is either punitive or corrective but that He may be glorified in man’s voluntary service to Him in spite of the laws of sin and death that works inherently in men, in nature, and through the laws of “sowing and reaping,” Gal 6:7-8; Rom 8:28.

WHEN?

It appears that the Book was written during the 40 years that Moses was with Jethro, his father-in-law. . .priest in Midian, before returning to Emancipate Israel from Egypt. It is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible, written before the law of Moses was given, else it would have been quoted by either Job or one of his antagonists in their controversies. The events recorded in the Book of Job cover about one year.

WHAT WAS THE OCCASION?

The occasion for this book on “Job’s suffering” appears to be for the purpose of showing that there are often seeming inequities and injustices in human suffering. Suffering often falls on those who seem least to deserve it; Yet, when these sufferings are accepted as our Lord accepted them, one patiently finds triumph and victory, through Divine help, Rom 8:28; Heb 4:15-16.

CHART I

A 12 ACT DRAMA ON THE LIFE OF JOB

THEME: Problem of Human Suffering

The Drama Begins

Act I . . . . . Job and His Family Before Affliction, Job 1:1-8. a) He was a godly father b) A family priest, ministering to his family needs.

Act II . . . . Satan Comes On Stage a) Enters Divine Presence, Job 1:9-11. b) Insinuates Job serves God for special favors. c) Satan granted Divine permission to test Job by inflicting upon him loss of his property and children, Job 1:12-20. d) Job holds his integrity through his loss, Job 1:21.

Act III . . . . Satan Reenters Presence of God a) Requests further power to test Job, to afflict his body, Job 2:1-5. Says Job would curse God. b) He smites Job with an horrible disease, Job 2:7-8. c) Blasphemous advice of Job’s wife, triumphant reply. . .submission to God, Job 2:9-10.

Act IV…. Arrival of Job’s Three Foreign Friends a) Seven days of silence b) Sympathy before arrogant abuse, Job 2:11-13.

CHART II

THE DRAMA CONTINUES

Act V . . .Job’s Patience Exhausted, Job 3:1-26

a) Utters complaints

b) Curses the day of his birth

Act VI . . Long Disputation Between Job and Friends a) Eliphaz–the Temanite b) Bildad–the Shuhite c) Zophar–the Naamathite, Job 2:11, Job ch. 4-31 d) Friends assert his suffering is result of some overt or covert sin in his life. e) Job maintains his innocence of any known grave sin.

Act VII. . . Elihu, Sharp and Fiery, Enters the Discussion a) With much verbosity, a long-winded address, Job ch. 32-37.

Act VIII . . The Lord Jehovah Speaks to Job a) Out of a whirlwind b) With words of both comfort and reproof, Job ch. 38, 39.

CHART III

THE DRAMA CONCLUDED

Act IX . . . . Job’s Open Confession, Job 40:3-5

Act X . . . . The Lord’s Second Speech, Job 40:7 through 41:34

Act XI . . . . Job’s Second Confession, Job 42:1-6 a) The Lord rebukes Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar b) They are commanded to make a sacrifice, Job 42:7-9.

Act XII. . . Job’s Prayer For His Friends a) His own prosperity restored twofold. b) He lives to a great old age of 140 years, Job 42:10-17.

From This Drama Let Two Things Be Learned Well:

1) Satan may have malignant power over human lives.

2) Suffering is in the Divine plan for the development of Christian character.

JOB – CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Vs. 1-4 – Character, family, and prosperity of Job . . Vs. 5-12 – His piety, Satan’s theory … he was good because

of prosperity

Vs. 13-22 – In Satan’s net by permissive will of God

Chapter 2

Vs. 1-8 – In Satan’s net with family, property, and

health lost

Vs. 9, 10 – Conflicting attitudes of Job and his wife

Vs. 11-13 – Scene of appearance of his three friends, to join

him in an ash heap of silence for a week

Chapter 3

Vs. 1-26 – Job’s first disclosure in relating his misery and despair

Chapter 4

Vs. 1-21 – First disclosure of Eliphaz

Chapter 5

Vs. 1-27 – First disclosure continued

Chapter 6

Vs. 1-30 – Job’s reply to Eliphaz, a moving appeal for pity

Chapter 7

Vs. 1-21 – Job’s response to Eliphaz continued

Chapter 8

Vs. 1-22 – Bildad’s first disclosure, thinks Job is

an hyprocrite

Chapter 9

Vs. 1-35 – Job denies being an hypocrite … admits being a sinner, but doesn’t know how to be justified or acquitted

Chapter 10

Vs. 1-22 – His answer to Bildad

Chapter 11

Vs. 1-20 – Zophar’s first disclosure, considers Job both a liar and hypocrite

Chapter 12

Vs. 1-25 – Job’s summary answer to the three … He is familiar with their superficial

Chapter 13

Vs. 1-28 – His answer

Chapter 14

Vs. 1-22 – His rebuttal to the three

Chapter 15

Vs. 1-35 – Second disclosure of Eliphaz based on premise of his superior experience and on tradition

Chapter 16

Vs. 1-22 – Job’s fourth reply that Elihaz had just mouthed a lot of words, without validity to his charges against Job

Chapter 17

Vs. 1-16 – His reply extended

Chapter 18

Vs. 1-21 – Bildad’s second address, a list of oriental proverbs, proving nothing against Job

Chapter 19

Vs. 1-29 – Job’s fifth answer, vs. 23-27. His resurrection faith

Chapter 20

Vs. 1-29 – Zophar’s second charge, address on tradition and proverbs

Chapter 21

Vs. 1-34 – Job’s sixth reply, that the wicked prosper, refutes charge and view that he is afflicted because of hidden sins

Chapter 22

Vs. 1-30 – Eliphaz’s third discourse an old theory Job has openly sinned, is trying to conceal it rather than confess

Chapter 23

Vs. 1-17 – Job’s seventh reply, longs for God to settle it all

Chapter 24

Vs. 1-25 – His rebuttal to Eliphaz continued

Chapter 25

Vs. 1-16 – Bildad’s third discourse of traditional sayings

Chapter 26

Vs. 1-14 – Job’s eighth rebuttal, Bildad’s view leads to despair, but Job’s faith in God did not waver

Chapter 27

Vs. 1-23 – Job’s reply continued

Chapter 28

Vs. 1-28 – His response extended, to answer false charges of

Chapter 29

Vs. 1-25 – Eliphaz ch. 22, verses 6-

Chapter 30

Vs. 1-31 – Job’s eighth reply further extended

Chapter 31

Vs. 1-40 – Job’s eighth rebuttal concluded

Chapter 32

Vs. 1-22 – Elihu the Buzite’s charge of sin against Job

Chapter 33

Vs. 1-33 – His extended charges to Job

Chapter 34

Vs. 1-37 – His address goes on

Chapter 35

Vs. 1-16 – He adds charge upon charge against Job

Chapter 36 Vs. 1-33 – He continues to lay indictments of wrong upon Job

Chapter 37

Vs. 1-24 – Elihu’s terminal charges, at last

Chapter 38

Vs. 1-41 – Jehovah appears and addresses Job

Chapter 39

Vs. 1-30 – Jehovah’s call to Job continued

Chapter 40

Vs. 1-20 – His address extended

Chapter 41

Vs. 1-34 – Concluding words of the Lord to Job

Chapter 42

Vs. 1-6 – Job’s self-judgment and humiliation

Vs. 7-18 – Job vindicated, honored, and prospered through patience

JOB – CHAPTER 1

JOB’S CHARACTER

Verse 1:

Verse 1 describes the character of Job, of the land of Uz, northeast of Arabia in four ways, Gen 22:20; Job 1:3; Eze 14:14. His name means “return.” He was said to be:

1) Perfect, not without sin, but a man of maturity in character and behavior, Job 9:20; Ecc 7:20; Mat 5:48.

2) Upright, in his upright walk and talk, a man of integrity, sincerity, and consistency in his activities of life, Gen 6:9; Gen 17:1; Pro 10:9; Mat 5:48; See also 1Kg 6:1.

3) Feared God, or reverenced God, held Him in awe, which caused him to live a clean, separated life, Psa 19:9, with an hatred for evil, Pro 8:13.

4) Eschewed evil, sought to avoid or shun evil, a godly quality of life, Job 2:3; This Peter admonished, 1Pe 3:10-11.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

JOBOR THE PERILS OF PROSPERITY

Job 1:1-5.

THE question as to whether Job was a real or an ideal man is in debate between the Critics on the one side and Conservatives on the other. If there be a Book in the Bible, purporting to be historical, which might prove to be only ideal history, Job is that Book. And yet, the reasons for accepting Job as an actual personality, as against the claims of those who see in him only a figure employed for dramatic purposes, are quite convincing. We have little doubt that in the land of Uz there was a man whose name was Job, and that he passed through the very experiences which are here recorded. See Eze 14:14 and Jas 5:11.

In truth, there are few novels even whose characters are purely fictitious. The heros name is a creation and intended to conceal rather than reveal the truth; but in nine cases out of ten the hero existed in actual flesh and blood, and the novelist has known him intimately; and like John, in writing of Jesus, he records that which he has seen and heard; and often, that which he himself has experienced, and his testimony is true.

Job is easily the hero of this Book, and to study his experiences as expressed in trials, afflictions, discouragements, philosophies and final triumph can but prove profitable.

There are three things seen in these five verses to which we will devote our attention: First, The Prospered Man; second, The Imperiled Man; and third, The Praying Man.

THE PROSPERED MAN

According to this record Job was especially favored in at least three respects: He was successful in fortune; he was blessed in his family, and he lived in favor with God.

He was successful in fortune! His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east (Job 1:3). A fortune may be a misfortune; a professional honor may be the result of moral dishonor! But with Job these things seem not to have been so. Undoubtedly he had acquired his fortune by industry and intelligence, and unquestionably he was administering it with a clean heart and open hand. It is a great thing to be able to keep God through the time and process of acquiring gold, and to retain integrity of character while succeeding in the mart of commerce. We agree with President Hyde that the masterpiece of Christianity is a rich Christian. We never meet a man who combines wealth and the retention of high Christian character without feeling that he is the finest product of Christs philosophy of life. One can but rejoice to see such men in places of importance and power. Some years ago Thomas Dolan died. He was a reticent man, and particularly soon the subject of money making. But a newspaper man, who was intimate in his home, dared one day to ask the millionaire how he made his first $1,000. Well, said Mr. Dolan, I never had any first $1,000. I had $350 and a reputation for making good. That reputation made my $350 look like $3,500 to another man, and he trusted me with that amount. By investment of it I made a clear profit of $2,500, so that my first $1,000 was really $2,150. Those are exceptional characters who can come into wealth by leaps and bounds and yet, retaining their love of God, walk away from evil. No wonder they said of Job that he was the greatest of all the men of the east.

He was blessed in his family. There were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. The ancients never regarded children as social inconveniences or domestic nuisances. On the contrary, they were prized beyond all other possessions. As far back as Jacobs day we read that when Esau, after the years of separation, met his brother again, He lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant (Gen 33:5).

The Psalmist, when he wanted to speak of the greatest blessing that God gave to woman, says, of Gods special favor, He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children (Psa 113:9). He writes again, Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them (Psa 127:3-3). And when in the Psalm following, he comes to describe that household upon which the Divine favor most evidently rests, he speaks of it as a place where the family fears Jehovah; eats the bread of honest labor, and where the wife is as a fruitful vine, and the children like olive trees round about the table, saying, Thus shall the man he blessed that feareth the Lord (Psa 128:1-4).

The impression seems to prevail that position and property are the evidences of prosperity; but it is a question whether parenthood is not an honor beyond any wealth that can ever be accumulated, or any office that can ever be acquired. When one happens to be the parent of some child who moves the world with her talent, or his genius, then we all admit that no honor exceeds the relationship to such a daughter or such a son. But somehow, if one consult the Scriptures, or take stock of his own hearts sympathy, or his highest human sentiments, he agrees in paying tribute to parenthood whether the children be great or humble, noble or ignoble. It is doubtful if the honor of begetting Jesus was ever equalled by any other act of the Mighty God. To be a father! to be a mother! Who can tell or even imagine all that means? It was related that after the battle of Gettysburg some men, walking over the scenes of carnage, discovered a soldier leaning against a tree, holding something in his hands upon which his eyes seemed to be rivoted. They spoke to him; there was no answer. They drew near and saw that he was dead. They got down and examined the object in his hand and found that it was an ambrotype of two small children. The last thought he had in life was of them; the last vision of life was the sight of their sweet faces; the last noble sentiment that stirred his fluttering, failing heart was affection for his children. Even strong soldiers wept at the sight of the dead-stare. Then brushing away their tears, they lifted him tenderly and dug for him a grave and laid him to rest with the picture clasped over his heart, and blazed in the tree against which he was leaning, the inscription, Somebodys Father, July 3, 1863. I wonder if statue or obelisk, marking mortal remains of man, ever took on an inscription that voiced greater honor? When Christ, who understands God perfectly, wanted to pay Him the highest possible tribute, He did not speak of Him as the Mighty One nor yet as the One above all others; nor yet as the Just. He said, Father! Yes, Job was prospered.

He was in favor with his God. The text tells us that that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

You run through the Bible and you will find that those regarded as most favored were not necessarily possessed of great material fortunes; and not necessarily the parents of great families; but were always and everywhere on good terms with God. The glory of Enoch was that he walked with God; the honor of Abraham, that he was the friend of God; while the special mark of Jesus Christ, distinguishing Him beyond all His fellows, was His intimacy with God, the Father. To know God, and to know Him well; to walk with Him, to work for Him, to rest in Himthis is indeed not only the chief end of man, but his superb prosperity.

Campbell Morgan tells the story of an old woman who lived away up on the wild coast of England, and who came to her Christmas Day with absolutely nothing upon her table but a piece of bread and a glass of water. That day a godly man, thinking of the old lady, went to her home about noon-time carrying a well-filled basket. She was extremely deaf and did not hear him enter her little cottage. He noticed, upon nearing the table, that she was just bowing her head over a crust of bread and water and stopping, he listened to hear the old woman say, in gratitude, Oh, God, I thank Thee for these gifts of Thy love this Christmas Day. Thou hast given me all these, and Christ, and as she lifted up her face, he said there was an ineffable sweetness upon every feature, that suggested the softened light from an upper world. In speaking of it, Morgan said, You know as well as I do, if you are true to your own heart, that you had rather have that old womans hearts ease than all the wealth in the world. To be in favor with the Father is the favor of favors. This was the pinnacle of Jobs prosperity.

And still the text ends not as yet. To push a little further into the study is to see

THE IMPERILED MAN

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said. It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:4-5).

The children involve the parents greatest peril. If they are, in their birth and inheritance, from the Lord, they may prove, in their development, to be the medium of Satans assault. A father and mother never suffer in their own persons as they may suffer in their sons and daughters. The Syrophoenician woman who cried to Jesus, Lord, help me! could never have felt so deep an anguish had she herself been afflicted; but to have her little daughter grievously tormented of the devil was more than she could endure. Old Eli suffered the peril of life in the persons and conduct of his sons. He, who was faithful to God and always submissive to the Divine will, was incapable of bearing the report that his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, had first made themselves vile and then perished in battle, their sins unpardoned. And when the news of it reached him Eli fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died (1Sa 4:18). The picture of David sitting in sackcloth and ashes, beseeching God to spare the life of his illegitimate child, is a pitiful one; but he bore the death of that beautiful babe with infinitely greater courage than he was able to exhibit when Absalom, his rebellious boy, hung between the heavens and the earth, dead, in trespasses and sins. The greatest grief that Jacob ever endured was not the selling of Joseph into Egypt, but the report of the evil doings of his older children. No other suffering possible to parenthood is such as they know when, by love and sympathy, they take into their hearts the childrens sorrows. It was said of Mary, A sword shall pierce through thy own soul. And so it did, for the sword that pierced the heart of the Son of God affected no pain in the lifeless body of the Blessed One, but it cut with merciless, mangling edge every tingling nerve and quivering fiber of Marys loving and sensitive soul. Oh, young men and women, let me tell you this day that you have the power to give your parents such happiness as the whole world beside cannot contribute; and you have the power to impose upon them such grief as hell itself does not exceed, for the greatest possible peril of parents is in their children!

Often the fathers fortune involves the childs greatest misfortune. Men are slow to learn. The majority of fathers are anxious to heap up wealth and write a will enriching their sons and daughters. The parental purpose is blessing; the usual result is a curse. If I had it within my power to wish every child I have worth a million, and instantly the fortune would fall out to them, and I dared to do it, I believe candidly, in view of past history, that I should prove my fitness for a lunatic asylum. When President Van Buren learned that his son was engaged to a rich girl, he remarked sadly, Well, poor boy! he is ruined! He will now give up the study of the law, for which he has such talent, and become the least useful of all human beings, an heir of riches. James Gordan Bennett, in speaking to George W. Childs, said, How unfortunate it is for a boy to have rich parents. If you and I had been born that way we would never have done anything worth mentioning. And Orison Swett Marden, commenting upon that and kindred statements, said, How nature laughs at puny society caste, and at attempts to confine greatness behind brown-stone fronts! She drops an idiot on Fifth Avenue or Beacon Street, where a millionaire looked for a Webster or a Sumner, and leaves a Garfield in a log-cabin in the wilderness where humble parents expected only a pioneer. She astonishes a poor blacksmith with a Burritt, and gives a dunce to a wealthy banker. A fool may be born in a palace, and the Saviour of the world in a stable. Truly royal men and women look out of cold and miserable attic windows, from factories and poorhouses, upon people much their inferiors, though dressed in broadcloths and satins, whose dishonesty and craft have overcome them in the battle of life.

The noblest men that live on earth

Are men whose hands are brown with toil,

Who, backed by no ancestral graves,

Hew down the woods and till the soil,

And win thereby a prouder name

Than follows kings or warriors fame.

The feasts of the rich are frought with possible wrongs. It was when Jobs sons and daughters gave themselves to evenings of feasting that the father was filled with fear. There was occasion! Who can tell what nameless iniquities have their beginnings about the festal boards where highly seasoned foods and exciting drinks are made to combine for the stimulus of unholy and uncontrollable passions? It was after a feast provided for him that Lot fell into the sin of incest; it was the direct result of the meats demanded that Hophni and Phinehas, appointed to be priests of God, became the paramours of prostitutes; it was a feast of flesh and wine that led the king to divorce Vashti; and it was after a feast whereby her unholy nature was inflamed, that Herodias suggested the murder of John. Those so-called cafes and restaurants and partitioned saloons that provide savory meats and strong drinks at midnight, are only anterooms to the pit for the men and women and boys and girls who patronize them. John Bunyan, in describing the taking of Man-Soul, tells how the Adversary directed his darts against eye-gate and ear-gate; but I doubt if the devil has such easy access to the human soul through eye or ear he secures

through nose and mouth. It was when Esau smelled the savory pottage that he sold his birthright. The feasting conquerors of yesterday are the fasting captives of today. As cattle are lured to the slaughter pen by the corn sprinkled in the path, so young men and women, lured on by feasts, press the path that ends in the pit. Give your boy money enough to make possible his appearance at the festal board more often than is necessary to health, and hilarities will follow that hint of hell. Ah, men, we do well to be concerned if last night our sons held a feast and sisters were sent for to eat and to drink with them. All intemperance in eating and drinking is the devils delight, for it holds the promise of destruction to them that engage in it.

A further research of this Scripture reveals the way a prosperous man faces his perils. It shows us

A PRAYING MAN

It was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually (Job 1:5).

In the custom of family prayers he never failed. If I were asked today for the evidences of decline in the Christian Church I should mention among others, the neglect of the family altar. It is said that Mr. Brown, the successful shoe-merchant of St. Louis, had a friend and wife visiting in his home. When the time of the morning prayers came, some of the children were up and out for an airing, and others of them were inexcusably dragging along with the dressing process. After the Scripture was read and the four knelt in prayer, Mr. Brown said, Lord, here we are, four of us, I and my wife, my friend and his wife; but the children are not here, Lord, and it is probable if we had been brought up as they are being brought up that we wouldnt be here either. Alas for the times and customs upon which we have come. It is as difficult to assemble the ordinary family of considerable size for morning devotions as it is to secure the prompt attendance of professed Christians upon church services, and for the same reason. Some of us are too much engaged in other things to pray; we have just got to read the morning newspaper, or rush to the office in order to reach there at a definite hour, or slumber a little longer to show that we belong with the sluggards. Guilty before God we are, and without excuse. Down in Indiana a while ago a man was hauled into court and fined $30.00 for having struck his wife. When asked what excuse he had for his conduct, he said, She insisted upon kneading a batch of dough at the time when we should have been at family prayers. The spirit of the husband was a long way from the spirit of God, and yet, it might be better to be knocked down by a physical blow than to fall through indifference to those moral depths where God is forgotten and our eternal souls interests are neglected. Some sweet singer has expressed a great and beautiful thought in these verses:

I was in Gods nursery tonight as the evening was getting dim,

And I sat with Gods children, and they were talking of Him;

And another Child was with them, though Him I could not see,

They say that God has an elder Son, I think it was He.

Father He said first of all; though I could not see for the gloom,

Yet the instant He said it, I felt some one else in the room;

And the room itself must have grown in a very little space,

For the Child called to Father in Heaven, and Heaven is a far-away place.

But oh, what an echo was left by that one single sound.

It crept into every corner and wandered round and round;

The very air felt holy wherever the echo came;

Cried the children, Oh, that it were ever so. Hallowed be that Name!

At prayer his family receives chief concern. There is quite a significance in the statement that he offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. The smoke arising from those burnt offerings is the Old Testament symbol or type of petition, and it meant that he prayed for everyone of them. Bear in mind that Job was a rich man and his wealth took just such form as to require much attentionthousands of sheep and camels and hundreds of oxen and asses and a great household. He could have reasoned, as many do, I must be out and at it. He was wise enough to understand that to remain on his knees until God consented to go with him was the promise of greater accomplishments in a short time than he could ever effect if he wrought alone for eternity. That is where men fail! That is where mothers make mistake. A little child, seeing a noble woman departing her house take time at the steps to take up each child and press it to her bosom and shower its face with kisses, said, My mother would love me and hug me too if she wasnt too busy, but she has so much housework to do, she cant. Beloved, it is a good thing to have a house kept neat and clean, and we believe it makes for moral wholesomeness to have a home tidy and attractive; but never, if these things are accomplished at the expense of expressed affection; never, if they come at the cost of conscious tenderness and certain sympathy. Better let a little dirt gather in the corners of the ascending stairway than to leave mists clouding the hearts of the children; and better let the dishes go unwashed for an hour than to send away, uncomforted, the child of wounded spirit; and better to leave the bed unmade than miss the time in which the children might be led into communion with God. People sometimes talk, as one has said, about a far-seeing man. The question is, how far does he see? A man who can only look out upon the earth far enough to see how it can be made to enrich himself is as blind as the mole that burrows beneath its surface. The far-seeing man sweeps the earth and looks into Heaven, and I tell you the man whose gaze is never upward is as good as blind; and the father who never points his children to the sky, nor calls their attention to the Star of Bethlehem has missed the opportunity of life, and had as well prepare to spend eternity in the agonies of unbearable regret.

Let Job teach him now; and let this be the last lesson for this hour:

The sanctification of ones children is of first concern. Job sent and sanctified them, There are quite a few men in the world who are greatly concerned to get for their children silver and gold. Infinitely wiser is he who tries to secure for his children salvation and sanctification. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. Better is the assurance of a home on high than the largest mansion that ever marked the scenes of earth; better is the possession of eternal life than a clear title to blocks of city property or broad acres of hill and dale. A dear old mother was dying. Her life had been lived in comparative poverty and she was going down to her grave sooner than she would have but for the hard work that had fallen to her lot. As the sun was setting for her and the end drew near, the mother-heart went back to the time when she was younger, and the safety of her children was her one concern. The evening wore on and the prayer time drew near. The plain old father sat by her side, dumb with grief, for she was going out, going Home. Suddenly, her eyes that had dimmed, brightened and looking straight at her husband, she said, Are they all in? The childrenare they all in? He wouldnt tell her she was thinking of the days when the children were small and she went from crib to crib to see that they were all right; but he answered her question from the standpoint of the larger vision, for she had wrought well and had brought up her babies not only to be upright and honest, but had led them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world; and they were Christians every one. With that great thought in mind, his heart happy over the result, the stricken father simply said, Yes, mother, dear; they are all in! That is the climax of parental success, to bring the children to God.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

FIRST PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OR POEM

I. Jobs personality (Job. 1:1). There was a man, &c.

1. His actual existence. Job a historic, not a fictitious character. Mentioned with Noah and Daniel (Eze. 14:14). Lived in the time of the patriarchs. Died about 200-years old; Abraham, 175; his father Terah, 205. No apparent allusion in the Book to the Exodus or the Giving of the Law. Worship, manners, and customs, those of patriarchal times. His existence a proof God never left Himself without a witness.

2. His residence. In the land of Uz. Uz, east or south-east of Palestine. Adjacent to the Edomites, who appear at one time to have occupied it (Lam. 4:21). Probably in Arabia Deserta, between Palestine and the Euphrates. Uz the name of a son of Aram the son of Shem (Gen. 10:23); of the firstborn of Nahor, Abrahams brother (Gen. 22:21); and of the grandson of Seir the Horite (Gen. 36:28). The country named from one of these. Jobs country, like Abrahams, at that time tending to idolatry (ch. Job. 31:26-28). Grace found flourishing in the most unfavourable situations. Job, like Abraham and Daniel, found faithful among the faithless. To be godly among the ungodly a high excellence and honour. So Obadiah in Ahabs court and the saints in Cesars palace (1Ki. 18:12; Php. 4:22).

3. His name. Whose name was Job. Denotes the persecuted, or the penitent. Names in the cast often significant,descriptive of character or history. Sometimes given from events connected with the birth, as Jabez, Ichabod, &c. Sometimes changed for another in afterlife, as Jacob for Israel, Jedidiah for Solomon. Benoni, son of my affliction, changed by Jacob to Benjamin,son of my right hand (Gen. 35:18). Job thought by some to be the same with Jobab (Gen. 10:29). Job also the name of one of the sons of Issachar (Gen. 46:13). Jobs name a memento of the possible or actual reverse to his prosperity (ch. Job. 3:25-26). His afflictions to be remembered as waters that have passed away (ch. Job. 11:16). Profitable, as well as pleasant, to remember past troubles (Psa. 42:6; Psa. 42:8).

II. His character. That man was perfect, &c. The question not so much what a man DOES as what he IS. Grace mentioned before greatness. A gracious character and spiritual blessings a mans choicest possessions.

Perfect. Implies:

1. Completeness. Job complete in all the parts of his moral character (Jas. 1:4). Like a human body with no member or organ wanting or imperfect. A mans morality and religion to be characterized by symmetry and thoroughness. Attention not to be given to one class of duties to the neglect of another.Job conscientious in the discharge of all the duties of life (Psa. 119:6). Kept, like Paul, a conscience void of offence both towards God and man (Act. 24:16). Believers to be sanctified wholly, throughout body, soul, and spirit (1Th. 5:23.) Are actually sanctified in every part, though every part not wholly sanctified. A perfect man, in the New Testament sense, an advanced, mature, and fully instructed Christian (Php. 3:15; 1Co. 2:6; Eph. 4:13; Jas. 3:2).

2. Sincerity. Jobs perfection rather that of purpose than performance. Aimed constantly at perfection. Not sinless but sincere. Without guile (Joh. 11:57). Without hypocrisy towards God or double-dealing towards man. Sincerity the foundation of a gracious character. Gives religion all its worth and beauty. Godly sincerity is Gospel perfection. Sincere and sound-hearted believers in Gods sight perfect.

3 Blamelessness. The character of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luk. 1:6). No fault found in Daniel, even by his enemies (Dan. 6:4). Moral integrity is Bible perfection. Paul lived in all good conscience (Act. 24:2). Job blameless though not sinless. Reproved by Jehovah (ch. Job. 42:5-6). Noah said to be perfect (Gen. 6:9).Gods testimony to Jobs blamelessness (ch. Job. 2:3). His own (ch. 31 throughout).

Christian Perfection

A certain perfection belonging to saints both in Old and New Testaments. The holiness of believers on earth, partial and progressive. Christ the only absolutely righteous and perfect One. Believers perfect and complete in Him, now representatively, hereafter personally (Col. 2:10). Have here a begun perfection in conformity to Christs image (Rom. 8:9; Rom. 8:29). That conformity to be in time absolute and complete (2Co. 3:18). Christ made to those who are in Him both wisdom and sanctification (1Co. 1:30). Believers only made perfect in love (1Jn. 4:18). Jobs case (ch. Job. 29:11; Job. 29:16; Job. 31:16; Job. 31:20). Love the fulfilling of the law (Rom. 13:10). Perfection required by God in all his children (Mat. 5:48; Gen. 17:1; Jas. 1:4). To be constantly pressed after by them (Php. 3:12; Php. 3:14). Desire and endeavour after it a test of sincerity. Not usually to be attained without afflictions (Heb. 5:8; Heb. 12:10-11). The Captain of our salvation himself made perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10). Job perfect and upright before his trials, humble and contrite after them (ch. Job. 40:4; Job. 42:6.

Upright. Refers to heart and life. Or, perfect internally, upright externally.Job outwardly what he was inwardly, and vice vers. Uprightness of life and conduct the best proof of inward sincerity. When the heart is sincere towards God, the actions will be just towards men. Upright = straight. Job held the straight path of rectitude. Sins ways crooked. Joshua not to turn to the right hand or to the left (Jos. 1:7). Like Daniel, Job did what was right, regardless of consequences (Dan. 6:10). Perfect and upright connected also in the Psalms (Psa. 37:37). The two complete the moral character of a man of God.

One that feared God. Another element in his character, and accounting for the preceding. Religion, or the fear of God, the true basis of morality. The first table of the law the foundation of and preparation for the second. A morality without religion is a body without a soul.Job profoundly religious. The horizon of his soul filled with God (ch. Job. 29:3-4; Job. 31:23). Looked at all things in their relation to God and His will (ch. Job. 31:2; Job. 31:14-15; Job. 31:28). Reverenced His majesty, regarded His authority, dreaded His wrath. Feared God, not the idols of his countrymen (ch. Job. 31:26-27). So Cornelius (Act. 10:2.) Feared Him, not with a slavish but a filial feara fear coupled with confidence and love. The fear of the saints, rather the fear of offending than the dread of suffering. Believers fear God for His goodness as well as His greatness (Hos. 3:5). Saints fear God because He pardons, sinners because He punishes (Psa. 130:4). Filial fear the product of Gods free grace revealed in the Gospel (Jer. 32:39-40; Rom. 8:15). The root of all true religion. Holiness perfected in it (2Co. 7:1. Forgiveness through the blood of Jesus imparted with a view to it (Psa. 130:4). That fear required by God (Jer. 5:22). Due to Him (Psa. 89:7). Casts out the fear of man (Heb. 11:27; Dan. 3:16-18).The fear of God the secret of true courage and endurance.Fabius Maximus, a Roman general, sought to impress his soldiers with reverence for the gods as the best means of confirming their valour [Plutarch].

Eschewed evil. Heb., Departed from evil, from its practice and presence. Hurried away from it as from the presence of a monster. Avoided it as offensive to God, and in itself loathsome and abominable. Sometimes more difficult to avoid evil than to practice good. Evil often fashionable. Followed by the multitude (Exo. 23:2; Mat. 7:13). To depart from evil the effect and evidence of the fear of God (Psa. 4:4; Pro. 8:13; Pro. 16:6). Exhibits the spirituality and strength of holiness. The spirit active against evil in order to depart from it. Believers while on earth beset with temptations to evil. Job eschewed all evil. Every appearance of it to be abstained from (1Th. 5:22). Evil to be departed from in its pleasing as well as its repulsive forms. Not only evil itself to be eschewed, but its occasions, temptations, and incentives (Pro. 4:14-15; Mat. 5:29-30). Job withdrew his eyes from evil as well as his hands and feet (ch. Job. 31:1). To depart from evil necessary in order to persevere in good. Grace received to be carefully guarded and preserved. Jobs perfection not sinlessness, but a constant striving against sin.

III. His prosperity

In three particulars (Job. 1:2).

1. His children. There were born to him. Children esteemed a great part of a mans prosperity and happiness, especially in O.T. times. Viewed as a mark of the Divine favour and blessing (Psa. 127:3-5; Psa. 128:3-4). Mentioned first as the chief part of Jobs outward prosperity. His happiness, however, not merely in having children, but having them godly (Job. 1:5). Born to him. His children comforts and blessings to him. Job eminent for holiness, yet not a hermit or recluse.

Seven sons and three daughters. In number and sex the ideal of a perfect family. Both numbers, as well as their sum, mystic and symbolical. Seven, indicative of perfection; ten, of multitude. The more children, if gracious, the greater blessing. More sons than daughters, an enhancement of his property. A large family no hindrance to piety, uprightness, and charity (ch. Job. 29:11-17; Job. 31:13-20; Job. 31:32). So Enoch walked with God 300 years, and begat sons and daughters (Gen. 5:22).

2. His property. His substance was seven thousand sheep, &c. Job described as an Arab prince, emir or sheikh. His possession in cattle, though not a wandering Bedowin (ch. Job. 29:7). No land or houses mentioned, though living in or near a city. Appears, like Isaac, to have cultivated land belonging to others (ch. Job. 31:39). Wealth, in earliest times, reckoned not by extent of land but number of cattle (Gen. 12:6; Gen. 24:35; Gen. 30:43). Heavenly wisdom the only real substance (Pro. 8:21; Pro. 23:5). Piety and charity ordinarily the best way of thriving even in this world. Prayer whets the tools, oils the wheels, and brings a blessing. Riches an evil only in their abuse. In the hand a blessing, in the heart a curse. Riches not bad, therefore given to the good; not the best, therefore given also to the bad. Taken from the good for trial, from the bad for conviction or punishment. Not money, but the love of it, the root of all evil (1Ti. 6:10). Jobs grace seen in his having riches without setting his heart on them (ch. Job. 31:24-25; Psa. 62:10). One of the few examples in which the camel gets through the needles eye (Mat. 19:24). In the N.T., the poor of this world often chosen as heirs of the kingdom (Jas. 2:5). The Master himself without a place on which to lay his head (Mat. 8:20). Enough for the servant that he be as his Lord (Mat. 10:25). Job pious, and his piety acting as a friend to his prosperity; prosperous, and his prosperity giving a lustre to his piety [Henry.]

Household. Body of servants or slaves required for cattle and agriculture. Jobs slaves or servants treated by him with justice and humanity (ch. Job. 31:13). Regarded by him as in Gods sight on the same footing with himself (ch. Job. 31:14). Could all bear honourable testimony to his conduct and character (ch. Job. 31:31). Like Abraham, doubtless, had them trained for Gods service as well as his own (Gen. 14:14).

3. His dignity. So that (or, and) he was the greatest, &c. A new feature in his prosperity. Probably indicates his eminence and rank as a prince or magistrate. Job not only the richest but the most respected in the land (Gen. 24:35; Gen. 26:13; Ecc. 2:9). A man of great authority, not only from his possessions but his character. His greatness not only that of wealth, but of intellectual and moral worth (ch. Job. 29:11; Job. 29:16; Job. 31:16-20). Mentioned to show the greatness of his fall and his grace in bearing it. Job, like David and Daniel, an example of grace coupled with earthly nobility. Grace graces the highest position. Goodness, the fairest jewel in an earthly coronet. Grace found in every station. Not many noble are called, yet always some (1Co. 1:26). Poor Lazarus reposes in rich Abrahams bosom. Goodness appears the more excellent when associated with worldly greatness. Has then most to overcome and can most diffuse its influence.

Men of the East. The East applied to countries cast of Palestine, as the north of Arabia. Heb., Sons of the East. Noted for their riches, yet Job the richest of them all. Easy with God to make his children the greatest, yet in love often places them among the least in this world (1Co. 1:27-28).

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

PROLOGUE TO THE GREAT TESTING

MYSTERY OF SILENCE JOB: MIRROR OF MODERN MANJob. 1:1Job. 2:13

1. Jobs wealth and piety (Job. 1:1-5)

TEXT 1:15

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. (2) And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. (3) His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household) so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. (4) And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. (5) And It was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

COMMENT 1:15

Job: Whose Face in the Mirror?
He who knows the why can bear with any how.[26] Nietzsche

[26] Viktor Frank), the Viennese psychiatrist, powerfully uses Nietzsches insight in the development of his Theory of Logotherapy. Dr. Frankl is surely psychologically correct in his assertion that mans search for meaning is our most fundamental project. See his Mans Search for Meaning.

The prose narrative of The Prologue (i.e., Job. 1:1Job. 2:13) is divided into six scenes that unfold the dramatic events leading to the dialogue. The drama contains sparse yet powerful simplicity. Charges and countercharges are always delivered with an economy of words. Each dialogue is between two individuals only. Though these dialogues do not engender optimism for the miracle of dialogue (cf. R. Howe, The Miracle of Dialogue), as is often suggested in contemporary encounter literature, we do see the fundamental issues in sharpest focus. But only when Yahweh speaks (chapters Job. 38:1Job. 41:26) do we experience The Shattering of Silence. Only the word from outside[27] can break the solitude of man enslaved in a world of sin and evil.[28]

[27] My forthcoming exegetical-theological commentary on The Johannine Epistles will be entitled The Word from Outside. How vital Johns message is to the church in a world which is continuing to experience a crisis in knowledge and community.

[28] For analysis of this literary structure, See G. Fohrers Zur Vorgeschichte und Komposition des Buches Hiob, Vetus Testamentum, 6 (1956), 24967; H. Rongy, Le prologue du livre de Job, Revue ecclessiastique de Liege 25 (1934), 16871; and N. M. Sarua, Epic Substratum in the Prose of Job, Journal of Biblical Literature 76 (1957), 1325.

Job. 1:1The verse does not begin with the standard Hebrew formula for a historical narrative there was a manwayehi is but rather with the expression a man there was (is hay ah). This phrase indicates a new beginning without any reference to preceding events (e.g. 2Sa. 12:1 and Est. 2:5).[29]

[29] For exhaustive discussion, see E. Dhorme, Job (New York: Nelson, E. T., 1967, pp. 1ff.

There is strong evidence for two different locations for Jobs homelandUz. Technically the location is feasible in either one of the two options: (1) One suggests Hauran, and (2) the other to Edom. As Job is identified with the people of the east, (Job. 1:3) Hauran, i.e., a location northeast of Palestine, is more in harmony with the claim in Job. 1:3. Job is not described as a Jew but rather as a foreigner. This claim suggests that we should not connect Uz with any specific contact in Palestine. Lam. 4:21 says that the daughter of Edom dwells in Uz. Yet in Jer. 25:20 Uz is described separately from Edom, but related to the Philistines. Uz is said to be a son of Dishan and related to the area of Seir in Gen. 36:28. Uz is the name of a son of Aram in Gen. 10:23 (see Josephus, Antiquities, 1.6.4) and of Nahors oldest son in Gen. 22:21. In a special appendix to Job in the LXX (Job. 42:17), Jobs homeland is located near Idumea and Arabia. The above possibilities place Job in both the north and the south, but in all probability the suggestions that Hauran or a northern location is closest to the data found in the verse is to be accepted.

The root meaning of the name Job also presents a difficulty. In Hebrew the name is spelled Iyyob (possible root ybmeaning the hated one or aggressor). Job the person is pictured as a great near eastern potentate, who was in all probability a comparatively young man (Job. 15:10). His character is analyzed in four virtues: (1) Blameless (Hebrew -tarn is similar in import to the Latin word integer, perfect or well rounded). His character is without flaw or inconsistency. The Hebrew word does not mean sinless; perhaps our English word integrity adequately expresses the connotation. (2) Upright (Heb. Yasarlife and behavior measured up to a standard; one who is upright in relations to otherssee Psa. 25:21 for parallel between perfection and uprightness). (3) Fearing God means a relationship based on obedient reverences, cf. Pro. 3:7; Pro. 14:16; Pro. 16:6. (4) Avoiding evilor turned away from evil means that Job deliberately and persistently chooses the good. Right living before God always means obedience to the will of the Lord; and reverence is the very foundation of obedience.

Job. 1:2Directly following the analysis of Jobs character, our text reveals the close connection between Jobs uprightness and the Lords reward (Psa. 127:3; Psa. 128:6) of many children. The grammar contains a consecutive waw which could be translated and so there were born to him as a result of his righteousness (compare with 1Sa. 2:5; Rth. 4:15; and Job. 42:13).

Job. 1:3Jobs blessings include such property as a seminomadic potentate might possess (Gen. 12:16; Gen. 24:35). The collective term miqneh is translated by substance in our A. V. text. The term usually designates cattle and sheep and does not include the main sign of the nomads wealth, camels and asses. The female asses were valued for both their milk and their foals. They were also easier to ride than the male asses. Jobs wealth was so enormous that he was the greatest (Heb. verb be, become greatGen. 26:13) of all the easterners (Hebrew qedeni). In Gen. 29:1 the term describes the Arameans near the Euphrates. In Isa. 11:14 the word refers to Israels enemies to the east, i.e., Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites in contrast to the Philistines on the west. (See also Jdg. 6:3; Jdg. 6:33; Jdg. 7:12; Jer. 49:8; Eze. 25:4).

Job. 1:4Though it is not clear from our text whether or not the sons were married, they had their own homes, like Davids two sons (2Sa. 13:7; 2Sa. 14:28). Like Davids daughters, Jobs unmarried daughters stayed in their fathers house (2Sa. 13:7-8; 2Sa. 13:20). It is not to be assumed that we are being confronted with incessant celebration, though the verb forms are in the perfect tense of habit. Probably, the feast was a yearly affair, such as found in Exo. 34:22; Lev. 23:26; Num. 29:35; and 2Ch. 7:9. This much is certain from our texteach of the seven sons had his celebration in his own house, and that their sisters were present at each meeting. Those commenters who suggest impropriety, rather than deep affection, have the disadvantage of being at variance with the entire spirit of the drama. Misfortune came upon Jobs household when there was no rational explanation for the calamity. We must also remember that not one of Jobs three friends suggested any impropriety within Jobs family.

Job. 1:5Apparently Job did not visit any of the festive celebrations. As soon as sons and daughters had completed the days of their feast, Job sends a summons to his sons. The purpose of the summons is to invite them to the sacrifices which he would offer, as in the case of Balaam, Num. 23:1; Num. 23:14; Num. 23:29. The prescribed sacrifices in Job. 42:8 are seven bulls and seven rams, as in the Balaam account. The term translated burnt offerings is not the term used for sin offering, but it is clear that the sacrifice is for the propitiation of sins which they might have committed during the heat of wine. Job rose up early (Heb. verb hsem means to rise early and also connotes quickly, urgentlyJer. 7:13; Hos. 6:4; Zep. 3:7) and offered the sacrifice. The Hebrew word translated renounced Elohim in our text literally means blessed. It is a euphemism for cursed and is so used in Job. 1:11; Job. 2:5; Job. 2:9; 1Ki. 21:10; 1Ki. 21:13; Psa. 10:3.[30] The Hebrew word translated heart means even in the inner thoughts and attitudes. The Hebrew lev or levav means seat of the intellect and will more than of the affections and emotions.[31]

[30] Much that is found in S. H. Blank, Hebrew Union College Annual, XXIII, Part 1,19501, 83ff, is unnecessary for adequate understanding of this euphemism.

[31] For thorough analysis of the biblical vocabulary translated heart, see J. Behm, Kardia, TWNT 2, 609616; and R. Jewett, Pauls Anthropological Terms (Leiden: Brill, 1971), esp. pp. 305ff.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) There was a man in the land of Uz.The first mention of this name is in Gen. 10:23, where Uz is said to have been one of the sons of Aram, who was one of the sons of Shem. (Comp. 1Ch. 1:17.) Another Uz (in the Authorised Version spelt Huz) is mentioned in Gen. 22:21 as the firstborn of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. A third form of this name is mentioned in Gen. 36:28 among the sons of Seir the Horite. who inhabited the land of Edom. (Comp. 1Ch. 1:42.) It is probable that each of these is to be associated with a different district: the first perhaps with that of the Lebanona district near Damascus is still called El-Ghutha; the second with that of Mesopotamia or Chaldea; and the third with the Edomite district south of Palestine. From the mention of the land of Uz (Lam. 4:21) and the kings of the land of Uz (Jer. 25:20), where in each case the association seems to be with Edom, it is probable that the land of Job is to be identified rather with the district south and southeast of Palestine.

Whose name was Job.The name is really Iyyov, and is carefully to be distinguished from the Job (Yov) who was the son of Issachar (Gen. 46:13), and from the Jobab (Yovav) who was one of the kings of Edom (Gen. 36:33), with both of which it has been confounded. The form of the name may suggest the signification of the assaulted one, as the root from which it appears to be derived means was an enemy.

Perfect and upright . . .Noah in like manner is said to have been perfect (Gen. 6:9). Abram was required to be so (Gen. 17:1), and Israel generally (Deu. 18:13), though the adjective in these places is not quite the same as that used here; and our Lord required the same high standard of His disciples (Mat. 5:48), while He also, through the gift of the Spirit, made it possible. The character here given to Job is that in which wisdom is declared to consist. (Comp. Job. 28:28.) It has the twofold aspect of refusing the evil and choosing the good, of aiming at a lofty ideal of excellence and of shunning that which is fatal or opposed to it.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

PROLOGUE Chaps. 1, 2.

THE PIETY AND PROSPERITY OF JOB, Job 1:1-5.

1. There was a man These first words point to an historical basis for the ensuing work. Job bears the noble title of , man, in contradistinction to , “mean man.” Isa 2:9; Isa 5:15, etc. A similar distinction occurs in Latin between vir and homo; in Greek between and . In our own language man from the Sanscrit manu, originally a thinker, ( man, “to think,”) is, like of the text, an honourable designation. “Human beings,” says Herodotus, “are many, but men are few.” Ezekiel (Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20) ranks Job, with Noah and Daniel, as highest types of our race.

The land of Uz So called, probably, from Uz, a son of Dishan, (Gen 36:28,) and grandson of Seir. The translation of the word Uz by the Septuagint into , Ausitis, has led some, on account of a supposed resemblance to the word , AEsitae, the name of a tribe mentioned by Ptolemy, ( Geogr., Job 5:19,) and living in the Arabian desert west from Babylon, to fix upon the neighbourhood of Babylonia as the home of the patriarch. But little reliance, however, can be placed upon this fanciful philology, and as little upon Moslem traditions, which induce others to look for the country of Job in the Hauran, (Delitzsch,) or East Hauran, (Zockler,) a province east of the Jordan, and stretching southward from Damascus, being a part of the ancient kingdom of Bashan. The recent commentator Hitzig, after a long and laboured but unsatisfactory argument, based upon ancient idolatrous worship, locates Uz in the hill district of Tulul, which upon the west is bounded by the mountain range of Hauran.

We rather accord with the ancient opinion, according to which Uz lay in the northern part of Arabia, and, comprehending Edom, (as intimated in Lam 4:21,) extended toward the Euphrates, for the most part corresponding to the Arabia Petraea of classical geography. In support of this we may note, 1. That Job was the greatest of all the men of the East; that is, of the bene Kedem, one of the nations of Arabia. “The sons of the East,” says Gesenius, ( Thesaurus, page 1193,) “are the inhabitants of Arabia Deserta, which extends from the east of Palestine to the Euphrates.” (See note on Job 1:3.) The Scriptures help us in determining their residence, for we learn from Gen 25:4; Gen 25:6, that Abraham sent among others the sons of Midian “eastward unto the east country;” and from Jdg 6:3, that subsequently the Midianites and the Amalekites were in confederacy with “the children of the East;” and from Isa 11:14, that God linked “them of the East” with Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, in one common though dissimilar doom. From the remarkable association of these nations with “the children of the East” in these and similar passages, we are justified in concluding that Job must have lived somewhere between Egypt and the Euphrates, and to the south or south-east of Palestine. 2. The sole scriptures, other than that of our text, that speak of Uz as a country, associate it with Edom, (Lam 4:21, and Jer 25:20,) though in the latter case other nations are also mentioned. The latter of these passages does not conflict with the conclusion from the former, that Uz was the more extensive country and included Edom. Then, too, the grandson of Seir the Horite, whose descendants dwelt in Edom, was called Uz. (Gen 36:20-21; Gen 36:28; Gen 36:30-31.) As the neighbouring mountains received and transmitted the name of the grandparent, Seir, it stands in reason that the country of Edom should take the name of the grandson, Uz, though subsequently displaced by the name of Edom, (Idumea.) This view is strengthened by Deu 2:12, “The HORIM also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them [margin, inherited them] when they had destroyed them,” etc. The relatives of this Uz evidently dwelt in Seir and the adjacent country, until driven out by the children of Esau. 3. This position agrees better with that of the countries where Job’s friends lived than any other hypothesis; nor is the objection of its distance from Chaldaea a serious difficulty. (See note on Job 1:17.) It would also account for the great knowledge of Egypt displayed by Job, since it also lay not far from one of the most ancient caravan routes, whose starting point was Egypt. It harmonizes, also, with the mention of Jordan in Job 40:23, and of Canaanitish merchants in Job 41:6. 4. If tradition be appealed to, the statement in the supplement to the Septuagint, on the authority of the Syriac Book, that Job “dwelt in the land of Ausis, (Uz,) on the borders of Idumea and Arabia,” is worthy of quite as much consideration as the sites of monasteries, (J.G. Wetzstein,) or the fact that the sepulchre of Job is also pointed out in the Hauran, since four other places also lay claim to his tomb.

Whose name was Job , iyyob. The origin of this name is exceedingly uncertain. The more general view is that of our older lexicographers, who rendered it persecuted, on the supposition that the word is a passive form of the verb , ayab, to hate, or attack. A serious objection against such a derivation is, that the kittol form, in which the word is, has an active or a neuter signification, and exceedingly rarely a passive meaning, (such as, for instance, yillodh, born,) so that the probabilities would be quite as great that the word “iyob” would be rendered “persecutor” as “persecuted.” The more plausible view is that which finds in the word the idea of penitence, although Zockler (in Lange) thinks that both views are equally admissible. On the hypothesis that the book is of great antiquity, we should be justified in seeking the origin of the word in the Arabic, as in those ancient times this language was closely allied to the Hebrew, furnishing the latter language with many of its roots and archaic forms. The Arabic aba, to turn, return, is near akin to the Hebrew oub, (cognate with shoub,) signifying also to turn; thence as a noun, one who turns back (to God) or repents. This view is held by Eichhorn, Rosenmuller, Ewald, Delitzsch, and Dillmann, among others. A somewhat similar name, , Job, was borne by the third son of Issachar, Gen 46:13; and an Edomite king, Jobab, is spoken of in Gen 36:33. This name corresponds with the Greek name of Job, as cited in the supplement to the Septuagint.

Perfect and upright . These words express, as nearly as possible, the sense of the original. The Jewish idea, (for instance that of Rabbi Solomon, reappearing in Ewald and Henry,) that the perfection of Job consisted simply in “sincerity” or “innocency of heart,” is incomplete, presenting but one side of a many-sided prism. The word “perfect,” like the crystal of the prism, is generic, and contemplates the moral being as a whole, rather than in specific traits. Wherever this work of faith manifests itself, whether amid the mountains of Idumea or the distractions of camp-life, as with the two Roman centurions, or under Christ’s direct disclosure of himself, as to a Saul of Tarsus, it is the work of God, deep, radical, and superinduced upon the nature of man by the Spirit of God. This perfection was not inconsistent with infirmities, errors of judgment, and perhaps derelictions of the heart, as is exemplified in Job’s own case; for which, through accepted faith, the unknown mediation of Christ may as truly avail in behalf of a Job, as the known, avails for us. Thus saints may ripen for heaven in other folds than that of Israel or of Christendom, and the words of Peter be verified: “In every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Act 10:35. Job’s perfection could not, more than ours, stand complete in the presence of the Absolute Perfection, and so needed, like ours, the mediation.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job 1:1-3 Introduction Job 1:1-3 serves as an introduction to the book of Job. We find a similar opening statement in the book of Samuel (1Sa 25:2).

1Sa 25:2, “And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.”

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Job 1:1 “There was a man” Comments – The phrase “there was a man” is used as a parabolic phrase throughout the Old and New Testaments. Nathan began his parable to King David with the phrase “There were two men” (2Sa 12:1) Jesus used this phrase to introduce some of His parables, saying “There was a certain rich man” (Luk 16:1; Luk 16:19), and “There was a certain judge” (Job 18:2).

2Sa 12:1, “And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.”

This phrase is also used to introduce narrative material as well as parables.

Jdg 13:2, “And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.”

Jdg 17:1, “And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.”

1Sa 1:1, “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:”

1Sa 9:1, “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.”

Act 8:9, “But there was a certain man , called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:”

Act 9:33, “And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.”

Act 10:1, “ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,”

Job 1:1 “in the land of Uz” Comments – Since it was a common practice for the ancients to name their land and cities after themselves and their forefathers, the Hebrew name Uz ( ) (H5780) probably refers to the region of land settled by the descendents of Uz. If we search the Scriptures, we find three people of antiquity by this name.

1. Uz, the Son of Aram – The first was the son of Aram, a great grandson to Noah through Shem (Gen 10:23, 1Ch 1:17).

Gen 10:23, “And the children of Aram; Uz , and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.”

1Ch 1:17, “The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz , and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.”

2. Uz, the Son of Nahor – The second individual by the name of Uz was the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother (Gen 22:20-21).

Gen 22:20-21, “And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz his firstborn , and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,”

3. Uz, the Son of Dishan – The third individual was the son of Dishan (Gen 36:28, 1Ch 1:42).

Gen 36:28, “The children of Dishan are these; Uz , and Aran.”

1Ch 1:42, “The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Zavan, and Jakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz , and Aran.”

It is impossible to verify which of these three descendents were associated with the land of Uz. The fact that this location is placed parallel to Edom in Lam 4:21 suggests that its location is in the land of Edom, a region southeast of Canaan.

Lam 4:21, “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz ; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.”

The ancient land of Uz was referred to as late as the Babylonian captivity (Jer 25:20).

Jer 25:20, “And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,”

The LXX gives additional text to the closing verse of Job 42:17, which describes the land of Uz on the borders of Idumea and Arabia.

Job 42:17 “And Job died, an old man and full of days: and it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up. This man is described in the Syriac book [as] living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job, and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. And [his] friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad sovof the Sauchaeans, Sophar king of the Minaeans.” ( Brenton)

Josephus tells us that Uz, the son of Aram, founded the cities of Trachonitis and Damascus.

“Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean. For Elam left behind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians. Ashur lived at the city Nineve; and named his subjects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation, beyond others. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans. Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians; as Laud founded the Laudites, which are now called Lydians. Of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus : this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia; and Gather the Bactrians; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini. Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews. Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg: he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division. Now Joctan, one of the sons of Heber, had these sons , Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it. And this shall suffice concerning the sons of Shem.” ( Antiquities 1.6.4)

Job 1:1 “whose name was Job” Comments – The Hebrew name Job “ ’Iyowb ” ( ) (H347) is popularly interpreted to mean, “ hated (i.e. persecuted)” ( Strong), “persecuted” ( Gesenius), and “hated, persecuted” ( PTW). Strong says this word is derived from the primitive root ( ) (H340), meaning “to hate.” However, David Cline understands it to mean, “where is my (divine) father,” perhaps derived from the word ( ) (H1), meaning “father.” [11]

[11] David J. A. Clines. Job 1-20, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 17, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 11.

Job 1:1 “and that man was perfect and upright” Comments – Job was not the only individual in Scriptures to be called perfect and upright. Noah is described as just and perfect (Gen 6:9). Abraham was also called to be perfect before God (Gen 17:1).

Gen 6:9, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

Gen 17:1, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

The virtues ascribed to Job as perfect and upright do not only refer to his character before his trial, but also to the man Job after his affliction; for we know from Jas 1:2-4 that perfection is the product of patience.

Jas 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

If he was perfect before his trial, then he was more mature after his trial and able to be faithful with twice the blessings from God; for it was God’s intent to bring Job into a greater blessing by allowing this trial to come.

We see in this passage how God will allow us to go through periods of testing so that we will learn to place our faith in Him and become more mature than before. Note these words from Frances J. Roberts.

“My people, heed My words; yea, walk not carelessly; neither lay out thine own paths on which to travel. Ye cannot know what lieth in the distance, nor what adversity ye may encounter tomorrow. So walk closely with Me, that ye may be able to draw quickly upon My aid. Ye need Me; and no matter how well-developed is thy faith nor how mature is thy growth in grace, never think for a moment that ye need My support any less. Nay, but the truth is that ye need it even more. For I shelter the new-born from many a trial and testing such as I permit to confront those who are growing up in spiritual stature. Yea, verily, ye cannot grow unless I do bring into your lives these proving and testing experiences. So hold thee more firmly to My hand as ye journey on in thy Christian walk. Trust not in thine own increasing strength; for verily, it is not thy strength but rather My strength within thee that ye feel. Ye are as vulnerable to the treachery of the enemy and as frail as ever; but thy knowledge of Me has deepened, and because of this thy trust in Me should come easier.” [12]

[12] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 17.

Job 1:2  And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3  His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Job 1:3 Comments – Alexander Theroux, writing about the Arabian camel in ancient and modern times, says, “To possess fifty (camels) is to be considered rich.” [13]

[13] Alexander Theroux, “How Curious the Camel,” in Reader’s Digest (February 1983), 91.

Job 1:3 Comments – One pastor likened the oxen to modern day plows which were used to plant a harvest, and the asses to today’s combines which were used to gather in the harvest, and the camels to trucks which transported this harvest to the markets. Together, these three animals were used to produce a harvest from the field, while the sheep were used to produce a harvest from the livestock, such as wool and meat.

Job 1:4  And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

Job 1:5  And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Job 1:5 “that Job sent and sanctified them” Comments – How did Job sanctify his children? He did so by his righteousness and his prayers. According to 1Co 7:14 these children were considered holy in God’s eyes.

1Co 7:14, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.”

Job 1:5 Comments – A lady once said that when her children are with her, she talks to them about Jesus; and when they are away, she talks to Jesus about them. This statement characterizes Job’s attitude towards his children.

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 1:6 Comments – The sons of God are celestial beings, as opposed to the sons of men, who are human beings (Gen 6:2, Job 38:7).

Gen 6:2, “That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”

Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Job 1:7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:8 Comments – Job’s name came up before God’s throne because of his righteousness. In a similar manner Cornelius’ name came up before the Lord because of his prayers and alms (Act 10:4).

Act 10:4, “And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”

Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

Job 1:10 “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” Comments – I believe that Job’s hedge was God’s host of angels, or even just one angel, encamping about Job and all of his household, as in Psa 34:7, Psa 91:11-12, and 2Ki 6:17.

Psa 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

Psa 91:1-16, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

2Ki 6:17, “And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Isaiah spoke of a hedge of protection that had been place around the people of Israel (Isa 5:5).

Isa 5:5, “And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:”

The angels of the Lord are sent forth by God for our protection today (Mat 18:10, Heb 1:14).

Mat 18:10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

Heb 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Job 1:10 “thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” – Comments – Or, “thou hast commanded a blessing upon him”

Job 1:10 Comments – When we serve the Lord, He will protect every area of lives. He will protect our physical health, the health and well-being of our family, our possessions, our endeavours, and our spiritual journey. The Lord will watch over every area of our lives.

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 1:12 Comments – We know from the book of Job that at one time God chose to make known to Satan Job’s loyalty to God through a trial. We read in Eph 3:10 that God has chosen to reveal His manifold wisdom to the spiritual principalities and powers in heaven by using the Church of Jesus Christ.

Eph 3:10, “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Prologue Job 1:1 to Job 2:13 serves as a prologue to the book of Job, providing the setting for the speeches that are to follow. This opening story describes Job’s prosperity and righteous standing before God. Satan comes before God’s throne and challenges God’s standard of righteousness upon the man Job. God allows Satan to take everything away from Job, his possessions and his children, but requires that Satan spare his life. Still, Job exhibits God’s standard of righteousness.

In the prologue to the book of Job (Job 1:1 to Job 2:13), God reveals His predestined divine plan and purpose for mankind (Job 1:1-5), which is prosperity for those who walk upright before Him; and God calls Job to demonstrate righteousness and prosperity to his generation (Job 1:6 to Job 2:13). Regarding God’s predestination, Job’s godly character and prosperity serves as a testimony of mankind’s divine predestination upon earth, which reflects God’s original divine commission in the Garden of Eden (Gen 1:26-28), which is to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion upon the earth. Regarding man’s divine calling, after prospering Job, God then called this man to demonstrate to his generation the fact that Job’s prosperity was a result of divine blessings, rather than from Job’s own abilities. Thus, it was necessary for God to remove Job’s prosperity entire, and restore it two-fold as a sign to his generation that Job’s prosperity came from God because of his right standing before God. Job’s suffering and restoration of blessings was intended to establish righteousness in the heart of the men of his generation so that He could prosper them as well. Unfortunately, it was necessary for Job to suffer in order to serve as a testimony to his generation.

God reveals His divine destiny and calling to establish righteousness, or full redemption, for mankind through the testimony of Job’s prosperity in every area of his life. However, the method that full, eternal redemption is obtained for mankind will be through suffering, and God called His Son Jesus Christ to suffer loss by divesting Himself of His heavenly prosperity, and taking on the seed of man, born of a virgin, and suffer on the Cross (Php 2:5-8), to be resurrected and seated at God’s right hand, and enjoying a greater prosperity by bringing many sons of men to glory (Php 2:9-11, Heb 2:10). Thus, Job serves as a type and figure of Christ’s redemption for mankind. For this reason, the issue of suffering is immediately presented to the reader in this opening passage of Scripture (Job 1:6 to Job 2:13). Job is called by God to go through a season of intense suffering beyond what any righteous man has endured in the past. However, he will be redeemed by God in the closing scene and be used to redeem his three friends. Thus, we see Job as a type and figure of Christ, who endured suffering so that He might redeem his generation. As we serve the Lord in this way we become like Christ in that we are used as divine instruments to bring about redemption for our generation.

Satan’s Access to God’s Throne The opening narrative text to the book of Job (Job 1:1 to Job 2:13) tells the story of Satan coming before God’s throne and accusing one of His saints named Job. The question is often asked if Satan still has access to God’s throne today as in the days of Job. Rev 12:10 tells us that Satan, the accuser of the brethren, spends day and night accusing Christians of their faults before God.

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

We also find in Rom 8:33-34 a description of how Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of the Father to intercede for those whom Satan has accused.

Rom 8:33-34, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Paul also warned Timothy about the adversary’s opportunities to speak reproachfully against those with sin in the lives (1Ti 5:14). We ask the question, “To whom is Satan speaking reproachfully?” The implied answer in this passage of Scripture is that he is speaking to God about the faults of the saints.

1Ti 5:14, “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”

This tells us that when we sin, we must be quick to confess our sins so that Jesus Christ is given the authority to intercede in our behalf to the Father. We also have the story in Job 1-2 of how Satan stood before God and accused Job of being unrighteous in his heart. The Lord said, “and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3) Thus, we see that Satan’s accusations have the potential to move God against us. Job cried out for a redeemer to plead for his innocence, but there was none before Jesus’ First Coming (Job 9:33). However, today we have an intercessor.

Job 9:33, “Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.”

The Work of Satan in Scripture Job 1:1 to Job 2:13 serves as the prologue to the poetic book of Job. This prologue is written as a narrative, and the actual poetic parallelism does not begin until Job 3:1.

Note the destruction caused by the Adversary in chapters 1 and 2 of Job. When comparing this to Joh 10:10, which refers to Satan as the “thief” that “cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy”, we see that Satan’s works are the same then as they are today.

Joh 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Job’s Wealth and Piety

v. 1. There was a man in the land of Uz, in Northern Arabia, toward the Euphrates, whose name was Job, generally considered a descendant of Aram, Gen 22:21, and therefore related to the patriarchs, although very distantly; and that man was perfect and upright, his moral integrity and blamelessness resulting in the true righteousness of life, and one that feared God and eschewed evil, his heart being disposed in the right manner toward God and everything good, and therefore also filled with loving regard for all men. Job seems to have been an emir, or chief, of the country, both on account of his wealth and on account of his ability as leader.

v. 2. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters, a great blessing of God; for children, according to Scriptures, are special gifts of His kindness, Psalms 127, 128.

v. 3. His substance also, that is, his possessions, his wealth, was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household, very many servants, these being needed to maintain an establishment of such princely magnitude, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East, he outranked in wealth and power all the inhabitants of this section of Arabia.

v. 4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, everyone his day, they observed the custom of celebrating the several birthdays in the family, or some other special holidays, with banquets connected with wine drinking; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them, for the sons had establishments of their own, while the unmarried sisters lived at home with their mother. These invitations were regularly issued and as regularly accepted.

v. 5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, when the annual period of these festivals had come to a close, when everyone of the brothers had arranged and celebrated his feast, that Job sent and sanctified them, to atone for probable transgressions by sacrifices of purification, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all, Job himself officiating as priest of the congregation of his family and making his offering at a time when the hearts would be most inclined to quiet contemplation; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, forgetting the careful watch over every single word and act which quiet sobriety demands, and cursed God in their hearts, renouncing or forgetting Him and His fear, as they abandoned themselves to their pleasure. Thus did Job continually, he was wont to do that as often as occasion demanded, every year. Job is an example of a pious father, who fears God and brings up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, who also patiently corrects their faults and guides them in the paths of righteousness.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

The “Historical Introduction” to Job extends to two chapters. In the first we are given an account, firstly, of his outward circumstanceshis abode, wealth, family, etc; and of his character (Job 1:1-5); secondly, of the circumstances under which God allowed him to be tried by afflictions (Job 1:6-12); thirdly, of the earlier afflictions themselves (Job 1:13-19); and, fourthly, of his behaviour under them (Job 1:20-22). The second chapter gives, firstly, the ground of his further trial (Job 2:1-6); secondly, the nature of it, and his behaviour under it (Job 2:7-10); and thirdly, the coming of his three friends to him, and their behaviour (Job 2:11-13). The narrative is characterized by remarkable simplicity and directness. It has a decided air of antiquity about it, and presents but few linguistic difficulties.

Job 1:1

There was a man. This opening presents to us the Book of Job as a detached work, separate from and independent of all others. The historical books are generally united each to each by the you connective. In the land of Us. Uz, or Huz (Hebrew, ), seems to have been originally, like Judah, Moab, Ammon, Edom, etc; the name of a man. It was borne by a son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham (Gen 22:21), and again by a son of Dishan, the son of Seir the Horite (Gen 36:28). Some regard it as also a personal name in Gen 10:23. But from this use it passed to the descendants of one or more of these patriarchs, and from them to the country or countries which they inhabited. The “land of Uz” is spoken of, not only in this passage, but also in Jer 25:20 and Lam 4:21. These last-cited places seem to show that Jeremiah’s “land of Uz” was in or near Edom, and therefore south of Palestine; but as Uzzites, like so many nations of these ports, were migratory, we need not be surprised if the name Uz was, at different times, attached to various localities. Arabian tradition regards the region of the Hauran, north-east of Palestine, as Job’s country. The other geographical names in the Book of Job point to a more eastern location, one not far remote from the southern Euphrates, and the adjacent parts of Arabia Sheba, Dedan, Teman, Buz, Shuah, and Chesed (Casdim) all point to this locality. On the other hand, there is a passage in the inscriptions of Asshur-banipal which, associating together the names of Huz and Buz (Khazu and Bazu), appears to place them both in Central Arabia, not far from the Jebel Shnmmar. My own conclusion would be that, while the name “land of Uz” designated at various periods various localities, Job’s “land of Uz” lay a little west of the Lower Euphrates, on the borders of Chaldea and Arabia. Whose name was Job. In the Hebrew the name is “Iyyob,” whence the “Eyoub” of the Arabs and the “Hiob” of the Germans. It is quite a distinct name from that of the third son of Issachar (Gen 46:18), which is properly expressed by “Job,” being . Iyyob is supposed to be derived from aib (), “to be hostile,” and to mean “cruelly or hostilely treated,” in which ease we must suppose it to have been first given to the patriarch in his later life, and to have superseded some other, as “Peter” superseded “Simon,” and “Paul” superseded “Saul.” According to a Jewish tradition, adopted by some of the Christian Fathers, Job’s original name was “Jobab,” and under this name he reigned as King of Edom (Gen 36:33). But this kingship is scarcely compatible with the view given of him in the Book of Job. The supposed connection of the name of Juba with that of Job is very doubtful. And that man was perfect. Tam (), the word translated “perfect,” seems to mean “complete, entire, not wanting in any respect,” It corresponds to the Greek , and the Latin integer (comp. Horace, ‘Od.,’ 1.22. 1, “Integer vitro, scelerisque purus’). It does not mean” absolutely sinless,” which Job was not (comp. Job 9:20; Job 40:4). And upright. This is the exact meaning of yashar (). “The Book of Jasher” was “the Book of the Upright” ( , 2Sa 1:18). One that feared God, and eschewed evil; literally, fearing God and departing from evil. The same testimony is given of Job by God himself in verse 8, and again in Job 2:3 (comp. also Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20). We must suppose Job to have reached as near perfection as was possible tot man at the time.

Job 1:2

And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. The numbers three and seven, and their product, ten, are certainly sacred numbers, regarded as expressive of ideal perfection. But this does not prevent their being also historical. As Canon Cook observes, “Striking coincidences between outward facts and ideal numbers are not uncommon in the purely historical portions of Scripture”. There are twelve apostles, seventy (7 10) disciples sent out by our Lord, seven deacons, three synoptic Gospels, twelve minor prophets, seven princes of Persia and Media, ten sons of Haman, three of Noah, Gomer, Terah, Levi, and Zeruiah, seven of Japhet, Mizraim, Seir the Horite, Gad, and Jesse (1Ch 2:13-15), twelve of Ishmael, twelve of Jacob, etc. Our Lord is thirty (3 x 10) years old when he begins to teach, and his ministry lasts three years; he heals seven lepers, casts out of Mary Magdalene seven devils, speaks upon the cross seven “words,” bids Peter forgive his brother “seventy times seven,” etc. It is thus not only in vision or in prophecy, or in symbolical language, that these “ideal numbers” come to the front far more frequently than ethers, but also in the most matter-of-fact histories.

Job 1:3

His substance also; literally, his acquisition (from , acquirere), but used of wealth generally. Seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses. Note, first of all, the absence of horses or mules from this listan indication of high antiquity. Horses were not known in Egypt till the time of the shepherd-kings, who introduced them from Asia. None are given to Abraham by the Pharaoh contemporary with him (Gen 12:16). We hear of none as possessed by the patriarchs in Palestine; and, on the whole, it is not probable that they had been known in Western Asia very long before their introduction into Egypt. They are natives of Central Asia, where they are still found wild, and passed gradually by exportation to the more southern regions, Armenia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Arabia. Note, secondly, that the items of Job’s wealth accord with those of Abraham’s (Gen 12:16). Thirdly, note that Job’s wealth in cattle is not beyond credibility. An Egyptian lord of the time of the fourth dynasty relates that he possessed above 1000 oxen and cows, 974 sheep, 2,235 goals, and 760 asses. Further, the proportion of the camels is noticeable, and implies a residence on the borders of the desert (see the comment on verse 1). and a very great household; literally, and a very great service, or retinue of servants. Oriental emirs and sheikhs consider it necessary for their dignity to maintain a number of attendants and retainers (except, perhaps, in feudal times) quite unknown to the West. Abraham had three hundred and eighteen trained servants, born in his house (Gen 14:14). Egyptian households were “full of domestics,” comprising attendants of all kindsgrooms, artisans, clerks, musicians, messengers, and the like. A sheikh, situated as Job was, would also require a certain number of guards, while for his cattle he would need a large body of shepherds, ox-herds, and the like. So that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. The Beney Kedem, or “men of the east,” literally, sons of the east, seems to include the entire population between Palestine and the Euphrates (Gen 29:1; Jdg 6:3; Jdg 7:12; Jdg 8:10; Isa 11:14; Jer 49:28, etc.). Many tribes of Arabs are similarly designated at the present day, e.g. the Beni Harb, the Beni Suhr, the Bani Naim, the Bani Lain, etc. It would seem that the Phoenicians must have called themselves Beni Kedem when they settled in Greece, since the Greeks knew them as “Cadmeisns,” and made them descendants of a mythic “Cadreus’ (Herod; 5.57-59). The name “Saracens” is to some extent analogous, since it means “Men of the morning.”

Job 1:4

And his sons went and feasted. “Went and feasted” seems to mean “were in the habit of feastlng” (Rosenmuller, Lee). In their houses. Each had his own residence, and the residence was not a tent, but a” house.” Job and his sons were not mere nomads, but belonged to the settled population. The same is implied by the “ploughing of the oxen” (verse 14), and indeed by Job’s “yoke of oxen” in verse 3. Every one his day. Most commentators regard these feasts as birthday festivities. Each son in his turn, when his birthday arrived, entertained his six brothers. Others think that each of the seven brothers had his own special day of the week on which, he received his brothers at his table, so that the feasting was continuous. But this scarcely suits the context. And it is admitted that “his day” (in Job 3:1) means “his birthday.” The celebration of birthdays by means of a feast was a very widespread custom in the East. And sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. This by itself is sufficient to show that the feasts were occasional, not continuous. Constant absence of daughters, day after day, from the parental board is inconceivable.

Job 1:5

And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about; rather, when the days of the feasting had come round; i.e. whenever one of the birthdays had arrived in due course, and the feasting had taken place. That Job sent and sanctified them. In the old world, outside the Mosaic Law, the father of the family was the priest, to whom alone it belonged to bless, purify, and offer sacrifice. Job, after each birthday-feast, sent, it would seem, for his sons, and purified them by the accustomed ablutions, or possibly by some other ceremonial process, regarding it as probable that, in the course of their feasting, they had contracted some defilement. It would seem by the next clause that the purification took place at the close of the day of festivity. And rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings. Burnt offerings were instituted soon after the Fall, as we learn from Gen 4:4, and were in common use long before the Mosaic Law was given. The practice was common, so far as appears, to all the nations of antiquity, except the Persians (Herod; 1:132). According to the number of them all One, apparently, for each child, since each might have sinned in the way suggested. The offerings were clearly it. tended as expiatory. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Two wholly different meanings are assigned by good Hebraists to the expression . According to some, has its usual sense, “to bless,” and signifies “false gods,” or “idols;” according to the others, who form the great majority, has its usual sense of “God,” and has the unusual sense of “curse”. How the same word comes to have the two wholly opposite senses of “to bless” and “to curse” has been differently explained. Some think that, as men blessed their friends both on receiving them and on bidding them adieu, the word got the sense of “bidding adieu to,” “dismissing,” “renouncing.” Others regard the use of for “to curse” as a mere euphemism, and compare the use of sacer and sacrari in Latin, and such expressions as “Bless the stupid man!” “What a blessed nuisance!” in English. The maledictory sense seems to be established by Job 2:9 and 1Ki 21:10. By “cursing God in their hearts” Job probably means “forgetting him,” “putting him out of sight,” “not giving him the honour which is his due.” Thus did Job continually; literally, as in the margin, all the days; i.e. whenever one of the festival-days occurred.

Job 1:6

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. By “the sons of God” it is generally admitted that, in this place, the angels are meant (so again in Job 38:7). The meaning of the phrase is probably different in Gen 6:2. Angels and men are alike “sons of God,” as created by him, in his image, to obey and serve him. Christ, the “Only Begotten,” is his Son in quite a different sense. We may gather, perhaps, from this place and Job 2:1 that there are fixed times at which the angelic host, often sent out by the Almighty on distant errands, has to gather together, one and all, before the great white throne, to pay homage to their Lord, and probably to give an account of their doings. And Satan came also among them. The word “Satan” has the article prefixed to it here and elsewhere in Job, as in Zec 3:1, Zec 3:2 and in Luk 22:31; Rev 12:9. Thus accompanied, it is less a proper name than an appellative”the adversary”. In 1Ch 21:1, without the article, it is undoubtedly a proper name, as in the New Testament, passim. Accusation of men before God is one of the special offices of the evil spirit (see Zec 3:1, Zec 3:2), who is “the accuser of the brethren, he that accuses them before God day and night” (Rev 12:10). The accusations that he makes may be either true or false, but they are so often false that his ordinary New Testament name is , “the Slanderer.” The existence of an evil spirit must have been known to all who read or heard the story of the fall of man (Gen 3:1-24.), and the descriptive epithet, “the Adversary,” is likely to have been in use from a very early date. The notion that the Satan of the Old Testament is a reflex of the Persian Ahriman, and that the Jews derived their belief upon the subject from the Persians, is quite untenable. The character and position of Satan in the Hebrew system are quite unlike those of Ahriman (Angro-mainyus) in the religion of the Zoroastrians.

Job 1:7

And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? God condescends to address the evil spirit, and asks him questionsnot that anything could be added to his own knowledge, but that the angels, who were present (Job 1:6), might hear and have their attention called to the doings of Satan, which would need to be watched by them, and sometimes to be restrained or prevented. Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Satan, therefore, is not himself, like the bulk of his evil angels, “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the last day” (Jud 1:6). He searches the whole earth continually, never passing, never resting, but “going about,“ as St. Peter says (1Pe 5:8), “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” waiting till the coming of the “thousand years,” when an angel will “bind him with a great chain, and cast him into the bottom-less pit” (Rev 20:1, Rev 20:2). It will be a happy day for the earth when that time comes.

Job 1:8

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered? literally. Hast thou set thine heart on? equivalent to “Hast thou given thine attention to?” (comp. Isa 41:22; Hag 1:5, Hag 1:7). My servant Job; i.e. “my true servant, faithful in all that he does” (comp. Heb 3:5). It is a high honour to any man for God to acknowledge him as his servant (see Jos 1:2; 1Ki 11:13, etc.). That there is none like him in the earth; rather, for there is none like him (see the Revised Version). This is given as a reason why Satan should have paid special attention to his case, and is a sort of challenge: “Thou that art always spying out some defect or other in a righteous man, hast thou noted my servant Job, and discovered any fault in him?” A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil (see the comment on verse 1).

Job 1:9

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Satan insinuates that Job’s motive is purely selfish. He serves God, not for love of God, or for love of goodness, but for what he gets by it. Satan is too shrewd to endeavour, as Job’s friends do later, to pick holes in Job’s conduct. No; that is exemplary. But the true character of acts is determined by the motive. What is Job’s motive? Does he not serve God to gain his protection and blessing? Similarly, in modem times, ungodly men argue that religious and devout persons are religious and devout with a view to their own interest, because they expect to gain by it, either in this world, or in the next, or in both. This is a form of calumny which it is impossible to escape. And bad men, who are conscious to themselves of never acting except from a selfish motive, may well imagine the same of others. It is rarely that such an insinuation can be disproved. In the present instance God vindicates his servant, and covers the adversary with shame, as the other adversaries and calumniators of righteousness will be covered at the last day.

Job 1:10

Hast not thou made an hedge about him? i.e. “hedged him around, protected him, made a sort of invisible fence about him, through which no evil could creep.” This was undoubtedly true. God had so protected him. But the question was not as to this fact, but as to Job’s motive. Was it mere prudence?tile desire to secure a continuance of this protection? And about his house; i.e. “his family”his sons and daughtersthe members of his household. And about all that he hath on every side. His possessionsland, houses, cattle, live stock of all kinds, furniture, goods and chattels. Thou hast blessed the work of his hands (comp. Psa 1:3, where it is said of the righteous man. that “whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper”). So it was with Job. God’s blessing was upon him, and success crowned all his enterprises. “The work of his hands” will include everything that he attempted. And his substance is increased in the land. In the former clause we have the cause, God’s blessing; in the latter the effect, a great increase in Job’s “substance,” or “cattle” (marginal reading). (On the final number of his cattle, see verse 3.)

Job 1:11

But put forth thine hand now; literally, send forth thy hand, as a man does who strikes a blow (comp. Gen 22:12; Exo 3:20; Exo 9:15, etc.). And touch all that he hath; or, smite all that he hath; i.e. ruin him, strip him of his possessions. And he will curse thee to thy face. Professor Lee translates, “If not, he will bless thee to thy face;” the LXX; “Surely he will bless thee to thy face;” Canon Cook, “See if he will not renounce thee openly.” But the majority of Hebraists agree with the Authorized Version. Satan suggests that, if Job be stripped of his possessions, he will openly curse God, and renounce his worship. Here he did not so much calumniate, or lie, as show the evil thoughts that were in his own heart. No doubt he believed that Job would act as he said.

Job 1:12

And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; literally, in thy hand, as in the margin. God withdraws his protection from Job’s possessions; he does not himself take them away, as Satan had suggested (verse 11); but he allows Satan, who can do nothing without his allowance, to deal with them as he pleases. As God dispenses blessings through the angelic host (Psa 91:11, Psa 91:12; Heb 1:14), so he, sometimes at any rate, allows spirits of evil to be the ministers of his chastisements. Only upon himself put not forth thine hand. The person of Job was not to be touched as yet. He was to be injured only in his belongings. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Having obtained a permission which he thought would serve his purpose, Satan did not delay, but promptly departed, to take advantage of the permission given him. To be in the presence of God must be an intense pain to the evil one.

Job 1:13

And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house. One of the birthdays, the eldest brother’s probably, had come round, and the ordinary gathering (see Job 1:4) had taken placethe feasting and drinking had begun, while the father, remaining in his own house, was perhaps interceding with God for his children, or anxiously considering the possibility that, in their light-hearted merriment, they might have put God away altogether from their thoughts, and So have practically renounced him, when the series of calamities began. How often calamity comes to us when we are least expecting it, when all seems quiet about us, when everything is prosperingnay, even when a high festival-time has come, and the joy-bells are sounding in our ears, and our ‘hearts are elated within us! Job was, at any rate, spared the sudden plunge from exuberant joy into the depths of woe. It was his habit to preserve an even temper, and neither to be greatly exalted, nor, unless under an extremity of suffering, to be greatly depressed. He was now, however, about to be subjected to a fiery trial.

Job 1:14

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses (literally, the she-asses) feeding beside them (literally, at their hand). Note that, notwithstanding the festival, labour was still going on; there was no general holiday; the oxen were at work in the field, not perhaps all of them, but the greater number, for the ploughing-time is short in the Oriental countries, and the “earing” is all done at the same time. The bulk of Job’s labourers were probably engaged in the business, and they had brought the asses with them, probably to keep them under their eye, lest thieves should carry them off, when the catastrophe related in the next verse occurred.

Job 1:15

And the Sabeans (literally, Sheba) fell upon them, and took them away. The Sabeans were the principal people of Arabia in ancient times, and the name seems to be used sometimes in the general sense of “Arabs” (see Psa 72:10, Psa 72:15; Jer 6:20). We may suppose that hem, either the general sense is intended, or, if the specific one, then that, at the date whereto the story of Job belongs, there were Sabeans in Eastern as well as in Southern Arabia, in the neighbourhood of the Upper Persian Gulf as well as in the neighbourhood of the Indian Ocean. The plundering habits of all the Arab tribes are well known. Strabo says that the Sabeans, even at the height of their prosperity, made excursions for the sake of plunder into Arabia Petraea and even Syria (Strab; 16.4) Yea, they have slain; rather, they slew, or they smote. The servants; literally, the young men; i.e. the labourers who were engaged in ploughing, and would be in duty bound to resist the carrying off of the cattle. With the edge of the sword. The lance is the chief weapon of the modern Bedouin, but it may have been different anciently. Or the expression used may merely mean “with weapons of war.” And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Professor Lee translates, “And I have hardly escaped alone to tell thee.”

Job 1:16

While he was yet speaking; literally, he yet speaking; , LXX. The writer hurries his words to express the rapidity with which one announcement followed another (see Job 1:17, Job 1:18). There came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven. “The fire of God” is undoubtedly lightning (comp. Num 11:1-3; 2Ki 1:10, 2Ki 1:14; Psa 78:21). This Satan, under permission, might wield, as being “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2): but there is, no doubt, something very extraordinary in a storm extending over the pastures occupied by nine thousand sheep, and destroying the whole of them (Cook) Still, it cannot be said that such a storm is impossible; and perhaps the damage done was not greater than that which followed on the seventh Egyptian plague (see Exo 9:18-26). And hath burned up the sheep, and the servants; literally, the young men; i.e. the shepherds who were in attendance upon the sheep. And consumed them; literally, devoured them. Fire is often said to “devour” what it destroys. “The Egyptians,” says Herodotus, “believe fire to be a live animal, which eats whatever it can seize, and then, glutted with the food, dies with the matter which it feeds upon” (Herod; 3.16). And I only am escaped alone to tell thee (see the comment on Job 1:15).

Job 1:17

While he was yet speaking, there came also another (see the comment on Job 1:16). The exact repetition of a clause, without the alteration of a word or a letter, is very archaic (comp. Gen 1:4, Gen 1:8, Gen 1:13, Gen 1:19, Gen 1:23, Gen 1:31; and for another repetition, Gen 1:10, Gen 1:12, Gen 1:18, Gen 1:21, Gen 1:25). And said, The Chaldeans; literally, the Casdim (), which is the word uniformly used in the Hebrew where the Authorized Version has “Chaldeans” or “Chaldees.” The native name seems to have been Kaldi or Kaldai, whence the Greek , and the Latin Chaldaei. It is very difficult to account for the Hebrews having substituted a sibilant for the liquid; but it was certainly done from the earliest period of their literature (Gen 11:31) to the latest (see Targums, passim). Some derive the Hebrew Casdim from “Chesed,” one of the sons of Nahor (Gen 22:22); but Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees before Chesed was born (Gen 22:20). And there is no evidence of any connection between Chesed, who was born at Haran, and the Babylonian Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were probably early settlers in Babylonia; by degrees they were pressed to the south, and gave the name of Chaldea to Lower Babylonia, or the tract nearest to the Persian Gulf (Strab; 16.1, 66; Ptolemy, ‘Geographia,’ 5.20). From a remote date they were a settled and civilized people; but no doubt originally they had the same predatory instincts as their neighbours. Made out three bands. Professor Lee translates, “appointed three captains,” which is a possible meaning of the words; but the weight of authority supports the rendering of the Authorized Version. And fell upon the camels. Perhaps the most valuable part of Job’s possessions. Three thousand camels would be regarded as a splendid capture by any body of Oriental marauders. And have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants (literally, the young men, as in verse 16) with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee (compare the comment on verse 15).

Job 1:18

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said (see the comment on Job 1:16), Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house (comp. Job 1:13). It is a common proverb that “misfortunes never come singly.” Shakespeare says they “come not single foes, but in battalions.” Still, so overwhelming a series of calamities falling upon a single individual all in one day could not but strike those who heard of them as abnormal, and almost certainly supernatural. So Job’s friends concluded (Job 5:17).

Job 1:19

And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness; rather, from across the wildernessa wind which began in the region lying on the other side of the wilderness, and sweeping across it, came with full force upon the inhabited tract where Job and his sons were dwelling. The desert winds are often very violent. Generally they are Laden with heavy clouds of fine sand, which cause intolerable discomfort and thirst; but when they sweep over a rocky and gravelly region, they are simply of extreme violence, without other distressing feature. They then resemble the hurricanes or tornadoes of the West Indies. We may reasonably connect this hurricane with the thunderstorm of verse 16. And smote the four corners of the house, and it fell. The “houses” of the East are not the solid structures of heavy timber, brick, and stone to which we of the West are accustomed, but light fabrics of planks and palisades, thatched mostly with reeds. Houses of this kind, when the rain descends, and the winds blow and beat against them (Mat 7:6), readily fall. Upon the young men; rather, the young persons. Na’ar () is of both genders in early Hebrew (see Gen 24:14, etc.). And they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Again, the calamity has a completeness which marks it as supernatural. The fall of a house does not usually destroy all the inmates.

Job 1:20

Then Job arose. Not till the last calamity was announced did Job stir. The loss of his wealth little moved him. But when he heard that his children were destroyed, all of them “at one fell swoop,” then he could endure no longer, but rose from the seat on which he was sitting, and showed forth his grief. First he rent his mantle, “the outer robe worn by men of rank” (Cook)a customary sign of grief in the ancient world (Gen 37:29, Gen 37:34; Gen 44:13; 1Ki 21:27; 2Ki 19:1; Est 4:1; Joe 2:13; Herod; 8.99; Livy, 1.13, etc.); then he shaved his headanother less usual but still not uncommon sign of grief, forbidden under the Law of the Jews (Le Job 21:5; Deu 14:1), but widely practised by the Gentiles (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5; Jer 48:37; Herod; 2.36; 9.24; Plut.,’Vit. Pelop.,’ 34; Q. Gurt.,’Vit. Alex.,’ 10.5, 17). And fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. After giving vent to his natural grief, Job made an act of adoration. Recognizing the fact that adversity, as well as prosperity comes from God, and submitting himself to the Divine will, he “worshipped.” How often has his act flashed across the minds of Christians. and enabled them, in their dark hour, to imitate him, and repeat his words, “The Lord gave,” etc.!

Job 1:21

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither. There is some difficulty in the word “thither,” since no man returns to his mother’s womb (Joh 3:4), at death or otherwise. The expression must not be pressed. It arises out of the analogy, constantly felt and acknowledged, between “mother” earth and a man’s actual mother (setup. Psa 129:1-8 :15). The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Job is here represented as knowing God by his name “Jehovah,” though elsewhere the “great Name” appears once only in the words of Job (Job 12:9), and never in the words of his friends. The natural conclusion is that the name was known in the land of Uz at the time, but was very rarely usedscarcely, except in moments of excitement. Blessed be the Name of the Lord; literally, may the Name of Jehovah be blessed! The ermphatic word is kept for the last. According to Satan, Job was to have” cursed God to his face” (verse 11). The event is that he openly and resolutely blesses God. That the same word is used in its two opposite senses rather accentuates the antithesis.

Job 1:22

In all this Job sinned not. It was only the commencement of the probation; but so far, at any rate, Job had not sinnedhe had preserved his integrity, had spoken and done rightly. Nor charged God foolishly; literally, gave not folly to God, which is explained to mean either “did not attribute to God anything inconsistent with wisdom and goodness” (Delitzsch, Merx), or “did not utter any foolishness against God” (Ewald, Dillmann, Cook). The latter is probably the true meaning (comp. Job 6:6; Job 24:12).

HOMILETICS

Job 1:1-5

The hero of the poem.

I. THE PATRIARCH‘S NAME. Job.

1. Historical. Not fictitious, but real (Eze 14:14; Jas 5:11). Even if the Book of Job proceeded from the brilliant Solomnnic period, the person of Job must be looked for in remote patriarchal times.

2. Significant. Meaning “Persecuted,” or “Repenting,’ if not better connected with a root denoting “joyous exultation.” Scripture names are frequently suggestive of traits in character (e.g. Jacob, Peter, Barnabas) or points in history (e.g. Abraham, Israel, Benjamin, Samuel).

3. Illustrious. Allied to that of princes (Gen 46:13; Gen 36:33), like whom probably he was descended from the father of the faithful (Gen 25:6). The piety, no less than the intellectual endowments, of ancestors sometimes reappears in their posterity.

4. Honoured. Commended by God (Eze 14:14), extolled by St. James (Jas 5:11), immortalized by the Hebrew bard.

II. THE PATRIARCH‘S COUNTRY. Uz.

1. Heathen. Though considerably civilized, as surviving monuments attest, the sons of the East were not embraced within the Abrahamic covenant, in which respect they fell behind the sons of Israel (Rom 9:4). For countries, as for individuals, the institutions of religion are a higher honour and a greater privilege than the blessings of civilization. Yet:

2. Not God-forsaken. If Job’s countrymen, like Abraham’s, were addicted to idolatry (Job 31:26-28). it is apparent that a remnant still adhered to the primeval faith of mankind. Probably no age or people has ever been wholly bereft of light from heaven or of the gracious influences of God’s Spirit. In the darkest times and most idolatrous lands God has been able to find a seed to serve him (1Ki 19:18; Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5).

III. THE PATRIARCH‘S PIETY.

1. Perfect. Used of Noah (Gen 6:9) and of Abraham (Gen 17:1); describes the patriarch’s religious character with reference to itself as

(1) complete, full-orbed, well-proportioned, thoroughly symmetrical, possessing all the attributes and qualities indispensable to spiritual manhoodan ideal after which Old Testament saints strove (Psa 119:6) and New Testament believers aspired (Act 24:16), and which by Christ (Mat 5:48), Paul (1Th 5:23), and by St. James (Jas 1:4) is propounded as the goal of Christian attainment; and as

(2) sincere, clear and transparent in motive, single and undivided in aim, pure and unmixed in affection, without guile, without hypocrisy, without duplicitya quality again exemplified by David (Psa 26:1), Zacharias and Elisabeth (Luk 1:6), Nathanael (Joh 1:47), St. Paul (2Co 4:2), and enjoined by Christ as a perpetual obligation (Col 3:22; 1Ti 1:5).

2. Upright. Defining Job’s piety in its relation to the law of right, as that which was “straight,” or without deviation (i.e. conscious; Ecc 7:20), in either thought or act flora the prescribed path of duty, and also distinguishing it from the “crooked ways” of the ungodly (Psa 125:4, Psa 125:5; Pro 2:15), against which saints are warned (Jos 1:7; Pro 4:25, Pro 4:27), and which they strive to shun (Psa 101:3; Heb 13:18).

3. God-fearing. Setting forth the aspect which Job’s piety maintained towards Godan outlook not of dark, slavish terror, but of bright filial reverence and holy awe. such solemn and profound veneration as a contemplation of the Divine character is fitted to inspire (Psa 89:7; Psa 99:3), as Abraham cherished (Gen 22:12), as is inculcated upon Christians (Heb 12:28), and as lies at the foundation of all true greatness (Psa 111:10; Job 28:28; Pro 1:7).

4. Sin-hating. Completing the portrait of the patriarch’s religious character by depicting the attitude in which it stood to moral evil, whether in himself or in the world around, which was not a position of indifference or neutrality, but of active and determined hostilitya necessary feature in the character of the good man as portrayed in Scripture (Psa 34:14; Psa 37:27; Pro 14:6; Eph 5:11; 1Jn 3:3, 1Jn 3:6).

IV. THE PATRIARCH‘S ESTATE.

1. Extensive. It comprised seven thousand sheep, bespeaking him an opulent flockmaster; three thousand camels, implying that he acted as a princely merchant; five hundred yoke of oxen, pointing to a large farm; and five hundred she-asses, which were highly prized for their milk; while along with these it embraced “a very great household,” or a multitude of servants, such as ploughmen, shepherds, camel-drivers, besides guards, overseers, traffickers, and scribes; from which it is certain that the patriarch could not have been an idlerthus showing that piety is not incompatible with great business activity, or the ordinary occupations of life necessarily detrimental to the culture of the soul (Rom 12:11).

2. Valuable. The different items of the above catalogue clearly show that Job was rich, material wealth being in his case allied with spiritual treasure, thus proving that, though good men are not always rich, as unfortunately rich men are not always good, it is yet by no means impossible to be both; witness Abraham (Gen 13:2), IsaActs (Gen 26:13, Gen 26:14), Jacob (Gen 32:10), Joseph of Arimathaea (Mat 27:57).

3. Removable. As the event showed, and as is the case with the estate of every man, great or small, upon the earth (Jas 1:10, Jas 1:11; 1Jn 2:17).

V. THE PATRIARCH‘S FAMILY.

1. Numerous. Under the Old Testament economy a large family was promised as a special recompense to the pious (Psa 113:9; Psa 127:4, Psa 127:5; Psa 128:1-4), and though an abundant offspring is not now a sign of grace or an evidence of religion, yet children are among the most precious of Heaven’s gifts, and happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.

2. Happy. Whether the entertainments they gave were birthday commemorations, or periodically returning religious festivals, or weekly banquets, they obviously formed a cheery and genial household. Innocent festivity is neither unbecoming nor irreligious, since it is not true that “man was made to mourn” (Burns), while it is true that God’s people are commanded to rejoice evermore (Ecc 9:7; Psa 100:1; Php 4:4).

3. Loving. If Job’s family were mirthful, they were likewise harmonious and united. Few spectacles on earth are more beautiful than families whose members are endeared to one another by reciprocal affection (Psa 133:1); and yet good men have often seen their households torn by unseemly strife; e.g. Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David.

VI. THE PATRIARCH‘S SOLICITUDE.

1. Reasonable. Gaiety and merry-making, while innocent in themselves and sanctioned by religion, have a tendency to cause the heart to forget God. Those who frequent social banquets and indulge in the world’s delicacies are apt to become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God (2Ti 3:4); e.g. Solomon, Dives, Demas.

2. Becoming. As a pious man, Job could scarcely fail to be concerned about the behaviour of so many young people, especially while attending a feast. As a father, he was doubly constrained to have respect to their spiritual and eternal welfare. Even more is it the duty of a parent to train up his sons and daughters in the nurture and admonition of the Lord than to provide for their education and settlement in life (Eph 6:4).

3. Earnest. The father who could be at such pains and expense about the religious education of his children as Job appears to have heel was clearly in earnest, and might profitably be taken as a pattern by Christian parents. Contrast the parental negligence of Eli (1Sa 2:29).

4. Habitual. As Job’s zeal was prompt, so likewise was it constant. The godly practice of Divine worship was maintained with unwearied regularity, week after week, or at least upon the close of every festive occasion. As a parent’s responsibility for his children does not terminate with their childhood, so neither should his endeavours to promote their welfare cease with their arriving at the stage of manhood and womanhood.

Learn:

1. God may have children outside the pale of the Church visible.

2. Prosperity and piety, though not commonly conjoined, are by no means incompatible.

3. God’s people should aim at the possession of a piety which is “perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

4. Good men’s families should themselves be good.

5. Pious parents should train their children in the fear of God and in the observance of his precepts.

Job 1:1-5

Job.

I. AN ORIENTAL PRINCE.

II. A WEALTHY MAN.

III. AN EMINENT SAINT.

IV. A GODLY PARENT.

V. A SACRIFICING PRIEST.

Job 1:3

Wealth and piety.

I. THEIR COMMON CHARACTERISTICS.

1. God‘s gifts; and therefore to be received with thankfulness.

2. Man‘s ornaments; and therefore to be borne humbly.

3. A Christian‘s talents; and therefore to be used with fidelity.

II. THEIR RECIPROCAL RELATIONS.

1. Wealth and piety are not necessarily incompatible.

2. Wealth and piety are often mutually destructive.

3. Wealth and piety may prove reciprocally helpful

III. THEIR COMPARATIVE EXCELLENCES.

1. Piety may be obtained by all; wealth can be secured only by a few.

2. Piety is useful to all; wealth is injurious to some.

3. Piety will abide with all; wealth can remain with none.

LESSONS.

1. They that have piety can do without wealth.

2. They that have wealth cannot do without piety.

Job 1:4

Banqueting.

I. AN ANCIENT CUSTOM.

II. A PERMISSIBLE ENJOYMENT.

III. A NATURAL ACTION.

IV. A DANGEROUS OCCUPATION.

Job 1:5

Family worship.

I. SHOULD PRECEDE THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY. Job rose up early in the morning.

II. SHOULD BE PERFORMED IN THE ASSEMBLED HOUSEHOLD. Job gathered all his sons to his devotions.

III. SHOULD BE CELEBRATED AFTER DUE PREPARATION. Job sanctified his sons by the customary ablutions.

IV. SHOULD BE INSPIRED BY FAITH IN THE ATONING SACRIFICE. Job offered up burnt offerings.

V. SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY LIBERAL OBLATIONS. Job presented victims to the number of them all.

VI. SHOULD BE MARKED BY CONFESSION AND INTERCESSION. Job interceded for his children.

VII. SHOULD BE MAINTAINED WITH UNBROKEN REGULARITY. Job did so continually.

Learn:

(1) The duty,

(2) the propriety,

(3) the need, and

(4) the value, of family worship.

Job 1:6-12

The fundamental controversy of the poem.

I. THE OCCASION OF THE CONTROVERSY. The presence of Satan among the sons of God.

1. The celestial assembly.

(1) The beings composing it. Sons of God, i.e. angels (vide Job 38:7 and cf. Psa 29:1), here styled “sons of Elohim,” to indicate their nature, as deriving their existence from God (cf. Luk 3:38); their dignity, as enjoying an exalted rank in the scale of being (cf. Dan 3:25); and their office, as serving in the capacity of ministers to the Supreme (cf. Psa 82:6).

(2) The purpose of their gathering. “To present themselves before the Lord;” not to assist in the deliberations of the Infinite Mind Isa 40:13, Isa 40:14; Rom 11:34), but as ambassadors returning from their respective circuits to render account of their ministrations and to receive commissions for future execution. Even so must all God’s intelligent creatures upon earth appear before the dread tribunal of the skies (2Co 5:10), and every one give an account of himself to God (Rom 14:12).

2. The unexpected visitor.

(1) The import of his name. “Satan;’ the adversary, the calumniator, the accuser; not the evil genius of the later theology of the Jews, but the dark, sullen spirit of Divine revelation, who headed the revolt in heaven against the authority of God (Rev 12:7-9), seduced our first parents into sin (Gen 3:1-6; Gen 2:1-25 Gen 11:3), tempted Jesus Christ (Mat 4:1), warred against him throughout his entire career on earth (Mat 13:39; Luk 10:18; Joh 12:31), now ruleth in the children of disobedience (Eph 2:2), and fights against the children of light (Eph 6:11-16).

(2) The nature of his occupation. “Going to and fro through the earth, and walking up and down in it;” which points out his dominionthis lower world, i.e. conceived as alienated from God, and involved in moral and spiritual darkness (Eph 2:2; 1Jn 5:19; Rev 16:10); his activity,though at present, in some cases, reserved in chains (Jud Rom 1:6), he is still permitted a large amount of liberty (1Pe 5:8); his diligence,he never intermits his business, but ever prosecutes his infernal errands, going to and fro, and walking up and down; his unrest, having, as afterwards Gain, fallen under a ban of wandering, which has doomed him to be always seeking rest, but finding none (Mat 12:45), as ever since his children have been like the troubled sea which cannot rest (Isa 57:20, Isa 57:21).

(3) The object of his coming. If to present himself before the Lord with the other sons of God (Job 2:1), i.e. to report concerning his wicked machinations, his appearance, we may rest assured, was wholly involuntary and compulsory, which may remind us that Satan, no less than other creatures, is subject to Divine authority; that Satan’s proceedings in the world are under the perpetual surveillance of the Almighty; and that Satan can neither travel further nor work longer than he receives express commission front Jehovah to do. But it is probable that the underlying motive of Satan’s intruding upon Heaven’s assembly was not to render an account of any mission with which he had been entrusted, but to prosecute his diabolic work of calumniating God’s children who were yet on earth (cf. Rev 12:10; Zec 3:1).

II. THE PARTIES TO THE CONTROVERSY. Jehovah and Satan.

1. Jehovah.

(1) The self-existent and all-sufficient Deity (Exo 3:14).

(2) The Lord of angels (Job 4:18).

(3) The Fear of saints (Gen 31:42; Job 1:1).

(4) The Governor of the universe (Job 9:12; Job 34:13; Job 36:23; Job 41:11).

2. Satan.

(1) The creature of God.

(2) The impersonation of evil.

(3) The adversary of Christ.

(4) The accuser of the brethren.

III. THE SUBJECT OF THE CONTROVERSY. The disinterested character of piety or religion.

1. The Divine challenge. “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth?” The language of:

(1) Divine condescension, is not only noticing a creature, but stooping to converse with an adversary, yea, with a devil (Psa 113:6).

(2) Divine observation, in particularizing Job by name, and dilating on his character, which demonstrates that God’s knowledge of his people extends to such minute details as the names they bear, the professions they make, the characters they possess (Exo 33:12; Isa 49:1; Joh 10:3).

(3) Divine admiration, in so commending Job’s piety as to show that he took a holy pride in his servant’s worth, as he ever does (Zep 3:17).

(4) Divine affection, in so speaking of the patriarch as to evince that he was a special object of Divine regard, calling him “my servant,” as Christ afterwards styled his followers “my friends” (Joh 15:14).

(5) And Divine protection, the question instinctively suggesting Jehovah’s jealous care of his servant (Zec 2:8).

2. The Satanic answer. “Doth Job fear God for nought?” etc. Containing:

(1) A reluctant admissionthat Job did fear God, and that, in respect of outward appearance at least of religion, he had attained to incomparable eminence. Saints should aim to possess a piety so conspicuous that, however aspersed, it cannot be contradicted, even by the devil.

(2) A base insinuationthat the piety of the patriarch proceeded from purely mercenary motives. See the malignity of Satan in attempting to depreciate what he finds it impossible to denyan art in which Satan’s servants are generally adepts.

(3) A momentous implicationthe higher question of the efficacy of the plan of redemption and the sufficiency of Divine grace being practically involved in the standing or falling of Job, whose sincerity was impeached. In the devil’s sermons there is always more than meets the ear (cf. Gen 3:5).

(4) An audacious propositionthat God should bring the question in debate to an issue by experiments on the patriarch, as if God had doubts concerning the integrity of his servant, or as if, although he had, he was likely to subject that servant to the ordeal of suffering in order to please the devil! Verily there are no limits to the impudence of Satan!

(5) A rash predictionthat Job would forthwith, on the application of the touchstone of adversity, rebound to the opposite extreme and “curse God to his face,” which he did not, showing that Satan’s prophecies, like his promises, generally turn out lies.

IV. THE DETERMINATION OF THE CONTROVERSY. By the trial of the patriarch.

1. The Divine permission. “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power.” A permission

(1) truly amazing when we consider by whom, to whom, and concerning whom it was given, how far it reached, and for what purpose it was designed; yet

(2) perfectly justifiable, since Job’s possessions were more Jehovah’s than the patriarch’s (Psa 24:1; Psa 50:10-12; Exo 19:5; Hag 2:18; Eze 18:4), as the patriarch afterwards recognized (Job 1:21), and might be disposed of as God pleased without the charge being incurred of doing wrong to his creature; and

(3) absolutely necessary, if the trial was to be so conducted that no loophole should remain for the least suspicion of its thoroughness and impartiality; though at the same time

(4) mercifully limited, only the patriarch’s possessions being put into the adversary’s power, and not his person as in the second trial (Job 2:7), God never suffering his people to be tried above that which they are able to bear (1Co 10:13), or more than is necessary.

2. The Divine limitation. “Only upon himself put not forth thine hand;” which reminds us

(1) that Satan has no power against a saint further than God permits (Joh 19:11);

(2) that God can set a bar to the malignity of Satan, as well as to the waves of the sea (Job 38:11) and the rage of man (Psa 76:10);

(3) that God can east a shield around the persons of his people in the day of their calamity (Job 22:25; Psa 91:1-7); and

(4) that God frequently protects his people against Satan’s assaults when they are not aware.

Learn:

1. That if Satan can find his way into the assemblies of God’s sons in heaven, it need hardly surprise one to detect him amongst the congregations of God’s children on earth.

2. That if so eminent a saint as Job did not escape impeachment by the devil, it will not be wonderful if lesser saints should be accused.

3. That if God permitted a Job to be put into the devil’s power, as Christ allowed a Peter to be cast into Satan’s sieve, it may almost be expected that ordinary Christians will also be subjected to trial.

4. That if God set a limit to Satan’s power in dealing with his servant Job, he will not accord unlimited authority to the adversary when he comes to try those who are less able to withstand his assaults.

5. And that if Job was sustained when passing through the fiery ordeal, so will all who like Job are sincere in heart be upheld in the day of their calamity.

Job 1:7

A sermon on Satan.

I. THE CHARACTER OF SATAN‘S PERSON. The question implies:

1. The existence and personality of the spirit of evil.

2. His angelic nature.

3. His incessant activity.

4. His unwearied vigilance.

5. The restlessness of his wicked heart.

II. THE SPHERE OF SATAN‘S ACTION.

1. Generally, the earth as opposed to heaven.

2. Particularly,

(1) the human heart;

(2) the human family;

(3) the Christian Church;

(4) the heathen world.

III. THE MODE OF SATAN‘S WORKING.

1. By temptation.

2. By accusation.

Learn:

1. The necessity of watchfulness.

2. The value of prayer.

3. The importance of putting on the Christian armour.

4. The advantage of Christian work.

Job 1:9

Doth Job fear God for nought?

I. YES! God‘s servants are not hypocrites.

1. Those who serve God from mercenary motives do not truly serve him at all (Isa 1:13).

2. Those who serve God sincerely adhere to him when all creature-comforts are withdrawn (Hab 3:17).

II. No I God’s servants do not go unrewarded. Like Job, they are honoured with:

1. Divine attention (Psa 33:18).

2. Divine approbation (Psa 147:11).

3. Divine provision (Psa 34:9; Psa 111:5).

4. Divine protection (Psa 85:9); cf. the Old Testament saints in the times of Mal 3:16.

Job 1:13-22

The first trial of the patriarch.

I. THE PREPARATION FOR THE TRIAL. The patriarch at the height of his prosperity. The season pitched upon for making an assault upon the patriarch was a day of:

1. Festive rejoicing; when the patriarch’s family were convened at a banquet of unusual magnificence, “eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house;” such a sumptuous entertainment doubtless as became the firstborn to provide.

2. Busy industry; when the whole household of the patriarch was astir with unwonted activity: the ploughmen driving furrows through the soil with the assistance of the patient oxen, while the she-asses cropped the pastures in their vicinity; the shepherds tending the vast droves of sheep which spread themselves across the plain; and the camel-drivers going and returning with their caravans of costly merchandise.

3. Unmingled happiness; in which the patriarch, it may well be imagined, surveying his earthly lot, observing the loving unity and innocent gladness of his children, and beholding the fidelity and diligence of his servants, realized that his cup of terrestrial felicity was full and even overflowing.

4. Fancied security; in which not a cloud appeared in all the wide and clear horizon; not a shadow dimmed the brightness of the sky, not a speck of trouble anywhere could be detected to excite the patriarch’s alarm. It was such a day as seldom falls to the lot of God’s people on earth to enjoy; and the selection of that day above all others for casting down the patriarch from the pinnacle of his greatness and the summit of his felicity was doubtless craftily designed that the very loftiness of the patriarch’s elevation might intensify the depth and severity of his fall.

II. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TRIAL. The patriarch’s prosperity overthrown.

1. The swiftly completed ruin.

(1) Sudden in its coming; the citadel of Job’s integrity being more likely to be carried by a coup de main than by a leisurely and deliberate attack, inasmuch as to be forewarned is also to be forearmed, and dangers that men see they can usually adopt measures to avert.

(2) Universal in its sweep; the devil falling not a step behind, if he could not advance a step beyond, the Divine permission, with one terrible avalanche of disaster descending on the fair scene of the patriarch’s prosperity, and leaving not a spot unvisited by his devouring rage.

(3) Pitiless in its devastation; exempting only four domestics (not sons! which might have been a mitigation; but the devil’s mercies are generally cruel), consigning all the rest to one overwhelming, remorseless destruction.

(4) Cunning in its contrivance; being effected not directly and immediately by the devil himself, but by natural agenciesSabeans and Chaldeans, lightnings and hurricanesso that it might appear to be the work of God’s ordinary providence, and be ascribed by the stricken man to the Deity whom he served and adored.

2. The skilfully arranged report.

(1) Messenger following upon messenger, like Ahimaaz speeding after Cushi (2Sa 18:22), so that the full tale of misfortunes might not be declared at once, but with exquisite torture protracted to the utmost.

(2) Calamity heaped upon calamity; not a single messenger arriving with happy tidings, but each one with a heavier burden than his predecessor.

(3) Stroke descending upon stroke; not one speaker having the grace, like Ahimaaz when reporting Absalom’s death to David, to mitigate the blow to the old man; but, like Cushi, each one with excruciating minuteness of detail dwelling on his tale of misery, and with something like selfish satisfaction emphasizing the fact of his own escape to be the bearer of the appalling news, not perceiving that that might only be an aggravation of the patriarch’s distress; and with no interruption in the awful torrent of adversity, not so much as a moment to breathe in, but on and on in one incessant stream: “While he was yet speaking;” and, “While he was yet speaking;” and, “While he was yet speaking.” Clearly if Satan’s craft was conspicuous in his preparation for the trial, it was equally apparent is his management of the same.

III. THE ISSUE OF THE TRIAL. The patriarch’s reception of the news.

1. With penitential sorrow; expressed in the symbolic actions of rending his garments (cf. Gen 37:34; Jos 7:6; 2Sa 1:11; 2Sa 3:31) and shaving his head (cf. Isa 15:2; Isa 22:12; Jer 7:29; Jer 41:5; Mic 1:16); the first revealing the vehemence and intensity of the patriarch’s emotion, and the second pointing to its calmness and moderation.

2. With pious resignation. Acknowledging:

(1) His originally destitute condition: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb;” so that his calamities had only set him where he was at firstan argument for contentment (1Ti 6:7).

(2) His prospective departure from the world: “Naked shall I return thither;” so that after all he had but experienced a little earlier what was certain to befall him in the end (cf. Ecc 5:15; Ecc 12:7; and ‘Measure for Measure,’ act 3. sc. 2)an argument for submission.

(3) His entire dependence upon God for all the blessings of his earthly lot: “The Lord gave;” so that he himself could claim no absolute ownership in anything he had lost (1Co 4:7; Jas 1:17)an argument for acquiescence.

(4) His devout recognition of the hand of God in his afflictions and losses: “The Lord hath taken away;” so that not only had he laid his hand upon him who had perfect right to do so, but in removing his possessions and children he had merely taken what was first his owna fourth argument for resignation.

3. With lowly adoration. Falling on the ground and worshipping; thus giving the lie to Satan’s calumny by retaining his steadfastness and maintaining his integrity; not cursing God to his face, but solemnly, reverently, and devoutly adding, “Blessed be the Name of Jehovah!”

IV. THE VERDICT ON THE TRIAL. The complete vindication of the patriarch. His triumphant passage through the appalling ordeal is:

1. Commended by God. The statement of the historian we must regard as but the transcript of the Divine judgment upon the trial: “In all this Job sinned not, neither charged God foolishly.”

2. Admitted by Satan. This appears from Job 2:4, where, though the devil is prepared with an explanation of the cause, he is yet constrained to admit the fact of Job’s steadfast allegiance to Jehovah throughout his first onslaught.

3. Recorded by the historian. So that wherever this ancient poem finds a reader there shall the courage and fidelity of the stricken patriarch be known and admired.

Learn:

1. That if God has his times and seasons, and Christ has his hours, and man his opportunities for working, so also the devil has his days for his Satanic movements.

2. That the devil’s assaults upon human virtue and Christian fidelity are always characterized by consummate wisdom as regards both the times and the instruments as well as the methods of attack.

3. That the power of Satan to injure man is well-nigh unlimited, at least when God permits.

4. That the most prosperous estate of man may, in a moment, be converted into the profoundest misery, as the brightest day may be followed by the darkest night.

5. That calamities seldom fall upon God’s people singly and alone, are apt to be misconstrued as to their origin and design, but should never fail to lead the heart closer to God.

6. That God’s people should in times of adversity remember their origin and prepare for their end.

7. That, whether suffering or rejoicing, saints should imitate the piety of Job, recognize God’s hand in everything, and “in everything give thanks.”

HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON

Introductory

On the general teaching of the book.

For all earnest readers; for all who can think seriously, feel deeply; all who have in their own persons loved and lost; who have known life in its brightest and its darkest moods; all, again, who have that fine gift of sympathy which makes the pain and woe of humanity their own;this book has a most powerful attraction, a profound charm. Here we have suffering through all the scale of human being; suffering tuned to music most plaintive, which strikes some response from the chords of every human heart. Here, too, we have reflection upon suffering, intense thought bent without fear and without reserve upon the great questions of Life. Who has not, in some weary, desponding hour, at some time or other, sighed forth, “What is the meaning of it all?” It is a question which seems to answer itself joyously, or rather to require no asking, in the brighter days of life. Nature and the heart of man smile upon one another with the reflection of the gladness of the Creative Mind when he saw that all his works were very good. But in many a midnight hour of mental darkness the question that we thought answered and set at rest forces its presence upon us, and demands an answer of our reason. And Reason,” from wave to wave of fancied misery driven,” loses her bearings; ignorant of the latitude, she knows not whither to steer for a port. This is the mood of Job. And relief comes at length, in an unexpected way, from the Source whence alone it can come. We are taught the great lesson of sufferingto wait and to hope. He who tarries in patience until he beholds the “end of the Lord” shall find an abundant reward of his faith and constancy.

I. THE ENIGMAS OF LIFE. Pain, loss, disease, exchanged for pleasure, gain, health, and riches. Man cannot understand this process. And he cannot willingly submit to what he does not understand.

1. He has an instinct for happiness, which he cannot deny without denying himself. He and all nature, he feels, and truly feels, were constructed for happiness. He is bound to work for this end, both in himself and others. The Creator (he is thus naturally taught to reason) must be a happy and happiness-loving Being, ever blessed, ever blessing. Thus, when a rebuff is given to these powerful and clear instincts, and their truth is suddenly extinguished, as it were, in the man’s own bosom; when all the springs of natural joy are in a moment dried up like the summer torrent of the East;what wonder that he should complain? Is he the victim of some radical deception? Are all his thoughts illusions? Whence came those instincts for happiness, which one

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3. But Job, on the other hand, dares, with all the independence of the just thinker, of the man who cannot be untrue to the clearest light of his self-consciousness, to deny the application of this judgment to his case. He denies that his present sufferings point back to previous sins. Whatever be the solution of the problem, that, he knows, cannot be the true one. No deluge of religious commonplace shall move him from his fixed position, his conscious integrity of soul. No agony can wring from him an echo to the shallow cant of men who prate about suffering without really having suffered. Despite all that wife and friends can urge, he will not, cannot, desert the side of truth, or what he feels to be the truth. And in this experience truth does not condemn him; on the whole it acquits him. This is one of the most instructive lessons the entire poem yields usto be true to ourselves, to follow the light within, let others scold and rebuke as they will. More frequently, no doubt, we need to apply this lesson in an humiliating way. If we are true to ourselves, we shall have to admit that we have brought our troubles upon ourselves by our own faults. But sometimes it may be otherwise. The link may be wanting which unites the effect to its cause. If we feel this to be so, we must have the courage to say so; and on the same ground upon which we ought to have the honesty to acknowledge the sinful origin when we have detected it. Job is an example of that manly simplicity of heart, that faithfulness to self, without which we cannot be genuine men, nor fair and tolerant to others. It does not follow, because a man stands by what his conscience or consciousness tells him, that his conscience is necessarily in the right. St. Paul pointed out this (Act 26:9; 1Co 4:4). Still, a man must hold by conscience as the nearest oracle till he gets better light, which is certain in the end to come when needed.

4. Equally important, on the other hand, is the rebuke to cant, which this book so powerfully supplies. Cant is the habit of repeating secondhand opinions, of taking certain things for granted because they are commonly asserted, although we have no sufficient ground in our own experience of their truth. It is the habit of pretending feelings which we have not, because they are considered to be the correct feelings under certain circumstances. It is imitation in thought and affectation in sentiment. It attends on genuine thought and sincere emotion, as the shadow on the sun. No one will deny that the religious world is full of it. There is a fine illustration of it in the discourses of Job’s friends, and rebuke of it in the manifestation of the Almighty at the end.

5. While we have a presentation of the great enigmas of life in the course of the poem, we have also an exposure of the perplexities of human thought and the vain attempts to solve them. The narrow dogma that all suffering is explained by guilt, on which, in one form or other, the friends of Job arc never weary of insisting, along with that grand principle, the strict justice of the Almighty, which, in their view, renders the dogma indisputable,this is the only clue offered to guide the poor darkened sufferer out of the prison of his thoughts. But it fails to lead him to the light. And, indeed, how utterly inadequate are such partial principles, drawn from a very limited area of experience, when applied to measure the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of God’s moral universe l Another great lesson, then, which this book reads us is that of modesty and silencethe need of the confession of failure and incapacity to penetrate the secrets of the Divine mechanism to the bottom. We see but in part and know but in part; cannot by searching find out God unto perfection. Higher than heaven this knowledge, what can we do? deeper than hell, what can we know? There are clear and undoubted revelations of his goodness which fill the heart with joy and stir the tongue to praise. There are other, mysterious, hints of himself in pain and sadness, which overwhelm the heart with awe and check the effusion of the lips. But since nothing can ever disprove, or justly be brought, on any pretence of reason, to the disparagement of his justice, wisdom, and love, let us adore in silence. Let our souls wait patiently for him, until he again appear, shining upon us with the brightness of noonday!

II. SOLUTION OF LIFE‘S ENIGMAS.

1. The book appears intended to convey a solution of our mental trouble and doubt of mind, so far, that is, as any solution is possible. A complete solution is impossible; Scripture, philosophy, experience, all unite in declaring this. Could we know the secret of pain and evil, suffering and calamity, in all their forms, we should touch the very secret of life itself; and in touching that secret we should touch the secret of God’s Beingnay, we should be as God. Humanity is another name for limitation; God is the Infinite. We live at points on the circumference of existence; he is the Centre. Is it not an absurdity when man refuses to learn and acknowledge once for all that in seeking to know too much he is travelling out of his bounds; in his impatience with enforced ignorance he is impatient of being what he is, and raises a quarrel against his Maker and against the scheme of things which can but end in his complete discomfiture and overthrow?

2. But there is some solution, although not a complete, not a positive and all-explaining one. There is a negative solution, which is very comforting to every true and pious heart. All suffering has not its root in personal sin. There may be intense suffering in the very bosom of innocence, as a frost or blight may settle on the purest rose of the garden. This point is clearly established by the Divine vindication of “my servant Job.” He has not been singled out as a mark for the arrows of the Almighty because he is a peculiarly bad man. Rather the opposite is true. It is the good who are reserved for trial. It is the beloved of the Eternal whom he chastens, in order that it may be seen what power has faith in the soul of man, what enduring constancy of virtue, like thrice-proved gold, has every man who confides in the eternal rectitude and love.

3. Suffering is, then, consistent with the relative innocence of the sufferer. This is one result of Job’s long trial. Suffering is consistent with the perfect goodness of God. This is another. He may give, and he is good; he may take away, still, blessed be his Name! He may replace blooming health by loathsome leprosy; cause the once soft-clothed, prosperous inmate of a wealthy home to sit in sackcloth, amidst ashes by a deserted hearth; yet still

“Perfect then are all his ways,
Whom earth adores and heaven obeys.”

Noble book! that gave, perhaps, to the ancient world the first hint of the solution of the mystery of pain, by detaching from it the hitherto inseparable association of a curse; which teaches men to believe that the Divine Author of all we suffer and all we enjoy is One ever-blessed God, and so dispels that dread Manicheanism so congenial to the natural mind; book, which contains in germ the gospel revelations concerning Divine chastisement and human sanctification, and the whole subjection of human nature to the mixed conditions of the present life in expectation of a glorious ultimate manifestation of the sons of God!

4. The riddle of human suffering, then, is not to be read, as men often superficially read it, in the light of some assumption which itself requires justification. It is and will remain an enigma. And like the statue of Isis so carefully veiled, the book impresses silence, silence! chiding the explications and solutions of our babbling tongues. The enigma of pain, of all that we call evil, is essentially the enigma of life itself. The key that will unlock the one will open also the other, and it lies ready to no human hand. This solution will not content an atheist or a materialist, perhaps. It will not be of any service to men who have not yet made up their minds whether to believe in a Will of perfect intelligence and justice, in a personal Author of this scheme of things. It is, indeed, the fatal flaw in all systems of unbelief or no-belief, that they can make nothing of evil. They cannot get rid of it, they cannot explain it away. It remains a disturbing element m every optimist view of life. Better man as you may in body and in mind, it will not disappear. It is a leaden weight upon the feet of all but the believer in the eternally wise and just God. Extremes meet; and alike to the enlightened rationalist and the darkened devotee of superstition, pain is a curse. But to the believer in God it is a part of the revelation of God. It is an aspect of the Shechinah. It is the dark side of that cloud whose edges are silvered with the eternal splendour. Darkness and light, the evening and the morning, the week of toil and the sabbath of rest, pain and pleasure, sadness and gladness, death and birth, time and eternity, short sowing and long reaping, acute but brief-lived trials, unending fruitions,these are the conditions of human existence. To reconcile ourselves to them in and through the Author of them; not to fight against them, but loyally to accept them, and see that the end and meaning of all is reflected in the soul itself;these are the lessons of the Book of Job. For there is no strength without trial; no wisdom without experience of both good and evil; no refinement without pain; no progress without self-dissatisfaction; nothing permanent or real that costs us nothing; no fellowship with the Eternal except by the initiation of suffering, by the endurance of the cross. To all who believe that the latter end of their life is to be made better than their beginning through the will of One who calls, adopts, and sanctifies men for himself, this book will be full of light and help. They will turn to its pages to remind their hearts that their Redeemer, their Vindicator, ever lives; that “blessing, not cursing, rules above, and that in it we live and move.”J.

Job 1:1-5

Job’s life and character.

The scene opens in all brightness, and the hero of this sacred poem stands before us bathed in the sunshine of earthly prosperity, and, better, crowned with the favour of Goda truly enviable man. We have in these few lines give, in brief, suggestive touches

I. A PICTURE OF COMPLETE HAPPINESS. There are internal and external elements of earthly bliss; and neither must be absent if that bliss is to be full and complete. First in importance is the internal elementthe kingdom el God within the man. Yet a starved or stinted virtue, struggling with poverty and adversity, is a sight to kindle pity as well as admiration. Our moral sense is only thoroughly satisfied when we see goodness furnished with sufficiency of this world’s means. The moral energies are cramped by extreme misery; they find in competence a stage upon which they can move with ease and grace, and put forth all their powers in harmonious development. The great master, Aristotle, taught that the secret of happiness lay in the rational and virtuous activity of the soul in the whole of its life. But he also insisted that a sufficient provision of external goods was essential to complete happiness, just as the equipping of the Greek chorus was necessary for the representation of a drama. Yet the inferiority of the external elements of happiness to the internal is indicated, not only by their coming second in the description of the sacred poet, but by the swift tragic sequel, the darkening of the scene, the sudden breaking up of house and home and fortune of the prosperous man. And here we are reminded of the saying of another illustrious Greek, Solon: “Call no man happy till the day of his death.” The fate of Croesus, whose name was a synonym for worldly luck in the ancient Greek world, pointed the moral of that saying, according to the charming story of Herodotus, as Job’s vicissitudes give point to it here. This world passeth; all that is external to us is liable to loss, change, uncertainty. Only the “sweet and virtuous soul, like seasoned timber, never gives.” The ruins of a falling world leave the true man unshaken. Doing the will of God, united to him by conscious obedience and trust, he abides for ever. Thus, in the concise emphatic designation of Job’s character, in the very first verse of the poem, its key-note is struck.

II. LINEAMENTS OF CHARACTER. Four words, like a few expressive touches from a master’s pencil, place before us the character of the patriarch.

1. “That man was perfect.” That is, he was sound (integer vitae, as the Roman poet says) in heart and life, blameless in the ordinary sense in which we use that word, free from glaring vice or gross inconsistency. We must bear in mind that general epithets like these, denoting attributes of human character, are derived from our experience of external objects. They are, therefore, figurative expressions, not to be used in an exact mathematical sense, which, of course, is inapplicable to such an object as human character. Perfect, as a sound animal is said to be; without blemish, like a snowy, sacrificial lamb; spotless, like a “garnered fruit,” without “pitted speck.” There are two aspects of perfectionthe negative and the positive. Negative perfection is more the Old Testament view. It is when the character presents a blank on the side of those gross vices, those sins against honour and truth and every Divine and social bend, which incur the hatred or man and the displeasure of Heaven. The New Testament view brings out the positive side of “perfection.” It is not only the life void of offence, but it is the completeness of the Christian man in those heavenly graces, that bright resplendent adornment of the sanctified character, which in the sight of God is of great price. But there are conditions of life in which there is comparatively little scope for the development o! character widely on the positive side. There is but a small circle of duties, employments, amusements, relations, in such circumstances as in the primeval and pastoral simplicity of Job. How different from this highly developed, widely and variously interesting modern life of ours! Where more is given, more will be required. But the example of Job consists in the simplicity and integrity with which he moved about in the sphere of his little sovereignty, and, with every facility for indulging passion, for infringing right, for encroaching on the happiness of others, kept himself white as the lily, nobly free from blame. Not that he was that insipidity of character, a merely correct man. Intense selfishness is often found in your correct men. We see from glimpses presently given us in the course of the poem that he was an actively good man. Here we may read the exquisite descriptions of his past life in Job 29:1-25. and 31; forced from him in his self-defence. We look upon the picture of a man who is the pillar of his community, a light, a comfort,, a joy to dependents and equals alike. It is a picture which the thousands of our countrymen who are in the enjoyment of fortune, position, education, and influence in their respective neighbourhoods, may be invited to contemplate and to imitate. The Divine pleasures and the noble reward of a right use of wealth and position, form for multitudes of the great a field but little explored. Amidst the serious warnings of Scripture and of experience against the dangers of prosperity, let the pure example of Job stand out to remind the prosperous that they may make their means a help instead of a hindrance to the kingdom of heaven; may enslave the unrighteous mammon; in gaining much of this world, need not necessarily lose their souls!

2. He was upright. The idea is that of a right line. And the opposite image is conveyed by the word “froward,” or “crooked,” from the curved, deviating line. As the country-people say of an honest man,” He acts straight,“ and as our fine old English word gives it, “straightforward.” There is a certain mathematics of conduct. Never to depart from truth, even in jest; not to extenuate, nor to exaggerate, nor to be partial in our statements; not to add to nor take from facts; to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth;” to abstain from flattery on the one hand, and slanderous perversion on the other; to regard one’s word as one’s bond; to think and speak with others in that candour, that clearest light in which we ever commune with ourselves; to hate semblances and dissemblances, to get rid of duplicities and confusions; in all relations, to self, to God, to others, to be one and the same man; to avoid turnings and twistings in our route; to go straight to our ends, like an arrow to its mark;this is the spirit, this is the temper, of the” upright” man. His character resembles the fine-drawn lines of a true work of art; while the “froward” man reminds us of the ill-drawn design, whose deformity no amount of overlaying and ornament can disguise.

3. God-fearing. This and the following epithet complete the representation of the two former. No man is “perfect” without being a fearer of God; none upright without departing from evil. Religion takes its rise in man’s feeling of awe towards the vast unseen Power and Cause revealed through things seen. His conscience, by its exhortations, speaks to him of the righteousness of the unseen eternal Cause. All his experience inward and outward impresses upon him the sense of his absolute dependence. Obedience, active and passive, to the Eternal Will is the primary law revealed in the heart of man amidst Sinai-like thunders, over all the world, and in all times. Feelings like these constitute man’s earliest and universal religion; Scripture designates them by this comprehensive expression, “the fear of God, the fear of the Eternal.” It is no slavish feeling, if man be true to himself. It is not a blind terror, not a Panic inspiration. It is fear chastened and elevated by intelligence, by spiritual fellowship; it is unbounded respect, immeasurable reverence; it is ever on the way to become perfect love. The result of this genuine religion upon the character is to make us view all things in their relation to the unseen and the eternal. Thus life is dignified, lifted out of meanness, receives a certain significance and purport in its smallest details. Without religion we exist as animals, we do not live as men. The busiest career, the loudest reputation, the most splendid worldly successwhat sense, what meaning, is there in it without the principle in the heart which consciously binds it to the unseen? “‘Tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, but meaning nothing.”

4. “Eschewed evil.” Or, a man who departed from evil. This was the habit of his life. It completes what is given in the second trait. His rectitude, leading him in a direct line of conduct, delivers him from the bypaths of deceit, of transgression, the ways of darkness and of shame. Here, then, in these four words we have suggested the idea of complete piety, the picture of a constant and a noble life, standing “four-square to all the winds that blow.” We see a spotless character, attended by a fair fame in the world; the secret foundation on which the moral structure rests is revealed to us, in a habit of principle, a heart full of the fear of God. We look upon the patriarch, moving in the pure air and the holy sunlight of Heaven’s favour, blessed with the good will of men, and with all those hopes of the future which a past happiness inspires, little dreaming that his skies are so soon to be darkened, and the foundations of his earthly joy to be so violently shaken.

III. FEATURES OF EXTERNAL PROSPERITY. These, too, are briefly and suggestively sketched, and need not be dwelt upon at length. All the elements of a high prosperity and great position in that simple state of life are present.

1. His family. He had ten children, the sons more than twice as numerous as the daughters. Men felt in those times that a large family was a great blessing, one of the visible marks of Heaven’s favour. Sons especially were a new source of wealth and importance to the household. Parents in our day are perhaps seldom in the habit of thanking God for large families. They are too ready to groan beneath the care, rather than to cheerfully admit the reality of the blessing. Yet how constantly do we see proofs of the happiness of large families, even in poverty! A rightly ordered household is the Divinest of schools. Character is so variously developed and in so many ways tried and educated in them. In the variety of this little world there is a fine preparation going on for activity and for endurance in the greater world. On the whole, there can be no question that large families are a great source, not only of happiness, but of riches of every kind. And the truth needs to be insisted on from time to time, when we hear the matter spoken of in terms of disparagement or pity. The full quiver is no object of pity in any time when men are obeying the laws of God in their social life. It is the solitary, and those who are doomed to lead a too self-centred existence, who need our pity.

2. His property. It consisted, we are told, in ample herds of cattlesheep, camels, oxen, asses, and in a proportionate number of servants. All man’s wealth is derived from the earth and its products in plants and animals. And it is a good thing to be reminded of this. We whose wealth is represented by mere symbols and figures for the most part have not the sense of our dependence brought home to us so vividly as he who leads the simple pastoral life of Job. There is health and blessing in the calling of the husbandman and the shepherd, living so near to Mother Earth, constantly reminded of their dependence upon her, of their power by diligence to extract comfort from her bosom. We all were once tillers and herdsmen and hunters; these are man’s primeval occupations, and he must return to them again and again if he is to continue to prosper. Let us take the lesson that all sources of profit which are connected with the improvement of the earth are the healthiest that we can draw upon. To develop the earth and the mind of mannatural and spiritual cultivationthese are noble works and worthy pursuits. Let the emigration of the young and vigorous into the vast untilled tracts of the world be encouraged. There let them wed toil with nature, and build up scenes of comfort and happiness like that in which the patriarch dwelt.

IV. PIETY AMIDST THE TEMPTATIONS OF PROSPERITY. It was an ancient saying that a good man struggling with adversity was a sight for the gods. But how much more so a good man struggling with prosperity. For while adversity menaces our physical well-being, not less does prosperity endanger our spiritual health. It does not openly attack, it softens, it relaxes, it undermines. For ten men who can bear poverty is there one who can bear riches? What lovely spiritual blossoms spring out of the scant soil of outward misery, like the prisoner’s flower between the stones of his dungeon! What moral emaciation, what leanness of soul, may attend the full purse, cower in the splendid mansion, lurk beneath the fine raiment of the worldly great! Even with true men, who are not to be easily overcome by outward temptations, it holds good, and they will own, in the beautiful words of Milton, that riches “slacken Virtue and abate her edge.” We are not, indeed, to infer, because so much is said in the Gospel on the dangers of riches to the soul, that there are no dangers in poverty. But the truth is that the dangers of riches are more subtle, less obvious, being associated with pleasure, not with pain. Poverty stings, riches lull the soul. Misery may pervert the conscience; but luxury seems to put it to sleep. Our life is a struggle of the outward with the inward. The outward, in one form or other, threatens to get the better of us. On this great contest and agony the real interest of life, all its tragedy and poetry, depend. And if it kindles admiration, enthusiasm, awakens the sense of the sublime to see the victory of the soul over adversity, poverty, contempt, should it not equally delight our best feeling to see the victory of the soul over riches and prosperity? In the case of many, take away their surroundings, and they are nothing. The picture is worthless apart from the frame. Others are great in any circumstances. They do not make the man. It is the man who makes them interesting. They may change, they may be reversed; the man remains the same. It is such a moral hero of the tranquil scenes of peace that we are to contemplate in Job. His piety is well brought out in the contrast between the thoughtlessness of his children and his own seriousness (verses 4, 5). They, in the heyday of youth and health and spirits, were wont on holidays or birthdays to meet and hold high festival in one another’s houses. They give the type of the thoughtless cultivators of pleasure. Nor is it hinted that there was anything vicious in their pleasures. They loved the joyous pastimes of their season of life, and they took pleasure in one another’s companythat was all. No hint is given that in the subsequent calamity they fell victims to the judgment of God upon their sins. They pass, with this brief mention, out of sight, and all the interest centres upon Job. What he felt and knew was that pleasure, however innocent, dulls, like riches, the soul towards God. Young people have been seen to remove the family Bible from its place in making preparations for a dance, as if conscious that there was something in the tree indulgence of the instincts of pleasure inconsistent with the presence of the solemn reminders of religion. But pleasure has already travelled beyond the limits of moderation, and entered the region of lawlessness, licence, and excess, when there can be a disposition to ignore, even for a moment, the holy influences of religion, the presence of God. In contrast, then, to the gay abandonment to mirth, the thoughtless devotion to the pleasures of the hour on the part of his children, we see in Job a mind which no distraction could divert from the constant sense of his relation to his God. A kindly father, he did not interfere to spoil his children’s natural and innocent festivities on these special occasions of joy; but his thought followed them, with upliftings of the heart, and prayers for their preservation from those evils which may arise in the very midst of the scenes of highest social enjoyment, like serpents from a bed of flowers. Still, we need not assume excess or evil on the part of Job’s children; the language merely suggests the anxiety of his mind lest such should be. It may be that the fear of God had entered their hearts too, and, restraining their enjoyment within due bounds, and inspiring thankfulness, allowed their festivals to be crowned with the favour of Heaven. One of our famed English writers, describing the scene at an old French peasant’s house, when, after the labours of the day, before retiring to rest, the young people of the household joined in a cheerful dance, says he noticed some slight gesture, some uplifting of the eyes or hands, at a particular point,”in a word, I thought I saw religion mingling with the dance!” A beautiful hint, for those who are perplexed with the problem how to unite religion with relaxation, to satisfy the instinct for amusement consistently with piety. There is no solution to be found for the problem except in the cheerful and loyal surrender of the heart to God, and the intelligent worship of him in all our activities, all our pleasures. It is a narrow or a spurious conception of religion which shuts us out from any genuine pleasures. The habitual recognition of our Creator in the use of this sensitive organization of body and mind which is his gift is the means of enhancing and at the same time hallowing every healthy pleasure of the body and the soul. One of the “fruits of the Spirit,” one of the graces of the Christian life, one of the results of true piety, is “temperance,” “moderation,” or “self-control.” We see this in Job. And we see the genuineness of his piety amidst prosperity in the anxiety he feels lest his children should have transgressed against this law of conduct (verse 5). “It may be,” he said, “that my sons have sinned, and said farewell to Godabandoned or forgotten him in their hearts.” The next point ispiety manifested in ritual. Ritual, or cultus, has an important place in the history and development of religion. It is the outward presentation of religion, as symbolic of an inward reality. As cleanliness and neatness of person, propriety and gentleness of manners, have a certain value as an index of the inner man, so with the ritual and symbolic side of religion. It is a kind of language, and has the only value that language can havethat of meaning something. When it no longer has a meaning, it must pass away and be replaced by a more vital mode of expression. For both language and ritual are the changing element in religion; the inward and spiritual is the abiding and eternal. Now, we are here carried back to a time when the outward expression of piety was different and more elaborate than with us. Sacrifices of various kinds offered a most significant, powerful, varied medium of communication of the soul’s penitences, devotions, aspirations to God. Here we have the ritual of penitencethe trespass offering. It is the devout longing for reconciliation to God, oneness with God, that is expressed, following on the sense of a rupture, or possible rupture, through carelessness or transgression of the soul’s true relations to him. An account of such offerings under the Law of Moses will be found in Lev 4:1-35.; Lev 6:17-23; Lev 7:1-10. And Job, rising early after each of these festivals, was wont to send for his children individually, that they might be present at the solemn sacrifice, and thus symbolically receive purification and absolution from the stain of guilt. Thus there rises before us, in this concluding trait of the character of Job, the picture of one who sought first the kingdom of God, and to be right with himan example of paternal love and piety; of one who identified, like Jos 24:15, his household with himself in the service of the Eternal. By the pleasing art of the sacred poet, our interest, our sympathy, is already powerfully drawn towards the hero of his story. The curtain falls on this bright life-scene as if with the good wishes and prayers of all spectators. May the shadow of Job never grow less! May his path be as the shining light, increasing to the perfect day! May he continue blessing and blessed in the bosom of his family and household, advance to “old age with honour, troops of friends,” and come to his end in his season, as a shock of corn, fully ripe!J.

Job 1:6-12

Counsels in heaven concerning ,man’s life on earth.

I. EVERY MAN‘S LIFE IS AN OBJECT OF INTEREST IN HEAVEN. This is a sublime thought, powerfully suggested by the present passage, and full of comfort for every man who trusts in the goodness of God. “Every man’s life a plan of God’s” (see the powerful sermon of Dr. Bushnell on this subject). Even of men who do not consciously know God or own his providence, this is true. Their career is controlled by a mysterious direction; their mistakes or misdeeds overruled for good. Of Cyrus, for example, it is said, “I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me” (Isa 45:4).

II. BUT IN HOW PECULIARLY HAPPY A SENSE IS THIS TRUE OF EVERY GOOD MAN‘S LIFE! His way is often entangled, perplexed, darkened to himself; but never so to God. From the bright scene of heavenly light and contemplation, where the map of every life is spread open to view, we are soon to plunge into gloom and sorrow by the side of the afflicted servant of God. But let us carry the memory of this glimpse of heaven through all the windings of the maze of grief which soon we are to tread in fancy, and may -no day follow in actual experience. Already let us take the lesson homethat the way of God’s children is not hidden, their cause not passed over, by the Most High. Their steps are ordered by him. In their blindness they will be led by paths they have not known. They may seem to themselves exiled from joy, banished from light and love; but he will yet make darkness light before them, and crooked ways straight, and will never forsake them. For in the life of flower and bird even, much more in the life of man, there is a plan of God.

III. EVERY MAN‘S LIFE THE OBJECT OF OPPOSING INFLUENCES: of good and evil, pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, heaven and hell. Nowhere is this grand secret of the mechanism of our being more distinctly disclosed than in this book. The presence of an evil influence, ever curious and busy about our life, is distinctly acknowledged; its origin left in mystery. We must recognize this dualism of influence on man’s life without attempting to solve it. After all that has been thought and said on the subject, we can only acknowledge that it is a fundamental condition of our earthly existence. To ignore it, and try to live in some fool’s paradise of extreme optimism, is to expose ourselves to disappointment and to danger; or to fall into the other extreme of a gloomy, desponding pessimism is to be unfaithful to that instinctive sense of God’s goodness which is deep-seated in the heart. Scripture guides us in a middle course between these extremesplaces before us, in equal distinctness, the two poles of thought, the opposing currents of influence; and this makes the practical duty manifest, to abhor the evil and cleave to the good, to fill the heart with reverence and trust for God, and to depart from evil in all its forms.

IV. THE SPIRIT OF ACCUSATION CONCERNED WITH GOOD MEN‘S LIVES, This is the great characteristic of the evil spirit spoken of in various parts of Scripture. He is “Satan,” that is, “the Adversary,” one whose delight is in laying snares for men, seducing them from rectitude, and then slandering and accusing them before God. “The accuser of our brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev 12:10). Here, in the court of heaven, the radiant scene of Divine glory which is brought before our view, while the rest of the retinue of angels, “sons of God,” are present to discharge their functions of praise and of service, the evil genius of men comes to enjoy the dark pleasure of detraction and spite. While those bright spirits habitually look on the bright side of things, upon the creation lit up by the smile of God, reflecting everywhere his wisdom and his power, Satan dwells upon the dark side of thingsupon that frailty and corruptibility of man, which appears to be the only blemish in the fine picture of God’s world. Note the restlessness of this spirit of accusation. To and fro he roams in the earth, seeking rest, but finding none. How true a picture is this of every human heart which has given way to evil, and has thus become a mirror of the dark spirit! How restless are all men who are ill at ease in themselves, because devoid of peace with their God! The hunger for mischief is the counterpart of the hunger for righteousness. They roam about, discontented, mad. dened at the sight of goodness and purity which they have lost; barking, snapping, biting, devouring, like beasts of preyfastening upon noble reputations and dragging them to the ground, as the panther springs upon the noble stag of the forest. What need have we to be warned against the misery of allowing ourselves to become the servants of so dark a spirit, the agents of such malice! Whenever we find the rust of slander and backbiting gathering too easily on our tongues, whenever we find that the sight of good men’s failures affords us more pleasure than that of their success and honour, we have need to look closely into the heart. We must be ill before we can enjoy these diseased pleasures. A soul in health towards God delights to see the reflection of that health in the faces and the lives of others. It is the misery of conscious sin which seeks relief in the sin of others. Whether in good or in evil, we cannot endure to be alone. The fulness of the heart’s joy must have expression, and so must the burden of its unpardoned guiltthe one in words of charity to men and praise to God; the other in those of bitterness and blasphemy. But this scene sets before us a man who is to become the object, rather than the subject, of this malignant influence. Job is the victim, not the agent, of Satanic slanders. And it is well to consider here what there is in the constitution of our nature which lays us open to these diabolical attempts.

1. There is a weak side in the nature of every one. The sensuous side of nature presents a constant opening to attack. We can be easily bribed by bodily pleasures and frightened by bodily pains. Our affections too often expose us. We may be fortified on all sides; yet there is some postern door or secret entrance to the seat of will, which our wife, or little child, or besom friend is well acquainted with and has the key of, and can readily, at any hour of day or night, pass through. Our tastes, pursuits, circumstances, variously constitute sources of weakness. Some men appear richer toward God amidst poverty and struggle; with many comfort and competence seem to foster and beautify their piety. In the case of Job, an attack is suddenly made all along the line; he is assailed in all the weak points of humanity. And in this completeness of his trial, with the result, lies a main point of instruction in the book.

2. In the best of men there is a mixture of motives. A man chooses the right from principlefrom the fear of God in his heart. But he has promises beforehand to stimulate and encourage his choice, and successes afterwards to confirm it. None long travels on the narrow way without discovering that it is not only the right path, but the wise one; not only the right and the wise path, but the path of happiness, honour, and peace. Therefore, at any given point in a man’s course, it may be difficult to determine what is the ruling motive of good within him. Did he begin to be good because he believed beforehand that it would turn out well with him in this world? Does he persevere because he has discovered by experience that godliness is profitable for this life? or is the fear and love of the Eternal and his righteousness the greatest, deepest, secret of his career? Who can answer these questions? Can any observer from outside? Can the man himself answer these questions? No. Trial, judgment, the sifting by the winnowing-fan, the cleansing of the refiner’s fire, can alone declare what sort of man he is to himself and to others. By trial the inferior and the superior motives are separated. “Experience worketh knowledge;” and all new knowledge is new power. Blessed, then, the man that endureth affliction. The fine old Greek proverb, in his case, , comes true”to suffer is to learn.” Thus the very malignancy of his adversary, by the overruling of supreme wisdom and goodness, turns to his advantage; the calumnious foe becomes the unwilling friend. As the general feels grateful for an assault which has been severe, but in resisting which he has been taught a new lesson in war, so the faithful heart thanks God in the end for the permission of those trials which have called forth to the utmost and corroborated the holy energies within.

3. Every outwardly good deed, every outwardly good life, admits of a twofold explanation, until the real facts be known. This follows from the theory of motives. The most disinterested action, in semblance, may conceivably be referred, by a subtle analysis of motives, to some egotistic and more or less faulty motive. Here we have, in the theory of Satan concerning the piety of Job, an illustration of these laws. And the evil spirit, we may say, is within his right in insisting upon it, until the facts of experience shall refute him. It is trial alone which can, by its clear manifestation, refute the dark insinuations of our spiritual foes. Every man has two sides to his lifean outward and an inward. Does the inward correspond to the outward? Who can judge without proof? What all-silencing proof can there be but facts, stamped by suffering, written in blood and in fire? The Greeks had a saying that the character of a man was not to be known until he was placed in authority (Sophocles, ‘Antigone’). Certainly that is one form of trial, through which Job had passed, gaining noble instruction. But it is a form of temptation far more severe to be cast down suddenly from previous influence and wealth, than to be suddenly raised to it. Our instinctive sympathy and pity towards those who have thus suffered teach us that it is so. And yet this is the trial for the chosen of God, for the selected specimens of his grace, the vessels of his holy fashioning. He will rebut and discomfit the slanders of the adversary and of all his followers, who love to scoff at the reality of goodness, to discount and depreciate and deny every human excellence, by subjecting his faithful ones to the last intensity of the furnace, that the truth and eternal reality of his work in the soul may be manifest to the eyes of all, both of the good and the evil.

V. LIFE, THEN, IS DIVINELY DELIVERED TO TRIAL. This is the teaching of this passage; it is the teaching of all Scripture. There is a precise permission from the sovereign will for evil to wreak its malice upon the good man. There is a distinction between the way in which good and evil respectively come upon us from the Divine hand. Good comes immediately, directly, fresh from the heart and love of him who is all goodness. But evil comes indirectly, through the dark and devious channels of evil and hostile wills. In blessing, in joy, God visits us in Person, his sunshine pierces through the windows of the soul unsought. But evil is only a licensed visitor to our dwelling, to our heart. And it is difficult to recognize behind the gloomy shape a controlling hand, a solicitous and loving eye. But it is one of the deep lessons of piety that we have all to learnto say in affliction, “God permits this,” as well as in joy, “God sends this.” It may be learnt. In the low-stooping thunderous cloud, in the bursting rain and hail over our heads, we may feel the nearness of God, know his hand to be laid upon our conscience, his voice to be appealing to the inmost sense of our relation to him, which had perhaps slumbered beneath the bright and cloudless blue.

VI. GOD DOES NOT DELIVER LIFE TO DESTRUCTION, THOUGH HE MAY DELIVER IT FOE A TIME TO THE POWER OF EVIL. “He hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation.” Jehovah says to Satan, “All that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” Let us fix our attention on this antithesis: what a man has and what a man is. The stoic Epictetus dwelt, in his noble exhortations, on this contrast. There are things he says which are “within us,” within our power, within the scope of our choice and control; other things which are “not within our power,” over which our will has little or no control. The important matter, then, in self-government, is to be master of this inward sphere of thought, feeling) purpose. Then outward changes can work us no real harm. One who had duly imbibed these lessons said of his persecutors, “They may kill me, but they cannot hurt me.’ But the aspect of this truth in the light of the Christian revelation is more winning than the cold and haughty self-reliance of stoicism. He who has given himself up to the love and guidance of a heavenly Father knows that his soul is safe, whatever the disease of his body or the sufferings of his mind. Cast down he may be, destroyed he cannot be, so long as he is held by the hand that sustains the world. “Wherefore let them that suffer in well-doing commit their souls unto him, as unto a faithful Creator.”

VII. This passage shows us that THERE IS LIGHT IN HEAVEN WHILE THERE IS DARKNESS UPON EARTH. There is the silver lining behind the cloud of every earthly affliction; for the presence of eternal wisdom and love is there. All was soon to he darkness, dismay, and doubt for the mind of Job; but to him who sees the end from the beginning all was clear and full of meaning. The machinations of the devil will only serve to bring out the fidelity and patience of his chosen servant, who will live to see the “end of the Lord,” that he is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Let us lift up our thoughts, in every season of personal or national depression) in every time of discouragement, when wickedness abounds, when the devil seems to be advancing his kingdom and the light of faith is waning, to that eternal, unquenchable light of the wisdom that cannot err, the will that evil never can defeat. Let us never forget that

“Blessing, not cursing, rules above,
And that in it we live and move.”

J.

Job 1:13-22

The invasion of trouble, and its first effect on Job.

The lessons on which we have been dwelling, and on which Job had doubtless deeply meditated in the leisure of his prosperous days, were now to receive the illustration of actual experience. A series of waves breaks in upon his peaceful home and heart, and, in the space of a few short hours, turns the smiling scene into utter desolation. We may notice in the story the following points: the calamities of Job, and their first effect upon his mind.

I. THE CALAMITIES. Their suddenness and unexpectedness. A bright holiday was selected by Providence for the discharge of those torrents of woe. The young people were making merry in their eldest brother’s houseperhaps on his birthdaywhen the bolt out of the blue, without a moment’s warning, struck. The imagination is powerfully affected by such contrasts. We do not pity ourselves or others so deeply when we have had time to prepare for the storm. The shock of the blow is broken when it finds us forewarned and forearmed. Men must all suffer at some time, and at some time must die; but the terror of the unlooked-for sorrow is as great as the joy of the unlooked-for blessing. But since there is a truth in the saying that “the unexpected always happens,” how important to secure that only preparation for it which is within our powera mind like Job’s, fixed in principle, because fixed on God!

II. THERE WAS GRADATION IN THESE TROUBLES. They began in the inferior elements of life, and quickly rose to their climax in the superior. There was first the loss of property, in three distinct blows. First the oxen and the asses, then the sheep, and then the camels, were destroyed; and the whole of the herdsmen successively swept away. After the first loss, the instinct of Job would doubtless be to say, “Thank God for what is left;” and the same after the second; but the third cuts off these reflections, and strikes home the dreary conviction, “I am a ruined man!” Who can know but those who have suffered it what it is to lose a third or two-thirds of their worldly goodsmuch more to lose one’s all? Shakespeare truly says that “’tis tenfold bitterer to lose than ’tis great at first to acquire.” Still, a noble and loving soul, accustomed to find in affection life’s choicest boon, will be consoled by the thought,” My family is left me; and their redoubled tenderness and sympathy, and cares and hopes for them, will still make life worth living.” But even this sentiment, if it rose in the mind of the ruined man, is blighted in the bud by the terrible news that his sons and daughters have all perished by a sudden and violent death. Thus did some hidden wrath seem to exhaust its vials of concentrated fury on his devoted head; and he who had basked so long in the sunshine is plunged into the darkness, without apparently a single beam of comfort or of hope from without. Nay, more; that his children should have been cut off in the blossom of their sins, in the very height of their mirth, hurried away without time for further expiation or prayer, seemed, alter all the father’s earnest piety, as if Heaven had abandoned and doomed him.

III. We may notice, too, THE VARIETY OF THE SOURCES OF THESE AFFLICTIONS, The first came from the hand of men, from robbers, from men of violence and deceit. The second fell from heaven, in the form of devouring fire. The third, again, was a human outrage; and the fourth and most dreadful again from the tempestuous violence of heaven. For a just man to be the prey of injustice, to know that bad men gain at the expense of his loss, is a bitter experience; but to see mysterious, superhuman power, as it were, in alliance and compact with the wicked, is an awful aggravation.

IV. But WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON THE SUFFERER‘S MIND? A glorious halo indeed surrounds him in this awful moment. Now is the time to see what there is in goodness, what is the real nature of faith; now or never the accuser must be abashed, and faint hearts must take courage, and God must be glorified. We learn from Job’s behaviour that a true life in God is destined to triumph over all outward change and loss, over darkness, mystery, and death.

1. Faith. He believes in God. Not for a moment is his faith shaken. And his first instinct is to throw himself upon his God. He falls upon “the world’s great altar-stairs which slope through darkness up to God.” “Behold, he prays,” and Satan already trembles for his wager. Oh, let us ever bend, reed-like, beneath the storm of Heaven-sent trial; not be broken like the rigid oak! He who can say from the heart, like the poor father in the Gospels (Mar 9:24), “Lord, I believe,” shall presently find the floods abating, and a great calm around him.

2. Resignation. Our will has nothing to do with the supreme turns and crises of being. We did not come into this world, we ought not to attempt to go out of it, by an act of our own. We must be resigned to live or to die. A supreme will determines our coming and our going, our entrance and our exit, in this short scene of life. We did not determine the external condition in which we should be born. We all came naked into the world, and shall pass away taking nothing with us. Our bodily composition is earthy, and it must crumble back to earth. To her, the all-receiving mother of human-kind, we must each return. The deep sense of these relations is fitted to impress the habit of resignation. And, on the other hand, the transitoriness and weakness of our earthly estate should throw us upon the great spiritual realities. Resignation is not religious, self-renunciation is not complete, until we learn not only to give up earth and earthly will, but to cast ourselves on the bosom of the Eternal. He gives and he takes away the things that are no part of us, but only that he may hold ourselves, our souls, to him for ever.

3. Thanksgiving. What! thanks to God when he takes, as well as when he gives? Is this natural? is this possible? All is natural, is possible, to faith. For faith rests not upon what God does at this or that moment, but upon what he ever is. His action varies; in himself there is no variableness, nor shadow of a turning. Joy and sorrow, light and darkness, every possible phase of human experience,these are the language of God to the soul. His meaning is one through all tones of his voice. Blessed, then, be the Name, not of the bestowing, health and joy imparting Father of light, Giver of every good and perfect gift; but blessed be the Name of the Eternal, true to himself in all his purposes, true to his children in all his dealings with them for their good.

“Blessed be the hand that gives,
Still blessed when it takes.”

Oh that these songs, e profundis and e tenebris“from the depth” and “the darkness”might be heard more clearly, more unfalteringly, in all our public devotions as well as in all our private prayers! This offering of self to God in trust, submission, thanksgiving, is a” reasonable sacrifice.” And as its savour ascends to heaven, it brings its peaceful answer back to the heart. The twenty-second verse reminds us by contrast, of the danger of sinning against God by reproaches and murmurs in our sorrow. “Job sinned not, and gave no offence to God,” as the words may, perhaps, be better rendered. And after dwelling so much upon that temper which pleases our heavenly Father, let us enforce the lesson by reflecting on what we are so ready to forgetthat he is justly displeased by indulgence in doubts of his existence or goodness, rebellion against the course of his providence, and the refusal of praise to his holy Name.J.

HOMILIES BY R. GREEN

Job 1:1-5

The typical conditions of domestic happiness.

This early Eastern poem, designed to throw light on the methods of the Divine discipline of men, opens with a pleasing picture of domestic felicity, presenting a typical example of happy family life. But Job is the central figure. It is the Book of Job. All has its relation to him. He is the one subject of the book. Not more truly is Job perfect than are the circumstances which surround him. All the elements of domestic happiness are present. They are seen in

I. THE PERSONAL CHARACTER OF THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE. In his spirit he is “perfect,” not marked by moral flaw. As “a just man “he walks in his integrity. In his deportment and his dealing with men he is “upright.” No crooked vagaries mar his character or conduct. Honesty, straightforwardness, sincerity, are the conspicuous virtues of this good man. Towards God he is reverent, devout, obedient. The foundation of all wisdom, as of all virtue, is presenthe “fears God.” Evil he “eschews,” he avoids it. Such are the characteristics necessary in the head of a godly, happy household.

II. A second feature is seen in THE NUMBER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY AND THEIR AFFECTIONATE RELATIONSHIPS. Each adds his own element of character, and the variety of those elements secures the completeness of the family life, while affection preserves its unity. Love is the bond of perfectness in the family as in all communities.

III. A further element is found in THE ABUNDANT POSSESSIONS, raising the family from want to affluence, and bringing within its reach all that could promote its comfort and enjoyment.

IV. Over the whole is cast the guard and the sanctity of HABITUAL RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE. Declaring

(1) Job’s faith in God;

(2) his reverent fear;

(3) his knowledge of the doctrine of redemption by sacrifice;

(4) his religious domestic discipline. In all these Job is a model for the head of a family.

Most proper was it that such a man should be “the greatest of the sons of the East.” Happy the nation whose greatest men are its best! Happy the people amongst whom the most observable are the most worthy of imitation. Such was Job, the subject of one of the most interesting, as of one of the oldest, examples of poetical, dramatic, religious writing.R.G.

Job 1:4, Job 1:5

The sanctification of the home; or, parental priesthood.

Parentage involves authority, responsibility, power, and honour. It imposes special spiritual or religious duties; it demands right personal conduct, as an example; prudent discipline and careful instruction. It is the duty of a father to protect his family, not from temporal evils only, but from spiritual; to provide for their temporal and spiritual needs.
The religious duties of parents embrace

I. RELIGIOUS EXAMPLE.

II. RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.

III. RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT OR DISCIPLINE.

IV. RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.

The Christian father, standing as the priest or representative of his family before God, has not to offer a sacrifice for the sins of his family, but may and should p/cad the one Sacrifice on behalf of all committed to his care. These the first conditions of a happy home. In Job’s case the spiritual instincts of the father are excited on behalf of his family exposed to the evils of surrounding idolatry. The Christian father has equal cause to be watchful. Consider

(1) responsibilities,

(2) toils,

(3) rewards, of faithful Christian parents.R.G.

Job 1:6-19

The trial of the righteous man.

The central subject of this book is the trial of the righteous man. Job is acknowledged of God to be “a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.” Yet he is tried, and tried sorely, and by permission of God. The difficulty to be solved by the history of Job isHow can it come to pass that the righteous suffer? To what end is this permitted? The trial of Job is divided into two partsthe first is briefly recounted, it contains the main facts; the second part is extended. The discussion of the book relates to the whole.

I. ATTENTION IS INSTANTLY DIRECTED TO THE AGENT OF THE TRIAL. Satanthe adversary. All our knowledge of the spirit-world is derived from Holy Scripture. The teaching of Scripture concerning evil spirits is full, minute, consistent. No valid objection to the existence of evil spirits can be raised on the ground of our ignorance, or our unfamiliarity with the phenomena attending the action of evil spirits. It is impossible to remove the teaching concerning Satan from Scripture without doing so great violence to it as to derange the whole. To a revelation we come to be taught, not to cavil. But the story is pictorially and dramatically represented. Satan is throughout “the agent of probation” Satanic action is not prevented, but controlled by God. The spirit of Satan is revealed by the malignant accusation made against Job. He charges Job with selfishness; his motive to obedience is a false one; his integrity will not stand a severe test. Very significant is the representation of the allowed Satanic testing,” All that he hath is in thy power.”

II. ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE NATURE OF THE TRIAL. It embraces the loss to Job of his substance, his servants, and his children. Wave after wave of sorrowful intelligence reaches him. Yet it is sudden. While one was “yet speaking, there came also another.” It robbed the man of property, of his possessions; the man of honour, authority, and influence, of his servants; the tender father, of his family. How sad the change in his circumstances! How poignant his grief from the loss of his children How desolate the home! How suddenly the brightness of noon changed for the darkness of midnight! It would be difficult to conceive a picture of more severe trial. It was intense, widespread, irreparable.

III. ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE TEACHING OF THE TRIAL.

1. The folly of depending too confidently on earthly happiness. Every condition of happiness present; every ground of hope for its continuance; yet how speedily destroyed!

2. The demand for other resources of blessedness than those found in the changeful conditions of the present life. The hand must not grasp earthly riches too firmly. All that is of earth fadeth: how needful to seek “durable riches”!

3. The whole surroundings and possessions of life may be made the occasions of the testing of virtue.

4. The necessity for such a view of one’s life, and such a habit of obedience, as to be able to bow to the Divine will in the midst of our heaviest trials.R.G.

Job 1:8

The righteous man.

Righteousness as descriptive of human character illustrated in Job. A few words only used. The Divine description. Highest testimony. Generally “my servant,”the most honourable distinction. There is no higher calling in life than to serve God. But Job stands in special distinctionhe is unequalled amongst men. His is the typical example of righteousness till a Greater than he appears. “There is none like him in the earth.” A truly honourable position to be the first man of one’s age. Job has the special honour of this Divine judgment. Needful for us to know the elements of so exalted a character. They are stated. The righteousness of Job is displayed in

I. INWARD SANCTITY. Freedom from evil; “perfect”wholeness, completeness of character; not to be supposed free from human frailty, but free from blemishes of character and conduct; a just man, having a well-balanced, self-controlled, law-abiding spirit.

II. UPRIGHTNESS. Conformed to that which is right; holding a right relation to God and man; correct and honourable in his dealings; a man of probity, truth, and honour. “One that feareth God.”

III. REVERENCE TOWARDS GOD. Pious; fulfilling religious duties; devotional. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;” “the root of the matter” in Job.

IV. ABHORRENCE OF EVIL. Having fear of God, he stands aloof from everything on which the Divine disapprobation rests. A pure mind withdraws from foulness, as a charitable man from selfishness, and an upright man from baseness.

Such a character is fitted to be a servant of God. On such the blessing of the Lord rests. But such are not exempt from trial. Even virtue must be tested. Into the hands of the dark agent of human probation even Job must be cast. This book reveals this truth, and illustrates and answers the difficulties suggested by it.R.G.

Job 1:20-22

The triumph of faith.

The trial in its great severity has fallen upon Job. His oxen and asses have been rapaciously torn away from him by the Sabeans; many of his servants have been slain with the edge of the sword; the fire of God has consumed the sheep and the shepherds who took charge of them; the camels the Chaldeans have stolen, and slain the camel-keepers; the house of the eldest son, in which Job’s sons and daughters were feasting, has been smitten by a great wind, and it has fallen, crushing the young men beneath its ruins. Could greater calamities happen to any man? This picture of desolation is complete. Surely every quality of character is tested. What call for passionate, impatient complaining! What is Job s conduct in this hour? He presents the example of the triumphant victory of faith.

I. THE VICTORY OF FAITH HAS ITS FOUNDATION IN A RECOGNITION OF THE DIVINE SUPREMACY. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.” To live in the abiding acknowledgment of the Divine supremacy is the first requisite in a pure and a triumphing faith. It sees all things to be God’s. He is Lord of all. Job feared God, and he trusted in God. Fear supports faith as truly as it sanctifies love.

II. THE VICTORY OF FAITH IS PROMOTED BY REVERENTIAL DEVOTION. Even the keen pangs of sorrow did not prevent Job from lowly worship. He sought the Lord in the day of his calamity, and he was helped. One allows his affliction to withdraw him from God; but he is driven to despair, for there is no helper; and the poor smitten spirit cannot stand alone. Another is driven to God, and finds a Hiding-place and Rock of defence. When we make God our Refuge, he becomes our Strength. It is foolish to forget God in the time of our need. He can help us when all other help fails. He will not see his feeble creatures come to him with lowly prayer, asking his aid with heart sincere, and yet leave them to their own resources. He who before God confesses his want gains for himself the Divine riches.

III. THE VICTORY OF FAITH IS CONSISTENT WITH GREAT PAINFULNESS AND SORROW Job rent his mantle and shaved off his hairEastern methods of representing sorrow. The great Exemplar was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” He also “suffered”was preeminently “a Man of sorrows.” The godly in all ages have been put to the proof. “It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham.” This is to be said of every son of Abraham.

IV. THE VICTORY OF FAITH IS THE LOWLY‘ BUT BECOMING TRIBUTE OF THE HUMAN HEART TO THE SUPREMACY, THE WISDOM, AND THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

V. THE VICTORY OF FAITH ENSURES THE UTMOST DIVINE APPROVAL; and, as this completed history is designed to show, ends in a final reward which hides the recollection of the toil and suffering by which it is attained. The great lesson of all: “Have faith in God.”R.G.

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY

Job 1:1

Job.

The Book of Job opens with a description of its hero. The portrait is drawn with the few swift, strong strokes of a master-hand. We have first the outer man and then the innerfirst Job as he was known to any casual observer, and then Job as he was seen by the more thoughtful and penetrating, i.e. as he was in his true self.

I. THE OUTER MAN.

1. A man. Job first appears before us as a man.

(1) Only a man. Not a demi-god, not an angel. Frail as a man, feeble, and fallible.

(2) A true man. Diogenes went about with a lanthorn to search for a man. He need not have gone far if he had been in the land of Uz. Here was one who revealed the heroism of true manhood in the hour of most severe trial

(3) A typical man. Job is not called “the man,” but “a man,” one of a race. He is not named “the son of man.” Only One could bear that title in its fulness of meaning. Job was an exceptional man indeed. But he was not unique. We are not to think of him as standing alone. The drama which is enacted in his experience is a typethough on a large scaleof the drama of human life generally.

2. A Gentile. Job was of “the land of Uz”a Syrian or an Arab. Yet his story occurs in the Jewish Scriptures, and there he appears as one of God’s most choice saints. Even in the Old Testament the Books of Job and Jonah show that all Divine grace is not confined to the narrow line of Israel God has now those whom he owns in heathen lands. To be out of the covenant is not to be renounced by God, if one’s heart and life are turned heavenwards.

3. A marked individual. “Whose name was Job.” This man had a name, and his history has made it a great name. Though one of a race, every man has his own personality, character, and career. The significance of a name will depend on the conduct of the man who bears it. JobJudas: what opposite ideas do these two names suggest? What will be the flavour of our names for those who come after us?

II. THE INNER MAN.

1. A moral character.

(1) Inwardly true. This seems to he the idea of the biblical word “perfect.” No one is perfect in our sense of the word. Certainly Job was not faultless, nor had he attained to the top of the highest pinnacle of grace. But he was no hypocrite. There was no guile, no duplicity, in him. He was true to the core, a man of moral simplicity, who wore no mask. Tests of trouble could not prove such a man false.

(2) Outwardly upright. This characteristic is a necessary consequence of the preceding one. No man can be inwardly true whose way of life is crooked. Truth in the inward parts must be followed by righteousness of couduct. Note what tremendous stress the Bible lays on plain integrity. There is no saintliness without it. Job was an honest mantrue to his word, fair in his dealing, trustworthy, and honourable. Such is the man in whom God delights.

2. A religious character.

(1) Positively devout. “One that feared God” Thus Job had “the beginning of wisdom” Here was the secret of his moral integrity. The deepest moral characteristics of a good man rest on his religion. The interior life cannot be sound without this; for then, even if the second table of commandments may be kept, the first is neglected.

(2) Negatively opposed to sin. Sin is the opposite of devoutness. The religious man not only shuns it; he hates it. Though sometimes he weakly succumbs to it, yet he detests it. It is not enough not to sin, we must hate and loathe sin.W.F.A.

Job 1:2-5

The dangers of prosperity.

This book proposes to give us a picture of extreme and probably unprecedented adversity. It is fitting that it should open with a scene of exceptional prosperity, to serve as a contrast to the dark scenes that follow. Moreover, the idea of the book is the better realized if we observe that the original prosperity is considered in its moral aspect, as concealing a possible temptation to sin.

I. THE PROSPERITY WAS SUBSTANTIAL.

1. A large family. This is always regarded in the Bible as a mark of prosperity. It is an unnatural social condition of congested populations that has led to the opposite idea in our own time. Certainly, where there are means for a livelihood, the family is a source of joy and influence, as well as wholesome self-sacrifice.

2. Great property. Job had more than the means for a livelihood. According to the estimate of a pastoral life, he was a very rich man, notoriously rich, and without an equal. Yet this man knew and feared God. It is therefore possible with God for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Mat 19:26).

II. THE PROSPERITY WAS ENJOYED. Job’s sons and daughters were feasting together. Here is a picture of happy family life in the midst of affluence. The jealousy and bitterness that sometimes poison the cup of prosperity were not known in Job’s household. His family was united and affectionate. It was by no means ascetic; but we have no reason for thinking it ought to have been so. No reproach is urged against Job’s sons and daughters for feasting together. There is a time for innocent enjoyment, and when this is taken temperately and gratefully, only superstitious fears can suggest the idea of a Nemesis. The motto Carpe diem is mean and execrable, because it carries with it an implied renunciation of duty.

III. THERE WAS A DANGER IN THIS PROSPERITY. Job feared lest his children might have renounced God in their hearts.

1. A danger of godlessness. This is serious in the mind of Job, though it did not show itself in unkind or unjust conduct to men. To forsake God is sin, even though a man pay his debts.

2. An internal evil. “In their hearts” There might be no open blasphemy; yet the hearts of the gay and careless young men and women might be alienated from God. Even this is sin.

3. An evil threatened by prosperity. It is remarkable that this is the very sin which Job is subsequently tempted to commit by the agonies of overwhelming calamities. Here he thinks that prosperity may induce it in his children, for that tempts men to be satisfied with earth, to be vain, proud, and self-complacent.

IV. JOB GUARDED AGAINST THE DANGER. The patriarchal religion made the father the priest of his household. So he must be always when he realizes his position. Parents lay up property for their children; it is more important that they should make provision for their children’s spiritual welfare. They watch anxiously for symptoms of disease in them; much more should they be on their guard against the first signs of moral defects. Job’s children were sanctifiedceremonially cleansed. Ours need to be truly dedicated to God by parental prayers.W.F.A.

Job 1:7

Satan’s wanderings.

Here Satan appears in a very prominent and privileged position. He is the accuser rather than the tempter. At all events, he has a range of influence which suggests most terrible possibilities. We must remember that we are perhaps reading a symbolical drama, and must not take every line of it with dry literal exactness, as necessarily descriptive of actual historical events. Nevertheless, it suggests truths of great and lasting importance.

I. SATAN IS AT LARGE. He was at large in the days of Job, and he is so now. The days have not yet come when Satan is to be completely bound and made quite powerless for harm. We need therefore to be watching, for when we are most off our guard he is most likely to appear.

II. SATAN IS IN MOTION. “Going to and fro in the earth.” He is not always tempting us. He left Christ “for a season” after the great forty days’ temptation (Luk 4:13). But if he leaves us for a time, it is to return againno one can say how soon. One of his devices is to surprise us with novel temptations.

III. SATAN IS WATCHFUL. His eye was on Job. He had found that perfect and upright man, studied him, and laid deep plans for attacking him. Satan is indeed the old serpent, cunning and capable. There is no weak place in the armour that can possibly escape the vigilance of our horrible foe.

IV. SATAN IS SUBJECT TO GOD‘S JUDGMENT. He appears in Job as privileged to present himself among the sons of God. The complete rebellion and utter fall of the prince of evil is not yet seen. But even where that is recognized, as in the New Testament, the Judge of all the earth must be able to call his rebellious creature to account.

V. SATAN IS NOW RESTRICTED BY CHRIST‘S VICTORY. He cannot range at large so freely as before. Jesus Christ lived on earth, wrestled with him, and flung the foul fiend to the earth. Our Lord has bound the strong man, and robbed his house (Mar 3:27). It is true that the bondage is not yet complete. But the powers of evil are crippled wherever the light of Christ shines.

VI. SATAN‘S RANGE DOES NOT EXTEND ABOVE THE EARTH. He wanders to and froin the earth. A wide range, but limited. Here we are tempted by the spirit of evil But no temptations can enter heaven. We have but to hold out faithfully through our earthly pilgrimage, and there will be rest from the assaults of our great enemy when we pass to the home of the victorious.

VII. SATAN‘S RANGE SHOULD BE EQUALLED BY THAT OF THE MESSENGERS OF THE GOSPEL. If he thus wanders, so should the Christian missionaries. Wherever the bite of the serpent is found, there should the healing balm be sent. Sin is world-wide, so also are the grace and power of Christ.W.F.A.

Job 1:9

Disinterested piety.

Satan’s suggestion is obvious enough. Job is religious; but Job is prosperous. Cast down his prosperity, and his religion will come down too like a house of cards.

I. TRUE RELIGION BRINGS GREAT REWARDS. AS a matter of fact, Job was making the best of both worlds. While he was fearing and serving God, God was blessing and smiling upon him.

1. Religion often brings earthly prosperity. It is frequently true that “honesty is the best policy.” God shows his love in very evident ways to many of his children, blessing them “in basket and store.” When a good man is prosperous in business or home it is only right that he should acknowledge the kind hand from which all his happiness comes.

2. Religion always brings heavenly prosperity. It must be well with the soul that is near to God. He who owns Christ does most certainly possess a pearl of great price. Even the poor man in his adversity is rich with spiritual treasure when he has the love of God in his heart.

II. THE RELIGION WHICH DEPENDS ON REWARDS IS NOT TRUE. Job got much through his service of God, or rather along with that service; for all he had was of God’s free grace, not of desert. But if he had only been religious in the spirit of the hireling, working for pay, his religion would have been rank hypocrisy. This is true of future as well as earthly rewards. It applies not only to the tradesman who goes to church that he may please church-going customers; it is true also of one who is a slave to “other-worldliness,” and who behaves like a fanatical Mohammedan when he rushes forward to certain death in battle, inspired by the expectation of flying immediately to a paradise of houris. Self-seeking in religion is always fatal. It is natural to look forward to the rewards which God promises; but it is fatal to all devotion to make the pursuit of those rewards our chief motive. The true servant of God will say

“And I will ask for no reward,

Except to serve thee still”

III. IT IS POSSIBLE TO RENDER DISINTERESTED SERVICE TO GOD. The accuser did not believe this; he spoke with Satanic cynicism. There are people who pride themselves on being men of the world, and who deny that there is any such thing as disinterested generosity. Possibly the reason is that they judge all men by their own low standard; or that they have not the eyes to see the best side of life. With all their boasted keenness of vision there is a whole realm of noble living which is entirely beyond their ken. The Satan-spirit can never understand the Christ-spirit. Now, the great problem of the Book of Job lies in this. That book is to prove the falsity of Satan’s base insinuation. It is to show to the astonished accuser that disinterested devotion is possible. It is to prove, in the extreme instance of Job, that a man may lose all the apparent rewards of religion, and yet not give up his religion; that he may suffer grievous adversity and yet not renounce his God. Job is a magnificent illustration of this truth. But behind Job is God, and the real secret is that God can and does inspire disinterested devotion.W.F.A.

Job 1:12

In Satan’s power.

I. GOD PERMITS TEMPORAL ADVERSITY.

1. It cannot come without his permission. Satan roams over the earth, longing for mischief; yet he cannot do any harm till he obtains leave from the court of heaven. It is some consolation in adversity to know that this has not fallen without God’s observing it, nor even in spite of his will. That which he distinctly sanctions cannot be really bad. Therefore adversity is not the evil it appears to be.

2. God does not always inflict evil immediately. It is not God, but Satan, who smites Job. It would seem that God would never have done it, and that if Satan had not sought permission to hurt Job, Job’s prosperity would have remained unshaken. This is not like the narratives of destroying angels sent forth by God to smite Jerusalem (2Sa 24:16) and to destroy the Assyrian host (2Ki 19:35). In those cases the calamity was from God. Here it originates in Satan, though it is permitted by God. Possibly we may see a ray of light on the mystery of suffering in this fact, especially as a similar thing is seen in the New Testament, in the ease of the woman “whom Satan has bound” (Luk 13:16), and in the case of a person “delivered over to Satan” (1Ti 1:20). St. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was not a messenger of God, but “a messenger of Satan ‘ (2Co 12:7). There are evils which God would not initiate, yet which it would not be well for him at once to restrain by force.

II. GOD LIMITS THE ADVERSITY HE PERMITS. Satan is permitted to lay hold on all that Job possesses, but not to touch the man himself. Thus the adversity is limited, and on various grounds.

1. According to necessity. It shall be no greater than is necessary to accomplish its object. God is lavish of mercies; he is parsimonious with afflictionseven in the case of the huge afflictions of a Job! But he is the Judge of how much trouble is necessary, and we cannot estimate it.

2. According to powers of endurance. God will not suffer us to be tempted beyond that we are able to endure (1Co 10:13). He knew Job when he pertained tremendous troubles to fall upon him. Those Titanic shoulders could carry a giant’s load of calamity. Weaker souls are more gently dealt with.

III. THE ADVERSITY IS ONLY PERMITTED FOR THE SAKE OF A GREAT GOOD. To the casual observer it looks as though Job were merely delivered over for Satan to make diabolical sport with him, as the Philistines made sport with blind Samson. But God would not thus cruelly deal with any man. The fact is, Job is to prove a great truth to devils and angels, and ultimately to men also. The testing of his fidelity is a lesson for the universe. It shows that God inspires disinterested devotion. Now, Job was not aware of this purpose. Had he known it, the trial would have been frustrated. To him the series of calamities is an overwhelming mystery, and he is tried the more by its inexplicable character. We cannot see the purpose of our troubles. But there is a purpose. Possibly one explanation is, not that we are merely to suffer for our own soul’s discipline, but, like Job, for the sake of lessons which, without our knowing them, may be taught to others by means of our experience.W.F.A.

Job 1:13-19

Job’s unparalleled calamities.

Everything is done to heighten and intensify the impression of Job’s calamities. Let us note their salient features.

I. THEY OCCUR AT A SEASON OF FESTIVITY. It was a feast-day, and Job’s whole family was gathered together in his eldest son’s house. Then of all times the affectionate father would be least prepared for ominous rumours of calamity. The thunderbolt fell from the cloudless blue sky. Without a note of warning, the fearful storm burnt in an overwhelming deluge. This is a lesson against trusting to prosperity, as though it contained a promise of its own certain continuance. But it is no unmerciful arrangement of Providence that the dark future is hidden from us. We are made sad because

“We look before and after.”

If we saw all the future, we could not endure the present.

II. THEY OCCUR IN RAPID SUCCESSION. So closely do these calamities follow one upon another that, before the first messenger has told his tale, a second herald arrives with more evil news, followed as speedily by a third, and he after no more delay by the last, with his most dreadful message. It has often been noticed how troubles come in batches. In Job’s case we can see the reason. One fearful power of malignity is behind the whole series.

III. THEY COME FROM VARIOUS QUARTERS. Though Satan is the ultimate cause of all the calamities, he does not inflict any of them with his own hand. He keeps that hidden, and finds means to send emissaries from all quartersArabs from the south fall on the home farm; lightning from heaven smites the sheep on the downs; three robber-bands of roving Chaldees from the north swoop down on the caravan of camels that carries Job’s wealth of merchandise; and, worse than all else, a hurricane from the desert smites and fells the house where Job’s sons and daughters are feasting. Who can dwell in security when trouble may come in so many directions? It is impossible for the strongest man to fortify himself against it. None of us can do more than make reasonable preparations, which may all prove useless. But all may trust the providence of him who rules wind and storm and heart of man, and without whose permission not a hair of our head can be touched.

IV. THEY ARE AGGRAVATED AS THEY PROCEED. The worst comes last. It is terrible for a rich man to see his wealth melting before his eyes in a few moments. This was Antonio’s trouble when his fleet of merchandise was destroyed (‘Merchant of Venice’), but it was not so fearful as Malcolm’s, when all his children were murdered at once (‘Macbeth’), or the late Archbishop Tait’s, when one after another his children died of an epidemic of fever. Let the impoverished man be thankful if his family is spared to him. Note:

1. Possibly trouble is softened by coming with successive shocks. Each may drown the effect of its predecessor.

2. Job’s trouble was only once surpassedin Gethsemane.W.F.A.

Job 1:21, Job 1:22

Job’s resignation.

We cannot but be struck with the magnificent calmness of Job after receiving the successive blows of unprecedented calamities. He is not stunned; he is not distracted. He possesses his soul in patience. With a singular dignity of bearing he is seen to be greater now in his calamity than ever he appeared when at the height of success.

I. HOW JOB BEHAVED.

1. He mourned. This was natural, reasonable, and right. He would have been less than mall if he had taken his troubles without a pang. God loves the heart of flesh, not the stony heart; and the heart of flesh must needs feel great trouble very keenly. God’s saint is not a stoic. But though Job mourned, he did so with calmness and self-restraint. He did not fling himself down in passionate grief. His rising, his rending his mantlefrom neck to girdle, according to customhis shaving his head, all indicate his marvellous self-possession. He goes through the dreary process of conventional mourning with unflinching decision. His calmness, however, only covers the depth of his sorrow. There is something terrible about that methodical process. The tragedy is sublime.

2. He worshipped. He did not renounce God. On the contrary, he blessed the Name of the Lord. He could not understand the meaning and end of his strange experience. But he knew God, and he never dreamed of doubting God. Moreover, his trouble drives him to God. He falls before God in adoration. The singular thing is that he is not seen praying for help. His trouble is beyond help, and he is not one to whine in weak misery. He loses himself in adoration of God. This is the great secret of fortitudenot to cry for deliverance, but to forget ourselves in God.

II. WHAT JOB RECEIVED. He spoke to God, or perhaps uttered a soliloquy, for the relief of his own heart, yet doubtless conscious of the sustaining presence of God. His words show his perfect reasonableness. There is nothing which makes people so unreasonable as trouble. Yet Job was not yet turned one hairs breadth from the line of truth and reason by his fearful calamities. It is a great security to see things as they are. Half our distress arises from our viewing them in false lights of passion and prejudice. If we are only calm enough to look about us, we may discover a strange revealing light in great calamities. They break through the conventional forms, and flash out facts.

1. Job saw his own littleness. In a moment he perceived that he had no natural right to all he had possessed. He had nothing when he entered the world; he could carry nothing out with him. Pride prepares for distresses which humility escapes. When we perceive how very small we are, we cannot be amazed at any loss which we may sustain.

2. Job recognized God‘s right. He who gives has a right to withdraw. All we have is on loan from God. This truth does not make our loss the less, but a perception of it calms the foolish, rebellious spirit, which is the source of our deepest misery.W.F.A.

Job 1:22

Standing fire.

Thus ends the first scene. Satan is completely defeated. His surmise is proved to he utterly false. God has permitted the hedge about Job to be broken through, and the destroyer has ravaged his possessions till the garden is turned into a desert. Yet the good man does not renounce God.

I. TO CHARGE GOD WITH WRONG IS A SIN. This was the sin to which Satan was tempting Job. The suggestion was that he should say that God was acting cruelly, unjustly, wrongly. Now, as this seems a natural inference from the events, why was it wrong for Job to follow it? The answer must be found in the truth that God is not known inductively by means of external phenomena.

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense.”

He has made himself known by special revelations, and he is ever making himself more and more known in the voice of conscience. From these sources we know that the Judge of all the earth must do right. To doubt this is to forsake the higher light and to sink into culpable folly. To prefer a charge against God is worse than to doubt him. At least we might be silent.

II. THE ABSENCE OF SIN CAN ONLY BE PROVED BY TRIALS. It is easy to hide sin from view in times of quiet. Then the base metal may shine as brightly as the pure gold. The fiery test reveals its worthlessness. The important question is as to whether we have a character that will stand fire. It is of little value for a man not to be sinning when he has no inducement to sin. His goodness then is at best a negative innocence, and very possibly it is only a slumbering of latent evil

III. THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IS NOT TO SIN WHEN ONE IS MOST TEMPTED. There were many sins, doubtless, to which Job was not at all liable. It was little to his credit that he was not guilty of them. The point of interest was that “in all this,” i.e. in this specially trying series of calamities, Job did not commit the particular sin to which they pointed, i.e. charging God with wrong. People pride themselves on their goodness in various directions; but this is of small importance if they fail when they are really tempted.

IV. THE SECRET OF STANDING FIRE IS IN THE STRENGTH OF GOD. Now Job has the reward of his long devotion to God. Verse 5 shows him a man of prayer in the days of prosperity; it shows him praying for his children in their need; thus Job was being prepared unconsciously for the evil day. When it came it found him ready, though it was quite unexpected, because it found him living near to God. When the whirlwind is about us it is too late to think of strengthening the tent-stakes. We need the inward strength of God, which comes by the slow growth of Christian experience, if we are to stand like the sturdy oak in the sudden swirl of calamities.W.F.A.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

THE BOOK of JOB.

THERE is, perhaps, no book of Scripture, that has so much divided interpreters, and afforded such a field of controversy, as the book of JOB: some supposing it of the remotest antiquity, written by Moses or Job himself; others bringing it down to a very low date; supposing it written by Ezra, at the time of the return from the Babylonish captivity. I shall not trouble my reader with a discussion of these various opinions: but, having given the matter the most impartial and mature consideration that I am able, shall lay before him the result of my inquiry, respecting the author, the time of writing, and the subject matter of this book. First, with respect to the author, I cannot help subscribing to their opinion, who believe him and his performance to be of the remotest antiquity, before Moses, and of the patriarchal age. That Job was a real person, and that his sufferings were real, I think, is universally agreed: but whether he himself, Elihu, or some other of his friends, were the relators of his sufferings, appears to me impossible to determine. Many learned men believe that Job himself was the writer: I am rather induced to think that it was some other person of his own age or time. That the book, secondly; is of the remotest antiquity; there appear, as I apprehend, many indisputable testimonies, which will occur in the course of our observations. Thirdly concerning the subject of this book in general, we agree with the learned Bishop Lowth, who determines it to contain the third and last trial of Job, which was made upon him by his three friends; the principal design whereof is, to teach men, that, considering the corruption, ignorance, and weakness of human nature, on the one hand; and the infinite wisdom and immense greatness of God on the other; they should renounce their own will, put their full trust in God, and submit themselves to him in all things with the deepest humility and reverence. This is the general end or argument of the poem: but the whole history, taken together, properly contains a high example of consummate and rewarded patience. We have called the book a poem; and such it is, of the dramatic kind, though by no means a complete drama. The interlocutory parts of the work are in metre. Respecting the place or scene of action, see the note on the first verse. Possibly we shall be thought not just to the argument, if we omit to mention, that Bishop Warburton has strongly endeavoured to prove this book a dramatic allegory, composed by Ezra for the consolation of the Jews returning from Babylon; wherein, under the characters of Job and his friends, are figured those Jews and their three great enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. Attracted by the lure of this allegory, another writer has carried it so far as to allegorize those parts which the bishop wisely omitted to touch upon, and by his friendly efforts has done more, perhaps, to confute the bishop’s system than any of his direct opposers. But on this head we refer our readers to the ingenious Mr. Peters’s Critical Dissertation on the book of Job, and to Bishop Lowth’s excellent 32nd and following Lectures.

CHARACTER OF JOB.

The character of Job affords us such a spectacle, as Seneca, alluding to the shews of gladiators so common among the Romans, says, was worthy of the Deity himself to look upon; viz. that of a pious and good man, combating adversity; and, among other miseries of an extraordinary kind, vexed with the unjust suspicions and peevish accusations of his mistaken friends.

And here we find him using every argument that could be thought of in his own defence; to cure them, if possible, of their mistake, and to persuade them of his innocence; appealing to the general course of Providence, which, for the most part, deals out things promiscuously, and often involves the good and bad in the same common calamity; directing them to instances, within their own knowledge, of those who had been as wicked as they were great, and yet had lived a long course of years in prosperity, and died at last in peace, and been buried with great pomp; so that no visible judgment had overtaken them, in their lives, or in their deaths.
When this view of Providence, so true and evident to experience, still wanted force to remove an obstinate error, he puts them in mind of the future judgment, which was the proper season for reward and punishment; and declares, in the most solemn manner, his hopes of being acquitted there.

When all this would not do, but they still disbelieve and persecute him, he is driven to the last argument which a modest man would make use of, and appeals to his own public and private behaviour in the whole course of his life: and upon this occasion he displays such a set of admirable virtues, and shews the piety, the prudence, the humanity of his conduct, in so amiable a light, with such a noble freedom, and, at the same time, such an air of truth, that I question whether there be any thing of the kind more beautiful or instructive in all antiquity; perhaps a finer picture of a wise and good man was never drawn. How prudent and upright in his decisions, as a magistrate or judge! How just and benevolent in his domestic character, as a father of a family! How untractable to all the allurements of pleasure, in the height of his prosperity, and how sensible to the complaints and miseries of others! And, above all, how remarkably pious in his principles! How careful to build his virtue upon its own solid basis, religion, or the fear of God! If I were to produce the proofs of this, I must transcribe the whole 29th and 31st chapters. But with all these great and excellent qualities, we cannot but take notice of some little mixture of allay and imperfection. For, a perfect character, however it may have existed in idea, it is certain, never yet appeared above once upon the real stage of the world.
We must forgive this good man, therefore, the little excursions and passionate complaints which the extremity of his sufferings now and then forced from him. His despair and weariness of life; his often wishing for death; his eagerness to come upon his trial; his earnest requests, and even expostulations with his judge, to bring him to it, or, at least, to acquaint him with the reasons of these severe inflictions. These and the like, it must be owned, appear as shades and blemishes in the character of this great man, and may argue somewhat of impatience, even in this heroic pattern of patience.
A great deal, however, might be said in his excuse: as that his afflictions had something in them very astonishing, and beyond the common measure; that the distempers of the body have oftentimes a natural tendency to produce black thoughts, and a despondency of mind: to which may be added, the rash censures and suspicions of his friends, as they affected his reputation, which, to a generous mind, is the most valuable thing in the world, next to his integrity: it is no wonder that a treatment so inhuman, so undeserved, so unexpected, should provoke to an extremity a person borne down already with the weight of his misfortunes.

These things might certainly be offered in excuse for the little blemishes which appear in the speeches and conduct of this great man. But, after all, the best thing that can be pleaded in his behalf, and that which covers all his imperfections, is his own behaviour upon this occasion, and his making no excuse at all for them; but as soon as he was brought to recollect his errors, immediately confessing them with great simplicity, and the most profound humility and contrition. Chap. Job 40:3-4. Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth:And again, chap. Job 42:3, &c. I have uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. But now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The complacency and favour with which this humble acknowledgment was accepted by the Supreme Judge, and the bountiful reward bestowed upon this good man, as a present earnest of a still greater to be expected by him hereafter, will teach us this very acceptable and important truth: how ready God is to pass by the little weaknesses of human nature in one in whom there is a tried and resolute integrity still bent upon the doing of his duty, and determined, whatever may befal him, to adhere to God in all his trials and temptations.

REFLECTIONS.1st, Job had begun his humbling acknowledgments, chap. Job 40:4-5.; but now his convictions, much deeper and stronger, produce lowlier abasement before God.

1. He submits himself entirely to God. I know that thou canst do every thing; these wondrous instances of thy power convince me, that it is madness to contend with the Almighty, and folly to despair of what his power can do: none are so high that he cannot abase, none so low that he cannot restore and exalt them; and that no thought can be withholden from thee; the secrets of the soul are known to him; not a corrupt, fretful, or unbelieving thought rises without his notice.

2. He confesses his ignorance, sin, and folly. Who is he that hideth consel without knowledge? pretends to be wise above God. Let him take warning, and be admonished by me; it has been my case, with shame I acknowledge it: therefore have I uttered that I understood not. I have not had a right knowledge either of God’s purity, or my own pollution; of his power, or my own weakness; of his wisdom, or my own ignorance: things too wonderful for me, which I knew not, have I spoken concerning the dispensations of his providence, and the mysteries of his government, mistaking his designs, and finding fault with God foolishly; in which my presumption, wilfulness, and pride, have appeared to my guilt and confusion.

3. He resolves now to change his tone, and turn the voice of contention into the language of prayer, as his only proper method of approaching God. Hear, I beseech thee, though I own myself undeserving of thy notice and regard, and I will speak; not in self-defence, but in humbling confession; I will demand of thee or make my request to thee; and declare thou unto me, answer my petition in pardoning my sin, and instruct me in the right way, that I may not err again.

4. He feels and owns the deep sense he had of his sinfulness. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; his parents and teachers had given him good instructions concerning the perfections of God; and he had probably received revelations from him; but now mine eye seeth thee; never before was such a discovery made to his mind, of the sovereignty, power, wisdom, and justice of God, in all his providential dispensations. Probably now also in the human form God appeared visible, while he opened Job’s understanding to a clear view of his nature, glory, and infinite perfections, and manifested them to him in the appearance or figure of an incarnate Redeemer. Wherefore, I abhor myself, and all the hard speeches that I have spoken, and repent in dust and ashes, desiring to testify my grief and shame, and renounce henceforward every thought and deed contrary to thy holy will. Thus must every real penitent return to God, (1.) under a divine conviction, which no human arguments can produce without the spirit of God. (2.) This sense of sin will be deep and lasting, yea, increasing with clearer views of God’s purity. (3.) We must come with heart-felt anguish for the dishonour we have brought on God, and heart-felt shame and self-loathing, which are the genuine expressions of true repentance. (4.) With an humble hope, that, vile and loathsome as we are, God will not reject us, but pity and pardon us, through the Redeemer of lost souls.

2nd, We must not think, because Job is first rebuked, that the cause is given against him, and his accusers justified. No. Though he deserved reproof, they deserved it more. God, while he brings Job to acknowledge what he had spoken amiss, will justify him from their unjust aspersions, and cover them with confusion.
1. Job is exalted. After the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, convinced and humbled him, pardoned and accepted him, then he appears to justify and honour him. [1.] He acknowledges him his servant, repeatedly calling him by this respectable title, as a testimony of his fidelity in the main, though through temptation and infirmity he had erred, and spoken unadvisedly. [2.] He declares, that in the controversy Job had come nearest to the truth, and spoken more wisely and honourably of him and his providences, than his friends; in denying that prosperity was the criterion of godliness, or affliction in this world of hypocrisy and wickedness; and extending his views to a future state, where the retribution of every man’s work was to be expected. [3.] He appoints him to be their advocate; putting this honour upon him, well knowing the spirit of charity in his heart, and how ready he would be to pray for his persecutors. Note; (1.) Whom God pardons, he delights to honour. (2.) A faithful servant of Christ may err, or be overtaken with a fault; but God, who sees the heart, and the root of the matter in him, will not disclaim his relation to him. (3.) Where there is much wrong mixed with what is right, we must not condemn the whole for a part, any more than we should cast away the ore, because it comes from the earth mixed with dross. (4.) They who have tasted God’s pardoning love to their own souls, will think no injury too great to be forgiven or forgotten; or refuse to open the arms of love to their bitterest enemy. (5.) Job was herein a lively figure of the Saviour of sinners, who alone could offer the sacrifice that God would accept, in his deepest distress prayed for his murderers, and ever lives to intercede for the transgressors.

2. Job’s friends are cast down, and brought to his feet in abasement. Perhaps while they heard God’s address to Job alone, they thought the verdict was for them; but now God would make them know, that, though Job had offended, they had exceeded in offence. He had spoken some things wrong, but they many more; laying down false hypotheses of his general dealings with men; condemning the righteous unjustly, and misinterpreting the rod of love into the stroke of judgment; making him sad, whom they should have comforted. For this, God’s wrath was kindled against them; and, though they were good men, in this they had deserved to be punished; and therefore they must bring a sacrifice of atonement, as the expiation of their guilt. They must humble themselves, not only before God, but before Job, acknowledging their evil, desiring his prayers, and bringing their sacrifices to him, whose prayers for them should be accepted. Note; (1.) It is a dangerous thing to judge rashly of men’s spiritual state, except in cases of open vice; and a high provocation against God, as well as an injury to our brethren. (2.) The best of God’s saints are exposed to the severest censures, and even good men will be sometimes criminally severe. (3.) We must not expect forgiveness from God, unless we have, to the uttermost, made our brother satisfaction for the injuries that we have done him. (4.) It is a mercy that we have one Advocate to go to, who, highly as we have offended him, never rejects the suit of the humbled soul.

3. We see all happily reconciled. Job’s friends, without delay, submit to the divine injunction: he heartily forgives them, and prays for them. They who were lately so sharp in contention, now lift up together the voice of humble supplication, and, united in love, surround a throne of grace. God, well pleased, accepts the offering, and perfect reconciliation ensues on every side. Note; (1.) It is a blessed thing to see differences thus ended, and friends, separated by mistakes or folly, forgetting, forgiving, and embracing. (2.) How much more agreeable were it, instead of warmth of theological dispute about opinions allowedly not essential to salvation, to unite in love, where all true Christians are agreed, in prayer and praise, and to labour to walk more holily and humbly before God! (3.) There is but one way of reconciliation for the sinner, the Blood of Atonement: unless we plead that, we must be undone. (4.) While we are waiting on God in his instituted ways, we may take the comfort of our services, and rejoice in are acceptance, through the sacrifice and intercession of our adored Jesus.

3rdly, Better, says Solomon, is the end of a thing than the beginning; and we see it in Job’s case abundantly verified. The restoration and increase of his prosperity were as astonishing as the suddenness and depth of his afflictions.

1. God eminently appeared for him. When he prayed for his friends, blessings came upon his own head; the Lord turned his captivity, restored his body from Satan’s bands, and his mind from the terrors and distress with which it had been agitated; and, withal, doubled the possessions of which he had been deprived. Thus his fidelity was rewarded in this life, his credit restored in the eyes of men, and his comforts secured on a more solid basis than before. Note; Though this life, to a faithful believer, may in temporal matters sometimes be compared with Job’s situation in his afflictions, at least in some degree, yet he may expect a deliverance from his captivity, where his prosperity will be beyond even Job’s here, unspeakable and eternal.

2. His friends and acquaintance, who had been estranged from him, returned to visit and to comfort him, sympathizing in his affliction; and, not content with empty pity, each, according to their ability, made him handsome presents. God now inclined their hearts to assist him: probably, the approbation that God had given of his character removed their suspicions of his integrity, which had led them to neglect him; and the fear of God’s displeasure, testified against his three friends who had been so severe upon him, made them desirous of an interest in Job’s prayers for themselves also. Note; (1.) God has all men’s hearts in his hands, and can strangely incline them to execute his designs. (2.) True charity and friendship will not merely bring the kind wish, but the ready generous assistance.

3. A remarkable increase attended him. His cattle, from the stock with which his friends furnished him, soon doubled the number that he had lost; and, above all his riches, the blessing of God upon them made them especially valuable. And thus his latter end was greater than his beginning; more wealthy, more respected, and more happy. Note; (1.) God’s blessing upon honest endeavours will make a little to afford great increase. (2.) Respecting outward prosperity, a good man often finds a provision made for him in his aged days beyond the most sanguine expectations of his youth; while his soul also, fraught with the riches of divine grace, which are the best portion, shines brighter as he draws to his end; till his glorious inheritance comes, and he leaves a perishing world for an everlasting kingdom.

4. His family was wonderfully restored; he had the same number of sons and daughters as before. The names of the latter are recorded: Jemima, the day; Kezia, a fragrant spice; Kerenhappuch, the horn of paint. It is remarked of them, that they were persons of singular beauty, like their names; fair as the day, fragrant as Cassia, and blooming brighter in their native hue than the tint of vermillion. And we may presume, that their mental accomplishments, and the exemplariness of their piety, were equal to the exquisiteness of their form, from the honourable distinction shewn them, in appointing them an inheritance with their brethren.
5. He enjoyed a long life, crowned with mercies. He saw his children to the fourth generation; an hundred and forty years he lived in a course of uninterrupted prosperity; and then gently bending to the grave, as the ripe corn in the time of harvest, he departed full of days, satisfied with life, and willing to exchange his possessions on earth for more enduring riches in the better world of glory.
CHAP. I.

Job, a just and a wealthy man, is accused by Satan before God, as if he worshipped God for reward. God delivers all the fortune of Job into the power of Satan; which being taken from him at once, he blesses God, with the most perfect submission.

Before Christ 1645.

Job 1:1. In the land of Uz Uz is Edom, as plainly appears from Lam 4:21. Uz was the grandson of Seir the Horite, Gen 20:18. 1Ch 1:38; 1Ch 1:42. Seir inhabited the mountainous country called after him, before the time of Abraham; but, his posterity being driven out, the Edomites seized that country, Gen 14:6. Deu 2:12. Two other persons are mentioned, of the same name of Uz; the one descended from Shem, the other the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham; but it does not appear whether any country was named from either of these. Edom is part of Arabia Petraea, bordering upon the tribe of Judah to the south: Num 34:3. Jos 1:18 and therefore the land of Uz is properly placed between Egypt and the Philistines in Jer 25:20 where the order of places in enumerating the people, from Egypt even to Babylon, seems to be observed very accurately. The same people are placed in nearly the same order. Jeremiah 46.l. See Bishop Lowth.

Whose name was Job The name of Job, in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, may, with the greatest probability, be derived from a root that signifies to love or desire; and might be rendered, the beloved or desired one. As to the stock from whence he sprung, it is most likely that he was descended from Uz, the eldest son of Nahor, brother to Abraham; but how far removed can only be conjectured from the age of his friends; the eldest of whom, Eliphaz the Temanite, could not be nearer than great-grand-son to Esau; for Esau begat Eliphaz, and the son of Eliphaz was Teman: so that, supposing this Eliphaz to be the son of Teman, (and higher it will be impossible to place him,) he will then be five generations from Abraham; but as Eliphaz was very much older than Job, nay older than his father, as appears from chap. Job 15:10 and considering that Abraham was very old before he had a son by Sarah, and that Rebecca, grand-daughter to Nahor by Bethuel, perhaps his youngest son, was of an age proper to be wife to Isaac; we shall, probably, not be wide of the mark, if we allow Job to be at least six, if not seven, generations removed from Nahor. The age, therefore, in which he lived, must have coincided with the latter years of the life of Jacob, with those of Joseph, and the descent into and sojourning in Egypt; his afflictions must have happened during the sojourning, about ten years before the death of Joseph; and his life must have been prolonged to within fourteen years before the departure of the Israelites from Egypt; that is, the year of the world 2499. The number of the years of the life of Job will be, according to this calculation, about 200; which, for that age of the world, and especially considering that Job was blessed with a remarkably long life as a reward for his suffering and integrity, will not appear very extraordinary; for Jacob lived 147 years; Levi, his son, 137; Kohath, his grandson, 133; and Amram, his great-grandson, and father of Moses, 137; Moses also lived 120 years. All these were his cotemporaries, some older, some younger than Job; so that this seems to agree extremely well with that circumstance of his history. Heath.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

PROLOGUE

Job 1:1-22, Job 2:1-13

1. Jobs Character and Course of Life. (Job 1:1-15.)

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men [sons] of the East.4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day [Now his sons were wont to hold a feast at the house of each one on his (birth)-day], and [they] sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them [that he might make atonement for them, Z.], and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed, [renounced, bid farewell to] God in their hearts!Thus did Job continually.

2. The Divine Determination to try Job through Suffering

a. The milder form of trial by taking away his possessions

(Job 1:6-22.)

6Now there was a day [it came to pass on a day, or, on the day] when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord [Jehovah], and Satan came also among them. 7And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [for] there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil?9Then Satan answered the Lord, 10and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased [spread abroad] in the land. 11But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and [verily] he will curse Thee to Thy face. 12And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power [hand], only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

13And there was a day [it came to pass on the day], when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house: 14and there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the [she] asses feeding beside them: 15and the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain [smitten] the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17While he was yet speaking there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword: and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18While he was yet speaking there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy 19daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house: and behold, there came a great wind from [beyond] the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men [people], and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon 21the ground, and worshipped, and said: Naked came I out of my mothers womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord [Jehovah] gave, and the Lord [Jehovah] hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord [Jehovah]. 22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly [nor uttered folly against God].

b. The severer trial, the loss of health.

(Job 2:1-10).

1Again there was a day [and it came to pass on a day (Z.), or: Now it was the day] when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [for] there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst Me against him to destroy him without cause. 4And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea [and] all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5But put forth Thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face. 6And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold he is in thine hand; but 7[only] spare his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity. Curse [renounce] God, and die! 10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

3. The Visit of the Friends and their Mute Sympathy as an Immediate Preparation for the Action of the Poem

Job 2:11-13.

11Now when [or, Then] Jobs three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, [and] they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for [and] they had made an appointment together to come [or: they met together by appointment] to mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief [affliction] was very great.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. Jobs character and course of life. Job 1:1-15.

Job 1:1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Literally, A man was in the land of Uz, etc.: the order of the words as in 2Sa 12:1; Est 2:5. On the name see Introduction, 1, and Note. , Vulg.: in terra Hus; LXX.: . Comp. the more precise definition: (in the addition at the end of the book) which gives with general accuracy the position of the country. For we are certainly constrained to place it in the region lying North-East of Edomitis towards the Arabian desert. We cannot identify it with any locality within the land of the Edomites, nor with that land itself, as some writers, ancient and modern, have undertaken to do. For 1. In Job 1:3 Job is represented in general terms as belonging to the , the sons of the East, i.e., as a North Arabian, an inhabitant of the Syro-Arabian desert which extends eastward from Transjordanic Palestine to the Euphrates (comp. 1Ki 5:10 [A. V.: Job 4:30] Isa 11:14; Jer 49:28; Eze 25:4).2. The Sabeans and Chaldeans are, according to Job 1:15; Job 1:17, neighbors, dwelling in adjacent territory.3. The () mentioned by Ptolemy V., Job 19:2, as neighbors of Babylonia on the West, under the Caucabenes, are assuredly none other than the inhabitants of the country we are considering.4. Jer 25:20 sq., clearly and definitely distinguishes between Uz and Edom. The expression in Lam 4:21, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz, does not affirm the identity of the two countries, but rather refers to an expansion of the boundaries of Edom which at some time took place, so as to include the land of Uz (comp. Ngelsbach on both the passages cited).5. In Gen 10:23, Uz, the patriarchal founder of the country, after whom it was named, appears as the immediate descendant of Aram; in Gen 22:21, as the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham; and in Gen 36:28 as the grand-son of Ser, the ancestor of the Horite aborigines of Idumea. None of these passages in Genesis brings Uz into genealogical relation to Edom, though they clearly make him appear as geographically his neighbor.6. Again Job 2:11 of our book (Eliphaz the Temanite), also Job 32:2 (Elihu the descendant of Buz; comp. Gen 22:21, where the same Buz appears as the son of Nahor and the brother of Uz) argue for a relation of co-ordination between the countries of Uz and Edom.7. Josephus (Ant. I., 6, 4) names , the son of Aram (Gen 10:23) as the founder of Trachonitis and Damascus. This reference, resting as it does on a primitive tradition, contains an indirect contradiction of the supposition that Uz was an Idumean province; rather is the inference probable that at one time it extended further North, as far as South-eastern Syria.8. The Syro-Arabian tradition of the Middle Ages and of modern times fixes the place where Job lived at a considerable distance North, or North-East from Ser-Edom, to wit, in the fruitful East-Hauranitic province el-Bethenije (Nukra), which Abulfeda calls a part of the territory of Damascus, and within which at this day are pointed out a Place of Job (Makam-Ejb) and a Monastery of Job (Dair-Ejb), both situated south of Nawa on the road leading north to Damascus (comp. Fries in the Stud. und Krit., 1854, II.; and especially J. C. Wetstein: The Monastery of Job in Hauran, and the Tradition of Job, in the Appendix to Delitzschs Commentary, II. 395 sq., Clark, Edinb.). We are indeed scarcely to look for the home of our hero so far North as these sacred localities of the Christian-Mohamedan tradition concerning Job, or as the location favored by the hypothesis of Bochart, Ilgen, J. H. Michaelis, etc., which regards the valley al-Gutha situated not far from Damascus, as the Uz of Scripture. At the same time the considerations here presented make it far more probable that it belonged to the territory of East-Hauran (not necessarily of Hauran in Palestine, or the eastern portion of Manasseh), than that it was identical with any locality in Edom South, or South-West from Palestine. [The so-called universalism of the writer is apparent here. His hero is a stranger to Judaism and the privileges of the peculiar people, living in a foreign country. The author saw that God was not confined to the Jew, but was and must be everywhere the father of His children, however imperfectly they attained to the knowledge of Him; he saw that the human heart was the same, too, everywhere, that it everywhere proposed to itself the same problems, and rocked and tossed amidst the same uncertainties; that its intercourse with heaven was alike, and alike awful in all places; and away down far in that great desert stretching into infinite expanse, where mens hearts drew in from the imposing silence, deep, still thoughts of God, he lays the scene of his great poem. He knows, Jew though he be, that there is something deeper far than Judaism, or the mere outward forms of any dispensation, that God and man are the great facts, and the great problem their connection. Davidson]. And that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. These four attributes, of which (literally integer, whole, complete) here denotes moral integrity, and hence blamelessness, while denotes uprightness, righteousness,are not simply co-ordinate, but the first furnishes the foundation of the second, and the last two conjointly of the first two, (Hahn). For the fear of God and eschewing evil are obviously mentioned as the ground or source of blamelessness and uprightness (comp. Pro 1:7); the religious characteristics serve to explain the moral. The before is thus explanatory, and might, as in Job 1:8 and Job 2:3, be dispensed with. [Lee remarks well on that it seems to be synonymous with the Greek , 1Co 2:6; 1Co 14:20, etc., and to signify complete in every requisite of true religion, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, rather than perfect in the abstract; and hence Job 2:3 is rather the exercise of true religion, than perfection or integrity in the abstract. Delitzsch defines thus: , with the whole heart disposed towards God and what is good, and also well-disposed toward mankind; in thought and action without deviation conformed to that which is right, , fearing God. and consequently being actuated by the fear of God which is the beginning (i.e., principle) of wisdom; , keeping aloof from evil, which is opposed to God. Ewald and Davidson cor-relate and , as descriptive of the inner qualities of a righteous man, and as descriptive of his outer life].

Job 1:2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. The description of his piety is immediately followed by that of his prosperity, showing first of all how he prospered in his family, how rich he was in children. The high significance which attached to this species of wealth and happiness, according to the Old Testament view, may be seen from Job 21:8; Job 21:11; Job 29:5, of our book, and also Psalms 127, 128. The number of sons, it will be observed, far exceeds that of daughters; this being in accordance with the tendency, prevalent alike in ancient and in modern times, to magnify the importance of those by whom the family life and name are perpetuated, and to regard that man as specially fortunate, who is blessed with a preponderance of male descendants (comp. Pro 17:6). The number of sons, moreover, and the number of daughters, are sacred numbers of special symbolical significance, their sum likewise forming a sacred number; and again, in the summary which follows of the patriarchs possessions, we find the same numbers recurring, as multiples of one thousand. It has already been shown in the Introduction, 8, near the beginning, how in these unmistakably ideal numerals we recognize, notwithstanding the prose form, the essentially poetic character of the Prologue; and the same is true of the Epilogue (see Job 42:12-13).

Job 1:3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, etc. [It is a large, princely household. Del.] Although Job is not to be regarded as a wandering Bedouin, but as a settled prince, or Emir (Job 1:4; Job 1:18; Job 29:7; Job 31:32), who also engaged in agriculture (Job 1:14; Job 5:23; Job 31:8; Job 31:38 sq.), his wealth is nevertheless, after the manner of those countries, estimated according to the extent of his flocks and herds (), together with the servants thereto appertaining. Dillm.Five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses. , a yoke, i.e., pair, oxen being worked in pairs in tilling the land (Job 1:14). Only the she asses are mentioned (comp. on the other hand Gen 12:16; Gen 32:15), as forming the most valuable part of this species of cattle property. In Syria even yet they are far more numerously owned than the males, and sold at three times the value of the latter; and this not so much for the milk as for breeding (comp. Wetzstein in Delitzsch; also Rosenmllers Altes und Neues Morgenland, III., 319).And a very great household (very many servants). , precisely as in Gen 26:14, brought into connection with wealth in cattle, which, as the more important, is mentioned first. The Targ. takes to be the same with , 1Ch 27:26, meaning husbandry. This interpretation, which the Septuagint seeks after its fashion to combine with the common one ( , ), is condemned by the analogy of the parallel passage in Gen 26:14, as well as by the singular unanimity with which exegetical tradition favors the signification we have given.So that this man was the greatest of all the sons of the East. [Vav consec. imperf. summing up the issue of the foregone: all which made Job the greatest of the Orientals. Davidson.] On see above on Job 1:1, also Introd., 5. For in the sense of rich and distinguished, see Gen 24:35; Gen 26:13; Ecc 2:9. [The sons of the East are the inhabitants of the regions East of Palestine. Although elsewhere the term designates the Arabians, who constitute the principal element of the population between Canaan and the Euphrates, here it cannot be referred specially to them, for Job was not an Arabian, and Uz belonged rather to the Aramaic race. Hengst. Schlottmann calls attention to the fact that the name Saracen is Arabic for men of the East. E.]

Job 1:4-5 describe and illustrate Jobs remarkable piety, presenting a single characteristic of the same, which at the same time prepares the way for a better understanding of the narrative which follows. [These verses serve a threefold use in the narrative: primarily, they furnish the historical occasion for the terrible calamities which follow; incidentally, they contain a striking illustration of Jobs tender and conscientious piety; and, finally, they present a pleasing picture of patriarchal family life in its affectionate harmony and joyousness.E.]

Job 1:4. Now his sons were wont to hold a feast in the house of each one on his birth-day.Lit.: And his sons went and made a feast, etc. The verb went here, as the perf. consec. shows, refers not to an action which took place once, but to one which was wont to recur at definite times. [It does not exhibit the whole religious expression of Jobs life, but only one remarkable custom in it; hence being independent, vav has not the imperf. consecutive, but the simple perf., expressing here a single past action which the connection shows to have been customary. Dav.] Since denotes not the ordinary daily meal, but, as the derivation from proves, a feast of entertainment, a banquet attended with wine-drinking (Job 1:13), a , convivium, it is impossible to take (Accus. tempor.) in the sense of a daily recurrence of these meals, thus assuming that every week the dinner passed round in rotation to each of the seven brothers (Hirzel, Oehler, Kamph., Del. [Hengstenberg, Words.]). This would be a living in riot and revelry, all the more unbecoming since by such an arrangement the parents would be excluded altogether from the family-circle, whereas the sisters would be, contrary to Eastern custom, the habitual companions of their brothers at the table. Evidently denotes a day marked by special observance and feasting (comp. Hos 1:11; Hos 2:15; Hos 7:5); whence it would seem to have been either some annual festival, of general observance, such as the harvest festival, so widely observed in antiquity, or the spring festival (so Ewald, Vaih., Heil., Hahn, Dillm. [Dav.]); or else the birth-day festival of either one of the seven brothers (Rosml., Umbr., Welte, Schlott. [Wem., Carey, Rod., Bar., Elz.]). The latter seems to be most favored by Job 3:1, where (as also in Hos 7:5) evidently stands in the sense of birth-day (Gen 40:20); with this moreover stands in special harmony what we find in Job 1:13; Job 1:18, to wit, that special prominence is twice given to the circumstance that Jobs calamities came to pass on the day when his firstborn son was lost; this very coincidence of those fearful visitations with the birth-day festival of his first-born (the , the firstling of his strength, comp. Gen 49:3). constituting for the unfortunate father a tragic climax of sorrow, such as could not have befallen him had any other festivity been the occasion which brought the children together to undergo their common doom. The opening words of the verse following are indeed cited against this view; the fact, it is alleged, that we find mentioned there a cycle of days as the days of their feasting, and that it was not until they were ended that Job performed his purification, requires, on the assumption that these days were the birth-days of the seven sons, that the cycle should be distributed over the entire year, which would lead us to the untenable conclusion that but one expiation was offered in the year, namely, at the end of the last birth-day festival (comp. Dillm.). But why this conclusion should be pronounced untenable certainly does not appear. Moreover there is nothing at all to prevent our supposing that the birth-days of the seven sons, or indeed of all the ten children, were not very far apart, that, e.g., they all fell within one half-year. And then, over and above all, it would seem that excessively fine-spun speculation as to the question how the author conceived the circulation or the expiration () of the festal days must result in some violence to the character of the narrative, which is not rigidly historical, but poetic and ideal. For this reason we must reject Schlottmanns endeavor to represent each of the birth-day festivals mentioned in the account as lasting several days, thus assuming that Jobs expiatory sacrifice was made at the close of each such festival. This supposition would make it necessary for us to read quite too much between the lines, to say in Job 1:4 that means the first in each series of feast-days, while in Job 1:5, by are meant the several days of each festival of days (with which, however, the verb , to go round, devolvi, does not agree).

[Zcklers argument in favor of the birth-day theory is ingenious and suggestive, but not altogether satisfactory. The account in the text is so brief and general as to make absolute certainty impossible. The impression, however, which the narrative most naturally makes on the reader is: (1) That the days of the feast followed each other in immediate succession; in other words, that the seven feasts were given on seven successive days in the houses of the seven brothers in regular order from the oldest to the youngest; and (2) that at the end of the week, probably on the morning of the eighth day, Jobs sacrifice was offered. This is the simple and natural deduction from the narrative as it stands, and it is not easy to harmonize with it the theory that the feasts were held on a series of birth-days, separate from each other by an interval, longer or shorter. The suggestion that each birth-day feast lasted several days, and that Jobs sacrifice was offered at the end of those days, is clearly shown by Z to be unwarranted, and at variance with the statement conveyed by the . We are thus reduced either to (a) the daily theory, advocated by Hirzel, etc.; or to (b) the theory of an annual festival (spring or harvest, or both). But such an interminable carousal as (a) would imply, is, as Z. shows, highly improbable, and not to be assumed without the gravest necessity. In favor of (b), on the contrary, may be urged: (1) The prevalence in antiquity of those simple season-festivals. (2) The especial probability that such feasts would be observed in a patriarchal community, like Jobs family, belonging, as it evidently does, to the period of transition from a pastoral nomadism to a settled agricultural life. (3) The correspondence between the number of Jobs sons and the seven days of the festival week. (4) The absence of Job, which would be unnatural if these were birth-day festivals, may be at least more readily accounted for on such an occasion of simple secular merry-making as, e.g., a harvest festival. (Schlottmann well remarks that if the festival had been religious in its character, Job, as patriarchal priest, would have stood more in the foreground).

Z.s remark that the double mention of the fact that the fatal feast was held in the house of the first-born, becomes doubly significant, if the day were his birth-day, is certainly striking, but of less weight than the other considerations presented above. The specification of the place of entertainment imparts greater reality to the narrative; the further specification of the house of the first-born still further deepens the tragic impression of the story, by suggesting that the calamity struck the banqueters on the very first day of their festivities.E.]And sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.This invitation which was always extended to the sisters (who, we are to suppose, were living with their mother), is made specially prominent as showing the inner mutual relation which the father had established among his children (Hirzel). [And they used to send and invitean independent fact; the author lifts it out of dependence to emphasize it, for the purpose of showing the beautiful harmony and affection of Jobs family one to another, and the generous and free-hearted magnificence of the sons, and also the possibility of the coming catastrophe which swept away sons and daughters at once. The father had no relish for this kind of enjoyment; but no peevish dislike of it, or of those who had, being a wise and liberal man, wishing the happiness of all about him, and pleased to see them enjoy themselves in their own, not his way, so only they do it innocently and religiously. The sons of Job seem to have had establishments of their own, and the daughters lived apart with the mother. On the irregularity of fem. with fem, noun, comp. Gen 7:13; Jer 36:23(where the gend. are both right and wrong); Zec 3:9. Dav.]

Job 1:5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, i.e., when the period through which their mutual invitations ran, that which embraced their frequent birth-day festivals, had run its course (, comp. that which has been said above against Schlott). [Good: And it came to pass, as the days of such banquets returned, etc., which is not only opposed to the plain meaning of the verb, but at variance with the obvious design of Jobs sacrifice, which was retrospective, not anticipatory, offered for the sins which he feared they had committed, not for those which he feared they might commit. A similar rotatory system of banquets is said to prevail in China. They have their fraternities which they call the brotherhood of the months; this consists of months according to the number of the days therein, and in a circle they go abroad to eat at one anothers houses by turns. Semedos History of China, quoted by Burder, Oriental Customs.E.] is to be understood collectively, the days of the banquets, of entertaining not as a strict singular, of one feast distributed over several days.That Job sent that he might atone for them.He sent for them for this end; for the efficacy of sacrifices of purification depended on the presence of those in whose behalf they were made. , literally: and sanctified, consecrated them, defining the object of . How the sanctification took place, we are told in what follows. The term expresses not merely the preparation for the expiation, the lustration or washing preceding the sacrifice, as Rosmlr., Arnh., Hirz., Vaih., Heil., Dillm. affirm, on the strength of passages like Exo 19:10; Jos 7:13; 1Sa 16:5. [Zckler seems to regard the sanctification here as a part of the general rite of expiation which Job performed, and thus as taking place at the same time. The other theory, maintained by the majority of commentators (including, in addition to those named above, Hengst., Dav., Con.), is supported by the following considerations: (1) The general usage of the verb , the essential signification of which in its transitive forms is to dedicate, purify for holy service. See Ges. and Frsts Lex. (2) The analogy of the Mosaic and other rituals, in which preparatory rites of purification are the rule. It is true that the author of the book is careful to put himself and his characters outside of the Mosaic system,1 and avoids even here, as we shall see below, any identification of Jobs sacrifices with the Mosaic. Preparatory riles, lustrations, and the like, are however common to all religions, and there is no reason to suppose that the author would shrink from introducing a feature of such general observance because it belongs to the Mosaic ritual. It is in harmony with this that we find (3) in Exo 19:10 the direct recognition of a preparatory rite of purification (the same word being used there as here), before the Sinaitic code had been given, whereby the prevalence of such a rite in the pre-Mosaic period is clearly implied (comp. Gen 35:21). (4) The order of terms in the passage under considerationsent, purified, rose early, offeredcertainly agrees best with the supposition that on the evening of the seventh day he sent and secured the purification of his children, their preparation for the solemn holocaust of the morrow, and then rose early on the morning of the eighth day, and in presence of his assembled children consummated the sacrifice. Had only one sacrificial rite been designated, the natural order would have been rose, sent, purified, offered. (5) The absolute use of makes it exceedingly doubtful whether we can with Z. render it: and he sent for them. At the same time, as Z. admits, the impressiveness and efficacy of the sacrifice required that those for whom it was made should be present. This leaves us no alternative but to regard the sanctification and the offering as two distinct rites, the former secured by Jobs mandate in his absence, the latter performed by him in person, and in the presence of his children. When to this we add the separation of the two verbs sanctified and offered by the verb rose early, the conclusion here reached seems irresistible.E.]And rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings, according to the number of them all.The comprehensive magnificence of the sacrifice made it necessary that he should rise early. [His rising early may also be taken as an indication of his zeal, and of his earnest desire to make the expiation as promptly as possible. Job made his offering in the morning because in the morning the feelings are most freely and most strongly inclined toward religious contemplation. The saying: Morgenstunde hat Gold im Munde (the morning hour has gold in its mouth), is true not only of work, but also of prayer. Hengst.E.] perf. consec. as in Job 1:4. [ refers not so much to bringing it up to the raised altar, as to causing it to rise in flame and smoke, causing to ascend to God who is above. Del]. , and according to the number of them all (accus. of nearer definition, Ewald, 300, c. [Green, 274, 2]). Job, it will be observed, offered burnt-offerings, not sin-offerings (so again in Job 42:8). This is quite in accordance with the pre-Mosaic patriarchal period, which, as all the historical references to sacrifices in the book of Genesis also show, was not yet acquainted with the sin-offering instituted later by Moses. [An indication of the care and skill with which our author preserves the antique coloring of his narrative.E.] Another genuinely patriarchal trait is furnished in the fact that Job, in his character as father, appears also in the character of priest of the household, offering its sacrifices. Comp. Introduction, 2.For Job said: in the first instance, naturally, to himself, or in prayer to God; but surely also in speech to others, as a formal statement of his principle, and explanation of his course. It is a needless weakening of the to explain with Ewald, Hahn, etc.: for Job thought.It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts; to wit, in the intoxication of their abandonment to pleasure, in the wanton or presumptuous spirit produced by their merrymaking (comp. Pro 20:1; Isa 5:11; Isa 28:7, etc.). Thus it is that Job gives utterance here to that extraordinary earnestness and zeal in fulfilling the Divine will, which leads him to ascribe the highest importance to the avoidance, or, when necessary, the expiation of all sins, even of the heart and the thought. Comp. Job 31:24, sq. , to bless, to salute, is also used (e.g., Gen 47:10; 1Ki 8:66) of bidding farewell to [taking leave of], here, however, still more definitely in a bad sense, taking leave of one in a hostile spirit; dismissing, renouncing. So also in Job 1:11 and Job 2:5; Job 2:9. The word also admits of the signification to curse (comp. Psa 10:3 [?]; 1Ki 21:10); but most surely this is not the meaning here, where sins of thought simply are referred to. [The bifurcation of definitions, so that the same word is used in a good and a bad sense, is a well-known characteristic of the Hebrew in common with other Semitic languages. Thus , grace, is used Pro 14:34 in the sense of disgrace. Or, the word in its radical signification is a vox media, acquiring its ethical character from the specific application made of it, of which we have a happy illustration in , primarily to kneel, and so to invoke; hence to bless, or to curse, according to the nature of the invocation. And still further: from the meaning to invoke, comes to salute, which again may be to salute with good-will, or with ill-will; in the latter case (if at parting) to dismiss, warn off, renounce. Compare the analogous uses of and valere. Of the harsher definition, to curse, it may be observed that: (1) We are not restricted to it. The context does not absolutely require it. We are justified both by usage and analogy in adopting the milder definition, to forsake, dismiss. (2) It is more natural to suppose that the children of Job, nurtured, as they must have been, by so tender and conscientious a father, should have been betrayed, during their festivities, into a wanton thoughtlessness, a pleasure-loving alienation from God, than into positive blasphemy. (3) It is more natural to assume that the pious patriarch would be accustomed to fear the former, than the latter more heinous evil, in the case of his children. Mark the statement: thus did Job continually. (4) The qualifying predicate, in their hearts, agrees better with the idea of forgetting, or forsaking God in feeling, than with that of blasphemy. The latter would seek some overt expression. (5) Jobs loving and faithful solicitude for the spiritual welfare of his children is much more strikingly exhibited, if we regard it as prompted by anxiety lest they should have been guilty of even the most secret infidelity in thought or disposition, than if we assume the graver offence to be intended. Lee, following Parkhurst, thinks that Job suspected his children of a tendency to idolatry, and translates: It may be my sons have sinned and blessed the gods in their hearts. It is sufficient answer to this to say that it violates the usus loquendi of , and especially of in our book, that we are not constrained to render the verb: to bless, and that it is opposed to the internal probabilities of the case. The only false religion we know, from the internal evidence of the poem itself, to have existed at this period, was that of Sabiism, or the worship of the heavenly bodies; but there is nothing to render it even probable that the sons of Job were attached to this. Good. The author just quoted (Good) seeks to avoid what he considers the difficulty in the case by giving to the particle here a negative sense, under a philological canon, which he lays down as follows: that the imperfect negative may be employed alone in every sentence compounded of two opposite propositions, where it becomes the means of connecting the one with the other, such propositions being in a state of reciprocal negation; and he would translate: peradventure my sons may have sinned, nor blessed God in their hearts. His own illustrations, however, fail to establish his choice, as in every instance the connective particle has of itself a negative force, such as does not belong to the . It is certainly inapplicable to the simple structure of the Hebrew. Merx in his recent version violently and arbitrarily assails the integrity of the text here and elsewhere, where the like expression occurs. In his own text he substitutes for . It is enough to say of this change that, as appears from what has been said above, the necessity for it is altogether imaginary, and that the sole authority for it is the subjective non possumus of the critic.E. Job is afraid lest his children may have become somewhat unmindful of God during their mirthful gatherings. In Jobs family, therefore, there was an earnest desire for sanctification, which was far from being satisfied with mere outward propriety of conduct. Del. It is curious that the sin which the fathers heart dreaded in his children, was the sin to which he himself was tempted, and into which he almost fell. The case of his sons shows one kind of temptationseduction; and his own case the othercompulsion and hardship.Dav.]Thus did Job continually., was wont to do. Comp. Ewald 136, c. [Green 263, 4]. , literally, all the days, i.e., continually, always, so long as the particular occasion continued, or so often as it occurred anew. Comp. Deu 4:10; Deu 6:24; Deu 11:1; 1Sa 2:32.

[Where now such piety was to be found, and such conscientious solicitude to keep his whole house free from sin, there we might expect, judging after the manner of men, that prosperity would abide permanently. This at least we might expect from the stand-point of theory, which regards the outward lot as an index of the moral worth, which assumes piety and prosperity to be inseparable and convertible conceptions But in Heaven it was otherwise decreed. Dillmann].

2. The Divine determination to try Job through suffering. a. The milder trial, the taking away of his possessions, a. The preparatory scene in heaven, Job 1:6-12.

[Against human expectation and beyond human conception the direst suffering overtakes the pure, pious Job. Whence it came no believer could doubt; but why it came was for the sufferer and his contemporaries a great and difficult problem, with the solution of which they grappled in vehement conflict. The reader of the book would also have remained in entire ignorance of the Divine decree, and would have followed the labyrinthine sinuosities of the contending parties, not with superior discriminating judgment, but with an uncomfortable uncertainty, if the poet had here simply related the calamity into which the pious Job had been plunged by God. It was therefore a correct feeling which influenced the poet to indicate at the outset to the reader the Divine grounds of the decree, and thus to provide for him a polestar which would guide him through all the entanglement of the succeeding conflicts. This he does by disclosing to us those events, occurring in heaven, which led to the Divine decree concerning Job, the execution of which thereupon follows. No less fine a conception of the poet is the circumstance that the calamity which Job must bear does not overwhelm him all at once, but comes upon him in two visitations, lying somewhat apart in time; the first visitation deprives him of the greatest part of his riches and his children, the second plunges him into the most fearful, and, at the same time, the most hopeless [disease. Both visitations wound his feelings in different ways, until on all sides they are tried most thoroughly. Between the two is an interval of rest, in which the stricken one can collect his feelings, and set himself right before God. And as in the second visitation his suffering reaches its climax, so also does his virtue. Dillmann].

Job 1:6. Now it came to pass on a day.Gesenius, Ewald, Dillmann, etc., would translate , the day, or that day, giving to the article a retrospective construction. But this favorite mode of expression is found at the beginning of a narrative even when it cannot be considered to have any reference to what has preceded, and where accordingly the translation at the time specified is out of the question; e.g., 2Ki 4:18. The article here, therefore, is used because the narrator in thought connects the day with the following occurrence, and this frees it from absolute indefiniteness. Del. [We are justified by no analogy in explaining the article as designating the definite day to which that which follows belongs. Ewald rightly explains the day as an indefinite chronological link connecting what follows with what precedes. So also 1Sa 1:4; 1Sa 14:1; 2Ki 4:18. Compare . Mat 13:1. Schlott. Others (Dav., Bar., Con.) explain it of the day appointed for the Divine Court (Chald.: day of judgment at the new year), which is not essentially different from the view of Del. adopted by Zck. In any case it is to be observed that is not nominative, but accusative of time.E.]When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.These words describe the convening of a heavenly assembly, of a celestial (Job 15:8; comp. Jer 23:18; Psa 89:8). Compare the similar description in 1Ki 22:19 sq., also Isa 6:1 sq. , the sons of God, i.e., the angels, heavenly spirits; a name to be found also in Job 38:7; Gen 6:2 [?]; and with slight modification in Psa 29:1; Psa 89:7; Dan 3:25. Elsewhere in our book we find them called servants, messengers (Job 4:18), or saints (holy ones, Job 5:1; Job 15:15). The name sons of God points to the peculiar manner of their creation, which took place before the lower spheres of nature or mankind were made (Job 38:4-7), as well as to the peculiarly high degree in which they partake of the Divine likeness, and enjoy inward communion with God. [The word son naturally expresses descent; and hence various related notions such as inheritor, the idea of similarity, relation, etc. So a son of God will be one inheriting the nature or character of God, one descended from Him, or like Him. This similarity may be of two kinds: first, in essential nature, that is, spirithence the angels as distinguished from man and agreeing with God completely in this respect are called sons of God; second, in ethical character, that is, holiness, in which sense pious men are called sons of God (Gen 6:2). In the former and in the latter sense the holy angels have a right to the title; and in the former sense, though not in the latter, Satan is still named a son of God as inheriting a spiritual nature, and appears in the celestial court. Dav].

, literally, to set themselves over, i.e., before Jehovah. (instead of which we have elsewhere, e.g., Pro 22:29) is a usage of language derived from the optical illusion of the one who is in the foreground seeming to range above the one in the background. Del. Comp. Job 2:1; Zec 6:5; also the similar expression in 1Ki 22:19. [, as if the King sat, and the courtiers stood over him (Isa 6:2, in a higher degree of the seraphim floating around him off the ground. Drechsler); but this is dubious, for is used where such sense is inadmissible (Jdg 3:19; with Jdg 6:31; Gen 24:30 Dav.] To set themselves before Jehovah is to assume the customary attitude of servants awaiting the command of their master.And Satan also came among them.[Literally, the Satan. In 1Ch 21:1 the name is used without the art.; i.e., has ceased to be appellative and become properSatan. In our book and Zechariah the art. is used, and we should perhaps render: the Satan, the adversary. In 1Ki 22:19, where a scene greatly resembling the present is discovered, the tempter bears no name; but his individuality is distinct, for he is characterized as the spirit. The use of the art. cannot be of any great weight as an argument as to the era of our book. Dav.] Concerning the signification of the name (instead of which we are not, with Eichhorn, Herder, Ilgen, Stuhlmann, etc., to read , , the world-spy, from , Job 1:7), as also concerning the relation of the representation of Satan in our book, to that of the other Old Testament books generally, see Doctrinal and Ethical remarks.

Job 1:7. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? , the sense being: whence art thou just now coming? the imperf. expressing the immediate present [Satan being conceived as in the act of making his appearance.E.] (Ewald, 136, b). The question is certainly not simply for the purpose of introducing the transaction (Dillm.); there lies more in it, to wit, the intimation that Satans ways are not Gods ways; that it is his wont to roam about, a being without stability, malicious, intent upon evil; that there is in his case a reason, which does not exist in the case of Gods true children, the angels, why God should inquire after his crooked and crafty ways, and compel him thereby to give an account of his restless, arbitrary movements. As Cocceius has truly said: Satan is represented as transacting his own affairs as it were without the knowledge, i.e., without the approbation of God. (Comp. Seb. Schmidt, p. 25, and Lud w. Schulze, in the Allg. literar. Anzeiger, 1870, Oct., p. 270). From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.Umbreit is right in calling attention to the curt brevity of this reply of Satans. It is also to be noted, however, that the answer is of necessity somewhat general, giving rise to the expectation that Jehovah will follow with a more particular question (comp. Delitzsch). describes the more rapid passage through a place, scouring it from one end to another (comp. Num 11:8) [of the people scattering themselves to collect manna]; 2Sa 24:2 [of the census taken when David numbered the people]; likewise the Synon. (Amo 8:12; Jer 5:1; Zec 4:10; 2Ch 16:9): describes the more deliberate movement of one who is traveling for observation (Zec 1:10-11; Zec 6:7; comp. Gen 3:8; also the of the adversary, who goes about espying whom he may devour, 1Pe 5:8). [Acc. to Ges., is a verb denominative from , whip, scourge; and is used in Kal. of rowing (Eze 27:8), i.e. lashing the sea with oars, and of running to and fro in haste, pr. so as to lash the air with ones arms as with oars, happily enough describing Satans functions, going about, inspecting, tempting, trepanning, taking up evil reports of all men (Dav.). The signification to compass (Sept. ) is not exact.E.]. Here belongs the Arabic designation of the devil as El-Harith, the busy-body, ever-active, zealous one. [In the life of Zoroaster (see Zend Avesta, by J. G. Kleuker, vol. 3., p. 11), the prince of the evil demons, the angel of death, whose name is Engremeniosch, is said to traverse the whole earth far and wide, with intent to oppose and injure in every possible way all good men. Rosenm.]

Job 1:8. Hast thou considered my servant Job?Literally, hast thou set thine heart on, etc. = animadvertere [animum advertere, for is animus, , anima, Del.], construed here with [of the object on which the attention falls, Del.], as in Hag 1:5; Hag 1:7; below, Job 2:3, with [of the object towards which it is directed, Del.]. For there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, etc., for, giving the reason not for the title, my servant (Hirz.), but for the circumstance that Jehovah makes special inquiry after this man. The four qualities predicated concerning Job are repeated here from Job 1:1 (with the omission, however, of the Vav connective between the two pairs). In this, the impress of the epic-narrative character of this section of the book is visible, and it appears again in the refrain-like repetitions of Job 1:16-18. The same may be observed in the Mosaic account of the creation, Genesis 1. [The Deity reiterates the description of Job given by the historian; it is, therefore, a first principle and action of the drama that Job was sinless, keeping all the commandments with a perfect heart, and in spite of thiswhich Job himself knew, and which the author knewnay, because of this, he was grievously tormented. And herein just lay the problem for Job and the overwhelming strength of the temptation, leading him in the madness of despair, both physical and speculative, to renounce God to his face, and assert the government of the world to be hopelessly chaotic and unjust. Spirits like that of Job could not be reached in meaner ways; passion has long been mastered; there is nothing but his very strength and calmness and faith to work upon; his first principles, the laborious deductions of a religious life, and the deepest experience of a loving heartconfusion must be introduced there, between the mans notions of God and providence, and his necessary ideas of right on the one side, and on the other the actual appearance of the universe fearfully contravening them, thus leading him into atheism. His trial was not for his sin, but for his sinlessness, to prove and establish it. Jobs sufferings had no doubt relation to his sin, they gave him deeper views of it, and of Gods holiness; but that is not the great truth the book teaches. Dav. It is significant, as Hengstenberg observes, that in these preliminary transactions, which at length issued in Jobs trial, Jehovah takes the initiative. He directs Satans attention to the piety of Job; it is his use of the argument which Jobs character furnishes in favor of the reality of godliness in a human life that evokes the Adversarys malignity in the challenge which fires the train of Jobs calamities. To such an extent is the agency of Satan secondary and subordinate throughout, that not only must he receive Gods permission before he can proceed one step against Job, but the very occasion through which he obtains that permission is gratuitously provided for him by God. So absolute is the Divine Sovereignty. Thus completely are even the occasions of evil within the limitations of the Divine will. And thus is our confidence strengthened at the outset in the ultimate inevitable triumph of the Divine purpose.E.].

Job 1:9. Doth Job fear God for naught? [A little more literally: For naught hath Job feared God? , emphatic by position; , which above in Job 1:1; Job 1:8 is a participle, here a Pret. (Perf.) of that which has been hitherto, and still is.E.]. , gratis, from , gratia, here equivalent to gratuitously, groundlessly, without good reason [LXX. comp. the of Joh 15:25) without reward, or profit. [Genuine love loves God, ; it loves Him for His own sake; it is a relation of person to person, without any actual stipulations and claim. Del. Satan denies this of Job. Compare the three-fold use of in this book; by Satan of Job here; by God of Satan, Job 2:3; by Job of God, Job 9:17.E.] The question, which is asked in order to throw suspicion on the pure and disinterested character of Jobs piety, is thoroughly characteristic of Satan in his character of Accuser of men (, Rev 12:10; , Mat 4:1, etc.). [This question: Does Job serve God for naught? is the problem of the book. Dav.].

Job 1:10. Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?The figure used here, borrowed from the enclosure of a garden or a field for protection against wild beasts (Mat 21:33), is somewhat analogous to the modern figurative expression: to make ones bed warm and soft for him. [ (without the final ) emphatic: Hast not Thou made a hedge about him? Thouthe Almighty One, whose protection is all-sufficient. Ought he not to serve Thee, his Defender and Benefactor? Would not self-interest prompt him to this?E.]. , sepire, to hedge about, as in Hos 2:8. [Here in a good sense, for protection; below, Job 3:23, in a bad sense, to straiten. Good remarks that to give the original verb the full force of its meaning, it should be derived from the science of engineering, and rendered: Hast thou not raised a palisade about him? But this last term is not sufficiently colloquial. Wemyss unnecessarily assumes the hedge here to be a guard of angels. The Arabic has: Hast thou not protected him with thy hand? The Chald. Paraphrase: Hast thou not covered him with thy word? The Coptic: Hast thou not been a fence to his possessions?E.] The preposition it is much better to derive from a verb , synonymous with the root , to cover, to veil [with which root it is also cognate: see Ewald, 217, m], than from the prepositions and , of which most regard the word as compounded (as is held even yet by Delitzsch, and Dietrich in his Ed. of Gesen. Lex.). There lies in the three-fold repetition of this word a special emphasis, which is still further strengthened by the addition, at the close of the question, of , round about, on every side, without leaving a gap through which harm might enter. Dillm.LXX.: Hast thou not hedged round the parts without him, and the inner parts of his house, and that which is without all his possessions round about?] Thou hast blessed the work of his hands. (as in Psa 90:17; Deu 2:7; Deu 14:29, etc.), a general designation of all a mans enterprises and activities. Compare as to sense the parallel passage, Gen 39:3 (where it is said of Joseph: the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand).And his herds spread in the land: literally, his stock of cattle, , breaks through in the land, like a flood breaking through an embankment ( , 2Sa 5:20), or like a herd breaking out of a fold. Comp. Gen 28:14; Gen 30:30; Gen 30:43; 2 Chron. 2:23; Isa 45:2[So the versions of Junius and Tremellius and Piscator: And his cattle for multitude have burst forth through the land. Conant: his substance is spread abroad in the earth, which, he thinks, is better than in the land, as it is the Adversarys object to express, in the strongest terms, the extent of Jobs possessions. On Thou hast blessed, etc., Wordsworth remarks: Even Satan confesses that Gods benediction is the source of all good to man.E.]

Job 1:11. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath., nevertheless, verum enim vero, introducing with strong emphasis the direct opposite of Jehovahs eulogy on Job (comp. Job 11:5; Job 12:7; Job 17:10; Job 33:1). [, Methegh accompanying Sheva. Green, 45, 4], with (as in Job 19:21), sometimes with (as in Job 2:5), to touch, to lay the hand on anything, with intent to injure or destroy. [Touch, or as it may be translated, smite, as below in Job 1:19. But the former sense is more appropriate here, as indicating how easily all this worldly prosperity would vanish at the touch of the Almighty. Conant. frequently of the evil touch which blasts; of the scattering wind (Eze 17:10); of the consuming touch of God (Job 19:21; Isa 53:4; Psa 73:14); the fiery effect of the divine touch (and look) marvellously told Psa 104:32. Dav. Satan wishes to make God the author of evil; but God does not inflict evil on Job; but allows Satan to put forth his hand (Job 1:12), and afflict him. Didymus, quoted by Wordsworth].

Verily he will curse Thee to Thy face. , not, will he not curse, etc. (and thus = an non, as in Job 17:2; Job 22:20), but the formula of an oath, with the apodosis omitted,=truly, verily (LXX.: ). It is more suitable to Satans insolent, reckless character to represent him as swearing that God is mistaken, than as questioning and calling upon God to watch and see, whether he is not mistaken [as e.g. Renans version: et on verra sil ne te renie pas en face.] , here again=valedicere, take leave of, as in Job 1:5, but strengthened here, so as to emphasize the shameless arrogance of the deed by the addition of , to thy face, literally upon thy face, as in Job 6:28; Job 21:31; Isa 65:3; comp. , Job 2:5; Job 13:15; , Job 16:8. [The refusal of Good and Lee to entertain any other meaning for than to bless leads them here, as also in Job 2:5, to forced and untenable constructions. Goods rendering: Will he then, indeed, bless thee to thy face? is entirely against the usage of the particles, , which elsewhere are strongly affirmative, not negative, and, moreover, leaves the qualifying clause, to thy face, meaningless. Lees rendering is even more objectionable: But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath: if not (i.e. if thou continue thy favors), then in thy presence will he bless thee. A forced construction, and a feeble conclusion, entirely unworthy of the Satan of our book.E.].

Job 1:12. Behold, all that he hath is in thy power: literally, is in thy hand; is delivered to thee. The divine permission appears here at the same time as a divine command; for such a permissive activity, on the part of God, as would admit of his remaining purely passive, is altogether unknown to the Old Testament (comp. Isa 45:7). Rather do we find that whenever men are tempted, it is because they are left by God to be tried, because He forsakes them, or withdraws His hand from them (2Ch 32:31; Psa 27:9, and often)simple representations, parallel to that in the passage before us, and substantially equivalent to it (comp. Vilmar, Theol. Mor., 1871, I., p. 163). God, indeed, in decreeing that Job shall be tempted, has altogether other ends in view than those which are sought by the Adversary, who is commissioned to carry on the work of the temptation. While the latter desires, through his art as tempter, to compass the fall of Job, it is Gods will rather that he should endure the test, that thereby he may be not only lifted up by purification to the highest degree of virtue and piety, but also proved to be in truth a man of piety, who feared God, Satan and all other doubters to the contrary notwithstanding. That which is here put in operation is thus, on the part of God, a trial of Job, putting him to the proof; on the part of Satan, a veritable temptation to lead him astray. The motive from which the divine decree ordaining the trial proceeds is naught else than love, delivering and preserving the soul; that from which proceeds the action of the agent for the fulfilment of that decree is hate, the spirit which would murder body and soul, a diabolical satisfaction in causing a poor mans body and soul to be destroyed in hell (Mat 10:28; Luk 12:4 [where, however, God is meant, not the devil.E.]). Therefore does God annex to the permission which He here grants Satan the warning prohibition: only upon himself put not forth thy hand. For He well knows the lust of murder and the thirst for destruction which possesses him who is a murderer and a liar from the beginning. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord., literally, and Satan went out, i.e. out of the hall where the celestial assembly was convened. Immediately upon receiving the Divine license, he left the place, to begin the work of temptation in which he longed to engage. [He went forth at once, the ardor with which he entered on his work being thus set forth. Dillm. As Cain did (Gen 4:16), and as Judas did from the presence of Christ (Joh 13:30). Words.]

3. (b) Jobs actual trial in the execution of the decree on his possessions and family, Job 1:13-19.

[In the opening verses the author gave us a glimpse of the calm sunshine of Jobs domestic life, its happy unity and religious simplicity. In the next few verses he took us elsewhere, and showed the first far-gatherings of the storm; and now it breaks in unheard-of fury, scattering ruin and scathing all that was beautiful in earth and man. The heavenly and the earthly combine, and there results a tumultuous mixture absolutely appalling in its workings. Heaven and earth unite to sow destruction around Job; all the destructive forces in nature, mens evil passions and heavens lurking fire, are drawn out to overwhelm him. Man and heaven alternate in their eager fury for his ruinfirst the Sabean horde, then the lightnings, then the hasty and bitter Chaldeans, and finally the tempest. Only one escapes each stroke, and yet one, for the man must know the outside of his ruin, and he must know it at once; each wave must come higher than the foregoingthe cattle, least numerous; the flocks, a deeper loss; the camels, more precious still; and, cruelest of all, a loss unlike all elsethe childrenand each wave comes up before the preceding has time to recede. All antiquity and human thought cannot produce three such scenes as these; the first so lovely in its peace and righteousness; the second so awful in its far sublimity, unveiling to our eyes the hidden powers that play with and for us; and now the third, so wild in its fury and frantic in its malignant outburstsand all to be followed by one so dreadful in its calmness and iron composure, when a human spirit stands alone in its own conscious greatness, independent of earth, and defiant of hell. Dav.] All that the poet in Job 1:2-4 has described as the property of his hero, he now represents as in one day taken away from him. This is done in four stages, or by four strokes, following each other in immediate succession [and immediately announced to him, whence the German proverbial expression Hiobsposten, Jobs posts, applied to tidings of calamity. Compare in English the proverbial expression: Jobs comforters.E.] These four strokes are: (1) The loss of the oxen and the asses. (2) The loss of the sheep, representing the smaller cattle. (3) The loss of the camels. Each of these calamities was accompanied by the slaying of the servants in charge of the animals specified. (4) The loss of the children. In so far as the fourth of these losses was by far the most severe and painful, a gradation of woe appears in the series. [Ewald, followed by Dillmann and others, has remarked upon the peculiarity that the first and third of the calamities are ascribed to human, the second and fourth to celestial agencies.E. It is not accidental (says Hengstenberg) that there are just four catastrophes, divided into two pairs, and corresponding to the fourfold particularization of the righteousness of Job. In them may be seen a sort of irony of destiny touching his and all human righteousness.]

Job 1:13. And there was a day [literally: Now it was the day, or: It came to pass on the day, viz.: when Satan, in pursuance of his fell purpose, visited on Job the first installment of woe, his children having assembled in the house of their eldest brother to begin their festivities. On that same day, the first and brightest of the festal round, the fatal stroke fell.E.] when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brothers house [in the house of their brother, the first-born], i.e., according to Job 1:4, were celebrating the birth-day of this first-born, on a day, therefore, which was one of especial joy to Jobs entire household. See above on Job 1:4-5.

Job 1:14-15. The first loss: that of the oxen and the she-asses, together with the servants in charge.

Job 1:14. Then came a messenger to Job, etc. Literally: And a messenger came, etc.The introduces the conclusion of the conditional sentence in Job 1:13 [i.e., when his sons, etc., then it was that a messenger came]. Comp. Job 1:19, and Ewald, 341 d.The oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses feeding beside them.The participial construction describes the condition which was disturbed by the calamity that befell them (Del., comp. Ewald, 168 c). [This remark includes the construction of the partic. with , which is not (with Frst, and others) to be regarded as a simple periphrasis for the narrative tense, as is usual in Aramean; on the contrary has its own force, defining the time of the continuous condition expressed by the participle.E.] The partic. stands in the fem. plur., , because is a collective noun, and, more particularly, because the females of the class, cows, are intended. Subsequently, however, and referring back to this , we find the masc. suffix in use as the more general or primary gender (Ewald, 184 c. [Green, 220, 1, b], and comp. Job 39:3-4; Job 42:15). , literally: on, or at, their hands. The meaning is not in their places, as some Rabbis and Bttcher explain it, referring to Num 2:17; Deu 23:13 [nor according to their custom, more solito, Schult; nor at some distance, Wem.]; but, as the connection shows, on both sides of them (comp. Jdg 11:26), or simply beside them (=, comp. Num 34:3).

Job 1:15. And the Sabeans fell upon them; literally: And Sabea fell, etc., as the name of a people, is used in the feminine (Ewald, 174, b); it is followed, however, by the masc. plur. [see Green, 197, d]. By here is meant not the rich, commercial Sabeans of Southern Arabia, referred to in Job 6:19, but the related branch of the same people in northeastern Arabia, who lived the nomadic life of predatory Bedouins, ranging from the Persian Gulf to Idumea, neighbors and kindred of the tribe of Dedan, who also lived in North Arabia; Gen 10:7; Gen 25:3. Genesis still further makes mention of three races of the name, the Cushite, (Job 10:9), the Joktanite (10:28), and the Abrahamic, or Keturic (Job 25:3), which shows in general the mixed character of this people. [Schlottmann, while agreeing with Zck. as to the branch of the family here referred to, shows on the authority of Pliny and Strabo, that the Sabeans of Southern Arabia were robbers as well as traders.E.]And they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword.The servants here were the young herdsmen in charge of the cattle [lit.: the young men; LXX., ; Jerome, pueros; Luther, the boys; so in slave communities servants are called boys.E.] With the edge; literally: according to the [mouth, i.e.,] sharpness of the sword ( ), i.e., unsparingly. [According to Ges. and Furst here denotes the instrument. The objection to Gesenius view is obviated by the near relation between the ideas of agency and instrumentality; and any other explanation of his examples is unnatural and forced. Con.And only I alone escaped to tell thee.[Chrysostom (Hom. 2 et 3 de patient. Jobi) fancies that the was Satan himself, who indulged himself in the gratification of bringing the ill tidings to Job. Dillm.] The paragogic in does not mark here the cohortative use of the verb, but simply makes more vivid the verbal notion, in order to show the haste with which he escaped. [I have saved myself with great difficulty. Del.] Comp. Gesenius, 49, 2; Ewald, 232, g. The clause is objective: in order that, in accordance with the Divine decree, I might tell thee.

Job 1:16. The second loss: that of the smaller cattle, with the servants in charge.While this one was yet speaking, there came another, etc.The same connection between the circumstantial participial clause and the principal clause, as in verse 13. (Ewald, 341, d) , the onethe other, and so again in Job 21:23; Job 21:25.The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep, etc.By the fire of God the author means the lightning rapidly repeating itself [see Exo 9:23], which might be particularly destructive to the flocks of smaller cattle (Psalms 78.), and the agency of which in suddenly burning and devouring is certainly described in 1Ki 18:38; 2Ki 1:12) (comp. Luk 9:54). [The expression: fire of God, indicates the poetic character of the description here given; and the entire sentence: the fire of God fell from heaven, is manifestly designed to show that Satan moved heaven and earth to combine in inflicting disaster on Job, so as to leave him without hope in either quarter.E.] It is less natural to assume a rain of fire and brimstone, like that of Sodom (Del.); neither does the language used suit the burning sulphurous south wind called the Samm (Schlott.), as a comparison with Psa 11:6 shows. [The latter theory moreover would result in making too little distinction between this calamity and the fourth.E.]

Job 1:17. The third loss: that of the camels, with their keepers. The Chaldeansformed three bands; lit.: Made three heads (Luther: drei spitzen), i.e., three army-bands or divisions. For in this sense, see Jdg 7:16; Jdg 9:34; 1Sa 11:11. As substantially parallel, comp. also Gen 14:15, where the same primitive tactics and strategy are described as practiced by Chedorlaomer and his vassal-kings. Without any authority, Ewald sees in this mention of the Chaldeans an indication of the composition of the book in the seventh century B. C., when the Chaldeans under Nabopolassar began to inherit the Assyrian power. Following Ewald, Renan observes that the Chaldeans first appear as such marauders about the time of Uzziah. But in Genesis we find mention of early Semitic Chaldeans among the mountain ranges lying to the north of Assyria and Mesopotamia (in Arphaxad, Gen 10:22, or Ur of the Chaldees, Gen 11:28; Gen 11:31; comp. the Charduchian range of Xenophon; and later, of Nahorite Chaldeans in Mesopotamia, whose existence is traced back to patriarchal times (Gen 22:22), and who were powerful enough at any time to make a raid into Idumea. Del. (Comp. also Dillmann, who, although an advocate of the later period to which the composition of the book is assigned, is careful not to try to make capital for his theory out of this passage).And set upon the camels., literally: to strip, to pillage. [According to Gesenius the primary meaning is to spread out; hence of an invading army, in Nah 3:16, of locusts. This sense best agrees with the prepositions with which it is construed: here , and so Jdg 9:33; elsewhere , 1Sa 27:8; , 2Ch 25:13.E.] The technical expression for such marauding invasions, or raids. Comp. Jdg 9:33; Jdg 9:44; 1Sa 23:27; 1Sa 30:14; Hos 7:1.

Job 1:18-19. The fourth loss: that of the sons and daughters.

Job 1:18. While this one was yet speaking, etc. Instead of (Job 1:16-17), we have here , which appears in connection with the participle, in the sense of while, also in Neh 7:3.The supposition of Schlott. [also of Hengst.], that this slight change of expression is made to distinguish the two following verses from the preceding, because they relate the greatest loss, is disproved by the circumstance that the change is too insignificant, being scarcely noticeable. The conjecture of Dillmann and some of the earlier commentators is more plausible, that instead of , we should read , defectively written, which in fact is the reading of some MSS.

Job 1:19. Behold there came a great wind from beyond the wilderness;i.e. hither across over the desert. [From the further side, gathering strength and violence as it approached from far. Isa 21:1; Jer 4:11; Hos 13:15. Dav.] As the land of Uz in our narrative stands west of the great North-Arabian desert [see on Job 1:1], the wind spoken of here is to be taken as a storm from the east, or possibly from the north-east rather. It is, moreover, evidently a whirlwind that is intended, for the house is smitten on its four corners, and is thus made to fall, like the house described in Mat 7:27. [The violence of the winds of the Arabian desert is well known. When Pietro della Valle travelled through this desert in the year 1625, the wind tore to pieces the tents of his caravan. Hirzel.]And smote the four corners,etc. [, in the masc., although the subject, , is first construed as fem. (). The use of the masc. belongs probably to the poetic vividness of the description. The change would be the more readily made in this case, as is sometimes, though rarely, masc.; comp. Job 41:8 (A. V. 16).E.]And it fell upon the young people;i.e. the ten children of Job, along with whom no special mention is made here of the servants in attendance, who probably perished with them, for the reason that their loss, in comparison with the far more grievous loss of his children, would not be taken into account by Job., here, and Job 29:5 (so also Rth 2:21), plur. of the epicene noun , which in the Pentateuch also is used both for a young man and a young woman. [Conant thinks, it is the less necessary to assume suck a usage here, as the attention of the messenger would naturally be directed to the fate of the sons in which all were involved. The view of Jarchi, as explained by Bernard: There was no occasion to mention the daughters, meaning thereby that the daughters were of little consequence, would meet with little favor at the present day. Ewald, speaking of the effect of this calamity on Job, remarks, it would add to the stunning force of the blow, that all this happened during the first day of a joyous festival, and consequently before the children could have incurred much guilt, according to the fathers apprehension as expressed in Job 1:4-5, so that the poet can furnish no sufficient occasion for their destruction in the greatness of their sin. This may be regarded as an additional and sufficient reason for assigning these calamities to the day when the entertainment took place in the house of the first-born, without having recourse to the theory that it was a birth-day feast. Wordsworths remark on the sweeping, all-embracing aspect of the destruction wrought is striking: Satan had said, that God had hedged in Job on all sides; but now Job is attacked on all sides; from the south by Sabeans; from the east by Chaldeans; from heaven by fire and whirlwind, or tornado, which assailed all the corners of the house of Jobs eldest son, in which his children were gathered together, and which fell upon them, and buried them in their hour of feasting.E.]

(y) Jobs Constancy and Patience. Vers.2022.

Job 1:20. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head: both well-known oriental gestures, expressive of violent grief, rending the mantle, the outer garment, [an exterior tunic, fuller and longer than the common one, but without sleeves; worn by men of birth and rank, by kings and princes, by priests, etc. Ges.Comp. Job 2:12; Job 29:14], and shaving the head, including the beard [a sign of mourning among other nations, but not allowed to the Hebrews (Lev 21:5; Deu 14:1; comp. Eze 44:20), except to certain persons, e.g. the Nazarites. See Num 6:9. This, as Professor S. Lee observes, is another evidence of Jobs independence of the Levitical law: see Job 1:5. The Hebrews in time of mourning sometimes plucked off the hair, as well as rent the mantle: see Ezr 9:3. Words.] Jobs rising is mentioned simply as a preparatory motion, and as a sign of strong mental agitation, not as an independent gesture of grief. So also the clause which follows: and fell down upon the ground, is to be regarded not as an attitude of sorrow, but rather as preparatory to the worship of God in the immediate connection. This act of adoration () accordingly is presented in a twofold manner: first by the circumstantial preparatory clause, , then by the exact terminus technicus for adoration, . (Comp. Hoelemann, Ueber die biblische Gestalt der Anbetung, in his Bibelstudien, Part I., 1859.) [Jobs recognition of the quarter whence his sorrows came, and his feeling of Gods right to send them, and their ultimate (after some rockings) spiritual effect upon him, are finely exhibited in this verb. Human nature and grief has its rights firstthe heart must utter itself in words or actions; but the paroxysm over, a deeper calm succeedsa closer feeling of heaven, as after the thunder and tempestuous obscuration, the heavens are deeper and more transparent. Dav.]

Job 1:21. The devout expression of the sufferers lament and resignation is put in poetic form, in parallel members, clearly proving that the author of the prologue is the same with the author of the poem. Comp. Introd. 8.Naked came I out of my mothers womb., defectively written, as in Job 32:18; Num 11:11.And naked shall I return thither.The difficult word, , thither meaning into the womb (not as Bttcher explains, into the earth, as though Job, in speaking, pointed with his finger to the ground), may be explained in two ways: either with Hahn and Hupfeld, thither, whence I came, in coming out of my mothers womb, to wit, out of the state of nonentity [So Dav.: Mothers womb is considered synonymous with non-existence, and death is a return thither again into such a state]; comp. Job 30:23; Psa 9:18 (17 E. V.); or, more probably, by assuming a slight poetic ambiguity, by virtue of which womb in the second instance represents its counterpart, the bosom of mother earth: comp. Psa 139:13; Psa 139:15; Sir 40:1 [A heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam from the day that they go out of their mothers womb till the day that they return to the mother of all things. Cyprian, quoting our passage, has it thus: Naked came I out of my mothers womb, and naked shall I go under the earth. Dans le second membre, says Renan, lauteur passe lide du sein de la terre, mre de tous les hommes.E.] The thought expressed here and elsewhere, as in Ecc 5:14 (15 E. V. see Comment. on the passage), that man departs hence as naked and helpless as he came here, is moreover only a deduction from that fundamental truth of antiquity announced in Gen 3:19 (Ecc 12:7). But to go further, and, taking in the sense of earths bosom, the interior of the earth, to find here the doctrine of the pre-existence of souls (J. D. Michaelis, Knapp, etc.), this is to do gross violence to the plain phraseology of the passage, and is, at the same time, to foist surreptitiously on our book a dogma of later times, nowhere to be met with in the Old Testament.Blessed be the name of Jehovah, blessed, praised, in a sense exactly opposite to that of Job 1:11, but chosen by the poet with express reference to the use there made by Satan of the word. Instead of the curse he wished for, the Tempter is compelled to hear from the sorely tried man God praised in benedictions. Job here gives evidence of being a believer in Jehovah, a confessor of the only true and eternal God, as his threefold use of the name proves. In his later discourses, this name retires before the name of God in general use in the patriarchal age, and occurs again only once (Job 12:9). Comp. Introd. 5. [Faith, expressing itself in the most vivid language, seizes on the most elevated, joyous, expressive name. As in regard to the matter, so also in regard to the name, Job is here raised above himself. Hengst.]

Job 1:22. In all this Job sinned not., not in all that which Job said and did (Muntinghe, Rosenm., etc.), which would be a very flat statement; but in all that befell him, in all these dispensations. The LXX. correctly: . The expression reaches back beyond Job 1:20-21, although without excluding that which is here related as said and done by Job. And showed no folly toward God: lit. and gave forth no folly toward God;i.e. uttered against Him nothing foolish, nothing senseless (, the same as the adj. , meaning stale, insipid, Job 6:6; comp. Job 24:12; Jer 25:18). Comp. Jerome: neque stultum quid contra Deum locutus est: and among the moderns more especially Rosenm., Rdiger (in Ges. Thesaurus, p. 15, 16), Oehl., Vaih. [Noy. Bar. appy, Con.]; Dillm. also, who explains: offered to God nothing unsavory, i.e., nothing to displease him. [It is curious to observe that in many languages, modern as well as ancient, wisdom is represented under the character of sapidity, or a palatable stimulus, and folly under that of insipidity, or anything devoid of stimulus. So while the Hebrew term here employed () means equally froth, insipidity, folly, or obtuseness of intellect, its opposite, which is , means, in like manner, taste, poignancy, discernment, superiority of intellect; terms which the Arabs yet retain, and in both senses. Good. For further illustration, G. refers to the proverbial Attic salt of the Greeks, for the flavor of wit and wisdom.To this should be added, that in Scripture these terms have an ethical, as well as an intellectual significance, so that as wisdom is one of the most important equivalents of piety, folly stands in the same relation to impiety. And so here. Job, in his trial, uttered nothing which betrayed a heart unsalted by wisdom and grace, no spiritual absurdity which betokened a spirit at variance with the Supreme Wisdom.E.] Altogether too inexact and free are the renderings, on the one hand, of Umbreit: and permitted himself nothing foolish against God; on the other hand of Ewald and Hahn: and gave God no offence. Contrary to usage is Olshausens rendering of as equivalent to abuse, reviling (he gave God no abuse, i.e., reviled him not: so the Pesh.) [Renan: he uttered no blasphemy against God]. The connection, however, forbids the explanation of Hirz., Stick., Schlott., Del. [Merx, Dav., Rd., Elz.]: he did not charge God with folly, attributed to him no foolishness. [So substantially E. V.: he did not charge God foolishly.] For at first Job shows himself far removed from that extreme violence of feeling which later in the history leads him once and again to the very verge of blasphemy, to represent God, for instance, as his cruel tormentor and persecutor. It would be very strange and quite premature for the poet to introduce here an allusion to those later aberrations.

5. (b) The severer trial: the loss of health, (a). The preparatory scene in heaven, Job 2:1-6. Job 2:1. Now it came to pass on a day.Not, of course, on the same day as that mentioned Job 1:13, but after a certain interval, which is not more particularly defined. The art. here, , as in Job 1:6 q.v. It will be observed that here there is a variation from the statement in Job 1:6 in the use of with Satan, as well as with the sons of God; indicating, as Del. and Dillm. have shown, that he, as well as they, appeared at this time in the heavenly assembly with a definite object. What that object was is made to appear immediately in the succeeding dialogue between Jehovah and Satan.E.]

Job 2:2. From whence comest thou?Here , instead of the earlier , Job 1:7; the only variation, and a slight one, of the language in that verse, which is otherwise repeated here word for word. The same is true of the following verse, at least of the first and longer part of it, which is an exact repetition of Job 1:8 with one slight variation, the substitution of for before .

Job 2:3. And still he holdeth fast to his piety, i.e., notwithstanding the heavy calamities which have visited him, he still maintains a blameless life. , the quality of the , Job 1:1. Comp. Job 27:5; Job 31:6; Pro 11:3 [the only passage where the word occurs outside of our book.E.]Although thou didst move me against him to destroy him without cause.Lit: And so thou didst move me against him, etc.; the imperf. consec. here not in the inferential sense, so that thou, etc. (Hirz., Stick., Hahn, Dillm. [Hengst.]), but adversative rather: and yet thou didst move me, etc. (Rosm., Ew., Umbr., Vaih., Heilig. [Noy., Rod., Wem., Bev., Con., Elz.]). With this construction the , without cause, un-deservedly, is by no means at variance; for this expression only enhances the reproachfulness of Jehovahs address.With , to excite, stir up against any one, comp. 1Sa 26:19; 2Sa 24:1 (but differently in Jos 15:18; 1Ch 21:1). [It does not signify, as Umbreit thinks, to lead astray, in which case it were almost a blasphemous anthropomorphism; it signifies instigare, and indeed generally to evil, as e.g., 1Ch 21:1; but not always, e.g., Jos 15:18; here it is certainly in a strongly anthropopathical sense of the impulse given by Satan to Jehovah to prove Job in so hurtful a manner. Del.], to destroy, to ruin [literally, to swallow up]; see Job 8:18; Job 10:8; Job 37:20); applied here to the crushing destruction of Jobs outward prosperity. Not without reason does Jehovah make choice of these strong expressions, here, just before; for Satans aim went beyond the limited power which was given him over Job. Del. Comp. our remarks above on Job 1:12. [The lofty Divine irony of Jehovahs language should not be overlooked, contrasting as it does so strongly with Satans baffled malignity and arrogant, scoffing unbelief. Schultens justly remarks: Ut in verbis Satan jactantia, ita in Dei responso irrisio se exerit.E.]

Job 2:4. Skin for skin.A proverbial expression, the independent meaning of which is obscure, and can be ascertained only from the connection. Now the following sentence, all that a man hath will he give for his life, is evidently parallel in sense, as appears from the repetition of , about, here for, instead of (as in Isa 32:14; comp. the same use of in Exo 21:23-25, and so frequently). It is therefore simply the application of the proverb to Jobs case. The meaning of the phrase therefore, it would seem, must be this: A man will give like for like; of two things having about equal value he will willingly let the one go, that he may save the other; and this in fact, Satan suggests, Job had done; he had willingly given up all that was his, in order to save his own life and his bodily health. Jobs property therefore is here represented as a skin, with which his person was covered, an integument enveloping him for protection and comfort (comp. Job 18:13; Job 19:26, where designates the entire body, the whole person corporeally considered). His physical life is represented as another such a skin. Of these two skins or integuments, the one of which lies nearer to him than the other, and is therefore dearer to him and more indispensable, he has surrendered the one, to wit, the outer, remoter, least necessary, in order to save and to retain the other. [As is said in the proverb: Like for like; so it is with man: all for life. Hirz. A proverbial saying, to the effect: A man freely parts with an external good, if he may thereby keep possession of another. So Job can well bear the loss of children and property, since the dearest earthly good, life and health, are left him. Vaih. So Ges., Dillm., Hengst., Con., Dav., etc.] This interpretation is beyond question the one best suited to the context, and is to be preferred to the others which have been proposed, viz.: a. That of the Targ., of several Rabbis, Schlott., and Del.A man will give a part of the skin, or a member, in order to preserve another part of the skin, or member; much more will a man give up all that he has to keep his life. This explanation is at fault in taking , which always means the whole skin or hide, for a member or a part of the skin.b. That of Ephraem, Rosenm., Hupf., in which is used in respect of the lost children and animals to designate their life, their existence. [According to this view the full expression would be: skin (of another) for skin (of oneself), as life for life in Exo 21:23; skin being used metaphorically for the body, or the life. The thought accordingly is: The bodies or the lives of others one will part with for his own.The objection to this view is that the two equivalents, or the two things compared here, are not so much what is anothers, and what is ones own, but rather ones own property and ones own life, or person.Goods explanation: Skin for skin is, in plain English, property for person, or the skin forming property for the skin forming person, is correct as to the application, but as an explanation of the proverb it is faulty in that it injects too much of the special application into the body of the proverb.E.] c. The interpretation of Olshausen, who refers to ver 5, and explains skin for skin to mean as thou treatest him, so he will treat thee; so long as thou leavest his (skin, i.e.,) person untouched, so long will he not assail (thy skin, i.e.,) thee in person. This, however, is at variance alike with the connection and with decorum. [Though it is the devil who speaks, this were nevertheless too unbecomingly expressed. Del. In addition to the above explanations, the following deserve mention: d. That of Parkhurst Schult., Wem., who render the clause: Skin after skin, or skin upon skin; i.e., to save his life a man would willingly be flayed over and over. This is unnatural in itself, a doubtful rendering of the preposition, and at variance with the analogous use of the same preposition in the following clause. Any explanation which requires a different use of the preposition in both clauses is certainly to be rejected. e. The view of Umbreit, who while agreeing with the explanation given above of the clause: skin for skin, explains differently its relation to the following clause. The proverb he regards as a mercantile one, meaning, one thing for another, everything is exchangeable in the market, any external good may be bartered for another; but life is an internal good of such value that nothing will buy it, and a man will sacrifice everything for it. His translation accordingly is: Skin for skin; but all that a man hath he gives for his life. This, however, is much less simple and natural than to regard the as connective, and the second clause as the application of the first. Especially decisive against it is the adversative at the beginning of Job 2:5, which on Umbreits theory would be deprived of all force. f. Merx in his version substitutes for the oriental proverb the German: Das Hemd sitzt nher als der Rock (The shirt is nearer than the coat), and explains: One skin envelopes another skin; the first (goods and children) has been taken away from Job, he must yet be stripped of the second (health). He maintains that never signifies for, instead; but he is condemned out of his own mouth, for in the very next clause he translates for his life! While it may be granted that is not exactly synonymous with , either may be appropriately rendered by for, the former corresponding rather to the Greek , or , the latter to . Although it does not stand for the of price, it nevertheless can, like in Exo 21:23-25, be used with the verb in the sense of instead, especially when the accessory notion for the protection of is retained in connection with it. Dillm.

The use of skin as the representative of value in the proverb is explained by the extent to which it was used as an article of utility and traffic. It was useful in itself and as a medium of exchange. Hence skin for skin would naturally mean value for value.E.]

Job 2:5. But put forth now Thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh., verum enim vero, but verily, as in Job 1:11. [The connection of the two verses is as follows: Value for value; a mans life is worth everything, and all that he has he will give up to save his life. Buttouch that, put his life in peril, so that nothing that he has, or can do will save it, and assuredly he will curse thee. A simple statement of the connection is all that is necessary to refute some of the erroneous interpretations of the passage.E.] , to touch (in Job 1:11 construed with ) is here followed by . It is going too far, however, to assume, with Delitzsch, that this expresses increased malignity: stretch forth Thy hand but once to his very bones, etc. [Hengst. agrees with Hupfeld that here the bone is specially mentioned as in Psa 6:3 (2); Psa 38:4 (3): Psa 51:10 (8) as the basis of the body and of its condition, as the inmost seat and source of vital power and sensibility. Note the peculiar metaphorical use of , in Hebrew for self, self-same.Add also that the collocation of bone and flesh in Hebrew is in almost every instance expressive of a mans very self, his essential personality. Comp. Gen 2:23; Jdg 9:2; Job 10:11; Pro 14:30. Satans words here accordingly mean more than: touch his body; they mean: touch him; strike him in the vital parts of his being.

Verily, he will curse Thee to Thy face.As in Job 1:11. Satan, it will be noted, is more truly Satanic in this scene than in the former. As Dav. finely observes: In his former aspersion of Job he had only hinted that Jobs religion was not very genuine; it was profitable, and therefore carefully attended to. Here he goes a great way deeper, and maligns human nature in its very humanity. Man is not only irreligious (except for profit), but he is inhuman; what is usually regarded as possessions of the most irreligious men, love of kind and kindred, the deeper affections of family on which so much fine sentiment has been expendedthey are matters of profit too. Man cares little for friend or family, only he be safe himself: put forth Thy hand and touch his own bone and flesh, and his viperish nature will rise like the trodden serpent, and disown Thee to Thy face. The essence of sin in its ordinary human manifestation is to be unable to live from any higher motive than self; its essence in the life of Satan is to be unable to conceive of any higher motive than self. The spirit of evil in man often makes virtue tributary to self; the spirit of evil in Satan takes the very constancy of virtue as proof only of more intense selfishness. The devils logic in the case of Job: the more steadfast Job seems to be, the more inhuman must he be.E.]

Job 2:6. Behold he is in thy hand, only spare his life.Comp. Job 1:12. is to be distinguished from ; it denotes not the life-function, as such, which belongs to man as a spiritual and corporeal being, but its seat and medium, the soul (, anima). But as above in Job 2:4, so here, it must be rendered life [the term soul with us not being the exact equivalent of the above Hebrew, Greek, and Latin terms.E.] Comp. the like use of in Act 20:10, and elsewhere often in the New Testament., lit.: beware of, abstain from; i.e., take care that in imperiling his life by the infliction of painful disease, thou dost not deprive him of it.

6. () The fulfillment of the decree in Jobs terrible disease: Job 2:7-8.

Job 2:7. Then Satan went out (comp. Job 1:12) and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown;i.e., over his whole body.Comp. the description of the same frightful disease given in almost the very same words in Deu 28:35. [singular collective], used in Lev 13:18 sq., of the boils of a leper, and elsewhere of the carbuncles of the plague, refers here, as its use with the strengthening attributive shows, to the worst form of leprosy, the Lepra Arabica,[2] or Elephantiasis, called also lepra nodosa, or tuberculosa, on account of the frightful swollen pustules, or boils, which make the limbs of the sufferer, and especially the lower extremities, look like the lumpy, apparently jointless limbs of the elephant [also perhaps from its rendering the skin, like that of the elephants, scabrous and dark-colored, and furrowed all over with tubercles. Good]. By the Arabians it is named gudhm, the mutilating disease, because in its extreme stages entire members gradually fall away, such as fingers, teeth, hands, etc. Once in the Old Testament it is described as , the Egyptian ulcer (Deu 28:27). It is not limited, however, to Arabia and Egypt, but prevails also in the East Indies, inclusive of the Sunda Islands, and likewise in the West Indies, and even in the countries of Northern Europe, as in Norway, where it rages at times with fearful violence, often seizing on entire villages. It is not only contagious (according to the testimony of the ancients, e.g., of Aretus, the Cappadocian, it might be communicated by the mere breathing of the person diseased), but in many cases it also transmits itself from parents to children. [Dillman remarks that according to the most recent observations it does not seem to be contagious. So also the article on Medicine in Smiths Bible Dict. says: It is hereditary and may be inoculated, but does not propagate itself by the closest contact.E.] Finally, it is, as a rule, incurable; or at all events one of the most tedious diseases, protracting itself through twenty years or more. The identity of this disease with Jobs affliction was maintained long ago by Origen (c. Cels. Job 6:5), and is held by all modern expositors. This view is supported by the symptoms of the disease as they are further given in our book: the insufferable itching of the skin (Job 2:8); the skin cracking, and covered with boils now hard and crustated, and now festering (Job 7:5); the stinking breath (Job 19:17); the blackened and chapped appearance of the body caused by inward heat in the bones (Job 30:30); the danger of the limbs falling away (Job 30:17; Job 30:30); the extreme emaciation of the body (Job 19:20; Job 30:18); the anguished frame, made restless by nightly dreams, gaspings and tortures (Job 7:4; Job 7:13-15; Job 30:17), etc. [It first appears in general, but not always, about the face, as an indurated nodule (hence it is improperly called tubercular), which gradually enlarges, inflames, and ulcerates. Sometimes it commences in the neck or arms. The ulcers will heal spontaneously, but only after a long period, and after destroying a great deal of the neighboring parts. If a joint be attacked, the ulceration will go on till its destruction is complete, the joints of finger, toe, etc., dropping off one by one. Frightful dreams and fetid breath are symptoms mentioned by some pathologists. More nodules will develop themselves; and if the face be the chief seat of the disease, it assumes a leonine aspect (hence called also Leontiasis), loathsome and hideous; the skin becomes thick, rugose, and livid; the eyes are fierce and staring, and the hair gene rally falls off from all the parts affected. When the throat is attacked the voice shares the affection, and sinks to a hoarse, husky whisper.Art. Medicine in Smiths Bib. Dict. See also art. Leper]. Comp. below on Job 7:14; also the more particular description of the disease by Aretus the Cappadocian (translated by Mann, 1858, p. 221; comp. also Del., Vol. I., p. 70, n. Clarks For. The. Lib.); J. D. Michaelis, Einleitung ins A. T., I. 57 sq.; Winer, Real- Wrterbuch, I. 115 sq. (3d Ed.); Friedrich, Z. Bibel, 1848, I. 193 sq.; Hecker, Elephantiasis, oder Lepra Arabica, Lahr, 1838; Heer, De elephantiasi Grcorum et Arabum; Danielson and Boeck, Trait de la Spdalskhed, ou Elephantiasis des Grecs, a work published at the expense of the Government of Norway, Paris, 1848; Virchow, Die krankhaften Geschwlste, Vol. II. 1, Berlin, 1863 (which treats with especial minuteness of the distinction frequently overlooked between the Eleph. Grcorum and the Eleph. Arabum); also the narratives of travelers, e.g., Bruce, and recently of Bickmore (an American traveler in the East Indies), who, after giving a harrowing description of a village in northern Sumatra filled with sufferers from elephantiasis, declares with a shudder that one who has never seen such cases of leprosy can form no conception of the distortions which the human body can assume, and still live.

Job 2:8. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal.The modern Orientals, when suffering from the same disease, make use of instruments prepared for scraping, made out of ivory or other material (comp. Cleric on the passage). [Scraping with a potsherd will not only relieve the intolerable itching of the skin, but also remove the matter. Del.] And he sat down among the ashes: lit.: and he was sitting (at the time) in the midst of the ashes; or while he sat in the midst of the ashes. [So most of the recent commentators. The participial construction describing the condition of the subject at the time of the affirmation in the principal verb. Comp. Gen 19:1; Jdg 13:9; and see Ewald, Gr. 168, 2 and 341, a. Schlott. finds in this clause evidence, that but a short time intervened between the former trial and the present. While he was yet sitting in ashes, mourning the loss of his children, he was smitten in his own person.E.] Sitting in the ashes is certainly the attitude of a mourner (comp. Job 42:6; Jer 6:26; Jon 3:6); but in this case, the attitude is occasioned not only by the loss of his children, but more especially by the new calamity which has befallen the sufferer. The LXX. enlarges upon the description in accordance with the Levitical law touching leprosy, as well as such passages as Psa 113:7 : . There is nothing in the Heb. text here to indicate the segregation of Job in his leprosy. Still it cannot be doubted, especially in view of Job 2:12 (see notes), that even as a non-Israelite, as an inhabitant of Haurn e.g., he was required to submit to such separation Comp. the information given by Wetstein in Del. (2:152), concerning the dung-heaps, the mezbele before the villages of Haurn, and the occupation of the same by lepers. [The dung is brought in a dry state in baskets to the place before the village, and is generally burnt once every month. The ashes remain. If a village has been inhabited for a century, the mezbele reaches a height which far surpasses it. The winter rains make the ash-heaps into a compact mass, and gradually change the mezbele into a firm mound of earth. The mezbele serves the inhabitants of the district as a watch-tower, and on close, oppressive evenings as a place of assembly, because there is a current of air on the height. There the children play about the whole day long; there the forsaken one lies, who, having been seized by some horrible malady, is not, allowed to enter the dwellings of men, by day asking alms of the passers-by, and at night hiding himself among the ashes, which the sun has warmed. There the dogs of the village lie, perhaps gnawing at a decaying car-case that is frequently thrown there. Wetzst.

7. () Jobs Steadfastness in Piety. Vers.9, 10.

Job 2:9. Then said his wife unto him.[The Chald. here gives the name of Jobs wife as Dinah, a trace of the old tradition that Job was contemporary with Jacob. The Sept. and Copt, contain a considerable addition to the text in the form of a lengthened and impassioned discourse by Jobs wife, detailing his sorrows and her own.E.] In place of Satan, who, from Job 2:6 on, disappears from the books history, Jobs own wife now appears against him to tempt him, to be, as it were, an adjutrix diaboli (Augustine). Dost thou still hold fast to thine integrity? , a question implying astonishment, although without a particle of interrogation (Ew. 324, a). Compare the question which Anna, the wife of Tobias, that apocryphal copy of Jobs wife, addresses to her blinded husband: , [i.e. as Sengelmann and Fritzsche correctly explain, one sees from thy misfortunes that thy virtue is not of much avail to thee. Del.]Renounce God and die! evidently in the bad sense of Job 1:11; Job 2:5; and thus equivalent, to: let God go, renounce thy allegiance to Him, give up at last praising and trusting Him, since verily nothing more remains for thee but to die! Hahn takes here sensu bono: Praise God all the time, thou shall presently see what thy reward is, even death! [So Ges. Lex.: Bless and praise God as thou wilt, yet thou must now die; thy piety towards God is in vain. Carey, Con.: The import of this taunting reproach I take to be: Bless God (if you will), and die! for that is all it will profit you.] But to this stands opposed the sharp rejoinder which Job makes in Job 2:10 to his wife, from which it may be clearly inferred, that on the present occasion she was to him, if not altogether a Proserpina et Furia infernalis (Calv.), still, in some measure, a (Chrysost.), to scourge him severely, an instrument of the Tempter (Ebr.). [Another argument against taking in the sense of blessing is brought forward by Hengst., to wit, that the words bear an unmistakable relation to the saying of Satan, twice repeated: Verily he will renounce Thee to Thy face. The wife is Satans instrument in the endeavor to secure the fulfilment of that prediction. It may be still farther suggested, that the spirit which manifestly prompted the first words of the wife seems more in harmony with the rendering renounce. She begins by expressing her astonishment, an astonishment evidently accompanied by deep indignation, that after such heavy blows Job should still hold fast to his integrity. Nothing could be more natural than to find her in the same breath vehemently urging Job to relinquish his integrity by bidding farewell to God.E.]

Job 2:10. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.Folly here in the well-known Old Testament sense of godlessness, impiousness (Psa 14:1), or in the sense of that saying of Luthers: All those who are without the Holy Ghost, however wise they may be esteemed by the world in temporal affairs, power or business, before God they are fools or blind men. [The translation as one of the foolish women does not correspond to the Hebrew; is one who thinks madly and acts impiously. Del. means not simply a woman without understanding, but one who is a fool, who refuses to know more of God, who is an atheist, or a heathen. Dillm.] The reproof is thus a severe one; at the same time, the one, any one, has that in it which somewhat softens its severity: comp. 2Sa 13:13, [Job does not say to his wife: Thou art a foolish woman; but: Thou speakest as if thou didst belong to that class; thou art become unlike thyself. Hengst.] Shall we receive the good from God, and shall we not also receive the evil?The question consists of two members: the , standing at the beginning (instead of which we might have expected the more exact ), belongs logically to the second part, towards which the voice should hurry in reading the first part, which contains the premise of the other: this is frequently the case after interrogative particles, e.g., Num 16:22; Isa. 5:46. Del. For this anticipation of the , which has its logical connection with a later clause, comp. below Job 15:10 Hos 6:11; Zec 9:11; also the analogous syntactical construction of , ,. [Hence the rendering of by What? (E. V ) is inaccurate. The first division of the verse is translated by Ges., Ew. (Hupf., Dillm., Ren ), and some others affirmatively, and the second division interrogatively. Thes. I, p 294, bonum accepimus a Deo, nonne etiam malum suscipiamus? But the Heb. has the same form in both divisions; and the interrogative tone in both is a far more spirited expression of the thought. Con.] The word , to receive is found elsewhere in prose only in the post-exilic literature, and in Aramaic. Its appearance here, however, should not greatly surprise us, as we meet with it in proverbial poetry. Pro 19:20. [It is worthy of note as a fine exhibition of the sympathetic genius of the author, that whereas as in Job 1:21 he uses the name Jehovah, here he uses the name Elohim. There the religious consciousness of Job, deeply stirred by his losses, but realizing nevertheless the full blessedness of uninterrupted communion with God, and pouring itself forth in that sublime soliloquy which is for all ages the doxology of the chastised believer, seizes on that name which to the Old Testament saint most fully expressed in his eternal perfections and glory on the one side, and in his personal relations to man on the other. Here, the same consciousness, deep, genuine, unfaltering as ever, but striving on the one hand to maintain itself against the depressing influence of physical ill, on the other hand to repel the daring suggestion of atheistical folly, consecrated as the suggestion was through Satanic skill by all the associations which love had sealed upon the lips that spoke it, seizes on that name of the Supreme Being which most fully expresses his power over the forces of nature, and which most effectually silences the sneer of the godless heart. There Job speaks rather as the chastised child, in the attitude of benediction, blessing the name of Jehovah; here he speaks rather as the chastised creature, in the attitude of resignation, vindicating the ways of Elohim.E.]In all this did not Job sin with his lips.Compare the similar judgment rendered by the poet at the conclusion of the first trial, Job 1:22. That Job has thus far escaped all sin of the lips (comp. Job 27:4; Psa 34:14 (13); Psa 59:8 (7); Psa 140:4 (3); Pro 24:2, etc.), is here emphasized indeed only by way of contrast with the violent expressions which soon follow, which he was provoked to utter by the three friends, and in which he assuredly did sin. The intimation that he had already sinned in his thoughts (Targ., Diedrich), is scarcely conveyed by the , however true in itself the remark of Delitzsch: The temptation to murmur was now already at work within him, but he was its master, so that no murmur escaped him.

8. The visit of the friends, and their mute sympathy, as an immediate preparation for the action of the poem, Job 2:11-13.

Job 2:11. Then Jobs three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him.[The question whether the article should be used with friends cannot be determined with absolute certainty, the form of expression in the Hebrew being ambiguous, and the circumstances not being fully known. By some (Dav., Con., Ren., Elz.) it is omitted, although by most it is recognized; and this on the whole seems best. Although there is nothing to justify the Sept. in describing these friends as kings, there is good reason for regarding them as persons of universal consideration by virtue of their station, their age, and their wisdom. Comp. Job 12:3; Job 13:2; Job 15:17 sq.; Job 18:3; and Elihus remarks in Job 32 See also below on Eliphaz. And the concerted demonstration which they here make of their sympathy with Job would show that they were his friends in a peculiar sense. For these reasons the rendering the three friends of Job is to be preferred.E.] , as accentuated, is not the partic, fem., but the perf. with the art which stands in place of the rel. pron., as in Gen 18:21; Gen 46:27. [Ewald, however, justly criticizes the Masora in these and other passages on the ground that the partic. can just as well be assumed in them, and is besides the more obvious construction. See Gr., p. 802, n. 1.E.] That which is here related is to be understood as taking place not at the very beginning of Jobs sickness, but some months later (comp. Job 7:3), when the disease had made considerable progress, producing loathsome disfigurement of his person (comp. Job 2:12; Job 7:4 seq.; Job 19 Job 30.)And they came each from his own place.These places where they lived, which are mentioned in the sequel only in the most general way as countries, or regions of country, are not to be regarded as situated in each others immediate vicinity. The place where they came to, the object of , is to be thought of as some other place than that where Job lived. From this, their appointed rendezvous, they then proceeded to Jobs abode, to testify to him their sympathy (this being the meaning of , comp. Job 42:11, also , sympathy, Job 16:5), and to comfort him.Eliphaz the Temanite, etc.Since Eliphaz () appears also in Gen 36:4; Gen 36:10; Gen 36:12, as an old Idumean name of a person, there can be no doubt that his country, Teman (), a name which also occurs in Gen 36:11; Gen 36:15, in close connection with that of Eliphaz, is to be identified with the Idumean region of that name, whose inhabitants, not only according to our poem, but also according to the testimony of other Scripture writers, such as Jeremiah (Jer 49:7) and Baruch (Job 3:22 seq.), were particularly celebrated for their wisdom comp. also Obad. 8:9; also the , i.e., sons of knowledge, of wisdom, in (Macc. Job 5:4). We are scarcely to understand by it the Tm of East Hauran (which indeed may possibly be a colony of the Edomite Theman). As for the countries of the two other friends, Shuah (), the home of Bildad, is to be sought for somewhere in the eastern part of North Arabia, among the settlements of the Keturites, one of whom is called Shuah, Gen 25:2. The application of the name to Schakka, beyond Hauran, the of Ptolem., Job 5:15, is doubtful on account of the difference in sound of the names. [According to Carey it is identical with the Saiace of Pliny (6:32), now called Sekiale, or El Saiak about midway between the Elamitic Gulf and the mouth of the Euphrates]. Naamah, finally, must be one of the many Syrian regions of that name; it can hardly be the city of that name in the Shefelah, mentioned Jos 15:41 When out of a the LXX. makes out Zophar a (or , so Aristus, in Euseb. Prp. Ev. Job 9:25), it probably follows a tradition which pointed to Maon (now Mn), lying East of Petra, as his home.Again, as regards the etymology of the names of the three friends, it may be conjectured that means the man to whom God is his joy; , the son of strife (, in Arab. to strive, to wrangle); , perhaps the twitterer (i.e., , from , to pipe, to twitter). So GeseniusDietrich in their smaller dictionary; while Delitzsch, e.g., adopts entirely different definitions: thus = cui Deus aurum est, comp. Job 22:25, also the name Phasael, formed by transposition; so also Michaelis, Suppl. p. 37. Frst: El is dispenser of riches; Ges. in Lex.: God his strength]: =, sine mammis, one brought up without his mothers milk; = elasfar, the yellow, flavedo. Comp. Abulfedas Hist. ante-islamica, Ed. Fleischer, p. 168 [Frst: The shaggy, or rough]. The two latter names, being just those in respect to which the suspicion that they are a poetic invention could be in some measure justified, do not appear elsewhere in the Old Testament. [And they had made an appointment together to come, etc.; or more correctly: They met together by appointment; the proper meaning of the Niph. being, as Del. and Dillm. point out, not to appoint a place for meeting (which would be rather), but to meet in an appointed place at an appointed time.E.]

Job 2:12. And they raised their eyes afar off, and knew him not.Two things may be inferred from these words: (1) That Job was now staying not in his own house, but out of doors, in a place which furnished miserable shelter, serving as a retreat for lepers; comp. on Job 2:8 above [and especially the extract from Wetst. concerning the mezbele]; and (2) that the disease had already disfigured him so that he could not be recognized (comp. notes on Job 2:7).And sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.In addition to the weeping and the rending of their mantles, these words describe a third and a particularly violent symbol and expression of their sympathizing grief. Gathering up the dust they fling it into the air, i.e., toward heaven, until it falls back upon their heads; thus indicating that by a heavenly, a Divine dispensation, they felt themselves to be bowed down to the dust in sorrow (comp. Eze 27:30; Lam 2:10, etc.)

Job 2:13. And they sat down with him upon the earth seven days and seven nights;i.e. as the sequel shows, in silence, and also without doubt fasting. This impressive demonstration of sympathizing sorrow reminds us, not of the seven days lamentation for Saul (1Sa 31:13), but rather of Ezekiels mourning, when he sat down for seven days astonished among the captives by the river Chebar (Eze 3:15). To lay stress on the number seven as rigidly historical is inadmissible in view of the poetic ideal character of the description. At the same time, the statement contains nothing impossible or improbable, nothing at variance with customs and modes of thought which are known to prevail in the east, especially among oriental sages, with whom moreover, ascetic practices are always to be associated. Their sitting down upon the ground still further characterizes them as mourners in all they did; comp. 2Sa 12:16; Eze 26:16; Lam 2:10.And none spake a word unto him: lit. without one ( ) speaking to him a word. This silence is to be understood as absolutenot as interrupted by occasional speech among themselves. [This seven days silence has been thought improbable, and it has been sought in various ways to modify the statement. A great mistake. For it is to be borne in mind that what is observable in the well-known phenomena of mystical absorption in the East is, in a less exaggerated form, a universal characteristic of orientals. Rest as well as motion has with them more positive power than with usa trait which Hamann, in the beginning of one of his most genial writings (the sthetica in nuce), mentions as characteristic of the primeval world of humanity: The rest of our ancestors was a profounder sleep; and their motion a reeling dance. Seven days they would sit in the stillness of meditation; and then they would open their mouth for winged sayings. Schlott.] The reason for the friends silence is given by the poet in the explanatory clause which follows: For they saw that the affliction was very great;i.e. they observed that Jobs painful condition, including the disease and the misery which caused it ( here accordingly not in a one-sided subjective sense, but also the objective sense of affliction, malady), was far too great to admit of their endeavoring to comfort him simply by words. It is therefore the overpowering sight of the nameless misery which has seized upon their friend that closes their mouth; although to this must be added the influence of the erroneous assumption, which controlled all of them, that Jobs terrible suffering had been occasioned by certain secret sins, the existence of which they had not before suspected, and which they had never deemed him capable of committing. And the fact that this erroneous assumption, which led them to look on their friend not only as one who was sorely afflicted, but as one who had fallen, lay at the bottom of their persistent mournful silence, and was even to be read on their countenances, must have made their presence to the sorely tried sufferer the more painful the longer it continued. And so their visit, which was undertaken according to Job 2:11 with the most loving intent, became, without their purposing it, a severe trial of his feelings (comp. Job 6:14 sq., especially Job 2:24)a trial which at length affected him more powerfully, and became more insupportable to him than all former ones, driving him at last into that passionate and intemperate outbreak, which even the lamenting and doubting challenge of his wife had failed to call forth. Comp. Vilmar (Past. Theol. Bltt. xi. 69): The temptation of Job becomes efficient by means of his friends. First of all, by their presence they cause his attention to be drawn exclusively to his own misery, and then by their reproaches they draw out from him, one after the other, the maintenance of his own innocence, his complaint because of the cruel misunderstanding of his friends, his dispute with them, and finally his dispute with God. [Thus a new trial awaits Job, one in which he cannot stand aloof from men, and go through in the secresy of his own soulfighting his dark adversaries alone, and conquering and becoming strong in his solitude: his conflict this time is with men, with the best and most religious of men, and with the loftiest creed his time has heard of. It is a tremendous conflict; when a man stands alone, with all parties and forms of faith and thought, and even the world, or outward God, against him, and only himself and strong conscience, and his necessary thoughts of the unseen God and instinctive personal faith in Him as his helpers. It does not appear what place, if any, Satan holds in this new conflict; his name disappears from the book. We cannot say, whether he silently acknowledged himself baffled and retired, having done his worst on Job, and so this new trial, not of his contriving, but of Gods, who will by its means bring Job to fuller knowledge of Himself that he may be at peace; and if so, how infinitely deeper is Gods knowledge of us than Satans, and with what unspeakably profounder skill he can touch the deepest springs of our nature, and so get behind, do what Satan will, all his possible contrivances, for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the worldor whether we are to understand this new fire to be also of the devils kindling. We prefer to have done with him, and view the remaining portion of Jobs exercise as between him and God alone, who, though the devil failed, and retired in confusion, will yet display to the universe more wondrous strength and more marvellously the talismanic touch of the divine hand upon the human heart. It seems so; much of the poem is monologue, the objections and interpellations of the friends are but used by God as spurs to stimulate the soul to exercise itself on him. No one can doubt the divine wisdom in using the friends to bring Job into fuller knowledge of itself; the violence of human dialectic and the many-sidedness of several minds presented before Job in much greater completeness all the phases of his relation to heaven than could have been accomplished by the mere workings of his own mind. Dav.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

The feature of the preceding Section of our book of greatest interest to the reader who would thoroughly investigate the Scriptures both from the speculative, doctrinal and ethical point of view, as well as from the apologetic, centre predominantly, indeed we may say exclusively, is the enigmatic figure of Satan.The Satan of the Prologue is the standing theme of certain introductory chapters, or of elaborate dissertations in most of the modern Commentaries on Job, both critical and apologetic. The following are the fundamental questions treated in this connection: Can we and should we assume a personal intermediate cause out of the circle of the highest created existences, that is, a mighty fallen angel, to account for that which is sinful in the actions and motives of mankind in general? Again: Should we attribute to this evil spirit, even within the sphere of the external life of nature and humanity, operations which produce ruin and destruction, thus exhibiting him as a cause, not only of moral evil, but, in a qualified sense, also of physical evil on earth? Again: May we assume that like the good angels, he has access to Gods throne, and so has, as it were, a place and a voice, or, at any rate, certain ministerial functions in the councils of heaven? Finallyand this is, after those more general questions, that which specially relates to the peculiarities of the Satanology of the Book of JobCan we assign the name, the functions, the whole appearance of Satan as the personal principle of evil, or, in a word, as the Adversary, to that more remote antiquity of the theocratic development, to which so many indications point as the most probable time to which to refer the composition of this book? Or are we constrained to regard the whole conception of Satan as the product only of a later development, say of a biblico-theological development moulded by influences proceeding from the Assyrian Babylon, or the Persians, and accordingly to bring down the composition, if not of the entire book, at least of the Prologue (together with the Epilogue, comp. Introd. 8), into a later age, subsequent not only to the time of Moses, but even to that of Solomon? With reference to the skeptical element which resides in each one of those questions, and at the same time with a view to obtaining a more concise and simple treatment of the same, the question may be put thus: whether the Satan of the Book of Job is to be rejected(1) on religious and moral grounds, as the product of a dualistic mythology, antagonistic to a pure monotheism, or (2) on physicotheological grounds as a superstition; or (3) on sthetic grounds as a pure poetic fiction; or (4) on grounds derived from the history of revelation, as a scriptural and theological anachronism.

1. The theory that there is a Satan cannot be rejected on religious and moral grounds, for the entire Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments demonstrate the existence of such a being; never, however, in the dualistic sense of the religion of the Zend [Avesta], as an evil principle, absolutely and from eternity opposing the good God, but always as a relative or created evil principle, as an angel or spirit which had been created good by God, but which had afterwards fallen through its own criminal wickedness. As a matter of fact, this created evil principleto the actual existence of which no one testifies more frequently, strongly, and emphatically than our Lord Himself in His discourses as recorded in the Gospels (the synoptical alike with that of John)meets us already in the oldest book of the Bible, in Genesis, where the account given of the origin of sin (Job 3) so unmistakably presents the evil spirit, disguised as a serpent, as the author of sin in the development of humanity, that every attempt to explain the serpent as pure allegory, or a mere hieroglyph, runs off into absurdity. Not less do we find this same evil principle, if not by name, at least in fact, in the Azazel of Leviticus (Job 16:3 seq., 27), that personification of abstract impurity as opposed to the absolute purity of Jehovah, as Roskoff (Gesch. des Teufels, Bd. I., Leipzig, 1869) has perhaps not unsuitably defined him, as well as in the description, resembling our Prologue, given by the prophet Micah the elder in 1Ki 22:21 seq, where , the spirit simply, is used to designate the evil spirit only because hitherto humanity had to trace everywhere mainly the operation of this spirit, the liar and murderer from the beginning, whereas of the Spirit in the highest and truest sense of the word, the Holy Spirit of God (Joe 3:1 [E. V., Job 2:28], Joh 3:34, etc.), it had learned as yet little or nothing. But also by name the Old Testament more than once already testifies to the existence of Satan, certain as it is that not only this Prologue, but also 1Ch 21:1 and Zec 3:1, apply this designation to the same being; in the passage in 1 Chron. as a peculiar proper name without the article, in Zechariah, as in our passage, as an appellative, and consequently with the article. The signification attaching to the word in each case, whether with or without the article, is simply the Adversary ( from =, to he hostile to, adversari; Job 16:9; Job 30:21), or also the Accuser (Psa 109:6). Comp. the New Testament equivalents and , Rev 12:10; likewise the cases where denotes a human adversary or enemy, such as 1Sa 29:4; 2Sa 19:23 [22]; 1Ki 5:18 [4]; Job 11:14-20; also Num 22:22; Num 22:32, where a good angel of Jehovah, in so far as he obstructs Balaam on his way, is spoken of as his Satan. This same signification, however, has in it nothing which in the slightest degree indicates an absolutely dualistic antagonism of Satan to God, and hence a character above that of a creature, or, in any sense, divine and eternal. And especially in this Prologue, which in any case, even if written after the time of Solomon, contains the earliest Biblical testimony to Satans invisible agency in tempting men, does he appear as distinctly as possible as belonging to the class of created spirits, an angel like the angels or sons of God ( , Job 1:6 seq.; Job 38:4 seq.; Gen 6:2; comp. Psa 29:1; Psa 89:7 [6], although indeed an angel possessed of an evil disposition, and guilty of evil actions, who in any case belongs to the same side with the angels who bring calamity and death (Job 33:22; Psa 78:49), and who, as an accuser of men, is engaged in doing just the opposite of that which is attributed to those who are spoken of in our book as interceding or mediating angels (Job 5:1; Job 33:23 seq.). Nothing therefore can be more perverse or unhistorical than the attempt to represent the Satan of the Old Testament in general, and of our book in particular, as a Hebrew imitation, either of the AngramainyasAhriman of the Persians (so many of the earlier exegetes, also Umbreit, Renan, Hilgenfeld, Roskoff in the work cited above, Alex. Kohnt: Ueber die jdische Angeologie und Dmonologie in ihrer Abhngigkeit vom Parsismus, Leipzig, 1866), or of the Set-Typhon of the Egyptians (so Diestel in his Treatise concerning Set Typhon, Azazel, and Satan, Stud. u. Krit., 1860, II.), and so to maintain the original uncreatedness of the evil spirit, his dualistic coexistence with God from eternity.3 It is certainly impossible to see how the theory of a tempter of men, a created being, coming forth out of the realm of evil spirits, the theory, i.e., of a fallen angel as a personal principle of evil, and author of sin in humanity, does any violence to the purity of the religious consciousness, or the moral earnestness of men; or why it should be necessary to deny that Satan is of purely Israelitish origin and a natural product of primitive Hebraism, and with Diestel (in the article referred to above), to maintain that it would be no particular honor even for Israel to be able to claim him as its own, that he never had a proper footing in the Hebrew consciousness. Comp. Delitzsch, I. Job 57: But how should it be no honor for Israel, the people to whom the revelation of redemption was made, and in whose history the plan of redemption was developed, to have traced the poisonous stream of evil up to the fountain of its first free beginning in the spiritual world, and to have more than superficially understood the history of the fall of mankind by sin, which points to a disguised superhuman power, opposed to the Divine will? This perception undoubtedly only begins gradually to dawn in the Old Testament; but in the New Testament the abyss of evil is fully disclosed, and Satan has so far a hold on the consciousness of Jesus, that He regards His lifes vocation as a conflict with Satan. And the Protevangelium is deciphered in facts, when the promised seed of the woman crushed the serpents head, but at the same time suffered the bruising of its own heel.

2. Again, the physico-theological ground, that such natural phenomena of a destructive character, as the ravages of lightning, storms, dire diseases, etc., are to be referred directly to the agency of God as Ruler of the universe, and that we ascribe to the evil spirit far too wide a sphere for the exertion of his power, when we attribute such results to himthis position does not sustain the test of more searching inquiry in the light of Gods Word. Not only does our book in that striking description which it gives of Jobs calamities in Job 1:13-18, and Job 2:7, introduce a whole series of such destructive natural agencies (two of which indeed are works of destruction accomplished by wild, godless men), referring the same to Satan as the intermediate instrument of a Divine decree, but the entire Scripture of the Old and New Testaments views all possible events of nature which are connected with the destinies of mankind, and all historical catastrophes, as brought about by the invisible agency of angelic powers, now of such as are good, and now of such as are evil. Whether man is preserved or injured, it represents either result in so far as man with his body belongs to the corporeal world, as accomplished by the agency of spirits (comp. v. Hofmann, Schriftbew., I. 285 seq.). And in particular does it introduce angels as causing desolating wars and defeats (comp. Dan 10:1 seq.; Rev 9:14 seq.; Job 20:8), also as letting loose the elements of destruction, such as fire, water, tempest, etc., in general, therefore as active powers engaged in furthering the manifestations of Divine wrath, now expressly representing them as belonging to the kingdom of Satan, now leaving their moral character undetermined. This it does quite often; our passage is by no means the only one; comp. 1Ch 21:1 sq.; Rev 14:15; Rev 16:5, and often. So that Luther accordingly expresses no absurdly superstitious notion, but what is essentially only the purely theistic representation of the Holy Scriptures as apprehended by faith, when in the exposition of the fourth petition of the Lords Prayer in his Greater Catechism, he writes: The devil causes brawls, murders, sedition and war, also thunderstorms, hail, to destroy grain and cattle, to poison the air, etc. The extent of the sphere which Luther here, and in many other passages, especially in his Table-talk about the devil (Werke, Bd., 60), assigns to the agency of Satan in injuring and destroying life, may be altogether too wide; even as in like manner the Satanological and demonological representations of the earlier ages of the Church may need in many ways to be limited and corrected in accordance with the assured results of the modern natural sciences and philosophical investigation. But on the whole it still remains indisputable that he who denies to Satan any agency whatever in the sphere of nature, and allows him exclusively a moral influence upon the will, has removed himself far from the foundation of revealed truth, and for the Satan of the Bible, the Prince of this world, who has the power of death (Heb 2:14), substitutes what is only a semi-personal Phantom-Satan, an abstraction of modern thought, the existence of which is problematical. Comp. Delitzsch (I. 63): As among men, so in nature, since the fall two different powers of Divine anger and Divine love are in operation; the mingling of these is the essence of the present Kosmos. Everything destructive to nature, and everything arising therefrom which is dangerous and fatal to the life of man, is the outward manifestation of the power of anger. In this power Satan has fortified himself; and this, which underlies the whole course of nature, he is able to make use of, so far as God may permit it, as being subservient to His chief design (comp. Rev 13:13 with 2Th 2:9). He has no creative power. Fire and storm, by means of which he works, are of God; but he is allowed to excite these forces to hostility against man, just as he himself is become an instrument of evil. It is similar with human demonocracy, whose very being consists in placing itself en rapport with the hidden powers of nature. Satan is the great magician, and has already manifested himself as such even in paradise, and in the temptation of Jesus Christ. There is in nature, as among men, an entanglement of contrary forces, which he knows how to unloose, because it is the sphere of his special dominion; for the whole course of nature in the change of its phenomena, is subject not only to abstract laws, but also to concrete supernatural powers, both bad and good.

3. Neither is the Satan of our book to be assailed on sthetic grounds; for his appearance before God in the midst of the other angels has nothing at variance with the position which all the rest of the Scriptures assigns to the Evil Spirit in the administration of the world, or the economy of the Divine kingdom, nothing which favors the suspicion that we have to do here with the arbitrary product of an inventive fancy, without objective reality. Herder, Eichhorn, Ilgen, and others in a former age [and so Wemyss] denied that the Satan of these two chapters has a nature decidedly evil, and regarded him as being, in respect to his moral character, an impartial, judicial agent of God, a divinely authorized censor morum, who exhibits scarcely any the slightest traces, or traits of a personal evil principle. This theory, however, must be rejected, not only on account of the unmistakably evil disposition and conduct which our poet attributes to him, but also on account of the analogy of Zec 3:1 seq., a passage which not less decidedly than this in Job brings into connection these two facts: on the one hand that Satans character is thoroughly bad and opposed to God, on the other that he has the right to appear before God among the angels. The same may be said of Umbreits view: that the Satan of our poem is a creation of the poets imagination, suggested by Psa 109:6 (Die Snde im Alten Testament, 1853), as well as of those modern views generally, which find in the appearance of Satan among the holy sons of God in heaven anything singular, anything which contradicts what the Scripture teaches elsewhere concerning Satan (so e.g., Ewald, and Lutz in his Bibl. Dogmatik, 1847). It is enough to oppose to these mythologizing attempts of a biased criticism such New Testament passages as Luk 10:18; Joh 12:31 seq.; Rev 12:9, which represent Satans right to appear before God in the ranks of celestial beings as continuing until the time of Christ and His redemptive work, and thus show the identity of the character of Satan in our book with that of the New Testament revelation, and in general the essential unity and consistency of the entire Satanology of the Holy Scriptures. Comp. what Schlottmann observes (p. 9 of his Commen., more particularly against Ewald) in favor of this identity of the Satan of the Prologue to our book with the same as presented in the remaining books of the Bible: Even the later Hebrew representation of the world of evil spirits is much further removed from all dualism than Ewalds description of it would imply. In all the Hebrew conceptions of the subject the evil spirits never appear otherwise than as originally pure, but fallen through their own sin. They never have the power to accomplish more than the universal plan of the Almighty God permits to them. But this same thought the Prologue expresses in bold, poetic fashion when it relates that Satan, in order to tempt Job, must first obtain permission thereto from God Himself. In this the poet certainly does not intend in the least to lessen the gulf fixed between good and evil; rather is that striking contrast which is presented in the appearance of the unholy one as an inferior in the assembly of the holy altogether intentional, precisely as in the masterly conception of Giottos celebrated picture. Moreover, that Satan here appears not at the head of his hosts, but alone, is a peculiarity that is required by the simplicity of plan in the poem; any other representation would be a superfluous detail of ornamentation. And how would the symbolic significance of that scene, great in its simplicity as it stands, be completely distorted and obscured, if Satan should, according to Ewalds supposition, enter the assembly of the holy ones with all his adherents, etc. Even Goethe, who, according to his own published confession, used the Satan of our book as the original of one of his most powerful spirit-creations, of Mephistopheles in Faust (see his remarks on the subject in Burkhardts Conversations of Goethe with the Chancellor v. Mller, Stuttgart, 1871, p. Job 96: A great work is produced only by the appropriation of foreign treasures. Have I not in Mephistopheles appropriated Job and a song of Shakespeare?)even Goethe was evidently far removed from the disposition to pervert or to obscure the truly and decidedly diabolical character of this spirit which always denies, great as is the difference between the modern creation of his muse, and the tempter of this venerable poem in the volume of revelation.

4. Finally, as regards the arguments derived from the history of religion or revelation, by which it is sought to prove that the Satan of our book is a Scriptural and theological anachronism, they resolve themselves as to their substance into arbitrary assumptions. The Satanology of Job exhibits precisely that conception of the character which we are justified in expecting in view of the probability that it was composed between the patriarchal age and that of the exile. The fact that the name Satan, i.e., the Adversary, the Accuser, already attaches to the Evil One as a proper name (or at all events as an appellative used absolutely, comp. above, No. 1), exhibits, it is true, a certain progress, as compared with the documents of the Mosaic age, seeing that in them his dark personality is either symbolically veiled, as by the serpent in Genesis 3, or mysteriously kept out of sight, as by the mystical name Azazel, Leviticus 16. But this progress is by no means of such a sort as to require for its explanation the assumption of transforming influences of a religious-historical character from without, proceeding from the East, from Babylonia, or Persia; the name being most assuredly all the time a genuine Hebrew name, mocking at every attempt to derive it from non-Israelitish heathen names of divinities! For, as has been already remarked above, nothing that is essential to the complete Satanic nature is wanting in that evil spirit-nature which lies concealed in the serpent of Paradise; as a crawling, crafty, smooth-tongued tempter of men, he is already preparing the way to become their accuser. And if it be said that the documents which stand nearest to the patriarchal and Mosaic ages make comparatively little mention of him, if on any given occasion they introduce him neither as tempter nor as accuser, if e.g. in the fearful temptation which assailed Abraham when he was commanded to offer his son Isaac (Genesis 22), they leave his agency entirely out of the account, the simple explanation of all this is that the recognition of the mysterious co-operation of this evil spiritual agency with Gods activity as ruler of the world was effected only very gradually among the people of God. It was a part of the redemptive plan of God so to lead and to educate them that at first everything, even temptations and severe moral trials, was to be referred to His own action and disposition, and only afterwards were they accustomed to discriminate between the agency of angels and demons in such cases and that of God. Comp. Delitzsch and Schlottmann in l. c.; also L. Schulze in the Allg. liter. Anz., 1870, Oct., p. 270, who reduces to its exact value Dillmanns assertion that the conception of Satan in our book is one that is only in process of development, and assigns to it the proper limitations.

On the question, why no further mention is made of Satan in the remainder of the poem, and especially in the Epilogue, Schlottmann expresses himself in the following striking language in l. c.: How the power granted to the Evil One is everywhere made subservient to the Divine plan that is set forth in the clearest light by the issue of the poem; not only does Satan fail of his own end, but the temptations which he brings on the pious hero are made instrumental in raising him to a higher stage of knowledge and union with God. But that no mention at all is made in the Epilogue of the confusion brought on Satan is occasioned by the high simplicity of the poem, which everywhere confines itself to that which is most essential, and would fain leave the reader to divine everything which can be divined. Any scene at the end of the book, in which Satan should again make his appearance, no matter how the same might be described, would be insipid, unworthy, and fatal to the quiet grandeur of the conclusion.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The element of Satanology in the above section, which doctrinally considered is the most attractive, cannot of course have too much prominence given to it by the practical expositor. For him the principal figure in the Introduction of the poem is Job himself, the pious man who was at first abundantly endowed with earthly comforts, but who was afterwards plunged at once by a mysterious Divine decree ordaining his trial into a real abyss of temporal misery; who, however, bore this trial with unshaken patience and constancy, without allowing himself, for a time at least, to indulge in the slightest outbreak of complaining despondency, or passionate murmuring. This accordingly must be the theme of the practical and homiletic annotator on these introductory chapters of the book: Job, the Old Testament saint, an example of that perfect patience in suffering, which is and remains also for the child of God under the New Dispensation one of the highest and most needful virtues (comp. Jam 5:11); or in other words: Job, the Old Testament Ideal of a suffering righteous man, as a type of Christ, the Righteous Man in the highest and purest sense of the word, who by His innocent suffering is become the founder of the New Covenant. In so far as any intimation is conveyed of a want of similarity between the conduct in suffering of the Old Testament type on the one side, and that of Christ and of true Christians (comp. 1Pe 4:12 seq.) on the other, the closing verses of the Prologue (Job 2:11-13) may be included in the text, where the impending outbreak of the unregenerate and imperfect element in the nature of the Old Testament saints, is suggested and anticipated. We may thus point out how the sufferer, after victoriously overcoming so many preceding temptations, nevertheless succumbed to that last trial which visited him in the mute yet eloquent conduct of his friends, now become the accusers and suspecters of his innocence, when they sat down beside him. Or, in other words, it may be shown how the suffering saint, before the coming of Christ, could resist indeed all other temptations, but was stranded at last on the rock of self-righteousness and of the diseased pride of virtuein contrast with which the conduct beseeming the Christian sufferer (the true , 1Pe 4:16) is at once suggested. If however we decide to dwell more thoroughly and exclusively on the conduct of the type, we shall then omit from our text these closing verses, which are besides in close connection with Job 3, and which form as it were the immediate basis of the gloomy picture there presented, and we shall treat simply of Jobs steadfast endurance in the fire of sore tribulations which came upon him. In the latter case again we can either combine into one whole the two stages of the trial, the firstthe lighter, consisting of the loss of his property and family, and the otherthe more severe, consisting of the infliction on him of the most frightful of all bodily plagues; or we can consider the subject under two divisions, the point of separation being Job 1:22. The attempt of Delitzsch to establish seven temptations as befalling Job in succession (the first four in Job 1:13-18; the fifth in Job 2:7-8; the sixth in Job 2:9-10; and the seventh in Job 2:11-13), could be applied of course only in case we include those closing verses, narrating the mute visit of the friends. Much, however, may be urged against this division; as, e.g., that no regular gradation can be observed in the seven trials thus distinguished; that the first four (Job 1:13-18) constitute one connected trial, rather than four distinct trials, etc. On this account we must perhaps waive any homiletic use of this division, especially seeing that it might easily suggest a sensible contradiction to Job 5:1-9 : in the seventh [trouble] no evil shall befall thee.

Particular Passages.Job 1:1-5. Cocceius (Job 1:5): Scripture selects this example of pious solicitude, in order to show that this holy man exercised the greatest solicitude at a time when we are wont to exercise it the least. For during our festivities what is it about which we mostly occupy our mind and conversation, but vanities? It is showing too much sourness, we think, to speak at our cups about the Kingdom of God, or His fear, or the hope of eternal life. Finally, the constancy of this custom of Jobs is to be noted. He was never free from care. However well instructed and obedient his children might be, he by no means laid aside his solicitude in their behalf. It is easy, when we think that we stand, to stumble and fall. There always remains in men a proneness to sin, however much they cultivate piety.Starke: Job gives to all parents an example: (1) That they should keep a watchful eye on their childrens conduct and life. (2) That they should pray God to give their children salvation and blessing, without allowing themselves, however, to be prompted by their errors and transgressions to curse them, or to wish them evil. (3) That they must also pray in behalf of their children that God would be gracious to them and forgive their sins.

Job 1:6-12. Brentius: Every temptation proceeds both from the Lord and from Satan. The latter seeks to destroy and to betray, the former to try man, and to teach His will. Hence faith, as it receives the good from the Lords hand, so also it receives suffering. For he who receives the cross out of Satans hand, receives it for his destruction (comp. 2Co 7:10); but he who receives it from the Lords hand, receives it for his trial (comp. Hebrews 12.)Starke: God, in accordance with His hidden counsel, permissively decrees at times much misery even to the most pious. This truth has always been a great stumbling-block to the reason. It is to be observed, however: (a) That these sore trials were not occasioned in the first instance by Satans calumnies against Job, but that even before the foundation of the world God had decreed and purposed to put all His saints to the test, each one in his measure. (b) That God inwardly sustained and strengthened Job so much with His consolation that his afflictions were as easily supported by him as the slight suffering of another. (c) That it was Gods will that Jobs patience should be made known to others for their blessed edification and imitation. (d) That God caused the friends lack of knowledge to be instrumental in putting them to shame, and in leading them to be better instructed in the mystery of the cross. (e) That to Job himself also the exercise and trial of his faith was in the highest degree advantageous and necessary. (f) That the final issue decreed for these sufferings was not only one that could be borne, but also one to be desired, and in the highest degree delightful and honorable for Job.Seb. Schmidt (on Job 1:12); From this verse we learn clearly that the power of the Devil is indeed great, so that, when the Divine protection is withdrawn, men are in his hand; that it is nevertheless finite, and in ways without number weaker than the Divine; and hence that he can do nothing whatsoever unless the Lord should permit it to him, just as here he could not destroy even a single sheep of Jobs before he had received permission.Vict. Andrea: This much is certain, that this scene in heaven may teach us that the destinies of men on earth have their ulterior roots and determining causes in the heavenly world; and that Satan, who is here represented as taking an active part in human affairs, notwithstanding all his hostility, can touch us only just so far as the Almighty God in His wisdom and love permits him.

Job 1:13-18. Zeyss (in Starke): Afflictions seldom come singly, but each joins hand with the other, and before one has passed away, another is already at the door, Psa 62:8. Thus the Christian state is altogether a state of affliction, for which the best of all provisions is an iron front and a strong paternoster, i.e., an intrepid faith and earnest prayer.

Job 1:19-22. Brentius: Thou wilt endure without great sorrow the loss of all thy possessions, if only the Lord, the treasury of all good things, remains. Set aside the Lord, there being only the cross placed before thee, and thou shalt see what blasphemies will arise in a mans heart.Osiander: In adversity we should look not at the means and instruments by which God sends calamity upon us, but to God only, from whom comes both good and evil, prosperity and adversity (Rth 1:13; Sir 2:14).

Job 2:1-8. Zeyss: God sometimes permits Satan to have power over the pious, to torment them, either in the body, by this or that painful casualty, or in the soul, by tempting them, in order that their faith, their patience, humility, devotion, prayerfulness, etc., may be tested, and the good which God has imparted to them, may be made manifest (Tob 12:13).Joach. Lange: If any man is a brother of Job, although it be only in the sense that he endures a severe and long-continued sickness, produced, not by any special agency of Satan, but by natural causeslet him nevertheless be comforted, seeing that he may be assured that such a decree of God is by no means a token of Divine displeasureprovided only that the sufferer maintains his integrity, that after the example of Job his mind is upright with God, and he adheres loyally to Him.J. H. Jacobi: Job, vindicating his virtue, justifying his Makers eulogy of him, sits down on his heap of ashes as the glory and boast of God. God and His whole heavenly host look to see how he will bear his calamity. He triumphs, and his triumph reaches higher than the stars.

Job 2:9-13. Brentius (on Job 2:9-10): You see here how great an evil is a wicked wife! For a wife is given by the Lord to share in bearing lifes labors, and, as Scripture says, for a help-meet. But lo! Jobs wife becomes a stumbling-block, and a blaspheming instrument of Satan; and thus she is a preacher of the irreligious flesh, teaching him in his afflictions to esteem God as dead, or as negligent of human affairs, and distrusting Divine succor, to rely on his own powers, and industry, and endeavors.Wohlfarth: A true friend in need (Sir 40:23; Rom 12:15), what a priceless treasure! As when all turned away from Job, and even his wife forsook him, three noble friends drew nigh to comfort him; thus it is that true friendship at all times asserts itself.Starke: Even in ministering comfort we must use discretion, in order that the wound which has been inflicted may not be torn open again Job, who was so poorly comforted by his friends, is a type of Christ, who in His sufferings was also deprived of all consolation.

Footnotes:

[1]Delitzsch perhaps states it too strongly when he says: he avoids even the slightest reference to anything Israelitish.

[2]According to the author of the art. Medicine in Smiths Bible Dict. there is still another disease called Elephantiasis Arabum, quite distinct from the disease which afflicted Job, which is known as the Elephantiasis Grcorum.

[3]Comp. that which has been advanced against this theory even by such liberally disposed investigators as Dillmann p. 8) and Davidson (Introd. II, p. 199, 230 seq.); in like manner Max Mllers objections to the prevalent assumption of the identity of most of the religious traditions in the book of Genesis with those of the Zend Avesta (in his Essays, vol. I., p. 129 seq.).

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Book opens with an account of Job, his piety, riches, integrity, and religious care of his children. Next follows, an account of Satan’s malice against Job, and his permission to tempt him. The Chapter closes with the melancholy relation of the death of his children, and the calmness of mind Job manifested under these afflictions.

Job 1:1

(1) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

The name of Job carries with it somewhat of signification, for, according to some writers, it is derived from an Hebrew root, implying love. And, no doubt, the character of Job made him eminently so. If the Reader be not much acquainted with the scripture relation of places, it may not be amiss to tell him, that Uz was situated to the East of Chaldea; and though it probably was not the same with Ur of the Chaldees, from whence Abram was called, yet it could not be far from it. So that, in the very opening of the book of Job, a sweet thought ariseth, both from his name, and the place of his birth; namely, in the gift of the Gentile church to the Lord Jesus by the Father, from the earliest ages souls were to be gathered from the heathen world, to form a numerous train in the throng of the redeemed. Psa 2:8 ; Isa 49:6 . By the expression of perfect and upright, is not meant sinless perfection, but a general sincerity of conduct.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Job 1:1

Taking the temptation of Job for his model, Goethe has similarly exposed his Faust to trial, and with him the tempter succeeds. His hero falls from sin to sin, from crime to crime; he becomes a seducer, a murderer, a betrayer, following recklessly his evil angel wherever he chooses to lead him; and yet, with all this, he never wholly forfeits our sympathy. In spite of his weakness, his heart is still true to his higher nature; sick and restless, even in the delirium of enjoyment, he always longs for something better, and he never can be brought to say of evil that it is good. And therefore, after all, the devil is baulked of his prey; in virtue of this one fact, that the evil in which he steeped himself remained to the last hateful to him. Faust is saved by the angels.

Froude, Short Studies, vol. I.

Job 1:1

A Shakespearean tragedy may be called a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate. But it is clearly much more than this, and we have now to regard it from another side. No amount of calamity which merely befell a man, descending from the clouds like lightning, or stealing from the darkness like pestilence, could alone provide the substance of its story. Job was the greatest of all the children of the East, and his afflictions were wellnigh more than he could bear; but even if we imagined them wearing him to death, that would not make his story tragic. Nor yet would it become so, in the Shakespearean sense, if the fire, and the great wind from the wilderness, and the torments of his flesh were conceived as sent by a supernatural power, whether just or malignant. The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent; they proceed mainly from actions, and those the actions of men.

Prof. A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy.

References. I. 1. H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Bible Object Lessons, p. 176. I. 1-5. Spurgeon, Sermons, No. 2711. I. 4, 5. Ibid., vol. vii. No. 352.

Job 1:5

The state of parents is a holy state, in some degree like that of the priesthood, and calls upon them to bless their children with their prayers and sacrifices to God. Thus it was that Job watched over and blessed his children; he sanctified them, he rose up early in the morning and offered burntofferings according to the number of them all. If parents, therefore, considering themselves in this light, should be daily calling upon God in a solemn deliberate manner, altering and extending their intercessions as the state and growth of their children required, such devotion would have a mighty influence upon the rest of their lives. It would make them very circumspect in the government of themselves; prudent and careful of everything they said and did, lest their example should hinder that which they so constantly desired in their prayers.

William Law, A Serious Call.

Reference. I. 5. T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi. p. 93.

Job 1:6

‘The adversary appears,’ says Miss Wedgwood ( Message of Israel ), ‘among the sons of God to accuse a righteous man, but it is to bring forth that righteousness sifted and purified; and after the trials which have separated the chaff from the wheat we hear no more of Satan; the human adversaries are rebuked, but the accusing spirit is forgotten. Was he really an evil spirit? Is not the sifting spirit a part of the agency of heaven? Judaism leaves the question unanswered, or perhaps we may say it suggests an affirmative answer, though the spirit that sifts is too near the spirit that doubts for it to give that answer distinctly. The influence that questions what is good is wonderfully close to the influence that purifies what is partly evil.’

Job 1:6-7

Who are these sons of God? It may be that here is a scene in the spiritual world, and that this is a vision given us of what goes on in the presence of God. But there is another explanation of it which seems to me to be far more natural, and very possibly the true one. The sons of God are not necessarily the angels. We read of the sons of God in the book of Genesis, and there it apparently refers to human beings. Man was made originally in the image of God. The sons of God are those who were made in God’s image, and even when that image was defiled, still they are God’s sons. We know the details of the trials which overtook Job until the time that the Lord turned the captivity of Job, and gave him twice as much as he had before.

I. The Presence of Satan. It was true in old times that whenever the sons of God came to do their worship and sacrifice, the powers of evil were there to make men cavil and do mischief; and is it not true today when we, the sons and daughters of the Lord Most High, come to present ourselves before the Lord our God, in the various congregations to which we belong, that, though there is much to comfort, and help, and to be thankful for, Satan comes also to present himself before the Lord? Satan, the great adversary, is here to mar and spoil the holy worship and the beauty of the sanctuary, for the beauty of holiness is chiefly in a holy worship in the heart.

( a ) He comes to the preacher and tries to make him think more of himself than the Lord Who bought him with His own blood. He tries to make him speak pleasant and smooth words instead of words of truth. He tries to make him do that which he thinks will please men, instead of that which will please God, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

( b ) He is present in the hearts of the Church officers, trying to make them think more of the mode in which they do it than of the One to Whom they render up their praise and all their service.

( c ) He is in the congregation, going here and there, walking to and fro, as it were; else why do people in the House of God criticize one another so much? Satan comes to take away the Word that is sown, lest it should sink into the heart and bring forth fruit for the glory of God.

II. A Holier Presence. But there is a brighter side of the whole picture. If Satan presents himself before the Lord, if he walks up and down in the midst of the congregation, are there no others here? If there are evil powers, are there not good powers, too? If our eyes could be opened we should see here all around us as we go from place to place, the angels of God watching over us. How often our foot slips, and God’s angels prevent serious injury. The angels of God are here present now, good angels, to help, befriend, strengthen us, in ways which we know not and cannot understand.

III. The Presence of Jesus. There is something far higher than the presence of the angels of God; there is the very real presence of Jesus Christ, the Master Himself. He is here to bless every one who will receive Him. You cannot understand all about Christ. You cannot exactly put together these two truths that He is here, and that He is in heaven, and we long to know often how it can be. But there is the double truth the Master at God’s right hand, ever living to make intercession for us; the Master here in our midst, at our very side.

Reference. I. 6-22. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. No. 2457.

Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

Job 1:8 ; Job 40:5-6

I. God’s witness to Job was true, and Job’s witness to himself was true also. God had revealed Himself to him, so that he now looked upon himself in the light of God, and felt the infinite distance between his own goodness and that of God, and so abhorred himself. This is the case with all to whom God reveals Himself.

II. When God’s light shines into us, it discloses the imperfection of our perfection. All the arguing of Job’s friends had failed to convince him of his deficiency. This was reserved for the sight of God Himself. Of course the eye that saw God was Job’s inward eye. The eye of his understanding was enlightened.

III. God would not have witnessed to the uprightness of Job if it had not been real; but this did not hinder it from appearing as nothing in the light of God.

IV. This is the repentance of the righteous. It is not that their righteousness has been no righteousness, but God, perhaps in a moment, has shown to them greater heights, deeper depths, more earnest convictions, and so old attainments seem as if they were not. They think all that they have done is foolish, and literally they loathe themselves. ‘In me there dwelleth no good thing.’

M. E. Sadler, Sermon Outlines for the Clergy and Lay-preachers, p. 75.

Job 1:8

We have a picture of the best man who could then be conceived; not a hard ascetic, living in haughty or cowardly isolation, but a warm figure of flesh and blood, a man full of all human loveliness. Froude Short Studies, vol. 1. 298.

Reference. I. 8. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xi. No. 623. 1.8,9. J. J. S. Perowne, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv. p. 81.

Job 1:9

‘I remember,’ says Matthew Arnold in the second chapter of Culture and Anarchy, ‘when I was under the influence of a mind to which I feel the greatest obligations, the mind of a man who was the very incarnation of sanity and clear sense, a man the most considerable, it seems to me, whom America has yet produced Benjamin Franklin I remember the relief with which, after long feeling the sway of Franklin’s imperturbable commonsense, I came upon a project of his for a new version of the book of Job, to replace the old version, the style of which, says Franklin, has become obsolete and thence less agreeable. “I give,” he continues, “a few verses, which may serve as a sample of the kind of version I would recommend.” We all recollect the famous verse in our translation: “Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?” Franklin makes this; “Does Your Majesty imagine that Job’s good conduct is the effect of mere personal attachment and affection?” I well remember how when I first read that, I drew a deep breath of relief, and said to myself: “After all, there is a stretch of humanity beyond Franklin’s victorious good sense”.’

He were but a poor lover whose devotion to his mistress lay resting on the feeling that a marriage with her would conduce to his own comforts. That were a poor patriot who served his country for the hire which his country would give to him…. If Christianity had never borne itself more loftily than this, do we suppose that those fierce Norsemen who had learnt, in the fiery war-songs of the Edda, of what stuff the hearts of heroes are composed, would have fashioned their sword-hilts into crosses, and themselves into a crusading chivalry? Let us not dishonour our great fathers with the dream of it. The Christians, like the Stoics and the Epicureans, would have lived their little day among the ignoble sects of an effete civilization, and would have passed off, and been heard of no more.

Froude.

Talk of original Sin! Can you have a stronger proof of the original Goodness there must be in this nation than the fact that Religion has been preached to us as a commercial speculation, for a century, and that we still believe in a God?

Lewis Carroll.

Religion in most countries, more or less in every country, is… for the most part a wise prudential feeling, grounded on mere calculation; a matter, as all others now are, of Expediency and Utility; whereby some smaller quantum of earthly enjoyment may be exchanged for a far larger quantum of celestial enjoyment. Thus Religion too is Profit, a working for wages; not Reverence but only as Hope or Fear.

Carlyle, Signs of the Times.

Compare Browning’s setting of the verse in Ferishtah’s Fancies (‘Two Camels’).

Every good deed does good even to the doer: this is God’s law…. No good deed is done, except for the sake of the good the doer is to get from it: this is man’s intelligent way of blaspheming, and, so far as in him lies, annulling God’s law. This is the lesson which the school of selfish philosophers have learnt from their father and prototype, who prided himself on his craft, when he asked that searching question, Does Job fear God for nought?

Augustus J. Hare.

Some people are for seeing God with their eyes, as they can see a cow, and would love God as they love a cow (which thou lovest for the milk and for the cheese, and for thine own profit). Thus do all those who love God for the sake of outward riches or of inward comfort; they do not love aright, but seek only themselves and their own advantage.

Meister Eckhart.

Compare also Bunyan’s Grace Abounding, 388.

The Fear of God

Job 1:9-11

I. The temptations of poverty are obvious. Satan sees them at a glance. Those of wealth, that wrung from the Great Teacher the words, ‘How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God,’ are more subtle and hidden. Satan read the one, Jesus Christ the other.

II. The view embodied in Satan’s words is one which you may have heard whispered, or loudly spoken, or taken for granted, now and here, as there and then. There is no such thing, you may be told, as a love of goodness for its own sake. There is always some ulterior aim, some selfish motive. Even religion, you will hear, even the religion of Christ, is a mere matter of selfish interest. It is nothing more, even when sincere, than a selfish device to escape from pain, and enjoy happiness hereafter.

III. If Satan is right, it is not only that there is no such thing as disinterested goodness, but God Himself is robbed of His highest and noblest attribute. You see how vital the question which the challenge stirs, and how rightly it has been said, that in the coming contest, Job is the champion, not of his own character only, but of all who care for goodness, and of God Himself.

G. G. Bradley, Lectures on the Book of Job, p. 34.

References. I. 9. W. L. Watkinson, The Ashes of Roses, p. 191. Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 22.

Job 1:13

Apropos of the divergence of sons from the parental religion, it may be noted how Macaulay, as Bagehot observes, ‘was bred up in the circle which more than any other has resembled that of the greatest and best Puritans in the circle which has presented the evangelical doctrine in its most influential and celebrated, and not its least genial form. Yet he has revolted against it. “The bray of Exeter Hall” is a phrase which has become celebrated: it is an odd one for his father’s son. The whole course of his personal fortunes, the entire scope of his historical narrative, show an utter want of sympathy with the Puritan disposition.’

Carlyle, in the French Revolution, describes a dinner given at Court on the eve of the crisis: ‘A natural repast; in ordinary times, a harmlesss one; now fatal, as that of Thyestes; as that of Job’s sons, when a strong wind smote the four corners of their banquet-house’.

Job 1:15

At the close of the twenty-fourth chapter of his History of England, Macaulay recounts the peril and sufferings of the luckless settlers in Darien, when the fort was besieged by an irregular host of natives, Creoles, Spanish, and Indians. ‘Before the end of March a treaty was signed by which the Scotch bound themselves to evacuate Darien in fourteen days; and on the eleventh of April they departed, a much less numerous body than when they arrived. In little more than four months, although the healthiest months of the year, three hundred men out of thirteen hundred had been swept away by disease. Of the survivors very few lived to see their native country again. Two of the ships perished at sea. Many of the adventurers, who had left their homes flushed with hopes of speedy opulence, were glad to hire themselves out to the planters of Jamaica, and laid their bones in that land of exile. Shields died there, worn out and heartbroken. Borland was the only minister who came back. In his curious and interesting narrative, he expresses his feelings, after the fashion of the school in which he had been bred, by grotesque allusions to the Old Testament and by a profusion of Hebrew words…. The sad story is introduced with the words in which a great man of old, delivered over to the malice of the evil Power, was informed of the death of his children and the ruin of his fortunes: “I alone am escaped to tell thee”.’

Job 1:17

After describing, in his essay on Frederic the Great, the first strokes of ill-fortune which befell that monarch in his defeat by Marshal Daun at Kolin and the subsequent raising of the siege of Prague, Macaulay observes: ‘It seemed that the king’s distress could hardly be increased. Yet at this moment another blow not less terrible than that of Kolin fell upon him. The French under Marshal D’Estres had invaded Germany. The Duke of Cumberland had given them battle at Hastenbeck, and had been defeated. In order to save the Electorate of Hanover from entire subjugation, he had made, at Closter Seven, an arrangement with the French generals, which left them at liberty to turn their arms against the Prussian dominions. That nothing might be wanting to Frederic’s distress, he lost his mother just at this time.’

Job 1:20

‘The essence of greatness,’ says Emerson again, ‘is the perception that virtue is enough. Poverty is its ornament. It does not need plenty, and can very well abide its loss.’

Reference. I. 20-22. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. No. 2457.

Job 1:21

In his diary for 21 January, 1826, after the news of his great financial failure, Sir Walter Scott writes: ‘Things are so much worse with Constable than I apprehended; that I shall neither save Abbotsford nor anything else. Naked we entered the world, and naked we leave it blessed be the name of the Lord!’

Job 1:21

There are many ways of accepting misfortune as many, indeed, as there are generous feelings or thoughts to be found on the earth; and every one of these thoughts or feelings has a magic wand which transforms the features and raiment of sorrow on the very threshold. Job would say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’; Marcus Aurelius perhaps, ‘If I am no longer permitted to love those whom I loved far above all others, it is doubtless in order that I may learn to love those whom as yet I love not’.

Maeterlinck.

‘I, like all mortals,’ said Carlyle, ‘have to feel the inexorable that there is in life, and to say, as piously as I can, God’s will, God’s will.’

References. I. 21. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Job, p. 29. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. liii. No. 3025.

Enduring Trial

Job 1:22

That is to say, after all this, it is trial, it is temptation these losses of his goods, it is loss of all, it was a great word.

I. In all our fears the main thing is, not to sin.

( a ) You must not expect that you will go through this world and have it said, ‘In all this nobody spoke against him’. That is not a thing to care about to go through life without calumny; but it is to be desired that we may go through every trouble and every joy without falling into sin.

( b ) Neither is it a main thing for us to think of going through life without suffering. For God’s servants, the best of them, are ripened and mellowed by suffering.

( c ) Also it should not be our ambition to go through the world without sadness. If you do not feel the rod so as to smart under it, it becomes a non-effective rod to you. But if in your great trouble you do not fall into sin you are more than a conqueror over Satan.

II. In all time of trial there is a special fear of sin. ( a ) We are very apt to get impatient. We think a trial lasts too long, that the answer to prayer is delayed altogether an unconscionable time.

( b ) Sometimes we are tempted to the sin of rebellion. If it comes to rebellion against God, you know it will be a poor outlook for us. We do but bring a heavier rod upon ourselves.

( c ) Sometimes we sin by despair. Now is the time for trust, not for despair. The child that is sullen will probably have a severer discipline yet to bring him to his right bearing.

III. In acts of mourning we are not to sin. It may perhaps be a comfort in your great sorrow to let the hot floods flow. Job mourned, and yet did not sin, for he mourned and worshipped as he mourned.

IV. In charging God foolishly there is great sin. ( a ) Sometimes we charge God foolishly when we think He is unjust. If He were now to call upon you to account for your sins, and deal with you with the naked edge of the sword, you would be in hell to despair.

( b ) Some will charge and question His love, but the more He loves you the more He will rebuke you, for He sees in you a something which is so precious to Him that He would make it ‘perfect through suffering’.

( c ) Sometimes we begin charging His power, and think He cannot help us. Shall some tiny animalcula, sporting with myriads of others in a drop of water, begin to judge the sin?

V. In coming clean out of the trial is our great honour. How you are apt to think you will shut yourselves up in a cupboard and never go out in the world any more, never do anything. Why, that would be one big black sin that will blot out all your life.

C. H. Spurgeon, British Weekly Pulpit, vol. III. 1890, p. 337.

Reference. I. 22. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxvi. No. 2172.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Satan At Work

Job 1

When we read that “there was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job,” we are to understand a noble, conspicuous, influential, and altogether unique man. The narrator is not pointing to any man, a dramatic shadow, a figure which he intends to use for dramatic purposes; he is indicating the greatest man in the society to which that man belongs say a typical man, the best specimen of humanity, altogether the finest, completest, strongest man. It is well to understand this, because if there is to be any great contest as between human nature and malign powers, we should like it to be as equal as possible. We should feel a sense of discontentment were the devil to challenge some puny creature a man known only for his meanness and weakness. On the other hand, we feel that the conditions are admirable as to their proportions and completeness, and the best, strongest, purest man is chosen to represent human nature in the tremendous contest. That is the case in the present instance,. Read the character

“That man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” ( Job 1:1 ).

This is a complete character. What more could be added? What need for further vision of God, or supply of grace, or miracle of progress? Have we any character equal to Job’s, as thus described, in the New Testament? Even if Job be but a dramatic personage, the Old! Testament is not afraid to have such a man represented upon its pages. But we must not stop at that point; otherwise we should come to false conclusions respecting the growth of character under Old Testament conditions. The Old Testament makes its men more rapidly than the New Testament does; and we are not to take back the New Testament by which to judge the men of the Old Testament. If men do not grow so rapidly in the gospels and epistles, it is because the spirit of moral criticism has changed, has become more searching, has looked for fuller and wider results, has penetrated beyond and beneath the surface, and asked questions about motive, purpose, inmost thought. Here, however, in Old Testament life, and under Old Testament conditions, is the completest man of his day. What can he do with Satan? What can Satan do with him?

Not only was the personal character complete, but the surroundings were marked by great prosperity, affluence, all but boundless resources, as resources were reckoned in Oriental countries.

“His [Job’s] substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household” ( Job 1:3 ).

Who could get at him? You must knock at a hundred gates before you can present yourself before the presence of this king. Circle after circle concentrically surrounds, environs, protects him. He is within at the very centre of all circles. We have to leap over tower after tower before we come to the tower of brass, solid, seamless, within which he is entrenched and concealed.

Not only have we a complete personal character, a great substantial fortune, but there is in this mysterious man a priestly feeling. The father of the family was then the priest of the household. His sons and daughters were social; they grasped one another with the hand of love; they exchanged liberally all the courtesies which make up much of the happiness of social life. The father was not amongst them; he was away, but still looking on. He said: It may be that in all their feasting and enjoyment my sons have sinned, and have misunderstood God in their hearts; therefore, I will arise early in the morning and offer sacrifices on their account. Although this is now done away ceremonially and literally, yet there abides the priestliness of fatherhood and motherhood that strange, never-perfectly-described feeling, which says, There is yet something to be done about the children: they are good children, their fine qualities it is impossible to deny, but human nature is human nature after all, and another prayer for them may do good. That prayer may never be offered in words, it may be offered in sighs, in wordless aspirations, in the strange, never-to-be-reported language of the heart. Yet, still, there is the fact, that in every true heart there is a priestly instinct that cannot be satisfied until it has remembered in prayer some that may have strayed, and others that may need special vision of light and special communication of grace. “Pray without ceasing.” Pray often. “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” And the God of peace shall fill your hearts with eternal Sabbath day.

So far, then, we are reading a noble poem. Were the statement to end with the first five verses, it would be difficult to match the paragraph by aught so rich in spiritual quality, so noble in personal character, so sweet, tender, and friendly in social feeling and exchange of love. But where does life’s chapter end? An end it seems not to have. Life would rather appear to be all beginnings, new attempts, new mornings, new endeavours, new resolutions, and the end is always far off, making great promises, and exercising a wondrous influence in life by its allurement and beckoning and promise of rest. It is in this way that posterity does much for us, notwithstanding the ignorant gibe concerning it. The end makes us do what we attempt in the present. We cannot work for the past. If we work at all, it must be for the future, for, blessed be God, things are so shaped and set together that no man liveth unto himself, or can so live: even while he attempts that miracle he fails in its execution, and does good where no good was intended. No credit to him. It will not be set down to his credit in the books. Still, as a matter of fact, even the bad man cannot spend his money without doing good in many unintended ways. Where, then, we repeat, does life’s chapter end? Certainly it does not end in the case of Job by a description of his personal character and his social status.

In the sixth verse we come upon the inevitable temptation. Every man, woman, and child has got to have a face-to-face interview with the devil. Adam was not tempted for all the race. He but symbolised the tragic and awful fact that every man is led up into the Eden of his time to be tried, tested, pierced, assaulted, and put to extremities, so that he may be revealed to himself. That is the great difficulty namely, the difficulty of self-revelation; because a man seeing some other man do a wickedness stands back and says he could not have done that; whereas he could have done it every whit, with just as red a colour, and just as black an infamy, whatever it was the murder by Cain, the treachery committed by Jacob, the kiss inflicted by Iscariot. So every man must be revealed to himself, and made to feel that his heart not some other man’s heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. The devil could not rest. He must go to and fro in the earth, and walk up and down in it, so long as there is one good man upon it. It is the good man that adds another flame to the devil’s hell. He does not care about indifferent characters, doubting minds, wavering faiths; men who are orthodox today, heretical tomorrow, speculative on the third day, and immoral all the time: they occasion him no anxiety, they are all well chained, and the chain is well fastened in the pit. But a really good man a veritable Job must be the devil’s vexation. He must be a mystery to the satanic mind. Nor can the devil afford to let him alone. One Job will do more harm to bad policies and bad spiritualities than a thousand nominally professing good men could ever do. Job will be looked at, estimated, talked about; people will say, Here is concrete goodness, real, sound character, and the kind of faculty that gets hold of all the worlds that are good, and represents all sides of life quite radiantly and fascinatingly. “Whence comest thou,” black fiend, spirit of night, demon? “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it,” it is my earth, my estate, my hunting-ground: as yet I have only scorched it; I want to burn it through and through. Why not sit down? I cannot! Why not? Because there is a man upon it that I want to ruin. Here is no poetic strain, no dramatic exaggeration, no colour put in merely for the sake of literary effect: this is strong, sound reason, broad and deep philosophy, an unchangeable reality in moral economies: the bad cannot rest while the good are within sight, and the good cannot escape the last temptation, the fieriest assault of the enemy. A marvellous power is the power of goodness: bad men are afraid of it; no heart that has in it a wicked scheme dare so much as come before a good man and say My scheme is thus, and so, and such: will you join me in it? Dishonesty fears honesty. This is the power of the good over the evil the restraining power, the refining power, and the elevating power, as to its social effects. Do we give the enemy any trouble? When he hears our prayers is he alarmed, saying, Verily they are growing in grace: they daily get one inch nearer heaven: on the third day they will be perfected, and seize the very city, and take it by the violence of love? Or does he say, The prayers are going down in quality: they have now descended to mere talk: there is no blood in them, no sacrifice, no atonement kindred according to its own capacity with the atonement wrought by the Son of God: these are not prayers? If so, he will not be troubled by our presence, though we be a million strong and rich with all earth’s gold mines. It is character that the devil fears solid, pure, noble, brilliant character, just as good at the core as it is on the surface; solid in its cubic completeness and reality of goodness.

But Job was misunderstood by the devil, who said, This is a question of circumstances: if I could take away his seven thousand sheep, he would be less religious; if I could break in upon the five hundred yoke of oxen, he would begin to whimper and whine like a common man; if his balance at the next reckoning should be in three figures instead of five, he would forget to pray that night: this is how I must assail him; I shall never get at this man through his principles, I must get at him through his property, that is my policy. There was the fatal misunderstanding of the man. Being misunderstood, Job was also underestimated. Who can tell the good man’s full measure of strength? He is a man of many resources. We read of the unsearchable riches of Christ, and there is a sense in which every Christian is endowed with those riches, so that being impoverished at one point he is as wealthy as ever at all other points: he can overget all distress and all loss. It is interesting to hear a being from another world talk. Here the devil gives us his description of Job’s position. It will be intensely interesting to hear how the position of a man can be described by an infernal spirit. What he says can be rendered into our mother-tongue. We do not sufficiently consider that it is a devil who is made to speak in one instance, or an angel in another; we take it as if devil and angel were natives of the same clime with ourselves, and had undergone the same schooling, and had used the same words, with the same colour and weight of emphasis. Nothing of the kind. These people are speaking a foreign tongue; yet they speak it as with a native accent. Hear the devil upon the position and security of Job:

“Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” ( Job 1:10 ).

He reads like a surveyor; he peruses a memorandum, and gives out the facts in literal lines. “Hast not thou made an hedge about him?” I have walked round that hedge; I have tried it here, there, and at seven other places; I have gone round it in summer and winter, in spring and autumn, by night and by day, when the snow was on the ground and when the sun was in full summer heat, and the hedge is round about him with the solidity of iron; and not about him only, but “about his house, and about all that he hath on every side” every sheep, every camel, every ox, every ass seems to be hedged about, so that I cannot strike one of them: I have no chance; thou hast shut me out from opportunity in regard to this man: give me the opportunity, and I will bring his piety to ruin “put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face” ( Job 1:11 ). The devil did not speak without reason. He is sometimes forced to facts. He could have substantiated this declaration by countless instances; he could have said, I have overthrown kings before today; I have seen the effect of poverty, loss, pain, distress, exile, upon some men who had quite as good an appearance as Job has: their piety has gone after their property: they no sooner were thrown down socially than they were unclothed religiously, and were proved to be, practically, at least, hypocrites: I want to see the same plan tried upon Job; it has succeeded in cases innumerable it cannot but succeed here. But the point now immediately under consideration is the devil’s estimate of the good man’s position, and the devil says the good man is hedged about; he is protected on every side; all that he has excites the interest of heaven; there is not a sheep in the flock that God does not account as of value. This is real. This is the very testimony of Jesus Christ himself, who says, The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do we realise this to be our happy condition? We do not As Christian men and women we are just as fretful, anxious, and dispirited, in the presence of cloud and threatening, as are our worldliest neighbours. If that is not true in some instances, let us bless God for the miraculous exceptions; but wherein it is true we affirm the devil’s estimate of our supposed security: it is a security which believes in black ink letters, in actual and positive property, and is not a security which rests in spiritual promise of spiritual protection.

This incident destroys the idea that environment can keep away temptation. How often have we said to ourselves, If our circumstances were better, our religion would be stronger; thus men tell lies to their own souls; thus men degrade life into a question of surrounding and circumstance and condition; thus men say that “fat sorrow is better than lean”; and thus men add up the worldly conditions of assaulted life, and say, With such conditions the assault really amounts to nothing. All spiritual history declares against that sophistical doctrine. Every man has his own battle to fight. Job had a deadlier battle to conduct than we can have, because he was a stronger man; there was more in him and about him; he exhibited, so to say, a larger field, and was therefore accessible at a greater number of points. We think of royalty in its palace, see itself upon the throne, and saying, What can reach me here? I am safe beyond the touch of temptation. We think of great influence, as of statesmen and rulers, and we suppose that if we were as elevated as they are we should be out of the reach of the devil’s arrow. Sometimes we think of great genius, of the marvellous minds that can create worlds and destroy them, and recreate them, and dramatise the very air, and populate it with images that shine and talk, that dazzle and amuse the very men who created them; and we say, Such genius can know nothing of temptation; only those who are in sordid conditions, driven down to the dust to find tomorrow’s bread, men doomed to daily grinding, only they can know what temptation is and pain and sorrow. Such is not the case. No palace can shut out temptation; no high authority or rulership can escape the blast of hell; and as for genius, it seems to be the very sport of infernal agency. Environment, then, is no protection against temptation. What is the protection? There is none: every man must be tempted, every Adam must fall, every Adam must eat of the forbidden tree; one after the other, millions in a day, on they go, without exception, without break: “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” Certainly. If that chapter had not been in his life, the life would have been incomplete, and would have been no gospel to us: we should have said, The reading is very good, but it is like the reading of a poem, or the perusal of a musical composition; we have not yet come to the hell-chapter, the devil-clutch, the fight with him who overthrew our integrity, and chained our spirits to his chariot. So we have Christ’s temptation written in plain letters, the whole story told in highly accentuated speech, the articulation distinct, every syllable throbbing with life. What then? Do we rest there, and say, Behold the end? Then were the world not worth making, then had the Creator committed an irretrievable mistake: this is not the end. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man,” and with every temptation God will make a way of escape. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” and purity, increase of faith and increase of grace; and the temptation may become the root of much true strength and joy.

In the case of Job the internal is proved to be greater than the external. When the trials came one after another like shocks of thunder, “in all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” But did he speak? That is the point. If he did not, perhaps he was dazed; he felt a tremendous blow on the forehead, and reeled, and was not in a condition to bear witness about the matter. If he said anything let us know what he did say. Could he speak in that tremendous crisis? Yes, he spoke. His words are before us. Like a wise man he went back to first principles. He said, Circumstances are nothing; they are temporary arrangements; the man is not what he has but what he is; I do not hold my life in my hands saying, It weighs so much, and count up to a high number. Job went back to first principles, to elementary truths; he said:

“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither [that is how I began]: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away [as he had a right to do; I had nothing of my own]; blessed be the name of the Lord” ( Job 1:21 ).

There he stands, a naked man, destitute, childless, friendless, practically houseless, without property, all the environment changed; and now that all the walls are thrown down we can see the more clearly how the man kneels, and with what heart-eloquence he prays. We never do see some men until the walls of their prosperity are thrown down. When they have lost all, then they begin to make an impression upon us. Said one man, from whom every penny in the world was taken, “The treasure is all gone, but I have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.” He was a minister of the gospel, a man in high pulpit position; but circumstances were against him, the events of the day impoverished him; he was left without gold, silver, copper, chair to sit upon, bed to lie upon, book to read, and in that condition he said, in our own country and in our own time, “The treasure is all gone, but I have an inheritance that cannot be destroyed.” We should not have known the man but for the circumstances which tested him and revealed him. What was real in his case is possible in every other case. “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” The more things we have the better, if we use them aright There is no crime in wealth. There is no iniquity in being rich. Blessed be God, there are men who are rich and good, abounding in wealth, and yet the more they have the more the church has, the more the poor have. We bless God for them. They hold their riches with a steward’s faithfulness, with a trustee’s fidelity. Nor is there any virtue in poverty. A man is not a saint because he has no clothes, no house, no fortune. Nothing of the kind. All these questions, on both sides, go deeper, go right into the spirit and soul and heart of things, and “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Said one man, “I have nothing except that which I have given away.” His meaning was that at last, although fortune had been heavy against him, he had as a real property, in his very memory and soul, every farthing he had ever given in the cause of charity: they could never be taken away from him. There is one wealth we need never part with, one substance we may keep for ever in health, in sickness, in summer, in winter, in earth, in heaven, in time, in eternity, and that substance is a spotless, holy character.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

(See the Job Book Comments for Introductory content and general conclusions and observations).

III

THE PROLOGUE OF JOB

Job 1-2.

The book of Job divides itself into three parts: The Prologue, the Poetical Drama, and the Epilogue. The Prologue is a prose narrative but intensely dramatic in form and recites the occasion of the poetical drama which constitutes the body of the book. The Epilogue, also dramatic in prose, recites the historical outcome of the story.

The analysis of the Prologue consists of chapters Job 1-2 with forward references elsewhere in the book.

I. Two scenes and a problem. 1. An earth view of a pious, prosperous, and happy man (Job 1:1-5 ; with Job 29:1-25 ; Job 31:1-34 )

2. An earth view in which his piety is considered in the crosslights of divine and of satanic judgment (Job 1:6-12 )

3. A problem: Can there be disinterested piety?

II. First trial of Job’s piety Satan permitted to conduct the trial under limitations (Job 1:13-22 ) 1. Satan’s stroke on Job the farmer (Job 1:14-15 )

2. Satan’s stroke on Job the stockman (Job 1:16 )

3. Satan’s stroke on Job the merchant (Job 1:17 )

4. Satan’s stroke on Job the father (Job 1:18-19 )

5. Result of first trial (Job 1:20-22 )

III. Second trial of Job’s piety (Job 2:1-10 )

1. Another heaven view in which Job is vindicated and the malice of Satan condemned, but further trial permitted under limitation (Job 2:1-6 )

2. Satan’s fifth stroke Job’s person smitten with leprosy (Job 2:7-8 )

3. Satan’s sixth stroke on Job the husband (Job 2:9 )

4. Result (Job 2:10 )

IV. Satan’s continued trial (Job 2:11-13 ; and other references in the book )

1. Satan’s seventh stroke on Job the kinsman, neighbor, and master (Job 19:13-19 )

2. Satan’s eighth stroke on Job’s social position (Job 30:1-15 )

3. After long interval Satan’s ninth stroke on Job the friend (Job 2:11-13 )

4. Satan’s tenth and master stroke in leading Job to attribute the malice of these persecutions to God and to count him an adversary without mercy or justice. (See Job 9:24 , “If it be not he, who then is it?”; Job 19:11 .)

The Prologue opens with two remarkable scenes, an earth view, a heaven view, and a problem. (See the analysis of the Prologue.)

The earth view (Job 1:1-5 ) presents a pious, prosperous, and happy man. The length, extent, and unbroken character of this prosperity, Job’s ascription of it to God, the healthful effect on his piety and character, are all marvelous. It had lasted all his life without a break. It gave him great wealth, a numerous and happy family, health for every member, great wisdom, extensive knowledge and power, high honor among men, and yet did not spoil him. He was a model husband and father, successful merchant, farmer, and shepherd, benevolent and just toward men, pure in life, and devout toward God. (See Job 29-31.)

The heaven view (Job 1:6-12 ) in which Job’s piety is considered in the contrasted light of divine and of satanic judgment, is every way marvelous and instructive. It reveals the fact that on stated occasions, angels, both good and bad, must report their work to the sovereign God; that Satan’s field of movement is restricted to this earth. He has no work in heaven but to report when God requires it, and then under inquisition he must tell where he has been, what he has seen, what he has even thought, and what he has done. It must not be supposed that he attends this angelic assembly from curiosity or from audacity, but is there under compulsion. Though fallen and outcast he is yet responsible to God, and must account to his Sovereign.

The bearing of this Prologue on the chief object of the book, namely, to suggest the necessity of and to prepare the way for a wider revelation, is as follows:

1. None of the actors or sufferers on earth know anything of this extraneous origin, purpose, and limitation of his fiery ordeal through which Job and his family must pass. Hence the need of a revelation that man may understand how the spiritual forces of heaven and hell touch his earthly life.

2. How far short all the several philosophies of Job and his friends in accounting for the cause, purpose, or extent of the great suffering which befell Job. Hence the conclusion that unaided human philosophy cannot solve the problem of human life, and therefore a revelation is needed.

Satan’s power is manifested in four simultaneous scenes of disaster:

(1) The stroke on Job, the farmer (Job 1:14-15 );

(2) The stroke on Job, the shepherd, or stockman (Job 1:16 );

(3) The stroke on Job, the merchant (Job 1:17 );

(4) The stroke on Job, the father (Job 1:18-19 ).

The cunning, malice and cumulative power of Satan’s strokes are seen, as follows:

(1) The mockery of the date of all these disasters, the elder son’s birthday, the gathering of all the children in one house, and the joyous feasting.

(2) The timing of Job’s reception of the news of the several disasters shows that it was stroke upon stroke without intermission.

(3) The sparing of one survivor alone from each disaster, and him only that he might be a messenger of woe.

(4) The variety, adaptation, and thorough naturalness of these means, none of them so out of character as to suggest the supernatural: the Sabeans, the fire of God (a Hebraism), the Chaldeans, the desert tornado. Why suspect supernatural agents when the natural causes are all possible, evident, and credible?

(5) The refinement of cruelty in sparing Job’s wife that she might add to his wretchedness by her evil counsel.

(6) The making of his kindred, neighbors, friends, servants, and the rabble instruments of torture by their desertion, reproach, and mistreatment.

(7) Knowing that Job’s intelligence must perceive that such a remarkable series, even of natural events, could not result from chance, but must have been timed and directed by one endowed with supernatural power, and full of malice, he reveals the very depths of his wickedness and cunning in leading Job to attribute this to God.

The scene of Job’s reception of the direful news (Job 1:14-20 ) is very remarkable. See the cumulative power of blow on blow without intermission for breathing. Job’s grief is great, but his resignation is instant. He ascribes all the disasters to the divine Sovereign, without a thought of Satan, and without any knowledge of the divine purpose. Here ends Job’s first trial in complete victory for him.

The second scene, in heaven, shows angels, good and bad, reporting divine and satanic judgment on Job’s piety and Satan rebuked for malice against Job but permitted a further test (Job 2:1-6 ), in which he was given power over Job’s person with one limitation. Satan’s power over Job’s person, and yet hidden from Job, may be seen by comparison of Job 2:7 with other references in the book. The nature of this affliction is found to be elephantiasis, a form of leprosy, usually attributed to the direct agency of God. Yet, it was a well-known disease in that country, and might be explained by natural causes. So Satan’s agency is again hidden and Job has no thought of him.

The awful pain and loathsomeness of this disease, then and now, isolated the patient from human association and sympathy, and human judgment said it was incurable. The law of Moses on the isolation and treatment of lepers is found in Lev 13:45 f.; Num 5:1-4 ; Num 12:14 . Their degredation and isolation in New Testament times, Christ’s sympathy for them, and his healing of them may be seen in Luk 17:11-19 and other references. Lew Wallace, in Ben Hur, Book VI, Job 2 , “Memorial Edition,” gives a vivid description of leprosy in the case of Ben Hur’s mother and sister:

Slowly, steadily, with horrible certainty, the disease spread, after a while bleaching their heads white, eating holes in their lips and eyelids, and covering their bodies with scales; then it fell to their throats, shrilling their voices, and to their joints, hardening the tissues and cartilages, slowly, and, as the mother well knew, past remedy, it was affecting their lungs and arteries and bones, at each advance making the sufferers more and more loatheeorne; and so it would continue till death, which might be years before them.

He sets forth the awful state of the leper thus:

These four are accounted as dead, the blind, the leper, the poor, and the childless. Thus the Talmud.

That is, to be a leper was to be treated as dead to be excluded from the city as a corpse;. to be spoken to by the best beloved and most loving only at a distance; to dwell with none but lepers; to be utterly unprivileged; to be denied the rites of the Temple and the synagogue; to go about in rent garments and with covered mouth, except when crying, “Unclean! Unclean!” to find home in the wilderness or in abandoned tombs; to become a materialized specter of Hinnom and Gehenna; to be at all times less a living offense to others than a breathing torment to self; afraid to die, yet without hope except in death.

N. P. Willis in his poem on the leper (The Poetical Works of N. P. Willis , pp. 5-9) gives a fine poetic description of the leper, the progress of the disease and a typical leper healed by Jesus. The substance of this poem is as follows:

In the first section is a description of the approach of the leper, at which the cry is heard,

Room for the leper I Room I And as he came

The cry pass’d on Room for the leper! Room! Then the response by the leper, “Unclean! Unclean!” In the second section is a description of a young man before the attack of the disease and then a leper after the disease had laid hold upon him. The blighting effect, of the disease is here depicted very forcefully. In the next section we find the most horrifying denunciations of the leper. He makes his way to the temple and, standing before the altar, he hears his doom: Depart! depart, O child Of Israel, from the temple of thy God I For He has smote thee with His chastening rod: And to the desert-wild, From all thou lov’st away, thy feet must flee, That from thy plague His people may be free. Depart I and come not near The busy mart, the crowded city, more; Nor set thy foot a human threshold o’er; And stay thou not to hear Voices that call thee in the way; and fly From all who in the wilderness pass by. Wet not thy burning lip In streams that to a human dwelling glide; Nor rest thee where the covert fountains hide; Nor kneel thee down to dip The water where the pilgrim bends to drink. By desert well or river’s grassy brink; And pass thou not between The weary traveller and the cooling breeze; And lie not down to sleep beneath the trees Where human tracks are seen; Nor milk the goat that browseth on the plain, Nor pluck the standing corn, or yellow grain. And now, depart! and when Thy heart is heavy, and thine eyes are dim, Lift up thy prayer beseechingly to Him Who, from the tribes of men, Selected thee to feel His chastening rod. Depart! O Leper I and forget not God!

Then follows a description of the leper departing and going into the wilderness where Jesus found him and healed him. The closing lines of the poem are as follows:

His leprosy was cleansed, and he fell down

Prostrate at Jesus’ feet and worshipp’d Him.

The counsel of Job’s wife and Job’s reply to it are found in Job 2:9-10 . Here ends Job’s second trial in victory as complete as in the first trial. Satan drops out of the story after the second trial. Now, the question is, How do we know he is yet taking part? The answer is, we see his tracks. Job’s wife in Job 2:9 quotes the very words of Satan in Job 2:5 . Satan, though hidden, uses Job’s wife against him as Eve was used against Adam (Cf. Job 2:5 ; Job 2:9 ). Washington Irving, on a wife’s influence in helping her husband to recover from a great misfortune, says, I have often had occasion to remark the fortitude with which women sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune. Those disasters which break down the spirit of man, and prostrate him in the dust, seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, and give such intrepidity and elevation to their character, that at times it approaches to sublimity. Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every trivial roughness, while treading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental force to be the comforter and support of her husband under misfortune, and abiding with unshrinking firmness the bitterest blasts of adversity. Sketch Book.

In this sifting of Satan, Job’s piety surpasses that of Adam’s in that Adam with eyes open, through love of his wife, heeded her advice and fell, but Job, blind to many things that Adam was not, withstood the temptation of his wife, and held fast his integrity. In another part of this book Job himself claims to be superior to Adam (See Job 31:33 ), in that he did not attempt to hide his sin as did Adam.

Satan further appears to be taking part, though he now ostensibly disappears from the story. He is really present, using Job’s friends and tempting Job himself.

Now, Job’s words in Job 1:21 , and his reply to his wife in Job 2:10 solve the first problem suggested by Satan, “Can there be sincere and disinterested piety?” Hypocrites may serve for the loaves and the fishes, but the true children of God serve him even in the loss of all things and in excruciating sufferings. See case of Paul in the New Testament.

The results of Satan’s three trials are as follows: Job’s complete triumphs in the first and second; the third was a downfall. Satan failed in the main point, but he got Job into a heap of trouble.

There are proofs from the book that a considerable time elapsed between the smiting with leprosy and the visit of the three friends, so that the time of the intervening events prepares the mind to understand the subsequent debates, and enables it to appreciate this man’s heroic fortitude and patience before he uttered a word of complaint. Their coming by appointment or previous arrangement has a bearing on the lapse of time since he was smitten with leprosy. The time necessary for each friend to hear of Job’s calamity, and then to arrange by communication with each other for a joint visit, and then for the journey, show that considerable time elapsed in this interval.

On the same point the time necessary for the intervening events set forth in Job 19:13-19 ; Job 30:1-15 , namely, desertion by wife, brothers, sisters, and friends, and the horrible treatment he received from young people, from criminals whom he had punished, and from the cruel rabble, all of which preceded the visit of his three friends must be considered here in order to maintain the thread of the story.

What he himself says on the length of time since his last affliction may be noted (Job 7:3 ): “So am I made to possess months [literally moons] of misery”; and (Job 29:2 ): “Oh that I were as in the months of old.” The time intervening between the last scene with his wife and the visit of his friends could not have been less than two months and was doubtless three or four; so we correlate his sufferings and losses in their order thus: loss of all his property, loss of all his children, loss of his health, alienation of wife and kindred, loss of honor among men and every exalted position, followed by contempt and disgust of the rabble. As he himself puts it (Job 12:5 ): “In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune.”

Now the reader must connect all these things and vividly see them following in order for so long a time, a time of unremitting pain, horrible by night and by day, in order to grasp the idea of this man’s heroic patience before he uttered a word of complaint.

The last straw that broke down the fortitude of Job, that broke his spirit, was the seven days’ silence of his friends, staring upon his wretchedness without a word of comfort. Comparing the Satan of Job with the serpent (Gen 3 ) ; the Satan of David (2Sa 24:1 ; 1Ch 21:1 ); the Satan of Joshua, the high priest (Zec 2:1-5 ); the Satan of Jesus (Mat 4:1-11 ); the Satan of Peter (Luk 22:31 with 1Pe 5:8-9 ) ; the Satan of Paul (1Co 5:5 ; 2Co 12:7 ; Eph 6:11 ; Eph 6:16 ); the Satan of John (Rev 12:7-13 ), and the scene in 1Ki 22:19-23 , we find:

1. That the case of the Satan of Job is in harmony with the other cases of the Bible.

2. That when Satan is permitted to try men he is an agent of God.

3. That there are several scriptural names of him and that each one has its own meaning, thus:

(1) “Satan” which means adversary, suggesting that he is the adversary of God and his people.

(2) “Devil,” which means an accuser and slanderer; he is the cunning and malignant suspecter and accuser of the righteous; he accuses men to God and slanders God to men.

(3) “Apollyon,” which means “destroyer” and indicates the nature of his work.

(4) “Beelzebub” which means prince, or chieftain. He is the prince, or chief, of demons.

(5) “Dragon” which means serpent, and refers to his slimy work in the garden of Eden where he took the form of a serpent.

4. That his field of operation is restricted to the earth.

5. That he is limited in power.

6. That he must make stated reports to God.

7. That he can touch the righteous only by permission.

8. That he can touch them only in matters that try their faith.

9. That he cannot take them beyond the intercession of the High Priest.

10. That he cannot touch their lives.

11. That he cannot touch them except for their good, and therefore his trials of the righteous are included in the “all things” of Rom 8:28 .

12. That no philosophy which knows only the time life of men and natural causes can solve the problem of life.

QUESTIONS

1. What the natural divisions of the book, and what the relation of these parts to each other?

2. Give an analysis of the Prologue.

3. What the two scenes and the problem of the Prologue?

4. Describe the earth view,

5. What of the heaven view and its revelations?

6. What bearing has this Prologue on the chief object of the book, namely, to suggest the necessity of and to prepare the way for a wider revelation?

7. How is Satan’s power manifested here?

8. Show the cunning, malice, and cumulative power of Satan’s strokes.

9. Describe the scene of Job’s reception of this news.

10. Describe the second scene, in heaven.

11. What the further test of Job permitted to Satan?

12. How was Satan’s power on Job’s person manifested and yet hidden from Job?

13. Describe this disease and its effect on Job’s social relations.

14. Compare the law of Moses on the isolation and treatment of lepers.

15. Show their degradation and isolation in New Testament times, Christ’s sympathy for them, and his healing of them.

16. Give Ben Hur’s vivid description of leprosy in the case of his mother and sister and the substance of N. P. Willis’ poem on the leper.

17. What the counsel of Job’s wife and what Job’s reply?

18. Since Satan drops out of the story after the second trial, how do we know he is yet taking part?

19. What has Washington Irving (Sketch Book) to say on a wife’s influence in helping her husband to recover from a great misfortune?

20. In this sifting of Satan where does Job’s piety surpass that of Adam?

21. Where else, in the book of Job, does Job himself claim to be superior to Adam?

22. How does Satan further appear to be taking part?

23. How is the first problem, as suggested by Satan, solved?

24. What was the result of Satan’s three trials?

25. Give proofs from the book that a considerable time elapsed between the smiting with leprosy and the visit of the three friends, so stating in order the intervening events as to prepare the mind to understand the subsequent debates, and enable it to appreciate this man’s heroic fortitude and patience before he uttered a word of complaint.

26. What the last straw that broke down the fortitude of Job?

27. Give a summary of the Bible teaching relative to Satan.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Ver. 1. There was a man ] A notable man, a man by an excellency, and with an accent (as it were), a man of high degree ( Animo virili praeditus ), as the word Ish signifieth, Psa 49:2 ; Psa 62:9 (where it is opposed to Adam, utpote quem ex meliore luto finxit Titan ), a manly man, every way excellent and eximious: Magnus et admirabilis vir, &c. A great and marvellous man, if it be fit to call him by the name of a man, as Chrysostom speaketh of Babylas the martyr. Basil, in his sermon of the forty martyrs, calleth them the stars of the world, and the flowers of the Churches, , . Chrysostom, speaking of those that were praying for Peter, Act 12:12 , saith that Puriores caelo afflictione facti sunt, by their afflictions they were become clearer than the azured sky; and elsewhere, falling into speech of some religious men of his time, he doubteth not, for their holy and heavenly conversation, to style them A , angels. That Job deserved this high title, as well as the best of them, we have here, and otherwise, God’s own testimony of him, and this whole Book, whereof he is the principal object, doth abundantly prove him a hero, Daemonium hominis et miraculum naturae, ut de Scaligero non nemo dixit, a supernatural man and of miraculous nature so that anyone said concerning Scaliger. , (Hem. Odys.).

In the land of Uz ] Which, what it was, and where situated, though our maps show us not, yet, by the consent of all, it was a country bordering upon Idumea in part, and part upon Arabia. See Lam 4:21 Jer 25:20 . Chrysostom testifieth that Job’s sepulchre hath been showed in Arabia; which might well have been called happy, if but for having such an inhabitant. Ptolemy placeth the Hussites in Arabia.

Whose name was Job ] It is, then, a true and real history that we here have of him, and not a fiction or a moral parable, as some have believed. See a double testimony for this, the one prophetical, Eze 14:14 , the other apostolical, Jas 5:11 , and such a well twined cord is not easily broken. What if Josephus make no mention in his history of such a man? it was beside his purpose to write anything but what concerned the Jews. Aristeus in his History of the Jews maketh Job to be descended of Esau, and to dwell in Idumea. The Jewish doctors and some of the fathers of the Church make him to be that Jobab mentioned Gen 36:33 . True it is that the words differ much in the Hebrew writing; but for that, while he prospered, he might be called Jobab; when in distress (which lasted twelve months, say the Hebrews, seven years, saith Suidas) contracted into Job. See the like Rth 1:20 Gen 17:5 . Some make him to be much more ancient, viz. the same with that Jobab who was the son of Joktan, the nephew of Eber, 1Ch 1:25-26 , and that himself was penman of this Book. He doth indeed wish that his words were written in a book; and haply he and his friends, laying their heads together, might write this history; and that in hexameters for most part, as Jerome thinketh. But that it was by inspiration of God is testified not only by the divine grandeur and majesty of the style, together with the intrinsical excellency and efficacy of the matter, but also by the concurrent testimony of not a few other Scriptures, sufficiently asserting the authenticity and authority of this Book. The common opinion is that it was written by Moses, while he abode as a stranger among the Midianites, for the comfort of his poor countrymen, groaning under the Egyptian servitude; or else, that this history, written at first by Job and his friends in prose, was afterwards by Moses put into verse, and embellished with the most rich ornaments, and the most glittering figures of poetry. Sure it is, saith Senault (Preface to his Paraphrase), that there is no book in the world where the manner of speaking is more noble, the conceits more generous, the descriptions more rich, and the comparisons more natural. Sometimes the author reasoneth like an excellent philosopher, oftentimes like a profound divine; but always like an orator, and his eloquence never leaveth him.

And that man was perfect ] That is, upright (as it followeth next) and sincere, without guile or gall, a pattern of patience, a standing rule to all ages; and therefore (in God’s acceptation and account) “perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” Jas 1:4 , because in him patience had her perfect work, as much as mortality would afford, Tamim de victimis perfectis et immaculatis dicitur. The upright, it is said concerning perfect and spotless victim. It was but an unsavoury speech of him, who when he was persuaded to be patient as Job was, replied, What tell you me of Job? Job never had any suits in Chancery. No, but he had far sharper trials; and if he had been judge in that court (as he was in his own country, Job 29:12 ; Job 29:17 ) he would have made as good despatch there as ever Sir Thomas More did, who calling once for the next cause, was answered, that there Was none.

And upright ] More resembling Jacob, that plain hearted man, than Esau, his great grandfather. Of the word here used (Jesher) Israel was called Jeshurun, Deu 32:15 ; Deu 33:5 ; Deu 33:26 Isa 44:2 , because God requireth uprightness (which he calleth perfection, Deu 18:13 , and there is a great Tau in the word Tamim, Hebrew Text Note to show that an upright man keepeth the whole law from the first to the last letter thereof), and where he findeth it, reckoneth Jether, an Ishmaelite, 1Ch 7:38 , to be a very good Israelite, 2Sa 17:25 , and Job, the Idumean, a very good Christian; such a one as Apelles was, Rom 16:10 , approved in Christ (Buxtorf).

And one that feared God ] With an amicable, not servile, fear, such as was that of those mongrels who feared him for his lions, and are therefore said not to have feared him, 2Ki 17:32-34 . Job so lived with men as if God saw him, and so spake with God as if men overheard him Sic vive cum hominibus, tanquam Deus videat. Sic loquere cum Deo, &c. So live with men just as to see God. so to speak with God ( Sen.). Thence it was that seldom or never did any man see him doing or hear him speaking but what was good and godly, as Xenophon saith of Socrates; thence it was that be never did well that he might appear to do so, sed quia aliter facere non potuit (as Velleius saith of Cato), but because, acting by this principle of God’s fear, he could not do otherwise: for the fear of the Lord is pure, Psa 19:9 , and men do perfect holiness in the fear of God, 2Co 7:1 .

And eschewed evil ] He must needs do so that feareth God, the greatest good, since sin is the greatest evil, and stands in full opposition to him. Job, therefore, stands in awe, and sins not, he studiously declines evil, as he would do a serpent in his way, or poison in his food. And this he did, not in a land of uprightness, where the fear of God was in fashion; but among profane Esauites, in the midst of a crooked and corrupt generation, as Noah in the old world, Lot in Sodom, Joseph in Egypt, Elijah amidst the Baalites, or as an orient star shining with fulness of heavenly light, and fixed in the region of happiness, though seen sometimes in a well, in a puddle, in a stinking ditch.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Job Chapter 1

Chap. 1: 1-12. Now I have only read the introduction, and indeed but a part of the introduction, because the first two chapters comprise the introduction. And then follows the impassioned and vehement opening speech of the patriarch Job. It is clear that here we have got a Book of patriarchal time. All the circumstances point to that time and no other; and further, it is as well to state even now before we go on, that the Book appears to have been written in the time of Moses, and probably by Moses. But some people are a little perplexed by the fact that it comes after the Book of Esther in the Bible. That has nothing whatever to do with the date of it. The Historical Books are given from Genesis to Esther – that is the end; then we begin the Poetic Books – Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Therefore it is that we necessarily go back here; because poetry was written certainly not after history, but concurrently with it; and we can easily understand that the Book of Job carries us back to the very same time that the first Book of the history goes back to. Everything concurs to show that.

For instance, Job offered burnt offerings; it was lest his sons should have sinned, but it was not a sin offering, which would have been the natural thing if it had been after the law; but it was before the law, and the offerings that were habitually offered by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, under all circumstances, were burnt offerings. So that here we find a very simple mark in the very first chapter; and again, we find that there is a very peculiar idolatry at this time. The Book of Job was written after the deluge; there was no idolatry before the deluge. Of course, the theologians say what they like about the subject, and they very often say what is entirely unfounded; and they are pleased to think there must have been idolatry, and therefore there was; but that is no reason at all – it is merely their imagination. The fact is, the earliest idolatry was the worshipping the sun, moon, and stars; and in the course of this Book we shall see that this is the only idolatry that Job refers to. It was what was common at that time, and they were getting afterwards into much more degraded forms of it.

Therefore, it would seem that the writer of the book was a good while after Job, but that Job lived in a time when there was idolatry. Yet this thing is what alone he notices; it is in his defence of himself – that he was not guilty – which is one of the thoughts that governed the minds of his three friends. I suppose they were the orthodox people of that day; but like the orthodox people of many a day, it was a poor, human, contracted notion of God. Orthodoxy is merely the popular opinion of religion, as a general rule; and although there are elements of truth, and orthodoxy is certainly much better than heterodoxy, still it is not faith; it is not spiritual judgment, which is a deep acquaintance with God’s mind. Only we must remember there was very little written at the time that this Book was written, perhaps no more than the Book of Genesis. I judge thus because there is no reference to the law. If it had been written after the law was given on Sinai, we might expect to find some allusion to that, but there is none.

There is another thing that contributes also to help us to the date, and that is the age of Job. He was 140 at least. There are some people who seem to think that he lived 140 years after all his troubles; but there is no ground for that. It is merely the manner of speech in the last chapter, and I presume it really means that that was his entire age, the period of his life – not the time after these disasters purposely fell upon him – for reasons that I am going to explain in a moment. Now, if that age be the age of Job, it shows we need not imagine more than what God’s word declares, and he would therefore be rather a younger man when he died than Jacob. Jacob lived less than Isaac or Abraham. So that this would appear to point to the time of the patriarchal age, and all the circumstances fall in with that.

Again, there is what is very remarkable and separate in the Book. It is entirely outside Israel. There was certainly the nucleus of Israel then; Abraham, Isaac and probably Jacob, had been living, and it is clear that this pious Gentile, Job, had profited a good deal from the knowledge of what God had revealed in His dealings not only with those patriarchs, but the traditions of those who had lived before. I say “traditions,” because Scripture was not yet written. If there was any Book of Scripture written at this time, it could only, in my opinion, have been, possibly, the Book of Genesis. That was but very little. Only the Book of Genesis is one of the most instructive Books in all the Bible; and it is remarkable for being a kind of seed plot (as it has been compared to before now), where all the germs, all the plants afterwards grew up into, you may say, shrubs or trees, or whatever it might be – there you have them all in their beginning.

It answers very much in that respect to the Book of the Revelation; Genesis is the proper preface to the Bible, and Revelation the very suitable conclusion of the Bible; and you will find that there are links of connection between Genesis and Revelation that are more striking than in any other two Books of the Scriptures. For instance, the Garden, the Paradise of God, and the Tree of Life – these you have very early in Genesis, and very early in the Revelation. In the second chapter of Genesis we have it, and in the second chapter of Revelation we have it again. This is a revelation of a higher character, founded upon that Paradise which all readers of Genesis knew. Then that terrible personage Satan, the Serpent – in the Revelation he is called the “old serpent,” evidently pointing back to Genesis. The Serpent, the Enemy, is spoken of in various ways. We find him spoken of as “Satan” in Psa 109 , and we find him spoken of also in 1Ch 21 . There Satan tempted David, and succeeded in it, and brought David into a great sin, and which brought deep suffering upon the people of whom he was too proud; and so the people were shorn down and deprived of that strength because David was proud of their strength. Well then, again, in Zechariah, too, we have them all. So that the notion that there is anything very peculiar in the province given to Satan in this Book of Job is a very absurd one. It is a very proper thing, exactly what is needed, and it is the great truth which is about to be propounded and discussed throughout the Book.

Some divines are very fond of talking about the Book of Job as a drama – a kind of sacred drama. Well, I think they had better keep the drama to themselves, and leave the Book to its own simplicity and beauty, and not introduce mere terms of a very low and earthly kind. It is an authentic discussion; it is a grand debate. It is not the problem of how it is the wicked are allowed to flourish now, sometimes, and to await the judgment of God afterwards; but here we have the far more serious question: ‘How is it that the righteous suffer now so much; is it consistent with God’s justice that a righteous man should suffer more than any other man?’ Well, that is the very thing discussed in this Book, and the object is to show that it is not only that there is a God perfectly righteous and good, but there is an enemy perfectly malicious and subtle and active. Now this is all brought out in a Book entirely outside Israel. The wonder is as to the Rationalists and the Jews – for they had their Rationalists quite as much as Christendom has its Rationalists now; they were the persons who were always lowering the word, humanizing the word, and, further, attaching tradition to it, and all sorts of stories invented to improve the word of God, and make it palatable to the readers, who were not satisfied with the truth, but were as fond of anecdotes then as people are now, who cannot be happy with the gospel unless they have these stories about men.

Here we have the Spirit of God in this wonderful Book bringing out fact. The Jews did not like it; and you can quite understand that. What! a Gentile spoken of in stronger terms than Jacob, our father Jacob, Israel! Scripture shows Jacob to have been a very uncertain man; a true child of God, but a man whose flesh was very little broken, and a man who was naturally prone to the sly ways – ‘slim,’ I believe, is the modern word for it – the sly ways of his mother and her brother, and all connected with the chosen race. Jacob inherited a little of that blood, and in consequence of not being self-judging, submitting to God and confiding in God, he often brought himself into very great scrapes, and tried to get out of them by very uncomely ways.

All this indeed reads us a very important lesson, but it is quite a different one in the Book of Job. Here is a man whom God Himself brings before Satan. We have a most remarkable scene – that which I have read to you to-night – where “the sons of God” came together, we may say, to show their homage to God Himself in heaven. You know “the sons of God” are employed as messengers; and according to this we have a very graphic view of a particular day when they came – the day, not merely a day. It is not either in the Revised, or the Authorised Version, but it is the word that is intended. Now these “sons of God” were clearly angels, and these angels were busy with their mission of God’s goodness and mercy; for He loves to employ others; we have that now blessedly shown. Why, we every one of us have our work; every one of us has his mission; we have all a mission from Christ, the most simple brother and sister too. We are members in the body of Christ, and each member has its own function. It is a very interesting thing that God employs the members of Christ’s body to do what He could have done without them. He loves to trust them; He loves to exercise them; He loves that they should learn their place, and that they should fulfil their mission during this little while that we are waiting for Christ. That gives a great dignity to the place of the Christian, and also a very solemn responsibility. That is a part of God’s way.

Now it appears that there was a day when the angels came, and Satan was allowed to come among them. That is an astonishing fact not at all confined to this scripture. We have it even in the Revelation, the last Book of the New Testament. There we find the day is coming when Satan and all his host are to be turned out of the heavens. And we find it is a doctrine laid down in the Epistle to the Ephesians that we have to contend with these powers of evil not merely on the earth, but having that great advantage against the believer of possessing a place in the heavens. Why is it that Christians generally do not believe that? Because they believe themselves and not God. Because they listen to what they call theology instead of the Bible, and the consequence is they are getting to lose all touch of divine truth; they are getting more and more into the belief of not only men’s notions of the Bible, but of fables and ideas that are entirely unfounded. The fact is there is nothing that shows more the power of God and the patience of God than this, that the great Evil One and his emissaries are allowed still access to the heavens. They are not cast into hell yet; they are not merely thrown down to be only on the earth. We know that is a thing that will be, but not till we have ascended to heaven. Some people have the idea that they are turned out of heaven to make way for us, but that is quite contrary to Scripture. The removal of the glorified saints to heaven is before God overthrows the Evil One and his host, before He turns them out and casts them down to the earth, never allowed to get back to heaven again. And it is because God has absolute power to do it in a moment that He does that; because He is carrying on a grand work; and a part of that which brings out His wonderful ways is the allowed presence of sin. He gives Satan every advantage because He turns all his malice and all his power to the furtherance of His own way with His children; and the remarkable thing is that which we find in this Book of Job.

There is a very strong confirmation of it in a scene that is described in the first Book of Kings, and I only refer to that to confirm it, namely, where it speaks (1Ki 22 ) of Micaiah, the man that the wicked king could not endure because he never had a good thing to say to him. That is, Micaiah was not a flatterer. Kings do not like any but flatterers as a rule, and this prophet greatly vexed the wicked king. And alas I the good king Jehoshaphat failed in that very thing that we are apt to fail in now. Fellowship between light and darkness! Fellowship between the right people and the wrong! Fellowship with that which is utterly opposed to God, in a kind of amiable way that does not give us any very great trouble! We like the easy path, we do not like the strait path, we do not like the path that requires faith, and it is to our own loss. Well, in this case, Micaiah, when he is brought to the point, speaks of a similar scene to what you have here. There God puts the question: “Who will go and deceive Ahab?” – that was the idolatrous king of Israel, “Who will deceive him?” – the one Jehoshaphat made his friendship with, to his own sorrow and to the dishonour of the Lord, and with no good to Ahab, for he fell; he was not won a single inch into that which pleased God. The good conduct of Jehoshaphat in no way did good to Ahab, but on the contrary Ahab drew Jehoshaphat into what was unworthy of God and of a child of God. The evil spirit said that he would go and deceive Ahab. He wrought, no doubt, by Ahab’s false prophets.

Peter speaks of “false teachers” doing the same bad work that the false prophets did in Israel. False “teachers” because the truth has come. They were false “prophets” when the truth was not yet come, when Christ had not yet appeared, when all was in the future. But now the solemn and blessed truth is, the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding to know Him that is true. It is therefore a question of teaching now. There is nothing so destructive as what is false, what is contrary to God and His word. Morality, a man of the world can judge, and what is more, he may be a bad specimen in outward appearance; but that is altogether different from the character of Job.

Here we have Job spoken of not merely by the writer, but by God Himself in the strongest terms. The writer says, “There was a man in the land of Uz” (which you know was near Edom, on the borders of Edom, and apparently the friends of Job all came from that quarter more or less), the great desert on the eastern side of Palestine, between Palestine and the Euphrates, where the Bedouins are constantly moving up and down – the nomad races, some of them descendants of Abraham, indeed some of Ishmael. And it is said, “that man was perfect” – meaning by that, not that there was no evil; that is not the meaning of “perfect” in Scripture at all, but in the Old Testament it is the word for a man being thoroughly sound – a sound man, not merely a moralist, but a man who was right with God. And besides being sound in that way, he was “upright” with man. “Perfect and upright” showed relations, one to God, and the other to men. Both ought to go together. The great feature of it was, “fearing God.” Another great feature was that it answered to these other terms – refusing or shunning evil. “Eschewing” you know is the old English for shunning. He avoided it; he would have nothing to do with it. So that there you have the fear of God, the great root of his being sound or “perfect”; and refusing evil, the great mark of his being “upright.” And then we have his family description.

But the remarkable thing is this great trial – and very comforting to us it is – the most remarkable that ever took place upon the earth, except the trial of Christ. With that the Book of Job stands in contrast. What we have here is a man greatly tried by Satan. But what were all the temptations of Job compared with those of the Lord? And I take it not merely the temptations of Job, but the end – the end of Job was that he found God full of pity, and of tender mercy; but the end of the Lord Jesus in this world was the cross. Job was brought down to the dust in agony, but Christ was brought down to the dust of death. The Lord speaks of Himself (Psa 22 ) as a worm; and what was that judgment that fell upon Him when on the cross? What was all the frightful state of Job’s body compared with the judgment of our sins?

Between the two there is another thing. We shall find in this Book – I am anticipating now, but in an introductory lecture you must expect that – Job allowed himself language and thought about God that was the greatest dishonour to Job. It was not only that he cursed his day, which was, of course, extreme failure, and a failure that is very profitable for us to note. What was Job more remarkable for than any man upon the earth of his day? Patience. “Ye have heard of the patience of Job”; that is the very thing in which he broke down. He became impatient with his friends – and I must admit they were a most trying set, those three men, and there was everything to fill Job with indignation at their bad thoughts of him; because what they were thinking all through was that he must have been guilty of some terrible unknown sin, unknown to them, that was the cause of all this suffering. That was the orthodox idea of that day, and it is so still. If there is any thing very trying that happens, there must be something wrong with that man! If he is very ill spoken of, ‘Oh, well, with smoke there must be a little fire’ say these sages of evil.

Now it is remarkable that God gave this Book for the purpose of uprooting all that superficial folly; all those utterly unkind, ungracious thoughts of men, in order to make another thing totally different, manifest, namely, that whatever may be the power of Satan, God is the one that is at the helm, and God is the one that makes it all turn, eventually, for the blessing of the tried man, and for the glory of God. So that it is only the beginning of a circle in its own way, in very early days. Because, as I have already observed, only, perhaps, one book, the Book of Genesis, was then written – certainly no more, in my opinion; and yet for all that, in Job we have one of the grandest books that ever was written. I mean even in the Bible. I do not count it with other books; what are they to be accounted? – but the Bible even. There is nothing more astonishing for those who will fairly look into that Book; and therefore I hope there may be some who will become more intimately acquainted with it than they have been.

It is no use my speaking unless that should be the result. That is the object I have; and, along with that, blessing to our souls. Here it is eminently God on the one hand, man and Satan on the other. You must not think of an old tract that used to be in circulation amongst us, written by a very dear christian, but under a very great mistake, which maintained that Job was only converted at the end of his life. Nonsense! Job was converted from the very first time that God spoke. Do you think that God would speak of an unconverted man in the terms that I am about to read now? “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth?” (ver. 8). You can understand that the Jews did not like that. None like Job, a Gentile! According to the story, according to the book, according to the truth; none like him! Yet it was so.

It is not, beloved friends, the amount of truth that any man knows, on which his state before God turns, but the using of it excellently. You will find men who know a great deal of truth utterly without principle; utterly without the fear of God. You will find men who know a great deal, and all they use it for is merely to exalt themselves. Sometimes for money, sometimes for a name. But all that is most hateful to God. Here we find a man that did not and could not know much in these days, but still he made the best use of it. He lived in the faith of it, in the faith of God Himself; and the result was there was none like him in the earth – a perfect man and an upright man, “one that feared God and eschewed evil.”

There you have God’s endorsement of what the inspired writer said about him. The idea that he was not a converted man! It just shows how when people get a notion into their head it governs them. They get the idea that conversion means justification. Now that is not what conversion means at all. Conversion properly and truly means the first turning to God; at the time when we are still a great deal behind, when we may have no proper faith in redemption, when we may not know that our sins are blotted out. But really we have a new light; we hate our sins; we acknowledge our sins, and turn to God. It is the beginning; it is not the end. There is, of course, another use of the word, that is when we turn back again after we leave Him; but that does not apply to Job, for Job had not left God up to this time; and he did not turn away from God at this time either. He was in the direst trouble, and no wonder; because Christ was not come; the work of redemption was not accomplished. How could he have that peace and that liberty which we are entitled to through faith not only in Christ, but in the work of Christ?

And this is one of the great objects of the Book; to show that no matter how good a man may seem, if he is put to the proof about what he is himself, in his own heart, he will break down. It will be my lot to show the particulars of this another day; but now we have merely passed before us here this great truth; and it is quite a key to difficulties of all kinds. It is God that really takes the initiative, not Satan. God is the one that moves in this; and if it led to Job’s being so terribly tried, yet what a comfort to have known this! Job did not know it; that is what we know; this is what the word shows here; but Job had no idea that before all this trial came upon him in the earth there was a scene in heaven about him!

Do you think it is only of Job that God thinks? Do you think that God is not thinking of every one of you now, and that in the presence of the evil angel? Do you suppose that this was something entirely exceptional? The account of it was, the allowance of it was, the special circumstances of it were peculiar; but the principle is the same for every believer. God in His sovereign love and grace takes a pleasure in His children, far more than we take in any of ours. And you know what that is for a parent. Well now, God takes more pleasure in you – not merely in Job – in you. I grant we do not deserve it; that is another thing altogether. Love does not count up deserts at all. Love goes out because God is love, and for His own glory in Christ the Lord. Now He is able to do it righteously; able to do it effectively. But here there was tremendous suffering before Christ came in, and before the full light of God came. God allowed all that; nevertheless it was He that began it; and, if God begins, how will He end? Worthily of Himself. It is not merely patching up; it is not merely repairing, but a radical work of self-judgment in the soul.

God, in His wonderful ways, is not one that waits for the devil at all. He begins. God had a child of His; and when this subtle, active, malicious foe came, in his restless roamings backward and forward on the earth to do mischief, God said “Look at my servant Job.” The enemy felt that as a challenge to him, as it were. God first of all laid down a certain restriction, and this He always does. He allows it only to a certain extent; and in this case it was to be to a very remarkable extent, that it might be a lesson for ever after this Book was written; that it might cast a light on all the great struggle of good and evil, for every child of God from that day to this.

“And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Doth Job fear God for naught?” It is only a bit of selfishness; it is only for his own ends. How did he judge that? From himself. Oh, it is a dangerous thing to judge anything from ourselves. It is a blessed thing to judge from God’s word. “Hast thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power.” God allowed him to try. “Only upon himself put not forth thine hand.”

That was the first trial. Here we have light upon a very important thing. Satan showed himself to God, but he hides himself from men, to deceive all the more. We read that a messenger came, when everything was prosperous. No man in that part of the East was so prosperous as Job; he was the man that must be brought down to the dust. The same thing with his sons and daughters. There they were. We have a beautiful picture here of social happiness and family enjoyment, which is a thing that God takes pleasure in, but it all came to naught, and it all came to naught also as to his substance. Everything – children, the dearest of all that Job had – and also all his property. “The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them” – they were a people in that part of the country who used to keep moving upwards from the south to the north – “and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” While that man was speaking, word came – and this was not the Sabeans, nor the Chaldeans – “The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep.” The flocks, of course, were vast compared with the herds, and they were all consumed, and the servants too. And while he was speaking, there came one and told him about the Chaldeans. They were enemies, plunderers at that time from the east, as the Sabeans were from the south; and they fell upon the camels, a very valuable part of Job’s property, and carried them away. He only was escaped to tell the sad tale. And then came the last stroke of all – a whirlwind that attacked the house on all four sides. No ordinary wind would do that. And it fell upon and destroyed all assembled there on that very day – the festal day that they were holding together.

And how did it affect Job? Very few converted men now would act as Job did then. “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshipped.” Now he was a most affectionate man, and he was a man full of graciousness even to strangers. What was it for him to lose all, not merely his property, but every soul of the family, outside his own house? And he said “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away, blessed be the name of Jehovah.” You cannot conceive a more happy and decided expression of entire godliness from a deeply tried soul. “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly,” that is, in a way that was contrary to all propriety.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

There was a man = A man came to be. This settles the question as to the historical fact. was = came to be. See note on p. 666.

man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.

Uz. In Gen 22:20, Gen 22:21, immediately after the offering of Isaac, Abraham hears that his brother Nahor has eight sons, and among them two named Uz and Buz, and Kemuel the father of Aram. Uz gives his name to the land. Buz and Aram are connected with Elihu (Job 32:2). See App-62. The land of Uz is mentioned in Jer 25:20 and Lam 4:21. South of Edom, west of Arabia, extending to the borders of Chaldea.

Job. In Hebrew. ‘Iyyob = afflicted.

that = this.

was = came to be, as in Gen 1:2.

perfect = inoffensive. None are “perfect” in the English sense of the word. Hebrew. tam. See Gen 20:5.

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.

evil. Hebrew. ra’a. App-44.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Shall we turn now to the book of Job, chapter 1.

As we come to the book of Job, we actually enter into a new section of the Old Testament. As you know, the Old Testament is divided into different divisions. The first five books comprising what is often called the Pentateuch, the books of the law. The next several books are historic as they deal with the history of the nation of Israel from the time that they have come out of Egypt and they begin as a nation in the land. And it covers that period of history while they are in the land of Israel through the Babylonian captivity and through the repatriation and the regathering again to Israel. And the books of history take us up to about 400 B.C.

Now we are entering into a third part of the Old Testament, the books that are known as the books of poetry. And these include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. And they are Hebrew poetry. And in Hebrew poetry, it is unlike our English poetry in that Hebrew poetry does not rhyme words, but actually gives sort of parallel thoughts or contrasting thoughts. And their sense of literature and poetry is found not in the rhyming of a word or not in a meter, but in the thoughts themselves. The paralleling thoughts are the rhyming thoughts. The words don’t necessarily rhyme, but there is a rhyme or parallelism within the thoughts or a contrast: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. For the righteous shall flourish, but the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous, the wicked. And so you have the contrast between the thoughts, or you have the parallel thoughts where they are building: the way of the Lord is right; the way of the Lord is true; the way of the Lord is just. And so you are giving parallel thought concepts.

So Job is the first of the books of poetry. It has been considered perhaps older than the book of Genesis. Though Genesis, of course, deals with history that predates Job, yet there is a Jobab mentioned in Genesis that is very possibly the Job of this book who lived contemporarily with Abraham. So it is possible that Job dates back as far as does Abraham, just a couple of generations away from Noah and the flood. Thus, in the book of Job, which is one of the oldest books of man’s literature, the expression of the thoughts of some of the earliest men, once writing was developed and thoughts could be recorded. We find that men from the beginning have been pretty much the same. Though our cultures have changed and times have changed from Job, yet basically the same things that were a problem to Job are the same things that become a problem to us. The same needs that Job expressed are the same needs that still exists in man today.

In Job we have the picture of a man who was reduced perhaps more than any other man has ever been reduced, to just the bare essence of existence. With Job it’s just raw existence. Everything that we think as necessary for life, everything that we consider to be important for our lives was stripped away from Job. His possessions, his family, his friends, his health, lost everything. He even lost the consciousness of the sense of his own worth as he began to curse the day that he was born and cry out for death.

Now, when you have lost everything, then is when is exposed the deepest longings and quest of man. You see, you’re not worried about, “Where shall we go to eat after church tonight?” And this doesn’t become a real major issue, a point of argument and debate. Or, “What are we going to do tomorrow on the holiday?” You see, we crowd and fill our minds with a lot of things that really aren’t essential to life, because we have friends and we have many interests. And these things can become very important to us. And unfortunately, people can spend their whole lives in things that really don’t matter. A whole life can be wasted in non-essentials. It isn’t, “What shall we eat?” or, “Shall we eat or not?” or, “Can we eat or not?” but it becomes then the argument is, “What is the choice of what we are going to eat?” “Well, I have a taste for Mexican food.” “Well, I have a taste for Italian food.” “Well, I want Mexican food. I want the chips with the sauce.” “Well, I want lasagna.” And you call the attorney to get a divorce. Oh, how tragic that man can spend his life majoring in minors and never, never come to the real issues of life.

Now with Job, man, it was just existence. Everything was stripped away. Now just the raw person. What are the things that are expressed? What are the cries? What are the needs? They are the basic needs of man and the basic needs of life that are expressed at this point. And thus, Job becomes a very interesting book to us as we listen to the cries of Job as they deal with the deepest issues of life.

The story of Job is an interesting story, and it is one that surely does confirm what God has declared in Isaiah and Job expressed himself, and that is that the ways of God are beyond our finding out. God said through Isaiah the prophet, “My ways are not your ways, saith the Lord, My ways are beyond your finding out” ( Isa 55:8 ). I do not pretend to understand everything about God. In fact, I must confess that I understand very little about God. That’s why I worship Him. If I could understand Him completely then He would be on my level and what would I have to worship? But because He is so much greater, vaster in wisdom and understanding and knowledge than I am, I stand in awe and reverence and I worship Him.

Now, He doesn’t always do things my way. Nor does He always stop to explain to me why He did it His way. Though I sometimes demand that He does. He doesn’t always even pay attention to my demands. He just seems to go ahead and do what He wants to anyhow, in spite of my objections. But I appreciate that, because I have found a long time ago that I don’t know very much. I fit in the category of which Shakespeare wrote when he said, “Man, poor man, so ignorant in that which he knows best.” And I find I’m so ignorant in the things I know best. And thus, I am glad to submit my life, my will to God and to His wisdom. And I am thankful that I can pray, “Lord, I don’t understand what You’re doing. I don’t like what You’re doing, but I know that what You’re doing is best so just keep doing it. Not my will, Your will, Lord, be done.”

The beginning of Job. It tells us a little background of him.

Job lived in the land of Uz ( Job 1:1 );

Wherever that is. But then concerning him, it said he was,

a perfect [man] and upright, and one that feared God [or reverenced God], and hated evil ( Job 1:1 ).

Job was a good man. Loving, reverencing God, hating evil.

Now he had seven sons and three daughters. Plus seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east ( Job 1:2-3 ).

A good man. A wealthy man. A man who loved God and hated evil.

And his sons ( Job 1:4 )

Seem to be partiers. So in his concern for his sons, daily he would offer sacrifices for them and say, “Lord, forgive them if in their partying they say something that is contrary or against Thee, Lord, grant them forgiveness.” And he was constantly praying for his children. The background of the man.

Now we turn from this man and now we are ushered into the heavenly scenes. We are now at the throne of God and the angels are coming and presenting themselves to God. And along with the angels, here comes Satan. Now, even after Satan’s fall, it seems that he had access, and thus have access to the throne of God. Why does God allow him access there? I told you I don’t know everything about God and I don’t know. It’s a question in my mind. The Bible says he’s the accuser of the brethren and he accuses them before God day and night. Now we find him in that position right here. He is accusing Job after God brings up the subject of Job. But first of all, when Satan comes in to present himself before God, God says, “Oh, where have you been?” He says, “I’ve been cruising around the world. Going to and fro throughout it, walking up and down.” God said, “Oh?”

Have you considered my servant Job ( Job 1:8 ),

God’s doing a little bragging now. He’s got one down there who really loves Him. He’s a perfect man. He hates evil. Praying for his children.

The word considered is the word that I’m interested in, though, because it is actually a military term. It is the term that is used of a general who is studying a city before he attacks it in order that he might develop his strategy whereby he can destroy the city. So he’s watching when they open the gates, the method of which they open the gates. How do the people come out? What gates are the most easily attacked? And he’s developing his whole strategy in order that he might attack and destroy the city. That’s the Hebrew word, the background of the word. It’s a military term. “Have you been studying Job? Seeking to develop the strategy whereby you might destroy him? Have you considered my servant Job?”

Now God’s witness of Job, perfect man and upright. He loves Me; he hates evil. And Satan frighteningly declares, “Yes, I have seen that fellow. I’ve studied him.” And not only had Satan been studying Job, but he had developed a whole philosophy concerning Job. He said, “Job has been blessed of You. Look, he’s the wealthiest man in the east. He has everything anybody could ever desire or want. Job is just serving You because You’ve blessed him so much. Who wouldn’t serve You if You blessed them like that? And You’ve put a hedge around him and I can’t get to him.” This interests me, the hedge that God puts around His children. “He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. To bear thee up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone” ( Psa 91:11-12 ). And God has a hedge around us. Satan is complaining about that hedge. “Let me get at it. Let me at it. Let me take away his wealth and he’s going to curse you to your face. Job only serves You because it pays such big dividends.” So God said to Satan, “All right, I will let you at him. Only don’t touch him. You can touch his possessions; don’t touch him.”

So it came to pass in a certain day while his children were feasting and drinking in his oldest son’s house: there came a messenger to Job, and he said, Your oxen were plowing, and the asses were feeding beside them: and the Sabaeans fell upon them, and took them away; and they killed all of your servants; and I’m the only one that is left and I have come to tell you. And before he could finish his message of despair, a second servant came, and he said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and it has consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. And while he was still talking, there came another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, they fell upon your camels, and have carried them away, and they’ve killed all of your servants with the edge of the sword; and I’m the only one that has escaped and I’ve come to tell you. While he was yet speaking, another came and said, Your sons and daughters while they were having this big banquet, a wind came out to the east, and it blew down the house, and they were all of them crushed to death; and their servants with them ( Job 1:13-18 ).

Wipe out. In a moment’s time your wealth, your possessions, and even all of your children are taken away. What do you do? Job fell on his face there in the dirt and he blessed God.

He said, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I’m going to return: the LORD has given, the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all of these things Job did not curse God, neither did he charge God foolishly ( Job 1:21-22 ).

I would like to say that I have heard many people charge God foolishly. Maybe they didn’t curse God, but they’ve made foolish charges against God. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t think God cares about me at all. I don’t think God loves me.” Those are foolish charges against God. Sometimes because of our circumstances we are prone to make foolish charges against God. But Job didn’t do that. He passed test one.

“

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Job 1:1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

That was Jobs character before the trial which made him famous; perhaps, if it had not been for that trial, we should never have heard of him; now, as the apostle James wrote, Ye have heard of the patience of Job. God, by great; afflictions, gave to his servant that usefulness for which he had possibly prayed, without knowing how it would come to him. A long-continued life, of prosperity may not so truly glorify God as a life that is chequered by adversity; and God, who intended to put honour upon his servant, did as kings do when they confer the honour of knighthood, they strike with the, back or flat of the sword, so God smote the patriarch Job that he might raise him above his fellow men. The Lord intended to make him Job the patient, but to that end He must make him Job the sufferer. From this Book I learn what gospel perfection is. We are told that Job was perfect and upright, yet I am sure that he was not free from tendencies to evil, he was not absolutely perfect. As old Master Trapp says, Gods people may be perfect, but they are not perfectly perfect; and so it certainly was with Job. There were imperfections deep down in his character which his trials developed, and which the grace of God no doubt afterwards removed; but after the manner of speech that is used in Holy Scripture, Job was a perfect man; he was sincere, thorough-hearted, consecrated; and he was also upright. He leaned neither this way nor that way, he had no twist in him, he had no selfish ends to serve. He was one that feared God. Everybody could see that; and, consequently, he hated evil with all his heart.

Job 1:2. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

It was a great privilege to have such a family as this, but it brought to Job great responsibilities and many anxieties.

Job 1:3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

A man may be a good man and a rich man, but it is not usually the case. I am afraid that what Mr. Bunyan says is all too true,- Gold and the gospel seldom do agree; Religion always sides with poverty. Yet it should not be so, for God can give a man grace enough to use all his substance to his Lords glory. I wish that it were oftener the case that we could see a holy Job as well as a godly Lazarus, a company of men who would prove their consecration to God by never allowing their wealth to become their master, but being master of all their substance, and realizing constantly that it is all the Lords. This, after all, is the noblest heritage a man has with the exception of his God. Job, in adversity, could possess his soul in patience because, in his prosperity, he had not let his riches possess him, but he had possessed them.

Job 1:4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

This showed that it was not drunken riotousness, or they would not have wanted their sisters; the sweet, gentle, delicate influence of their sisters would tend to keep their feasting what it should be. Besides, they were the sons of a man of God, and so they would know how to keep their feasting within due bounds. Yet we are all mortal and fallible, and feasting times are dangerous times. The Puritans used to call fasting, soul-fattening fasting; but feasting, they might call soul-weakening feasting. Solomon truly said, It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. There is always a risk about feasting, and Job was therefore a little afraid about how his sons might have behaved.

Job 1:5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts, Thus did Job continually.

They might have spoken unadvisedly with their lips, they might have even taken Gods name in vain, there ,night have been something about their conduct which was not altogether proper; so their father desired to put the sin of it; away. Observe Jobs resort to burnt offerings. He lived before the Jewish law was given, yet he felt the instinct concerning the need of a sacrifice which every believing heart feels when it approaches the holy God. I pray you, never give up that idea of coming to God by means of a sacrifice, for there is no other way of access. We may think as we will, but there is nothing else that will ever quiet the conscience, and bring us near to God, but the divinely-appointed sacrifice. And Job knew this; he did not think that his sons could be cleansed by his prayers alone, but he must offer burnt sacrifices according to the number of them all, that they might, every one have a share in, the blessings which those sacrifices typified.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Job 1:1

Job 1

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE SAINTS COME TOGETHER TO WORSHIP?

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION FOR THIS CHAPTER

We have read twenty commentaries on this chapter and find no help in any of them; nor have we seen any other chapter in the whole Bible where we are any more certain that the interpretation of a chapter of God’s Word by current scholars is any more erroneous and absolutely unacceptable than is the case here. Apparently, none of the scholars whose writings we have consulted thus far on Job have been reading the same Bible that we read.

They all say that the scene here is “laid in heaven.” Ridiculous! Satan does not have access to heaven. Rev 12:7-9 declares, regarding Satan and his angels, that, “Their place was found no more in heaven,” and that, “Satan was cast down to earth,” and this epoch event is revealed as taking place before the creation of Adam. That is why Satan had access to the Garden of Eden. Throughout the period of human history, Satan’s theater of operations has been the earth, where Satan now is, along with his fallen angels, “Reserved in chains (pits) of darkness to the day of judgment” (2Pe 2:7). See more on this under verse 12, below.

In this light, therefore, how can a score of Biblical scholars write that, “We have here a scene in heaven where Satan questions Job’s motives”? To explain such opinions, we must suppose (1) that they are made by men who never read the New Testament, (or if they had read it, did not understand it), or (2) that they accept this whole chapter of Job as merely a fanciful folk tale, invented by some unknown person as an allegory, or for the purpose of teaching some kind of a lesson. Some commentators, of course, freely admit holding such a position. We reject that notion out of hand.

HOW DO FALSE INTERPRETERS PLACE THIS SCENE IN HEAVEN?

(1) The word “heaven” is not in this chapter. However, it does state that the sons of God were there; and, of course, by falsely interpreting that expression as a reference to angels, advocates of the current error may exclaim, “And, certainly angels are in heaven.” That’s how they do it; and it sounds convincing until it is considered that the ordinary meaning of sons of God is simply, men who worship God. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom 8:14). Likewise Heb 12:7-8 speaks of all Christians on earth as “sons” of God. Oh yes, but Job used the same expression in Job 38:7 in what is admittedly a reference to angels, not because the expression means angels (for it doesn’t), but because the context requires a different meaning; and that is a condition that does not exist in chapter 1. Are there then two meanings of the expression sons of God? Certainly! There are dozens of words in the Bible that have more than one meaning. Note:

And the captain fell on his knees BEFORE Elijah (1Ki 1:13).

And Haran died BEFORE … Terah in Ur (Gen 10:28).

In the passage in Kings, the word “before” means “in the presence of”; and in the passage from Genesis it means “prior to.” We could cite dozens of other examples of the same word standing in the Bible with diverse meanings.

Therefore, the use of the expression “sons of God” in Job 38:7 where the context forces a meaning different from its ordinary denotation, is no excuse whatever for forcing that meaning upon the expression in this chapter.

We are happy indeed to find one scholar who admits the dual meaning of the expression sons of God, and who gave it the proper interpretation in Gen 6:2. pointing out that there, “The meaning of this phrase is men who worship God, for angels and men alike are, `sons of God,’ as created in his image, to obey and serve him.” We have thoroughly researched the meaning of that passage in Genesis, which has no reference whatever to angels. (See my commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1, of the Pentateuchal Series, pp. 102,103.)

When the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them (Job 1:6). Before Jehovah! Ah, there it is, doesn’t that refer to heaven? No! The words before Jehovah generally refer to what men do on earth. “Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Gen 10:9). In heaven? Of course not. Where do men usually hunt? This morning at church, the deacon who led the prayer at the Lord’s table began, “Father in heaven, we are assembled in thy presence … etc.”; nobody jumped to the conclusion that all of us had suddenly been transported into glory. That is, unless some of those Bible scholars who think God’s presence is limited to heaven happened to be in the audience.

Note that this assembly of God’s worshippers (that’s what sons of God means) probably included Job; and the presence of Satan should also cause no surprise. There has hardly ever been an assembly of the saints when Satan was absent!

Let it be observed also that Satan’s theater of operations in this passage was restricted absolutely to the earth. That is where Satan went up and down and to and fro, “seeking whom he may devour,” (1Pe 5:8); and, of course, that is his present occupation also.

What is revealed in this chapter is a typical gathering of God’s people, with Satan usually, if not indeed always, present, ever looking for sins and shortcomings of God’s people. Oh no, today we can not see the kind of repartee that took place between God and Satan in this chapter; but, without any doubt, the same thing is going on upon every occasion when the sons of God come before the Lord in worship; and it is the glory of this chapter that the inspired author, whom we believe to have been Moses, pulls aside the curtain of those hidden things that belong to God, enabling us to behold the merciless hatred of our cruel enemy (Satan) as he continually accuses the brethren “before God”; but absolutely not in heaven. Satan is not in heaven, but on earth; and God sees, hears and understands everything Satan does, for everything on earth is done BEFORE THE LORD.

Paul admonished Christians to, “Draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy” (Heb 4:16). Of course, “the throne” here is God’s throne, which is in heaven; but Paul did not mean that we must go to heaven in order to pray. We come before God and his throne (in heaven) every time we pray right here on earth!

What an incredibly beneficial revelation is this inspired account! When we suffer unjustly, when life is cruel and merciless in what falls upon God’s saints, when evil men are honored and promoted and the righteous reduced to poverty, disease, and dishonor, our Father in heaven is not to blame; our enemy, Satan, is the hidden cause of it.

Job 1:1

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil.”

“There was a man.” Yes, Job is historical. See our introduction. We are not dealing with some folk tale.

How blind was that scholar who wrote, “The Book of Job should begin with, “Once upon a time,” (like any other fairy tale)! One of the ancestors of Job was a son of Aram and the grandson of Shem (Gen 10:23); and, from this connection, some believe that. “The land of Uz is that settled by the sons of Aram.”

“In the land of Uz.” This place is unknown; but, “It lay somewhere east of Canaan near the borders of the desert that separates the eastern and western arms of the Fertile Crescent. It was an area of farms, towns and migrating herds.”

“That man was perfect and upright.” This cannot mean that he was sinless, but that he was perfect in his generation, as was Noah. Sinless perfection is an attainment that does not lie within the perimeter of mortal man’s ability. Only the blessed Saviour lived and died as a mortal man without sin.

E.M. Zerr:

General remarks: I shall not attempt to discuss all the questions raised as to the exact date when Job lived. The “authorities” do not agree on the subject, but that is not of so much importance to us. The main thing to remember is that he was an actual person and not an imaginary one. In Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20 he is named in connection with Noah and Daniel, and in the same sense. No one who accepts the Bible at all ever denies the actual personality of two of the men mentioned, and hence that of Job should be regarded in the same light. Strong’s lexicon gives us the direct and simple definition, “the patriarch famous for his patience.” James refers to him (Ch. 5:11) as a real man, and we have no reason to consider him otherwise. As to his race or nationality I shall quote from Smith’s Bible Dictionary as follows: “Job, the patriarch, from whom one of the books of the Old Testament is named. His residence in the land of Uz marks him as belonging to a branch of the Aramean race, which had settled in the lower part of Mesopotamia (probably to the south or southeast of Palestine, in Idumean [Edomite] Arabia), adjacent to the Sabeans and Chaldeans.” According to this, Job’s blood was a mixture of that from Abraham and the other branches of people under the Patriarchal Dispensation. Other points of interest as to Job’s place in the great Book of God, and the central line of thought running through the book, will be noted as we pursue our study.

Job 1:1. The character of Job is the outstanding fact of this verse. Perfect means he was completely righteous before God, and feared or reverenced him. To eschew evil means not only to refrain from doing it but to shun or avoid it.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

In magnificence of argument and beauty of style this Book is one of the grandest in the divine Library. The story of Job is presented in dramatic form.

It opens with a picture of Job. He is seen in three respects: first, as to character. The opening verses declare him to be “perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil.” The language is simple, and suggests that high integrity which never fails to command respect. In the second place, he is seen in the midst of his home life, rejoicing in his children, not attempting to stay their festivity, while yet anxious concerning their character. Finally, he is revealed to us as a man of great wealth. The combination is rare and remarkable. The man stands before us, a strong and majestic figure, upright and tender, just and gracious; in the language of the chronicler, the “greatest of all the children of the east.”

Then we are confronted with a most startling situation. Heaven is seen in argument with hell about earth. God is heard in defense of a man against Satan. The angel messengers of the Most High are seen gathering to Him in counsel. Among them was one, like them in nature, and yet unlike. He is here named the adversary. His estimate of Job was that his attitude toward God was based on pure selfishness, and that if what Job possessed was taken from him he would cease to be loyal to the throne of God. To the adversary permission was given to deal with the possessions of Job. To this permission bounds were set beyond which he might not go. The person of the patriarch was not to be touched. The storm broke on the head of Job. All the advantage seemed to be with the enemy, for up to a certain point Job was powerless against him. There was, however, an inner citadel which the enemy could not touch. Satan is revealed here in startling light. His malice is seen in the choice of time. He strikes in the midst of festivity. His persistence is manifest in that he proceeds to the uttermost bound of the permission is limitation is evident in that he cannot transgress that bound.

The answer of Job to the sweeping storm was characterized by heroism and vast breadth of outlook. There was no affectation of stoicism. He was afflicted, and showed it in all the outward signs of mourning. In the midst of these, however, he turned to the highest act of life, and bowed in reverential worship. His words were of the profoundest philosophy. He recognized that man is more than the things he gathers about him. His beginning and his ending are in nakedness. Discerning the hand of the Lord in bane as well as in blessing, he lifted to Him, out of the midst of dire calamity, the sacrifice of praise. Thus the adversary’s lie in the council of heaven was disproved.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Satan Aims at a High Mark

Job 1:1-12

Job is introduced as a man of large possessions, highly honored by all who knew him, and of unimpeachable integrity toward God. His piety was specially evinced in the anxiety he experienced for his children, lest any of them should renounce or say farewell to God. What an example this is for parents! We should pray for each child by name, and, like Job, we should do so continually.

Satan is well called the Adversary, r.v., margin, because he opposes God and goodness. Compare Zec 3:1; Rev 12:10. He admits Jobs goodness, but challenges its motive. He suggests that it is by no means disinterested. Satan still considers the saints, and finds out their weak places and secret sins. But he has no power over us save by the divine permission, and if we are tempted, there is always available the needed supply of grace, 2Co 12:9.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Job 1:5

After the days of his sons’ feasting were over, Job offered sacrifices of atonement for them, lest in the midst of their enjoyment they might have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. He was afraid lest their pleasures had done them harm, and he wished, if it were so, to remedy it.

I. “It may be,” said Job, “that my sons have cursed God in their hearts.” The blasphemy of the heart is the natural child of prosperity where man is corrupt and God is pure. Prosperity makes a man feel strong in himself and confident, but it does not make him feel grateful, because, knowing God to be a holy God, and himself to be alienated from Him, he cannot think that his good things are God’s gift, but rather that they are enjoyed in spite of Him. So then he learns to hate God; and the more he enjoys his earthly good things, the more he hates Him.

II. The first beginnings of this feeling are a sense of weari ness and impatience when any pleasure is interrupted, or for a short time deferred, by a call to offer up our prayers to God.

The two things seem to us unsuitable to one another. Whenever we find our duty dull, then the thought of God becomes dull to us also; we are in the first beginnings of cursing Him in our hearts.

III. If we believe that our pleasures are the gift of God, that God loves us, and that these, as well as all other things which we enjoy, are the fruits of His fatherly affection, then we need no sacrifice of atonement to sanctify our joys to us, and to save us from the punishment of inward blasphemy; all is atoned for, all is peace and safety; for we have received the Spirit of adoption, and cry, “Abba, Father,” and the Spirit itself witnesseth with our spirit that we are the sons of God through Jesus Christ.

T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 93.

References: Job 1:5.-C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 385; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 362; E. Monro, Practical Sermons, vol. i., p. 347. Job 1:6.-Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Genesis to Proverbs, p. 115.

Job 1:6-12

I. The introduction of Satan into the scene before us illustrates the problem of the book of Job. This wonderful, and perhaps most human of all books, evidently discusses the problem of suffering, of evil in the world, especially in its relation to man; and Satan, as a malignant person, is seen to be the author of the evil which Job suffers. Satan appears here in the character in which he is constantly represented throughout the Bible; he is the accuser of the brethren; he is the adversary among the sons of God: he is among them, but he is among them to criticise and sneer; this is the name by which he is known, and all other names end in this; he is the adversary, Diabolus, “your adversary the devil.”

II. The response of the evil one to his almighty Questioner distinctly expresses: (1) Indifference. This is the end, the passionless end, of his character. Indifference, the absence of all reality, contempt for all enthusiasm, contempt for all sentiment, studious repression of all that might be Divine instinct or delight in the works of the great God-such is Satan. (2) There is another attribute, although certainly the first is very greatly the result of the second; it is unbelief. He had no God-consciousness. Something, some Being even, of infinitely greater dimensions than himself, he was able to apprehend, but of the blessed and benignant character of this Being he was wholly unaware; for we know all things and all beings in some sense by our participation in their nature. (3) Another characteristic brought out as an attribute of Satan in this singular and ancient scene is cruelty. (4) Another characteristic feature brought out in the text is limitation. While evil and Satan exist, they are conditioned by the sovereignty of God; God rules over evil in all its personalities and forms. The personality of Satan stands over against the personality of God, but limited, only permitted, and doomed by His sovereignty.

E. Paxton Hood, Preacher’s Lantern, vol. ii., p. 114.

References: Job 1:8.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xi., No. 623; A. M. Fairbairn, The City of God, p. 143.

Job 1:8-9

Among the mysteries of God’s providence there is perhaps no mystery greater than the law by which suffering is meted out in the world. It is not a mystery that sin should bring forth sorrow; it is not a mystery that pain, disease, and death should be the fruit of man’s fall. The really difficult problem is not the problem of suffering in the abstract; it is the problem of the meting out of suffering on any theory; it is the problem why the innocent are called upon to suffer while the guilty too often escape; it is the problem why the purest, simplest of our race should drain the cup of sorrow whilst the ungodly have more than their hearts desire, and have neither affliction in their life nor pain in their death. This is the problem which comes before us in that grandest of poems, which has ever sounded the deeps of the human heart, the poem of Job. We have in this book the problem worked out, and three answers given.

I. First is the answer of the three friends who come to condole with Job in his affliction. One after another they repeat the same commonplaces of their creed-God is just, and therefore God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. If a man suffers, he suffers because he deserves it. The sufferer himself indignantly repudiates this belief. It is of no use to tell him he has been a hypocrite, an evildoer; he denies the accusation; he will be true to God and to the method of His justice so far as he knows it, but he must be true to his conscience; he will not say, “I am guilty,” when he knows he is innocent.

II. But there is another theory of suffering, which approaches more nearly to the truth, which is also given in the book of Job. Elihu declares that God’s purpose in chastisement is the purification of His servant. Here certainly is a step in advance. To see a purpose of love in affliction is to turn it into a blessing.

III. But the mystery of suffering is not fully explained even when this purifying power is assigned to it. The author of this sublime poem is made the instrument of revealing to us another purpose of affliction. There is a suffering which is not even for the salvation or purification of the individual soul, but for the glory of God. If we look at the prelude of the book, we learn this lesson. Satan insinuates that the piety of Job is a selfish piety. His challenge strikes at the nature of God Himself. And God accepts the challenge. This is the key to the enigma, though Job knew nothing of it. Surely no more noble part can be assigned to any man than to be the champion of God. Men may mock at the Gospel and its promises; they may charge the followers of the Crucified with selfish aims and sordid motives; but one saint, who knows that the glory of God is in his hands, shall answer the sneer. His submission, self-sacrifice, and love shall compel the world to confess that God is love, and that man loves God for Himself.

J. S. Perowne, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 81.

Job 1:9

I. Selfishness is not the essence of human nature as presented in the Bible. Satan denies that there is unselfishness in Job, who is described as a “righteous man, who feared God and eschewed evil.” He would imply that it is not in God’s power to create a disinterested love of Himself even in a regenerate creature; that self-interest is the hidden worm at the root of everything, good or bad. (1) Think, first, of the regenerate man, and see whether God’s plan of forming him proceeds on the principle of appealing to selfishness. It is granted that the Bible all through presses men with threatenings of punishment and holds out to them promises of happiness to lead them to a new life. But this is to be remembered, that it begins its work with men who are sunk in sin, and that the essence of sin is selfishness. The Bible is constantly advancing from the domain of threatening and outward promise to that of free and unselfish love. As a man rises into the knowledge of the Divine plan he seeks and serves God, not from the hope of what he is to receive from Him, but from the delight which he finds in Him. (2) Even in the case of unregenerate men, the Bible does not affirm that the only law at work is one of utter selfishness.

The elements of human nature are still there. They are not annihilated, neither are they demonised. Whatever unrenewed men may be to God, they perform to their fellow-men oftentimes the most unselfish acts. The Bible delights to recognise this, and records the genuine and the kindly in unrenewed men. Let us thank God that He has not left human nature without gleams of His own kindness still reflected from it.

II. We have to show from the context the results of a belief in unmitigated selfishness. We shall take the character of the accusing spirit here for an illustration of these results. (1) The first evident consequence in him who holds it is a want of due regard for his fellow-creatures. All may be treated remorselessly where all are so contemptible. (2) The next consequence to the spirit which has no belief in unselfishness is the want of any centre of rest within itself. Incessant wandering, “going about,” “seeking rest and finding none,” is the view given of Satan in Scripture. (3) Another effect is the failure of any real hold on a God. It was so with the great spirit of evil. He could not deny God’s existence; this was too plainly forced upon him and felt by him; but he had no just views of a God of truth, and purity, and goodness, else he had never continued so to resist Him.

III. Consider some means that may be adopted as a remedy by those who are in danger of falling into this faith. (1) We should seek as much as possible to bring our own life into close contact with what is genuine in our fellow-men. (2) In judging of humanity, we must beware of taking a part for the whole. (3) We must learn to apprehend the Divine care for human nature.

J. Ker, Sermons, p. 98.

References: Job 1:9.-Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 22; T. T. Shore, Some Difficulties of Belief, p. 211.

Job 1:10, Job 1:21

I. Adversity tests the genuineness, the reality, of a man’s religious life.

II. Adversity improves the quality of the religious life, so that all true believers are able to say, “It was good for me that I was afflicted.” It renders our religious life (1) more thoughtful; (2) more robust; (3) more intense and prayerful; (4) more rounded and complete; (5) more tender and sympathetic.

III. Adversity promotes the permanence and growth of the religious life.

IV. Adversity gives effectiveness, capacity of service and usefulness, to the religious life. Neither the good servant nor the good soldier is trained in luxury for his work. They have both to “endure hardness” and to pass through discipline if they are to attain proficiency and be of real use.

J. C. Harrison, Congregationalist, vol. i., p. 653

Job 1:21

I. Job’s temptation came to him late in life.

II. Job is described as being perfect and pure, one that feared God and eschewed evil. The words of the text show that he had trust in God. He had got at two sides of trust in God’s omnipotence-trust in His positive and in His negative omnipotence. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away in His wisdom. It is not His will that we should possess all gifts; we have to realise our dependence upon one another. There are many who are tempted through feelings of despondency because they see how little they can do, how far others are before them, who are tempted not to do what they can do. We have not because God thinks it best for us not to have; we do not because God does not will us to do. The truer wisdom recognises the fact that it is God who gives, and God, equally omnipotent, equally powerful to give, who withholds. What He wants is a humble, intelligent, and diligent use of the gifts He has given. You must use that which God gives, otherwise you may lose that which you have. His will is not simply that we should accept heaven, but it is offered to our winning, to our acquisition. He would see every man using the talents given him, and the reward, we know, was given, not simply to the five, but to the fewer than five, of entering into the joy of the Lord.

Bishop King, Oxford Journal, Oct. 22nd, 1874.

The authorship and date of the book of Job are problems yet unsolved. This only is certain, that it presents a picture of a very early civilisation. It is not Jewish. Its teaching is unlocalised, and is of all time because it seems to be of no special time.

I. Hence it is that portions of this ancient book sound to us so strangely modern; and the verse before us is one in point.

It is a height of spirituality for which we are not prepared in a civilisation so remote. There is a ring of enthusiasm in the words, the spirit of a mind possessed with the reality of a Divine world above and beyond this.

II. The moral of the book of Job is that there are lessons in suffering or loss as true and precious as those which are learnt from regarding it as punishment, and this truth is one which we are still far from having mastered. In the problem presented here to Job was the dawn of that light which burst in all its fulness upon mankind in the Son of God. We have here a true foreshadowing of the Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, of Him who was made perfect by sufferings, not because of the Father’s hate, but because of His great love.

III. The instinct of sonship which was so strong in Job we, blessed with the great heritage of Christianity, are often slow to attain to. For, however much the reason is convinced that suffering and sacrifice are necessary ministers of the kingdom of heaven, we, each for himself, have to make it our own by another path.

A. Ainger, Sermons Preached in the Temple Church, p. 52.

References: Job 1-2-S. Cox, Expositor, 1st series, vol. iv., pp. 81, 161; Ibid., Commentary on Job, p. 22. Job 1-3-A. W. Momerie, Defects of Modern Christianity, p. 79. Job 2:3.-F.4 W. Farrar, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 17. Job 2:4.-Old Testament Outlines, p. 92; J. Robertson, Expositor, 2nd series, vol. vi., p. 255; H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1526. Job 2:5.-Parker, Fountain, July 4th, 1878.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

Analysis and Annotations

I. THE INTRODUCTION

Job 1:1-5. We are at once introduced to the leading person of this book. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. As already stated in the introduction, the land of Uz was east of Palestine and probably a part of Idumea, or in close proximity to the land of Edom. This seems to be confirmed by Lam 4:21 : Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz. Uz is also mentioned in Jer 25:20. It must have been on the borderland of Edom, if it was not a part of it. In Gen 22:20-21, we read of the sons of Abrahams brother Nahor; among them are two named Uz and Buz. (Elihu was of Buz, Job 32:2.)

The meaning of the name Job is persecuted or afflicted. His character is described as most excellent. He was perfect, which of course does not mean that he was sinless, without any flaw in his character. He was a whole-hearted man with a well-balanced solid character. In his dealings with others he was righteous, always upright and doing the right thing. He feared God, walking in the fear of God, which proves that he was a child of God, born again; and therefore he shunned evil in every form. This brief description of Job shows that he was an unusual man. The Lord Himself bore witness to this fact, for He said to Satan, there is none like him in the earth.

Great blessing rested upon him and upon his house. His family consisted of seven sons and three daughters. Of cattle he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses and a very great household. He was in every way, in his character, in his enormous wealth, the greatest man of the children of the east. His was the position of a prince among men with a princely household. Then follows a pleasing scene, a sample of how he conducted himself. His sons and daughters lacked nothing; they feasted and enjoyed life together in the midst of the great prosperity with which God had blessed them. There is nothing to indicate that it was sinful pleasure in which they indulged. But Job had a tender conscience. He wanted to make provision in case his children had sinned and cursed God in their hearts. The Hebrew for curse is bless and the meaning is to renounce God, to forget and turn away from Him. Notice that Job feared some such thought of turning away from God might have entered their young hearts; and that is where all turning away from God starts. And therefore pious Job rose up early in the morning and besides sanctifying them he also offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. He knew Gods holiness and the true mode of approach, by a sacrifice, the shedding of blood without which there is no remission of sins. How far he himself entered into the joys of his family we do not know; nor does he mention himself as needing a sacrifice.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

land of Uz

A region at the south of Edom, and west of the Arabian desert, extending to Chaldea.

Uz See Jer 25:20.

fear (See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Uz: Gen 10:23, Gen 22:20, Gen 22:21, Huz, Gen 36:28, 1Ch 1:17, 1Ch 1:42, Jer 25:20, Lam 4:21

Job: Eze 14:14, Eze 14:20, Jam 5:11

perfect: Job 1:8, Job 2:3, Job 23:11, Job 23:12, Job 31:1-40, Gen 6:9, Gen 17:1, 2Ki 20:3, 2Ch 31:20, 2Ch 31:21, Luk 1:6

one: Gen 22:12, Pro 8:13, Pro 16:6, 1Pe 3:11

Reciprocal: Gen 20:11 – Surely Gen 25:6 – east country Gen 25:27 – a plain man Deu 18:13 – Thou shalt Jos 24:14 – fear 2Sa 22:24 – upright 1Ki 8:61 – perfect Neh 7:2 – feared God Job 2:10 – shall we receive Job 4:6 – thy fear Job 9:20 – I am perfect Job 29:2 – as in months Psa 26:11 – I will Psa 37:37 – General Psa 119:1 – undefiled Pro 2:21 – General Pro 3:7 – fear Pro 14:2 – that walketh Mat 5:48 – ye Mat 19:21 – If Luk 2:25 – just Act 10:2 – one 1Co 2:6 – them 1Ti 6:17 – rich

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE BOOK OF JOB

A man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job.

Job 1:1

The authorship and date of the book of Job are problems yet unsolved. This only is certain, that it presents a picture of a very early civilisation. It is not Jewish. Its teaching is unlocalised, and is of all time, because it seems to be of no special time.

I. Hence it is that portions of this ancient book sound to us so strangely modern: and the first verse of the book is one in point. It is a height of spirituality for which we are not prepared in a civilisation so remote. There is a ring of enthusiasm in the words, the spirit of a mind possessed with the reality of a Divine world above and beyond this.

II. The moral of the book of Job is that there are lessons in suffering or loss as true and precious as those which are learnt from regarding it as punishment, and this truth is one which we are still far from having mastered.In the problem presented here to Job was the dawn of that light which burst in all its fulness upon mankind in the Son of God. We have here a true foreshadowing of the Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief, of Him Who was made perfect by sufferings, not because of the Fathers hate, but because of His great love.

III. The instinct of sonship which was so strong in Job we, blessed with the great heritage of Christianity, are often slow to attain to.For, however much the reason is convinced that suffering and sacrifice are necessary ministers of the kingdom of heaven, we, each for himself, have to make it our own by another path.

Canon Ainger

Illustration

Apart from all theories about its origin, It is, says Carlyle, one of the grandest things ever written with pen. One feels, indeed, as if it were not Hebrew; such a noble universality, different from noble patriotism or sectarianism, reigns in it. A noble bookall mens book. For Tennyson it was the greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern times, and Luther deemed it magnificent and sublime as no other book of Scripture. It, says Froude, hovers like a meteor over the old Hebrew literature. It has been likened to Dantes Divine Comedy. No doubt its scope is as great. It spans heaven and earth. Again, it has been compared with Goethes Faust. Faust has his Satan, his Mephistopheles, his temptation, his question, and his fall. But there is a difference. Faust has his problem, his greed of knowledge. And the tempter comes and weans him from the love of knowledge to the lust of flesh. But in Job Satan moves, as it were, on another plane. He does not corrupt man through lust; he threatens him through disaster and suffering. It is not for knowledge Job pants; it is for God Himself, Who only can give his restless soul rest.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

We regard it as little short of a miracle that this very ancient book should have been accepted by the people of Israel as part of “the oracles of God,” which were “committed” to their hands (see, Rom 3:2). Job may have been a contemporary of Abraham but he was certainly not of Abrahamic stock, and therefore a Gentile, and yet introduced to us with such words of commendation as we hardly find accorded to any son of Israel. In the book moreover is no allusion to the law in which the Jew made his boast. There was therefore in it nothing that would particularly appeal to the Jew, but rather that which might offend. Yet there through the centuries it has stood, and been handed down to us.

In this we see not only the wisdom of God but His mercy also. Directly sin entered the world a baffling problem presented itself in the slaying of righteous Abel. Why should the godly suffer? If a man’s life really pleases God, why should that pleasure not be indicated by special good being his in this life? There is, of course, the alternative problem Why should the ungodly prosper) – and this is dealt with in Psa 73:1-28. But long before the days of the Psalmists God saw fit in His mercy to solve the enigma for us by permitting extreme disaster to come upon Job, and then causing the story to be recorded and preserved in an inspired writing. The solution was given as soon as “the oracles of God” began to appear.

In the very first verse the inspired writer – whoever he was – makes the exceptional character of Job very clear, and in verse Job 1:8 he records that a precisely similar description of him had come from the lips of Jehovah Himself, but with the addition that in his piety he surpassed his contemporaries, for there was “none like him in the earth.” Of all men, therefore, here was the man upon whom the smile of the Almighty should rest.

And indeed he had been greatly prospered in the providence of God. He had a well favoured family, and immense possessions of those animals, in which wealth consisted in those days. He was the greatest among the men of the east, as well as the most godly. His piety embraced his family as well as himself, for he offered burnt offerings for them in the days of their festivities lest they should have in any way offended. Such is the picture presented of this remarkable man.

In verses Job 1:7-12, we are granted a glance behind the scenes of this world. Satan, though a fallen creature, still is permitted access to the presence of God. His casting down to earth, mentioned in Rev 12:1-17, is still future. He is spoken of in that chapter as, “the accuser of our brethren,” and that is just what we see him doing here: he does not change. He accused Job of self-seeking in his apparent piety: in other words, that he was in large measure a hypocrite – just what presently we shall find the three friends insinuating. He virtually challenged God to test him by some catastrophe, when Job’s skin-deep piety would be broken through, and he would curse the God whom he professed to regard.

The Lord accepted Satan’s challenge and permitted the adversary to act against all that he had, but not against himself. Satan promptly acted and the disasters fell with devastating effect.

It was a most instructive scene. We perceive three causes and two effects. The great First Cause is God. The second inferior cause is Satan. The third still lesser cause – or rather, causes – the Sabeans, the Chaldeans, and what men would call the forces of nature. The first effect was a complete sweeping away of all Job’s family and possessions: the second and ultimate effect was a crushing blow delivered against Job.

What must have made it so crushing to Job was the fact that four different agents were employed. If one gigantic calamity had engulfed the lot, the effect on his mind would probably not have been so great. But four separate calamities, all in one day, and two of them what we should now call “acts of God,” must have made Satan’s malicious deed staggering beyond all our thoughts or words. We venture to think that such a collection of catastrophes, falling upon one man in one day, has never been equalled in the whole history of the world.

The piety of Job was proved not to be skin-deep merely. God knew how to sustain His true servant, and he stood the test and did not curse God. Satan was proved a liar and defeated. Job’s words, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away,” have been repeated millions of times by sorrowing saints, who also have blessed God instead of cursing Him, even as Job did.

Satan, however, returned to the charge, though God could again give His testimonial to Job’s remarkable character. He knew very well that a man’s own bodily self is nearer and dearer to him than all he may possess, so he said, “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” This remark of the devil was once quoted in court by a barrister, wishing to further his case. He prefaced it by saying, “As a great authority has said..,” feeling he was quite safe in his authority since he quoted from the Bible! The judge knew his Bible better than the counsel, so he quietly said, “I am interested to observe whom the learned counsel quotes as, ‘a great authority!'”

It will be useful therefore to remind our readers that in this book we have quoted not only the words of Satan, but also many words of men, some of them true enough, as other scriptures show, but others much open to question. None of these men who spoke were inspired in their utterances, though we have an inspired account of what they said, so that the picture presented is perfectly true. We must never overlook the difference between revelation and inspiration. All Scripture is inspired of God, but not every word found therein is a revelation from God. When Solomon wrote, for instance, “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink…” (Ecc 2:24), he was not uttering a revelation from God but rather his own foolishness – inspired to put it on record for our warning.

But to return to our story: given permission by God, Satan afflicted poor Job with as virulent a disease as has ever been on record, though not permitted to take his life. His state became so fearful and repulsive that his own wife urged him to the sin that Satan designed to lead him into. She only was left to him and thus she became, perhaps unwittingly, an abettor of Satan’s design. But again, supported by God, Job stood the test and did not sin with his lips. The record of Job’s reaction is this time more negative than positive, we notice still Satan was defeated, and from this point he disappears from the story.

Here, therefore, the story might end, if the point of it were only to show us how the power of God triumphs over the malign doings of the adversary. This is indeed made clearly manifest, but there was the further point of demonstrating how that same power, coupled with His searching kindness, triumphed in the conscience and heart and life of His tried saint, ultimately turning the blackest disaster into rich blessing, of a spiritual sort as well as material.

As a first move toward this, Job’s three friends appeared on the scene. At the end of Job 2:1-13, they are introduced to us, and what is recorded indicates that they came full of sympathy and with the best of intentions. The record of his disasters and the horror of his bodily state moved them to tears, and so staggered them that for a whole week they sat in his presence speechless. The reality of it all far exceeded what they had heard. Dreadful it must have been to reduce them to this speechless condition. The expressions of sympathy they intended to make froze upon their lips.

But the week of silence had to end. Their presence, their tears, their rent mantles, the dust upon their heads, affected Job, and led him at last to break the silence. He opened his mouth and cursed his day. He did not curse God, be it noted. He called down a curse upon the day he was born; deploring the fact that he had not died when his mother gave him birth. He anticipated that, had he never seen the light, he would have “been at rest,” and not in this dire affliction. In Job’s day there was not much light as to the unseen world, yet he knew that death did not mean extinction of being, but for the saint rest, and freedom from the trouble caused by the wicked, such as he had experienced by Sabeans and Chaldeans. “There the wicked cease from troubling,” (Job 3:17); from troubling other people, not from being troubled themselves. There those, whose strength is worn out, are at rest.

Amongst mankind almost universally, a birthday is an occasion of remembrance and rejoicing. To poor Job it seemed a moment to be deplored and cursed. In his days of prosperity he had feared some kind of adversity might supervene. Now it had come upon him with unparalleled force. His agonized utterance, recorded in Job 3:1-26, surely moves our sympathy as we read it, some four thousand years after it was spoken.

The silence of a week being broken, Eliphaz was moved to speak. His earliest words, at the beginning of Job 4:1-21, have a gentle and considerate spirit. He acknowledged that Job had been a helper and sustainer of others, but asked a pertinent question in verse Job 1:6, which in Darby’s New Translation is rendered, “Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?”

Here, we believe, he did put his finger upon the weak spot in Job, as is shown in the remainder of the book. That Job’s character and ways were excellent has been guaranteed by God Himself, but that being the case, how subtle the snare to make them the basis of one’s confidence and hope, and to build everything upon them, before God as well as before men. It is what many a very godly saint has done since the days of Job.

But in his next paragraph (verses Job 1:7-11) Eliphaz completely misunderstands the situation. He asks, “Who ever perished, being innocent?” Doubtless he had no knowledge of Genesis, that book probably not having been written in his day, yet ancient things were known by carefully preserved tradition. What about Abel? He perished being innocent. Why, the first disaster recorded after sin entered the world disproved the position Eliphaz took up. The righteous Abel was cut off. Hence the idea, which he elaborated by his figure of the lions, broke down. The reaping of disaster does not mean of necessity that those who reap, “plow iniquity, and sow wickedness.”

From verse Job 1:12 onwards, the standpoint that Eliphaz takes comes more clearly to light. He begins to relate a rather terrifying experience of his own, when he saw some spirit apparition, and received a word of warning as to man’s frailty and impurity in the presence of his Maker. What he heard is perfectly true. No mortal man can be more pure or just than God. In both he falls infinitely short of God’s glory.

As we open Job 5:1-27, we find Eliphaz continuing on this note and again he refers to what he had seen. Verse Job 1:3 begins, “I have seen…,” and if we turn to Job 15:1-35, where his second speech is recorded, again we find him saying, “That which I have seen I will declare” (verse Job 1:17). It is evident then that his argument mainly rests for its validity upon his own powers of observation. In those powers he trusted for his opinion of the meaning of the calamities that had fallen upon Job.

Some of the sayings of Eliphaz in this chapter are perfectly true: for instance, “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward,” in this world of sin. Again, it is certainly true that God, “taketh the wise in their own craftiness,” and that, “Happy is the man whom God correcteth.” But we can see that all these facts are advanced in a way that turned them against poor Job. He had seen men taking root and then suddenly cursed, but these were “the foolish.” And further, their children were smitten, and robbers swallowed up their possessions. It is obvious that all these remarks carried an insinuation against Job. He had appeared to be wise but was now taken in his craftiness – so it appeared to Eliphaz.

The advice given toward the end of his discourse was good. Job should not despise the chastening of the Almighty, but rather accept the correction, and then the tide of evil would turn and blessing come in. The closing verses speak of God’s deliverance coming in; of renewed prosperity. Verse 24 has been rendered, “Thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing.” Verse 25 speaks of a numerous posterity, and verse 26 of Job himself coming to his end in ripe old age.

These things did indeed mark Job’s latter days as we know, but the insinuation was that the absence of any such prosperity at that moment was punishment from God for his sin, which had lain beneath the surface of his life in the past. Eliphaz closed by confidently asserting the truth of his remarks. “So it is,” he declared, for he had searched it out and seen it for himself.

Job 6:1-30. By all this Job was stirred to reply, and he begins by acknowledging that the arrows that had smitten him were from the Almighty but these friends of his had no proper sense of the weight of his calamity and grief. Well fed animals do not express distress by braying or lowing, so he did not cry out without ample cause. He was being fed on “sorrowful meat,” and he desired that God would cut him off completely rather than prolong his misery.

From verses 14-23, Job upbraids his friends. He was the afflicted one to whom his friends should show pity, if they desired to walk in the fear of God, but on the contrary they were beginning to deal deceitfully with him. They were like streams that dried up in the heat, just when they were most needed by caravans of Tema or Sheba.

At verse 24 a more direct appeal begins. He challenged his friends to leave vague insinuations for direct accusation. Let them show where he had erred, so that, taught by them, he might hold his tongue. He rightly remarked, “How forcible are right words,” but what did Eliphaz’s “arguing,” or “upbraiding,” effect? How often among brethren in Christ have vague insinuations, or even accusations, wrought havoc, where “right words,” based on specific facts, would have proved forcible and wrought good.

Job’s reply continues into Job 7:1-21, and here his discourse seems to divide into two parts verses Job 1:1-11 – One cannot read the first section without being struck by the pathos of his plight. He felt it deeply himself and hence expressed it in moving fashion. “Months of vanity” and “wearisome nights” had been his portion, so that, just as a servant or hireling longed for the shadow of evening and the wages, he was longing for the end. Like the weaver’s shuttle his days fled away and he was hopeless. His pathetic state is most vividly described and his friends should have been more filled with compassion.

But in the second part Job evidently turned Godward, and began to address Him with his bitter complaint. He realized his own littleness. He was not something great as a sea or a sea-monster, and, in verses Job 1:13-16, he cries out that his very nights are a torment with dreams and visions of terror which, he feels, come to him from God. He loathes his present life and tells God that he desires to die.

But it is noticeable how the tone of his complaint and cry changes, when he turns to God from the presence of his friends. He at once is made to realize the insignificance and even the sinfulness of mankind. His cry is, “What is man…?” and though he could not answer the question with the clearer light vouchsafed to David in Psa 8:1-9, or the full light of the New Testament, he knew enough to admit that man is not what he ought to be, and that it is a wonder that God should set His heart upon him.

In verse Job 1:20, he goes even further. He realized God would not let him alone and he confesses to sin. The New Translation renders the opening of that verse, “Have I sinned, what do I unto Thee, Thou Observer of men?” and we understand that “Observer” and not “Preserver” is the correct translation. He knew he was under God’s eye, who could perceive error where he was hardly aware of it. And why did God not grant pardon and remove the weight of his load?

Thus from the outset Job admitted some consciousness of guilt, but as yet, fortified by a life of piety and outward correctness, he did not realize its greatness. God was beginning the process which would lead him to see how deep and black it was.

What have we seen of the same thing in ourselves? Have we reached Paul’s confession, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom 7:18)?

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary

Job Challenged by Satan

Job 1:1 -Job 23:1-17

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

We begin today a series of studies on one of the most interesting characters of the Bible. He is Job, the man of patience.

We remember the comment which the Holy Ghost made concerning Job, and which is recorded for us in the fifth chapter of James.

“Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

Job was probably a contemporary of Abraham. One thing which we think worthy of mention is this fact:-In the old days, far back before Christ, and even before the days of national Israel and her Prophets, God had good and great men upon the earth; men who trusted Him and served Him.

According to the Word of God, the heathen world of today is dwelling in darkness and superstition, simply because the world of old in its wisdom, knew not God. It was for this cause that God gave them over to a reprobate mind.

Returning to Job as a theme for study, we assure the readers that they will find, before we have completed our consideration, that there is much of faith, much of spiritual wisdom, and even much of prophetic vision bound up in the marvelous Book that relates the story of Job.

The answer to many questions, which puzzle minds today, will be found in the Book of Job.

The demands of God as He calls upon Job to stand up like a man, reveal visions of God in His creative power and inherent glory which are hardly surpassed in the Bible.

Let none deceive themselves by imagining that the Book of Job is an ancient story which crept into the Bible. The Book of Job portrays with historical accuracy a God-given record of a man who lived in the land of Uz.

His testings at the hand of Satan were real. The speeches of his three friends, who became more accusers than helpers, are real. Job’s responses, where the sunshine and glory of undaunted faith is mixed with the darkness and despair of temporary doubt, are real.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Let us begin our study of this man asking the Lord to illumine our minds to the message which He has for us.

I. JOB’S MORAL AND SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY (Job 1:1)

1. Job was perfect and upright. This is saying a good deal, but God said it. Let us not think for one moment that Job was sinless. He was not that, but God said of him “that there is none like him in the earth” (Job 23:8).

Other men beside Job have been spoken of as perfect and upright. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist (Luk 1:5-6), was one of these. Here is the record concerning Zacharias and his wife, “They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”

Some people would have us to believe that all young men and young women in our day are corrupt. We do not accept this for a moment. Because we are living in a world dominated by sin does not mean that God does not have His true and tried ones, who are unsmirched by the filth of the flesh.

The unsaved may, like Cornelius, be full of prayers and of alms deeds. However, it is in the realm of the redeemed and of those empowered by the Holy Ghost, that we find large numbers of men who are living with a conscience void of offence toward God and men.

2. Spiritually Job feared God. Job’s “fear of God,” was the reason that he was perfect and upright. We know that the fruit of the Spirit includes all the beauties of moral perfection and uprightness.

The extent to which Job feared God, and followed Him, will be brought out as we proceed in our studies. Suffice it now to say that Job’s fear encompassed a wide margin of spiritual vision and faith.

II. JOB’S FAMILY LIFE (Job 1:2; Job 1:4-5)

Job was the father of seven sons, and of three daughters. Family life may have its temptations and testings, but there is nothing in the life of father or mother that makes it impossible to live acceptable to God.

We read concerning Enoch that he walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, for three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. Mark you, that it was during the period of Enoch’s family life that he walked with God.

A godly home is the nearest place to Heaven of anything we know. Job had such a home.

In Deuteronomy we are taught that the father shall teach all of God’s statutes to his children. He shall talk of them when he sits in his house, and when he walks by the way. He shall bind them for a sign upon his hands, and they shall be as frontlets between his eyes. He shall write them upon the posts of his house, and upon his gates.

Along this line it is interesting to note that when Job’s sons feasted in their houses, and called in their sisters to the feast, that Job afterward sent for his sons and sanctified them. He rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. Thus did Job continually.

Would that we had more fathers today who kept up the family altar, more who watched diligently over their children, bringing them up in the nurture and fear of the Lord.

III. JOB’S WEALTH (Job 1:3)

Job was the greatest of all the men of the east. His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household.

Job was rich. In another chapter we read something of his spirit of philanthropy, and of his love to the poor. He delivered the poor when they cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. He caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. He was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. He was a father to the needy.

The curse of riches is displayed by Christ in the parable of the rich man who had much goods laid up for many days, and who said unto his soul, “Eat, drink, and be merry.” To this rich man God said, “Thou fool” Then He said, “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

The rich young ruler is another example of riches kept to one’s hurt. Jesus loved the man, even though he was rich, but the rich man was unwilling to leave all and follow Christ, for he was wedded to his wealth.

With Job it was altogether different. In a succeeding study, we will learn that Job counted God more than money, and he could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

IV. SATAN, THE ACCUSER OF THE SAINTS (Job 1:6-10)

There came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth?” Satan quickly replied, “Doth Job fear God for nought?” Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Then Satan said to God, “Put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.”

1. We have before us a loose devil, going about seeking whom he may devour. Satan is not chained as some would aver. He is the Prince of the power of the air. He is seeking to entangle every possible child of God, and to lead them into sin and disobedience.

2. Satan’s complaint. When the Lord asked Satan if he had observed Job, Satan complained that God had put an hedge about Job so that he couldn’t touch him; and, in addition, God had blessed the work of his hands. This admission on the part of Satan is very comforting to believers. Our security does not lie in our perseverance, but in His preservation. God may allow Satan sometimes to “sift us as wheat,” as He did Peter; however, no matter what testing is permitted, God will prepare a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. If the Lord had not said unto us, “I will be thy shield and thy strong tower,” we know not what might have befallen us. Thank God, we are held in the hand of omnipotency.

3. Satan’s insinuations. Satan insinuated that Job’s obeisance to God was not genuine. He said that Job, in his heart, had no trust in Jehovah, that he was serving Him alone for what he could get out of it.

V. SATAN REQUESTING THE PRIVILEGE OF TESTING JOB (Job 1:11-12)

1. The challenge made. Satan said to God, “Put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.” The challenge had been made; Satan demanded that God should try out Job.

During the dark days which followed, if Job had only known of this challenge on the part of Satan, and the reason why he was being put to the test, it would have made it a thousand times easier for him to suffer.

On the other hand, if God had told Job the objective, and had smiled upon him as he suffered, it would have upset the whole purpose of the test.

The trial of Job’s faith brought God honor, because it proved that Satan was a liar and a false accuser, and that Job did, in reality, serve God because he loved Him, and not because of what he profited thereby.

2. The challenge accepted. “And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.”

Many Christians have felt, at times, that God had forgotten them; and, perhaps, that He had set Himself against them. This could not be. God loves His own with an everlasting love, and every man, when he is tested of God, is tested for his good, and not for his harm. Satan’s purpose in this temptation and trial was the utter undoing of Job. God’s purpose was Job’s ultimate enlargement.

VI. THE COMPLETENESS OF SATAN’S WRATH (Job 1:13-19)

1. The scope of Satan’s power. There are many who underestimate the ability and strength of the devil. Michael, an archangel, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, and yet, there are many men, women and children who possess nothing of Michael’s power and authority, who dare to jest about Satan. They call him the “Old Nick,” or the “Old Scratch,” and speak as though they had victory over him in some imagined personal combat.

It is with such an one that we have to deal, so if we would go forth to battle, we must be clothed with the whole armour of God that we may withstand in the evil day.

2. Satan’s power at work. With God’s permission obtained, Satan stretched forth his hand. In order to make his devilish work forceful and more trying to Job, he arranged matters so there would not be a long-drawn series of temptings, but one great stroke in which all of Job’s substance would be swept from him.

(1) While Job’s sons and daughters were feasting, a messenger came to Job, saying, that all his oxen and asses had been captured by the Sabeans, and the attending servants slain with the sword.

(2) While the messenger was yet speaking, a second one arrived, saying that all of Job’s sheep had been burned, and his servants consumed with them.

(3) While the second messenger was speaking, a third came saying that the Chaldeans had fallen upon the camels, and had carried them away, slaying all the servants.

(4) While the third messenger spoke, a fourth arrived saying that all of his sons and daughters had been smitten and slain by a great wind from the wilderness.

No one need doubt, as this fourfold wreckage comes before them, the thoroughness of Satan’s malicious maneuverings.

VII. JOB’S FIDELITY AND FAITHFULNESS VINDICATED (Job 1:21-22)

With everything swept away, and with Job in absolute darkness as to why God had permitted such a disaster, yet Job did not sin, nor charge God foolishly. The mighty man of the East said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

Job did not alone refuse to complain, but he even blessed the Name of the Lord. With everything gone, he said both Amen and Hallelujah.

All will agree that Job possessed a very high standard of Christian integrity. All will agree that Satan’s words concerning Job were no more than a mere slander.

AN ILLUSTRATION

Dr. Howard Taylor tells of his yearning for holiness of life and power in service:

“All the time I felt assured there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how to get it out. He was rich, truly, but I was poor; He was strong, but I, weak. I knew full well that there was in the root, the stem, abundant fatness, but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question. As gradually the light was dawning on me, I saw that faith was the only requisite, was the hand to lay hold on His fullness and make it my own. But I had not this faith. I strove for it, but it would not come; tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Saviour, my helplessness and guilt seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His Word, but rather make Him a liar! Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world, yet I indulged in it. I prayed for faith, but it came not. What was I to do?

When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I have never known it before. McCarthy, who had been much exercised by the same sense of failure, but saw the light before I did, wrote (I quote from memory):

“But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.”

As I read, I saw it all! “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed!) that He had said, “I will never leave you.” Ah, there is rest, I thought. I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more, for has He not promised to abide with me-never to leave me, never to fail me? And, dearie, He never will!”

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

THEME AND OUTLINE

The theme of Job seems to be the meaning and object of evil and suffering under the government of a holy, wise and merciful God, and may be outlined thus:

The Prologue (Job 1-2, in prose) The Dialogue (Job 3-31, in poetry) The Words of Elihu (Job 32-37, in poetry) The Words of the Almighty (Job 38-41, in poetry) The Response of (Job 42:1-6, in poetry) The Epilogue (Job 42:7-17, in prose)

THE KEY TO THE BOOK

The key to the book is found in the first chapter, which, after an introductory testimony to Job, translates the reader to heavenly scenes (Job 1:6).

The sons of God are angelic beings bringing in their reports to God, the mystery being that Satan is found also among them. How the prince of darkness is granted access to God is a question these lessons cannot discuss; but we accept the fact and draw certain inferences therefrom.

He is seen here in his scriptural attitude of the accuser of the brethren; and when God taunts him, if one may so say, with the uprightness of Job whom he has been unable to corrupt, he at once charges him with a mercenary spirit, and declares that if God were to take his temporal blessings away from him he would be as bad as the rest.

God accepts the challenge and puts His servant into the hands of Satan for a period, and for the exercise of a terrible but limited power, that it may be seen if the charge be true.

In other words, it is not Job so much who is on trial as God. It is not a question of Jobs loyalty so much as one of Gods power. Is the grace of God able to keep one of His servants faithful to Him, though he be stripped of everything which men count dear?

The outcome was victory for God, and discomfiture for Satan, under circumstances calculated to prove a great comfort to Gods people in every generation. This thought is suggested by the prologue, and which, kept in mind, lightens up the whole book.

THE DISCUSSION

The dialogue proceeds on the question whether great suffering such as Jobs be not an evidence of great sin, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar affirming and Job denying. The dispute is carried on in a series of three acts, each containing three arguments of the friends and as many defenses by Job, until the last, when Zophar is silenced, and Job apparently triumphs.

Jobs defense is based on two grounds, (1) the admitted prosperity of the wicked, chapter 21, and (2) his own personal righteousness, chapters 29 and 31.

It would seem at first that his friends intended to comfort him, but were driven to accusation by the caustic character of his replies, caused no doubt, by his intense suffering. Whether his friends were sincere or insincere at the beginning must be determined by the view taken of chapter four. It can be so read as to suggest either view.

The words of Elihu also suggest a series of three acts, out of which we gather that he rebuked both parties to the debate, the friends for their accusations, which were unwarranted in great measure, and Job for his self-righteousness, equally unwarranted (Job 32:1-3). His philosophy of the sufferings differs from the others in that he believes they were sent for the good of the sufferer (see Job 33:28-30). The first part of his speech is addressed to Job (chaps. 32-33); the second to the three friends (chap. 34); and the last to Job again (chaps. 35-37). As he closes a thunder storm is gathering, whose description forms a grand climax to his address. Out of it the voice of the Almighty is heard.

THE VOICE OF THE ALMIGHTY

The discussion thus far had been confined to the mystery of evil, and the balance is now restored by considering the mystery of good which the Almighty reveals. It is notable that He gives no explanation of Jobs suffering, renders no decision on the subject in debate, and offers no hint of compensation to His servant for what he has endured.

The pervading idea of His revelation is that of power, absolute sovereignty, as though His design were to overwhelm Job and effect his unconditional surrender. The crisis in Jobs life was like that of Moses as he stood in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33-34) or Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19), or Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9), and the result in Jobs case is not unlike that in their cases.

Meditation on the book leads to the conclusion that such experiences as those of Job, and they come to every true child of God, may be for discipline and to teach submission so vital to be learned, but also to serve a purpose far exceeding human knowledge, in the superhuman world. Compare Joh 9:3; 1Co 4:9; Eph 3:10; and 1Pe 1:12. What a dignity such a thought adds to the suffering for righteousness sake!

QUESTIONS

1. What is the theme of Job?

2. What is its outline?

3. What seems to be the key of the book?

4. How does Elihus philosophy of suffering differ from that of the others?

5. For what three purposes may such affliction come on any saint of God?

6. Concerning the last purpose named, have you examined the Scripture passages indicated?

THE LITERARY STYLE OF JOB

We have spoken of Job as in the poetic style, and something should be said about that style as applying not only to Job, but to the other poetical books of the Old Testament like Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Lamentations.

While these books are poetical, to English readers neither the sound of the words nor the form in which they are printed in the King James Version, would suggest that idea.

As to the form, the Revised Version is an improvement, though it leaves much to be desired. As to the sound, the rhythm of Hebrew poetry is not found in it but in the recurrence of the thought. Thought may be rhythmic as well as sound or language, and the full force of Scripture is not grasped by one who does not feel how thoughts can be emphasized by being differently re-stated.

LITERARY PARALLELISMS

The grand peculiarity of Hebrew poetry, however, is the parallelism, a form of composition somewhat artificial, consisting in the repetition of the main thought, usually with some modification of it.

These parallelisms are of three classes the synonymous, the antithetic and the synthetic.

In the synonymous parallelism the second clause is scarcely more than a repetition of the first, although there are many varieties of it so far as the length of the members is concerned. A good illustration of this parallelism is found in Job 6:5 :

Doth the wild ass bray over his grass?

Doth the ox low over his fodder?

The antithetic parallelism is one in which the idea in the second clause is the converse of that in the first, a simple form of which is Pro 10:1 :

A wise son rejoiceth his father; But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

In the synthetic parallelism the poet instead of echoing the former sentiment or placing it in contrast, enforces his thought by accessory ideas and modifications. For example, a general proposition is stated and the sentiment is then dwelt upon in detail. A specimen is found in Job 3:3-5 :

O that the day might have perished in which I was born, And the night which said, A male child is conceived. Let that day be darkness, Let not God inquire after it from on high!

Yea, let not the light shine upon it!

Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; Let a cloud dwell upon it, Let whatever darkens the day terrify it!

QUESTIONS

1. In what is the rhythm of Hebrew poetry?

2. What is meant by a literary parallelism?

3. Name and define the three leading classes of parallelisms.

Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary

Job 1:1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job We have observed in the argument, that the firstborn son of Nahor, Abrahams brother, was called Uz. It appears also from Gen 10:23, that a grandson of Shem bore the same name, but it does not appear whether any country was named from either of these. But we find in Lam 4:21, that Edom was called Uz, probably from a grandson of Seir, the Horite, of that name. See Gen 36:20; Gen 36:28; 1Ch 1:38; 1Ch 1:42. This person, as the reader will recollect, inhabited the mountainous country, called Seir from him, before the time of Abraham; but his posterity being driven out, the Edomites seized that country, Gen 14:6; Deu 2:12, whence it afterward bore the name of Edom. It is part of Arabia Petra, bordering upon the tribe of Judah to the south. Hence the land of Uz is properly placed between Egypt and the Philistines in Jer 25:20. See Bishop Lowth and Dodd. This, therefore, was probably the country of Job, whose name, Dr. Dodd says, in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, may, with the greatest probability, be derived from a root which signifies to love or desire; and might be rendered, the beloved or desirable one. We have observed, that it is likely he was of the posterity of Uz, the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham; but how far removed from him can only be conjectured from the age of his friends; the eldest of whom, Eliphaz the Temanite, could not be nearer than great-grand-son to Esau; for Esau begat Eliphaz, and the son of Eliphaz was Teman: so that supposing this Eliphaz to be the son of Teman, (and higher it will be impossible to place him,) he will then be five generations from Abraham; but as Eliphaz was very much older than Job, nay, older than his father, as appears from chap. Job 15:10; and, considering that Abraham was very old before he had a son by Sarah, and that Rebecca, grand-daughter to Nahor, by Bethuel, perhaps his youngest son, was of an age proper to be wife to Isaac; we shall, probably, not be wide of the mark, if we allow Job to be at least six, if not seven generations removed from Nahor. The age therefore in which he lived must have coincided with the latter years of the life of Jacob, with those of Joseph, and the descent into, and sojourning in Egypt: his afflictions must have happened during the sojourning, about ten years before the death of Joseph, and his life must have been prolonged to within fourteen years before the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, that is, the year of the world 2499. The number of the years of the life of Job, according to this calculation, will be about two hundred; which, for that age of the world, and especially considering that Job was blessed with a remarkably long life, as a reward for his sufferings and integrity, will not appear very extraordinary; for Jacob lived one hundred and forty-seven years; Levi, his son, one hundred and thirty-seven; Koath, his grand-son, one hundred and thirty-three; and Amram, his great-grand-son, and father of Moses, one hundred and thirty-seven; Moses also lived one hundred and twenty years. All these, it seems, were his cotemporaries, some older, some younger than Job: so that this appears to agree extremely well with that circumstance of his history. See Heath and Dodd.

That man was perfect Not exactly, or according to the law of innocence, but as to his sincere intentions, hearty affections, and diligent endeavours to perform his whole duty to God and men. And upright Hebrew, , vejashar, right, exact, and regular in all his dealings with men; one of an unblameable conversation. And one that feared God One truly pious and devoted to God. And eschewed evil Carefully avoiding all sin against God or men.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job 1:1. The land of Uz. Moses is always correct in calling countries after the name of the first possessor. Uz was in the east beyond Jordan, and south of mount Hermon. It fell to the lot of the half tribe of Manasseh, but was partly possessed by the children of Esau. Jeremiah says, Rejoice, oh daughter of Edom, thou that dwellest in the land of Uz. This has given rise to what is unproved, that Job is the Jobab of Esaus race. In keeping to the text of Moses we are safe, that Job was the son of Uz, the son of Nahor. Gen 22:21. This country fell under the empire of Zenobia, whose capital was Tadmor, afterwards called Palmyra. 1Ki 9:18. Whose name was Job. In all the editions of the Septuagint, except the complute, there is the following account of this patriarch, which has much the appearance of probability. He is signified in the Syriac to have dwelt in the land of Uz, upon the confines of Edom and Arabia. His name before was Jobab. He had an Arabian woman for his wife, and a son whose name was Ennon. His fathers name was Zare, or Zarethy, a descendant of the sons of Esau. His mothers name was Bossorrao: hence he was the fifth from Abraham.One that feared God. Elohim, reverens que Numinis, as Schultens reads. This name occurring here, as in Gen 1:1, is an indication that Moses really did transcribe the book of Job, for Shaddai, the Almighty, is the name occurring twenty times in this book.

Job 1:5. When the days of feasting were gone about; by which it appears that those weekly feasts were celebrated at the festival seasons. The Jews ate unleavened bread at the passover for seven days, and rejoiced at the feast of tabernacles for the like number of days. Nuptial feasts comprised a week. Jdg 14:12.It may be my sons have sinned, and cursed God; by profane songs, and bacchanalian speeches. Job therefore offered seven victims, accompanied with other illustrations, without which they could not appear in the religious assembly of their father. Exo 19:10. 1Sa 16:5.

Job 1:6. There was a day, a sabbath or other festival day, when the sons of God, the sons of great and good men assembled for religious worship. This phrase is purely patriarchal, and designates the superior antiquity of the book of Job. It equally designates the public worship which was maintained by the holy patriarchs. And Satan, the adversary, the accuser, came also. The Arabians, says Schultens, call the serpent Satan, because he elevated his head. By the sons of God many understand the holy angels, assembled in convocation before the Messiah, the Eternal WORD and WISDOM of God. Schultens refers this to the angels, Gen 28:12.

Job 1:15. The Sabeans, inhabiting a country south-east of Uz. Among the Greeks, Zeus Sabazius was the name of the Most High God, agreeing, no doubt, with the Hebrew phrase, The Lord of sabbaoth. The father of the Sabeans, after the manner of all the tribes that populated the earth, had claimed divine descent, as the offspring of God. They were a race of great strength and stature. Isa 45:14. As the worship of the Sabeans overspread the earth, we may here notice its characters. They worshipped fire, and declared their altars to be the gods. They worshipped the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars. This worship had its origin in Chaldea, and is reckoned the most refined species of idolatry. It is severely condemned by Job 31:26; Job 31:28. If I beheld the sun when it shined, and the moon walking in brightness; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand; this were an iniquity punishable by the Judge.See on Deu 4:19. Sabianism prevailed not only among all the race of Shem and of Ham, and had cities and temples dedicated to the sun, as Heliopolis in Egypt; but down to the time of Jeremiah, it had a strong hold of the idolatrous Jew. See on Jer 7:18.

Job 1:18. Drinking wine in their eldest brothers house. This last and severest stroke fell on the house where the sin of Epicurean pleasures began. The eldest brother should have been the guide of the younger branches of his family.

REFLECTIONS.

The name of Job comes down to us free from reprehension. His love and study of truth, piety, and justice are attested by the divine oracle. Euseb. prp. 7. This amazing and most instructive history opens with a description of the situation and prosperity of Job. His grand characteristic was piety, which attracted the notice of heaven more than all his other endowments. This is the poorest mans comfort: he cannot be rich like Job, but he may be holy and happy, far preferable in the eyes of heaven to the glare of worldly pomp. Job served God on the broadest scale of patriarchal covenant: all his virtues as a judge, a master, and a man, were of the most distinguished kind. The riches of grace seem to encrease in his soul more than the abundance of wealth which crowded his gates.

God gave him the richest blessings of the covenant. Health and peace multiplied in his house, prosperity attended all his measures; his cattle and riches encreased beyond example in the history of man. His city flourished, and all the surrounding district had the highest appearance of opulence and industry.

But his piety was more than his wealth; and so remarkable, that it seemed to encrease with his riches. He was perfect and upright, and eschewed evil. He attended not the routine of feasts established by his sons; they being married, or placed in houses of their own, were not now immediately under their fathers controul; this good man, on the contrary, when their feasting was over, rose up early on the sabbath to sanctify them by sacrifices, and to bring them to repentance for their intemperance and imprecations. So the piety of a father may for a while avail for incorrigible children, but the day will soon come when God will no more be entreated.

We have next a view of the angelic ministry. All is order and harmony in the spiritual world. Angels receive their commissions, and render account of their success; but Satan also approached the skirt of the crowd. Thus it is in all our religious assemblies. Angels crowd the house of God; they listen while we pray, and take pleasure to hear the gospel preached. But Satan is in the throng, noting our faults that he may accuse us; let us therefore watch and pray.

As on a fine summer day when clouds collect at noon, when the thunders roar, and the rain descends to cool and refresh the earth, so Jobs prosperity was interrupted by a cloud in the meridian of life. In this assembly, Satan insinuated that Job was untried; that he served God for a temporal good, and that if his substance was resumed he would curse as other men. If Satan thus watches our defects, if he accuses us in heaven, how should we examine our own hearts, and scrutinize the purity of our motives.

As the tempest beats most on the tallest trees of the forest, so the most exalted of human characters are often most exposed to public envy, and tremendous strokes of affliction. The accuser having received his commission to deprive Job of his substance, though he could not exceed it, so managed that the messengers should come in with tidings heavier and heavier, and that the strokes should be rapidly repeated while the heart was yet bleeding under successive wounds; and last of all, he heard that his sons and daughters were all killed by a supernatural tempest, while feasting and drinking wine in their elder brothers house; and consequently, that they died unpurged by sacrifice for their sin. Let the drunkards and voluptuous learn, that vengeance is but suspended over their heads; and let the most holy and prosperous be aware, that a tempest from the Lord may hurl them into the dust, and abase them in a moment. God has but to blow with his wind, and they are carried away as the down before the blast.

We see Satan foiled in all his efforts, and all his calumnies and lies recoil on his own head. Job was not insensible of the strokes, he felt them to be great and heavy, but right reason and sound faith supported his soul. He justly concluded, that God had resumed his own; and that as he came naked into the world, so he must return to his fathers. Therefore feeling his faith augmented by the stroke, he acquiesced, and blessed the name of the Lord, who had acted for some good end which he did not then think proper to reveal. How divine, how ample are the supports of piety. How little is the loss of substance, while a man retains his God. The good man has the happiness of heaven; and the greatest vicissitudes of life are unable to deprive him of his confidence.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job 1:1-3 describes Job, his piety and good fortune. The literal translation of the opening words would be Once upon a time there was a man. The use of the perfect denotes that we are dealing not with history but saga. Its purpose is to call attention, not to the exact time of events, but to the individual typical case. It is uncertain what land is meant by Uz. Syria and Edom have been suggested; on the whole, Edom is perhaps the most likely. Jobs name is introduced without the addition of his descent, as is usual in the case of a thoroughly historical personage (1Sa 1:1). The meaning of the name is not knownit formed part of the original tradition. When it is said that Job was perfect and upright, this is from the point of view of civil moralityit is not meant in a theological sense. Jobs fear of God in the story of the Volksbuch is particularly evidenced by his scrupulousness and dread even of offending in word (Job 1:5; Job 1:22, Job 2:10).

The ideal character of the description of Jobs family and wealth is noteworthy. The perfect numbers, seven and three, predominate. Moreover to complete Jobs happiness, sons being more esteemed than daughters, he has the larger number of the superior sex. In a word, he is fortunate all round. As to the details of his wealth, as a great Eastern Emeer, he has oxen, asses, sheep, and camels. The oxen, being for ploughing, are counted by the yoke; Jobs she-asses only are mentioned, as being more precious than he-asses, because of their milk and their foalsthe reader is expected to supply the necessary number of males. The camels were used for heavy burdens and distant journeys. All this implies that Job had very extensive lands. The amount of arable land is measured by the number of yoke of oxen. The seven thousand sheep require extensive pastures. Finally, of course, to such wealth in cattle and land corresponds a great household.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

JOB, HIS FAMILY AND HIS PROMINENCE

(vv.1-5)

Uz is considered to have been in the area between Syria and Babylon. There Job lived with his wife, seven sons and three daughters. He is first spoken of as “blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil.” Thus there is no doubt he was born again, though, as with many believers, he needed to know the heart of God as he did not know it (vv.1-2).

His possessions are recorded as being remarkably great, 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 pair of oxen, 500 female donkeys and a very large household, that is, many servants. In fact, he enjoyed the reputation of being the greatest of all the people of the east (v.3). It is frequently the case that when one is seeking to honour God by walking honourably, he will increase in wealth, in spite of the fact that he is not making wealth his object. There is no reason to doubt what Job said in chapter 29:11-17 as regards his genuine care for the poor, the fatherless, those perishing, the widow and the lame, etc. So that he was definitely not greedy of gain, but used his wealth in kindness toward those in need.

His sons made a practice of feasting, each on a special day and inviting their sisters to eat and drink with them (v.4). This does not necessarily imply that they were given up to a fife of self-indulgence and pleasure, but when each season of feasting was finished, Job considered that the danger of such pleasure might be to lead them into sin and disregard for God. Therefore Job would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for all of his children, thus sanctifying them, that is, setting them apart from the world of the ungodly. This is another evidence that he lived in the time of Genesis, in which book burnt offerings only are mentioned. In the nation Israel sin offerings, trespass offerings and peace offerings were later introduced in Exodus and Leviticus.

A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES

(vv.6-12)

Only God could reveal what is written in this section, and faith recognises it must be seriously considered. The sons of God presented themselves before God. These sons of God are angels, though the designation can be true of men also, as in Gen 6:2 which evidently refers to the line of Seth in contrast to the line of Cain; and in Gal 3:26, where all believers today are said to be sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. In all of these cases the son’s place is to represent the Father, though in Gen 6:2 they failed to do so. The sons of God here in Job 1:6 appear to be unfallen angels, for fallen angels are not sons of God. Satan came among them, though not one of them.

In answer to the Lord’s question as to where he had come from, Satan replied, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth in it” (v.7). This establishes the fact that Satan is not omnipresent, as God is. Satan can be only in one place at a time, however quickly he may travel. Yet he has many agents, evil spirits, who carry on his wicked work throughout the world, and we know that work is prospering dreadfully. Some have questioned too whether Satan knows our thoughts. Absolutely not! Only God knows the hearts and the thoughts of mankind. He only is omniscient.

When Satan came among the sons of God, God questioned Satan as to whether he had considered God’s servant Job, concerning whom there was none like him in all the earth, a blameless, upright man who feared God and shunned evil (v.8). Satan’s reply showed how void of respect he was toward God. He imputed to Job the same self-centred motives that animate Satan. He said that God had so greatly blessed Job that it was this profitable existence that caused Job to fear God. He forgot to consider that Job’s wealth had been only gradually accumulating, as we are sure was the case, for his increase was the result of his faithfulness to God, – not the other way around. In fact, Satan admitted that Job’s possessions had “increased in the land” (v.19), so he had not always had such possessions.

Satan boldly asserted that if God would “touch” all that Job had, in other words, take his possessions from him, Job would curse God to His face! (v.11). It seems almost amazing that Satan would dare to speak this way to the Creator of heaven and earth, but “a lying tongue hateth those who are injured by it” (Pro 26:28 – JND trans.). When one lies against another, hatred moves him to do so, and Satan’s ties against God are prompted by hatred. Also, one moved by hatred does not stop to consider how foolish his words or actions are.

A matter of great importance is made clearly manifest here. Satan realised that he could do nothing to Job without God’s permission. But God did give Satan permission to do as he pleased with Job’s possessions, though not to touch his person. Did God allow this only to prove that Satan was speaking falsely? No, for God had work to do with Job himself, to accomplish greater blessing for him than he could have imagined was possible. God would use the enmity of Satan to this end, just as later He used Job’s three friends for this purpose.

JOB LOSES HIS POSSESSIONS AND HIS CHILDREN

(vv.13-22)

Satan marshalled his forces concertedly against Job, so that Job had news of four sudden calamities that deprived him of all his possessions and all of his children on the same day. The first messenger told him that a marauding band of enemies (the Sabeans) had killed Job’s servants who were in charge of his oxen and donkeys, and had stolen the animals (vv.14-15). Satan had allowed one man to live, who carried this message to Job. But while he was still speaking, another messenger came to tell Job that fire had fallen from heaven and burned up Job’s sheep and servants, only sparing this one man to bear the message (v.16). It was of course Satan who had power to bring this fire, whatever the source may have been, but the servant called it “the fire of God.”

While this messenger was still speaking, another came with the message that three bands of Chaldeans had raided the habitat of the camels, stealing the camels and killing the servants; though Satan had allowed this one man to escape and bring the message to Job (v.17).

But the most crushing blow of all followed immediately. While this man was speaking, another came to inform Job that while his sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s house, a great wind (perhaps a tornado) struck the house, destroying it utterly and killing all of Job’s ten children (vv.18-19). The messenger said he alone had escaped to bring the report to Job. He may have been one of the servants of Job’s son. But Satan allowed these four messengers to remain alive so that Job would receive the news rapidly, blow upon blow. Satan designed these things with the object of totally devastating Job, so that he would curse God.

What must Satan have thought when he found himself completely defeated? Job arose and tore his robe (a sign of repentance), shaved his head, a picture of his being exposed before God in a condition of weakness, then fell to the ground in humble prostration before his Creator. All of these are negatives, implying denial of self. But lastly, and most important of all, he worshiped, giving God the place of highest honour and dignity (v.20). To those who have no faith in the living God, worship is one thing they would not think of considering. It is natural rather to bitterly complain that they do not deserve the treatment they are receiving. Thus the majority of men would be willing to be deceived by the same selfish motives that energise Satan, rather than to be moved by a true response of faith to all the bitter experiences of life. Job’s words then should deeply impress themselves on every person who hears them, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (v.21). A complaining attitude will never change matters for the better, while a thankful heart will be more greatly blessed in the end.

Therefore, what an answer is Job’s attitude to those who claim that their hard circumstances are an excuse for sinning! “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God foolishly” (v.22). Many since Job’s time have proven this though enduring terrible afflictions and trouble. Rather than alienating them from God, their troubles have driven them into His presence to find comfort and joyful communion with the Lord. Job still had much to learn, as we oft do, yet his response to trouble shows the reality of his faith in the Lord.

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

1:1 There was a man in the land of {a} Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and {b} upright, and {c} one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

(a) That is, of the country of Idumea, La 4:21, or bordering on it: for the land was called by the name of Uz, the son of Dishan, the son of Seir Gen 36:28.

(b) Since he was a Gentile and not a Jew and yet is pronounced upright and without hypocrisy, it declares that among the heathen God revealed himself.

(c) By this it is declared what is meant by an upright and just man.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

A. Job’s Character 1:1-5

Uz (Job 1:1) was probably southeast of the Dead Sea (cf. Job 1:3; Job 1:14; Job 1:19; Job 42:12). [Note: See Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, s.v. "Uz," by G. Frederick Owen.] Some scholars place it in Bashan south of Damascus, but the writer of Lamentations (probably Jeremiah) associated the land of Uz with Edom (Lam 4:21). References to customs, geography, and natural history elsewhere in the book support this general location (cf. Jer 25:20). All possible locations are outside Palestine, suggesting that the message of this book is universal and not related exclusively to the Israelites. [Note: Charles W. Carter, "The Book of Job," in Wesleyan Bible Commentary, 2:14.] Another indication of the same thing is that the writer did not identify when Job lived.

Job was no ordinary man. He was not even an ordinary good man (cf. Job 1:8; Job 2:3). He was an exceptionally admirable person because of his character and conduct (Job 1:1). "Blameless" (Heb. tam) means complete. The word usually describes integrity and spiritual maturity. When Job sinned, he dealt with his sin appropriately, an evidence of his blamelessness. Job was not sinless (cf. Job 13:26; Job 14:16-17). "Upright" (Heb. yasar) refers to behavior that is in harmony with God’s ways.

"He is not Everyman; he is unique." [Note: Andersen, p. 79.]

"The fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, was the hallmark of Job." [Note: Kline, p. 461.]

Job was wealthy as well as godly (Job 1:2-3). Evidently there were several other great (wealthy) men in that part of the world in his day, but Job surpassed them all.

". . . the meaning is apparently that the seven brothers took it in turn to entertain on the seven days of every week, so that every day was a feast day. This is more natural than the view that the reference is to birthdays, when there would be seven feasts a year. This is all part of the artistry of the story, to build up the picture of the ideal happiness of Job and his family." [Note: Rowley, p. 29.]

Job demonstrated the proper spiritual concern for his own family members, as well as interest in their physical and social welfare (Job 1:3-4). Evidently he offered sacrifices each week for his children in case they had committed sins in their merriment. The phrase "rising up early in the morning" (Job 1:5) is a common Hebrew idiom for conscientious activity (cf. Gen 22:3; et al.); it does not necessarily limit the time of Job’s sacrifice. [Note: Andersen, p. 81.]

"The author uses the numbers three, seven, and ten, all symbolic of completeness, to demonstrate that Job’s wealth was staggering." [Note: Hartley, p. 68.]

Job’s character is important because this book reveals that the basis of the relationship between God and people is essentially God’s sovereign grace and our response of trust and obedience. The basic problem the Book of Job sets forth seems to be the relationship between God and man. [Note: Gregory W. Parsons, "The Structure and Purpose of the Book of Job," Bibliotheca Sacra 138:550 (April-June 1981):143. See also Henry L. Rowold, "The Theology of Creation in the Yahweh Speeches as a Solution to the Problem Posed by the Book of Job," pp. 11, 19; John W. Wevers, The Way of the Righteous, p. 75; Robert W. E. Forrest, "The Creation Motif in the Book of Job," p. 20; Edwin M. Good, Irony in the Old Testament, pp. 197-98; Roy B. Zuck, Job, p. 189; and Alfred von Rohr Sauer, "Salvation by Grace: The Heart of Job’s Theology," Concordia Theological Monthly 37 (May 1966):259-70.]

"The book of Job deals essentially with man’s relationship with God, centering on two questions. The first question is, Why does man worship God? . . .

"The second question is, How will man react to God when God seems unconcerned about his problems?" [Note: Roy B. Zuck, "A Theology of the Wisdom Books and the Song of Songs," in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 219.]

God chose to test an extremely righteous man so all of us could see that it was not Job’s personal goodness that formed the basis for his relationship with God. If Job suffered, being righteous, righteousness must not preclude suffering or guarantee God’s protection. [Note: See Larry J. Waters, "Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job," Bibliotheca Sacra 154:616 (October-December 1997):436-51.]

Job was righteous in God’s estimate as well as in the eyes of his fellowmen (Job 1:1; Job 1:8). Evidently he was a believer in Yahweh. He had apparently heard about Yahweh and placed his trust in Him, as did other Old Testament saints similar to him (e.g., Adam, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, et al.). The fact that Job confessed to being self-righteous (Job 42:5-6) does not preclude his having a proper standing with God by faith. Many believers become self-righteous in their thinking.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

II.

THE OPENING SCENE ON EARTH

Job 1:1-5

THE land of Uz appears to have been a general name for the great Syro-Arabian desert. It is described vaguely as lying “east of Palestine and north of Edom,” or as “corresponding to the Arabia Deserta of classical geography, at all events so much of it as lies north of the 30th parallel of latitude.” In Jer 25:20, among those to whom the wine cup of fury is sent, are mentioned “all the mingled people and all the kings of the land of Uz.” But within this wide region, extending from Damascus to Arabia, from Palestine to Chaldaea, it seems possible to find a more definite locality for the dwelling place of Job. Eliphaz, one of his friends, belonged to Teman, a district or city of Idumaea. In Lam 4:21, the writer, who may have had the Book of Job before him, says, “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz”; a passage that seems to indicate a habitable region, not remote from the gorges of Idumaea. It is necessary also to fix on a district which lay in the way of the caravans of Sheba and Tema, and was exposed to the attacks of lawless bands of Chaldaeans and Sabeans. At the same time there must have been a considerable population, abundant pasturage for large flocks of camels and sheep, and extensive tracts of arable land. Then, the dwelling of Job lay near a city at the gate of which he sat with other elders to administer justice. The attention paid to details by the author of the book warrants us in expecting that all these conditions may be satisfied.

A tradition which places the home of Job in the Hauran, the land of Bashan of Scripture, some score of miles from the Sea of Galilee, has been accepted by Delitzsch. A monastery, there, appears to have been regarded from early Christian times as authentically connected with the name of Job. But the tradition has little value in itself, and the locality scarcely agrees in a single particular with the various indications found in the course of the book. The Hauran does not belong to the land of Uz. It was included in the territory of Israel. Nor can it by any stretch of imagination be supposed to lie in the way of wandering bands of Sabeans, whose home was in the centre of Arabia.

But the conditions are met-one has no hesitation in saying, fully met-in a region hitherto unidentified with the dwelling place of Job, the valley or oasis of Jauf (Palgrave, Djowf), lying in the North Arabian desert about two hundred miles almost due east from the modern Maan and the ruins of Petra. Various interesting particulars regarding this valley and its inhabitants are given by Mr. C.M. Doughty in his “Travels in Arabia Deserta.” But the best description is that by Mr. Palgrave, who, under the guidance of Bedawin, visited the district in 1862. Travelling from Maan by way of the Wadi Sirhan, after a difficult and dangerous journey of thirteen days, their track in the last stage following “endless windings among low hills and stony ledges,” brought them to greener slopes and traces of tillage, and at length “entered a long and narrow pass, whose precipitous banks shut in the view on either side.” After an hour of tedious marching in terrible heat, turning a huge pile of crags, they looked down into the Jauf.

“A broad, deep valley, descending ledge after ledge till its innermost depths are hidden from sight amid far-reaching shelves of reddish rock, below everywhere studded with tufts of palm groves and clustering fruit trees in dark green patches, down to the farthest end of its windings; a large brown mass of irregular masonry crowning a central hill; beyond, a tall and solitary tower overlooking the opposite bank of the hollow, and farther down, small round turrets and flat house roofs, half buried amid the garden foliage, the whole plunged in a perpendicular flood of light and heat; such was the first aspect of the Djowf as we now approached it from the west.”

The principal town bears the name of the district, and is composed of eight villages, once distinct, which have in process of time coalesced into one. The principal quarter includes the castle, and numbers about four hundred houses. “The province is a large oval depression, of sixty or seventy miles long by ten or twelve broad, lying between the northern desert that separates it from Syria and Euphrates, and the southern Nefood, or sandy waste.” Its fertility is great and is aided by irrigation, so that the dates and other fruits produced in the Jauf are famed throughout Arabia. The people “occupy a halfway position between Bedouins and the inhabitants of the cultivated districts.” Their number is reckoned at about forty thousand, and there can be no question that the valley has been a seat of population from remote antiquity. To the other points of identification may be added this, that in the Wadi Sirhan, not far from the entrance to the Jauf, Mr. Palgrave passed a poor settlement with the name Oweysit, or Owsit, and the Outz, or Uz, of our text. With population, an ancient city, fertile fields, and ample pasturage in the middle of the desert, the nearest habitable region to Edom, in the way of caravans, generally safe from predatory tribes, yet exposed to those from the east and south that might make long expeditions under pressure of great need, the valley of the Jauf appears to correspond in every important particular with the dwelling place of the man of Uz.

The question whether such a man as Job ever lived has been variously answered, one Hebrew rabbi, for example, affirming that he was a mere parable. But Ezekiel names him along with Noah and Daniel, James in his epistle says, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job”; and the opening words of this book, “There was a man in the land of Uz,” are distinctly historical. To know, therefore, that a region in the Arabian desert corresponds so closely with the scene of Jobs life is to be reassured that a true history forms the basis of the poem. The tradition with which the author began his work probably supplied the name and dwelling place of Job, his wealth, piety, and afflictions, including the visit of his friends, and his restoration after sore trial from the very gate of despair to faith and prosperity. The rest comes from the genius of the author of the drama. This is a work of imagination based on fact. And we do not proceed far till we find, first ideal touches, then bold flights into a region never opened to the gaze of mortal eye.

Job is described in the third verse as one of the Children of the East or Bene-Kedem, a vague expression denoting the settled inhabitants of the North Arabian desert, in contrast to the wandering Bedawin and the Sabeans of the South. In Genesis and Judges they are mentioned along with the Amalekites, to whom they were akin. But the name as used by the Hebrews probably covered the inhabitants of a large district very little known. Of the Bene-Kedem Job is described as the greatest. His riches meant power, and in the course of the frequent alternations of life in those regions one who had enjoyed unbroken prosperity for many years would be regarded with veneration not only for his wealth, but for what it signified- the constant favour of Heaven. He had his settlement near the city, and was the acknowledged emeer of the valley taking his place at the gate as chief judge. How great a chief one might become who added to his flocks and herds year by year and managed his affairs with prudence we learn from the history of Abraham; and to the present day, where the patriarchal mode of living and customs continue, as among the Kurds of the Persian highland, examples of wealth in sheep and oxen, camels and asses almost approaching that of Job are sometimes to be met with. The numbers-seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses-are probably intended simply to represent his greatness. Yet they are not beyond the range of possibility.

The family of Job-his wife, seven sons, and three daughters-are about him when the story begins, sharing his prosperity. In perfect friendliness and idyllic joy the brothers and sisters spend their lives, the shield of their fathers care and religion defending them. Each of the sons has a day on which he entertains the others, and at the close of the circle of festivities, whether weekly or once a year, there is a family sacrifice. The father is solicitous lest his children, speaking or even thinking irreverently, may have dishonoured God. For this reason he makes the periodic offering, from time to time keeping on behalf of his household a day of atonement. The number of the children is not necessarily ideal, nor is the round of festivals and sacred observances. Yet the whole picture of happy family life and unbroken joy begins to lift the narrative into an imaginative light. So fine a union of youthful enjoyment and fatherly sympathy and puritanism is seldom approached in this world. The poet has kept out of his picture the shadows which must have lurked beneath the sunny surface of life. It is not even suggested that the recurring sacrifices were required. Jobs thoughtfulness is precautionary: “It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts.” The children are dear to him, so dear that he would have nothing come between them and the light of heaven.

For the religion of Job, sincere and deep, disclosing itself in these offerings to the Most High, is, above his fatherly affection and sympathy, the distinction with which the poet shows him invested. He is a fearer of the One Living and True God. the Supremely Holy. In the course of the drama the speeches of Job often go back on his faithfulness to the Most High; and we can see that he served his fellow men justly and generously because he believed in a Just and Generous God. Around him were worshippers of the sun and moon, whose adoration he had been invited to share. But he never joined in it, even by kissing his hand when the splendid lights of heaven moved with seeming Divine majesty across the sky. For him there was but One God, unseen yet ever present, to whom, as the Giver of all, he did not fail to offer thanksgiving and prayer with deepening faith. In his worship of this God the old order of sacrifice had its place, simple, unceremonious. Head of the clan, he was the priest by natural right, and offered sheep or bullock that there might be atonement, or maintenance of fellowship with the Friendly Power who ruled the world. His religion may be called a nature religion of the finest type-reverence, faith, love, freedom. There is no formal doctrine beyond what is implied in the names Eloah, the Lofty One, Shaddai, Almighty, and in those simple customs of prayer, confession, and sacrifice in which all believers agreed. Of the law of Moses, the promises to Abraham, and those prophetical revelations by which the covenant of God was assured to the Hebrew people Job knows nothing. His is a real religion, capable of sustaining the soul of man in righteousness, a religion that can save; but it is a religion learned from the voices of earth and sky and sea, and from human experience through the inspiration of the devout obedient heart. The author makes no attempt to reproduce the beliefs of patriarchal times as described in Genesis, but with a sincere and sympathetic touch he shows what a fearer of God in the Arabian desert might be. Job is such a man as he may have personally known.

In the region of Idumaea the faith of the Most High was held in remarkable purity by learned men, who formed a religious caste or school of wide reputation: and Teman, the home of Eliphaz, appears to have been the centre of the cultus. “Is wisdom no more in Teman?” cries Jeremiah. “Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom (hokhma) vanished?” And Obadiah makes a similar reference: “Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?” In Isaiah the darkened wisdom of some time of trouble and perplexity is reflected in the “burden of Dumah,” that is, Idumaea: “One calleth unto me out of Seir,” as if with the hope of clearer light on Divine providence, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” And the answer is an oracle in irony, almost enigma: “The morning cometh, and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire; turn, come.” Not for those who dwelt in shadowed Dumah was the clear light of Hebrew prophecy. But the wisdom or hokhma of Edom and its understanding were nevertheless of the kind in Proverbs and elsewhere constantly associated with true religion and represented as almost identical with it. And we may feel assured that when the Book of Job was written there was good ground for ascribing to sages of Teman and Uz an elevated faith.

For a Hebrew like the author of Job to lay aside for a time the thought of his countrys traditions, the law and the prophets, the covenant of Sinai, the sanctuary, and the altar of witness, and return in writing his poem to the primitive faith which his forefathers grasped when they renounced the idolatry of Chaldaea was after all no grave abandonment of privilege. The beliefs of Teman, sincerely held, were better than the degenerate religion of Israel against which Amos testified. Had not that prophet even pointed the way when he cried in Jehovahs name-“Seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba. Seek Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is His name”? Israel after apostasy may have needed to begin afresh, and to seek on the basis of the primal faith a new atonement with the Almighty. At all events there were many around, not less the subjects of God and beloved by Him, who stood in doubt amidst the troubles of life and the ruin of earthly hopes. Teman and Uz were in the dominion of the heavenly King. To correct and confirm their faith would be to help the faith of Israel also and give the true religion of God fresh power against idolatry and superstition.

The book which returned thus to the religion of Teman found an honourable place in the roll of sacred Scriptures. Although the canon was fixed by Hebrews at a time when the narrowness of the post-exilic age drew toward Pharisaism, and the law and the temple were regarded with veneration far greater than in the time of Solomon, room was made for this book of broad human sympathy and free faith. It is a mark at once of the wisdom of the earlier rabbis and their judgment regarding the essentials of religion. To Israel, as St. Paul afterwards said, belonged “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.” But he too shows the same disposition as the author of our poem to return on the primitive and fundamental-the justification of Abraham by his faith, the promise made to him, and the covenant that extended to his family: “They which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham”; “They which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham”; “Not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed”; “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” A greater than St. Paul has shown us how to use the Old Testament, and we have perhaps misunderstood the intent with which our Lord carried the minds of men back to Abraham and Moses and the prophets. He gave a religion to the whole world. Was it not then the spiritual dignity, the religious breadth of the Israelite fathers, their sublime certainty of God, their glow and largeness of faith for which Christ went back to them? Did He not for these find them preparers of His own way?

From the religion of Job we pass to consider his character described in the words, “That man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” The use of four strong expressions, cumulatively forming a picture of the highest possible worth and piety, must be held to point to an ideal life. The epithet perfect is applied to Noah, and once and again in the Psalms to the disposition of the good. Generally, however, it refers rather to the scheme or plan by which conduct is ordered than to the fulfilment in actual life; and a suggestive parallel may be found in the “perfection” or “entire sanctification” of modern dogma. The word means complete, built up all round so that no gaps are to be seen in the character. We are asked to think of Job as a man whose uprightness, goodness, and fidelity towards man were unimpeachable, who was also towards God reverent, obedient, grateful, wearing his religion as a white garment of unsullied virtue. Then is it meant that he had no infirmity of will or soul, that in him for once humanity stood absolutely free from defect? Scarcely. The perfect man in this sense, with all moral excellences and without weakness, would as little have served the purpose of the writer as one marred by any gross or deforming fault.. The course of the poem shows that Job was not free from errors of temper and infirmities of will. He who is proverbially known as the most patient failed in patience when the bitter cup of reproach had to be drained. But undoubtedly the writer exalts the virtue of his hero to the highest range, a plane above the actual. In order to set the problem of the book in a clear light such purity of soul and earnest dutifulness had to be assumed as would by every reckoning deserve the rewards of God, the “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

The years of Job have passed hitherto in unbroken prosperity. He has long enjoyed the bounty of providence, his children about him, his increasing flocks of sheep and camels, oxen and asses feeding in abundant pastures. The stroke of bereavement has not fallen since his father and mother died in ripe old age. The dreadful simoom has spared his flocks, the wandering Bedawin have passed them by. An honoured chief, he rules in wisdom and righteousness, ever mindful of the Divine hand by which he is blessed, yearning for himself the trust of the poor and the gratitude of the afflicted. Enjoying unbounded respect in his own country, he is known beyond the desert to a circle of friends who admire him as a man and honour him as a servant of God. His steps are washed with butter, and the rock pours him out rivers of oil. The lamp of God shines upon his head, and by His light he walks through darkness. His root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night upon his branch.

Now let us judge this life from a point of view which the writer may have taken, which at any rate it becomes us to take, with our knowledge of what gives manhood its true dignity and perfectness. Obedience to God, self-control and self-culture, the observance of religious forms, brotherliness and compassion, uprightness and purity of life, these are Jobs excellences. But all circumstances are favourable, his wealth makes beneficence easy and moves him to gratitude. His natural disposition is towards piety and generosity; it is pure joy to him to honour God and help his fellow men. The life is beautiful. But imagine it as the unclouded experience of years in a world where so many are tried with suffering and bereavement, foiled in their strenuous toil and disappointed in their dearest hopes, and is it not evident that Jobs would tend to become a kind of dream life, not deep and strong, but on the surface, a broad stream, clear, glittering with the reflection of moon and stars or of the blue heaven, but shallow, gathering no force, scarcely moving towards the ocean? When a Psalmist says, “Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath: we bring our years to an end as a tale that is told,” he depicts the common experience of men, a sad experience, yet needful to the highest wisdom and the noblest faith. No dreaming is there when the soul is met with sore rebuffs and made aware of the profound abyss that lies beneath, when the limbs fail on the steep hills of difficult duty. But a long succession of prosperous years, immunity from disappointment, loss, and sorrow, lulls the spirit to repose. Earnestness of heart is not called for, and the will, however good, is never braced to endurance. Whether by subtle intention or by an instinctive sense of fitness, the writer has painted Job as one who with all his virtue and perfectness spent his life as in a dream and needed to be awakened. He is a Pygmalions statue of flawless marble, the face divinely calm and not without a trace of self-conscious remoteness from the suffering multitudes, needing the hot blast of misfortune to bring it to life. Or, let us say, he is a new type of humanity in paradise, an Adam enjoying a Garden of Eden fenced in from every storm, as yet undiscovered by the enemy. We are to see the problem of the primitive story of Genesis revived and wrought out afresh, not on the old lines, but in a way that makes it real to the race of suffering men. The dream life of Job in his time of prosperity corresponds closely with that ignorance of good and evil which the first pair had in the garden eastward in Eden while as yet the forbidden tree bore its fruit untouched, undesired, in the midst of the greenery and flowers.

When did the man Job live? Far back in the patriarchal age, or but a short time before the author of the book came upon his story and made it immortal? We may incline to the later date, but it is of no importance. For us the interest of the book is not antiquarian but humane, the relation of pain and affliction to the character of man. the righteous government of God. The life and experiences of Job are idealised so that the question may be clearly understood; and the writer makes not the slightest attempt to give his book the colour of remote antiquity.

But we cannot fail to be struck from the outset with the genius shown in the choice of a life set in the Arabian desert. For breadth of treatment, for picturesque and poetic effect, for the development of a drama that was to exhibit the individual soul in its need of God, in the shadow of deep trouble as well as the sunshine of success, the scenery is strikingly adapted, far better than if it had been laid in some village of Israel. Inspiration guided the writers choice. The desert alone gave scope for those splendid pictures of nature, those noble visions of Divine Almightiness, and those sudden and tremendous changes which make the movement impressive and sublime.

The modern analogue in literature is the philosophic novel. But Job is far more intense, more operatic, as Ewald says, and the elements are even simpler. Isolation is secured. Life is bared to its elements. The personality is entangled in disaster with the least possible machinery or incident. The dramatising altogether is singularly abstract. And thus we are enabled to see, as it were, the very thought of the author, lonely, resolute, appealing, under the widespread Arabian sky and the Divine infinitude.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary