Job 15 - Introduction
_A.M. 2484. B.C. 1520._ Eliphaz reproves Job for justifying himself, Job 15:1. Persuades him to humble himself before God, Job 15:14. Describes the misery of wicked men, Job 15:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_A.M. 2484. B.C. 1520._ Eliphaz reproves Job for justifying himself, Job 15:1. Persuades him to humble himself before God, Job 15:14. Describes the misery of wicked men, Job 15:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then answered Eliphaz_ Eliphaz, not a little incensed that Job should pay no regard to his advice, and should dare to challenge the Almighty to argue the point with him, charges him home with self-conceit in entertaining too high an opinion of his own knowledge; with arrogance in undervaluing the a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Should a wise man_ Such as thou pretendest to be, _utter vain knowledge_ Hebrews דעת רוח, _dagnath, ruach, knowledge of wind;_ that is, empty words, without any sense or solidity in them; _and fill his belly_ Satisfy his mind and conscience; _with the east wind_ With notions and speeches, which are... [ Continue Reading ]
_Should he reason with unprofitable talk?_ Of what consequence are all his arguments? Do they carry any weight with them? Do they convince and satisfy those with whom he contends? No: they are no better than _unprofitable talk. With speeches wherewith he can do no good?_ Either to himself or others,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yea, thou castest off fear_ Hebrew, _Thou makest void fear;_ the fear of God, piety, and religion, by thy unworthy speeches of God, and by those false and pernicious principles, that God makes no difference between good and bad in the course of his providence, but equally prospers or afflicts both:... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity_ Thy words discover the naughtiness of thy heart, and justify my charge against thee, that thou castest off fear, &c. _Thou choosest the tongue of the crafty_ Thou speakest wickedly and craftily: thou coverest thy impious principles with fair pretences of piety and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Art thou the first man that was born?_ Hast thou lived ever since the creation of the world, and treasured up the experiences of all ages in thy own breast, that thou speakest so arrogantly and magisterially, and with such contempt of other men? Art thou the most ancient and the wisest of all morta... [ Continue Reading ]
_Are the consolations of God small with thee?_ Are those blessings which we have pro-pounded to thee, on condition of thy repentance, small and inconsiderable in thine eyes? He takes it ill that Job did not value the comforts which he and his friends administered to him, more than, it seems, he did,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why doth thy heart carry thee away?_ Why dost thou suffer thyself to be transported by the pride of thy heart, to use such unworthy and unbecoming expressions, both concerning us and concerning God and his providence? _And what do thine eyes wink at?_ Why dost thou look with such an angry, supercil... [ Continue Reading ]
_What is man?_ Hebrew, אנושׁ, _enosh, frail, weak, imperfect man; that he should be clean?_ That is, that he should pretend to be so; or, that any should expect to find him so: _and he that is born of a woman_ A sinful woman, from whom he has derived infirmity, corruption, and guilt; _that he should... [ Continue Reading ]
_How much more abominable and filthy is man_ If saints are not to be trusted, much less sinners. If the heavens are not pure; if heavenly beings, who maintained their allegiance to their Maker, are not free from imperfection, when compared with God, much less is man, who is degenerated, and has rebe... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will show thee, hear me_ I will prove what I have affirmed, namely, that such strokes as thine are peculiar to hypocrites and wicked men. _And that which I have seen I will declare_ I will not speak from hearsay, but only from my own observation and experience. _Which wise men have told_ Who are... [ Continue Reading ]
_Unto whom alone the earth was given_ By the gracious gift of God: this he alleges to make their testimony more considerable, because these were no obscure men, but the most worthy and famous men in their ages; and to confute what Job had said, Job 9:24, that _the earth_ was _given into the hand of... [ Continue Reading ]
_The wicked man travaileth with pain_ That is, lives a life of care, and fear, and grief, by reason of God's wrath, the torments of his own mind, and his outward calamities. _The number of_ his _years is hidden _ He knows not how short the time of his life is, and therefore lives in continual fear o... [ Continue Reading ]
_A dreadful sound is in his ears_ Even when he feels no evil, he is tormented with perpetual fears and expectations of it, from a consciousness of his own guilt, and a sense of God's all-seeing eye and righteous judgment. _In prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him_ In the most peaceable and pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_He wandereth abroad for bread_ His poverty is so great, that he is forced to wander hither and thither to seek for bread, and cannot find it, a just punishment for him that took away the bread and substance of others by violence. _He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand_ He is assu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid_ When trouble comes, instead of trusting and hoping, and comforting himself in God, as good men do in such cases, 1 Samuel 30:6, he is full of torment, dreading the issue of it, and concluding it will end in his utter ruin, as he has great reason to do. _Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_For he stretcheth out his hand against God_ He sinned against him with a high and outstretched hand; that is, boldly and presumptuously, as one that neither desired his favour, nor feared his anger. Thus he gives the reason of the fore-mentioned calamities that befell him, which was his great wicke... [ Continue Reading ]
_He runneth upon him_ That is, the wicked man (of whom, and of whose sin and misery, he speaks in the whole context, both preceding and following) assaults God, and, as it were, rushes swiftly and furiously upon him, as the same phrase, ירצ אלו, _jarats eelaiv_, signifies, Daniel 8:6. In the former... [ Continue Reading ]
_He covereth his face with his fatness_ This is mentioned as the reason of his insolent carriage toward God. because he was fat, rich, potent, and successful, as that expression signifies, Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalms 78:31; Jeremiah 46:21. His great prosperity made him proud and secure, and regardless... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he dwelleth_ It should rather be translated, _But he dwelleth in desolate places._ This is fitly opposed to the prosperity last mentioned, and is the beginning of the description of his misery, which is continued in the following verses. _Which are ready to become heaps_ Which are ready to fall... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall not depart out of darkness_ His misery shall have no end. _The flame_ God's anger and judgment upon him. _Shall dry up his branches_ His wealth, and power, and glory, wherewith he was encompassed, as trees are with their branches. _By the breath of his mouth,_ &c. This expression intimates... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity_ That is, in the vain and deceitful things of this world, such as power, riches, honour, &c., of which, and of the loss of them, he had been discoursing largely; and now he subjoins a general caution to all men to take heed of running into the same error... [ Continue Reading ]
_It shall be accomplished_ Namely, that which was last mentioned, that _vanity should be his recompense: before his time_ When, by the course of nature, and common providence, he might have continued and flourished much longer. _And his branch_ His glory and prosperity, or his children; _shall not b... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the congregation of hypocrites_ Their children, servants, friends, and dependants; _shall be desolate_ That is, utterly destroyed; _and fire_ Some eminent and terrible judgment of God, often expressed by fire: see Isaiah 9:19; Isaiah 26:11; _shall consume the tabernacles of bribery_ Which were... [ Continue Reading ]