_A.M. 2484. B.C. 1520._ Eliphaz checks Job for his complaints of God, Job 22:1. Charges miseries on his sins, Job 22:5. Compares his case to that of the old world, Job 22:15. Assures him, that if he would return to God, he would show him mercy, Job 22:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Eliphaz answered_ Eliphaz, in this chapter, charges Job home with particular facts of cruelty and oppression, which he supposes him to be guilty of, though he cannot allege one proof of them; to which he adds the atrocious crime of atheism, and a denial or disbelief of God's providence; and th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can a man be profitable unto God_ That is, add any thing to his perfection or felicity? namely, by his righteousness, as the next verse shows. Why then dost thou insist so much upon thy own righteousness, as if thou didst oblige God by it; or, as if he could not, without injustice, afflict thee, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous?_ That is, any such pleasure as he needs in order to his happiness? Heath renders it, _any advantage._ God, we know, approves of and accepts the good actions of his people, and is often said in Scripture to delight in them; but certainly ca... [ Continue Reading ]
_Will he reprove thee_ That is, rebuke, chastise, or punish thee; _for fear of thee?_ Because he is afraid lest, if he should let thee alone, thou wouldst grow too great and powerful for him: surely no. As thy righteousness cannot profit him, so thy wickedness can do him no hurt.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is not thy wickedness great?_ Thy great sins are the true and only cause of thy misery. Or, the verse may be translated, _Is not thy evil_ (thy affliction or punishment) _great, because_, אין קצ, _ein ketz, there is no end to thy iniquities?_ Are not thy calamities procured by, and in proportion to... [ Continue Reading ]
_For thou hast taken a pledge_ Or, _surely thou hast taken._ He speaks thus, by way of conjecture, or strong presumption: as if he had said, When I consider thy grievous and unusual calamities, I justly conclude thou art guilty of some, or all, of these following crimes; and do thou search thy own c... [ Continue Reading ]
_The mighty man had the earth_ That is, he had the firm possession, or free enjoyment of it. Which is meant, either, 1st, of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person: as if he had said, The mighty man Job possessed, enlarged, and enjoyed his estate, without any compassion to the poor.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast sent widows_ Whose helpless state called for thy pity; _away empty_ Either by denying them that relief that their poverty required, or that right which their cause deserved; or, by spoiling them of their goods, because thou knewest them to be unable to oppose thee, or to defend themselves... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore snares are round about thee_ For these and the like crimes thou art encompassed with dangers and calamities. _And sudden fear troubleth thee_ Besides thy present miseries, thou art tormented with the dread of further and greater judgments. _Or darkness, that thou canst not see_ Such confu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is not God in the height of heaven?_ Surely, he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And, therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that good men suffer as deeply as any others in this low... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_ Or _therefore, thou sayest, How doth God know?_ &c. From this true and certain principle, thou drawest a false and wicked conclusion, and fanciest, perhaps, that because he is so high he minds not what is done here below: or, that he cannot discern the difference of things so very remote, thro... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thick clouds are a covering to him_ He is surrounded, thou imaginest, with such thick clouds that they conceal us from his sight. _And he walketh in the circuit of the heaven_ His delight is in heaven, which is worthy of his care, but he will not burden himself with the care of earth; which was the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hast thou marked the old way?_ Hebrew, ארח עולם, _orach gnolam, the way of antiquity_, that is, of men living in ancient times, or former ages. And, by their _way_, he either means their course, and common practice, or their end and success. _Which were cut down out of time_ Before their time; who... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which said unto God, Depart from us_ He repeats Job's words, Job 21:14; but to a contrary purpose. Job alleged them to show that some men prospered, notwithstanding their professed wickedness, and Eliphaz produces them to show that they were cut off for it. _And, What can the Almighty do for them?_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet he filled their houses with good things_ Yet it is true, that for a time God did prosper them, but, at last, cut them off in a tremendous manner. _But the counsel of the wicked_, &c. He repeats Job's words, (Job 21:16,) not without reflection: thou didst say so, but against thy own principle, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The righteous see it_ Whom God often spares in common calamities, and gives them to see the destruction of the wicked; as Noah, Lot, &c. _And are glad_ Not that they insult over, or rejoice in, the ruin of any men, but because they delight in the vindication of God's honour, and justice, and holine... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whereas_ Or rather, _seeing that_, or, _because_, when wicked men are destroyed, they are preserved. He should have said _their substance;_ but he changes the person, and saith, _our substance;_ either as including himself in the number of righteous persons, and thereby intimating that he pleaded t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Acquaint now thyself with him_ That is, with God, as appears both from Job 22:23, where he is expressed, and from the nature of the matter in hand, there being no other way to happiness. Renew thy acquaintance with God by prayer, and repentance for all thy sins, and true humiliation under his hand,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Receive the law from his mouth_ Take the rule, whereby thou mayest govern thy thoughts, and words, and whole life, not from idolaters and profane heathen, whose opinion concerning God's providence thou appearest to have embraced, nor from thy own imaginations or violent passions, which have led the... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou return to the Almighty_ The Hebrew phrase, תשׁוב עד שׁדי, _tashub gnad shaddai_, is emphatical, and implies a thorough turning from sin to God, so as to love him, and cleave to him, and sincerely devote a man's self to his fear and service. _Thou shalt be built up_ God will repair thy ruins... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then shalt thou lay up gold_ The word בצר, _batzer_, here rendered _gold_, is a word of dubious meaning. R. Levi, indeed, makes it parallel to _zahab, gold:_ Ab. Ezra, to _cheseph, silver._ “In Arabic,” says Chappelow, “it sometimes signifies some particular stones, diversified with white lines. An... [ Continue Reading ]
_For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty_ Thou shalt find delight, not only or chiefly in these outward comforts, but also and especially in God, whose face shall shine upon thee; and who shall give thee these things, not in anger, as he doth to wicked men, but as pledges of his love an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him_ Hebrew, תעתיר אליו, _tagnter eelaiv_, thou shalt pray earnestly and importunately, or, _thou shalt multiply thy prayer._ Under all thy burdens, in all thy wants, cares, and fears, thou shalt apply to heaven for wisdom, strength, and comfort. _Thou shalt pay thy... [ Continue Reading ]
_It shall be established_ Thy purposes shall not be disappointed, but ratified by God. And in all thy counsels and actions God shall give thee the light of his direction and governance, and of comfort and success. _When men are cast down_ When, in a time of general calamity, all are cast down round... [ Continue Reading ]
_He_ Whose prerogative it is to give deliverances; _shall deliver _ Namely, upon thy request, as the following clause shows; _the island of the innocent_ Not only thyself, when thou shalt become innocent, or righteous, but, for thy sake, he will deliver the whole island, or country, in which thou dw... [ Continue Reading ]