Job 29:25

_I CHOSE OUT THEIR WAY, AND SAT CHIEF, AND DWELT AS A KING IN THE ARMY, AS ONE THAT COMFORTETH THE MOURNERS._ I chose ... their way - i:e., I willingly went up to their assembly from my country residence (Job 29:7). (Maurer.) 'If I chose to go in their way' - i:e., if their ways pleased me, I then sat there as chief (Umbreit). The English version makes good sense: 'I chose out for them, as their counselor, the way its which they should go.' IN ... ARMY - as a king supreme in the midst of his army. COMFORTETH ... MOURNERS. Here, again, Job unconsciously foreshadows Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:2). Job's afflictions, as those of Jesus Christ, were fitting him for the office hereafter (Isaiah 50:4;

18-25 Being thus honoured and useful, Job had hoped to die in peace and honour, in a good old age. If such an expectation arise from lively faith in the providence and promise of God, it is well; but if from conceit of our own wisdom, and dependence on changeable, earthly things, it is ill grounded, and turns to sin. Every one that has the spirit of wisdom, has not the spirit of government; but Job had both. Yet he had the tenderness of a comforter. This he thought upon with pleasure, when he was himself a mourner. Our Lord Jesus is a King who hates iniquity, and upon whom the blessing of a world ready to perish comes. To Him let us give ear....

Verse Job 29:25. _I CHOSE OUT THEIR WAY, AND SAT CHIEF - AS A KING IN THE_ _A__rmy_] I cannot see, with some learned men, that our version of the original is wrong. I have not seen it mended, and I am sure I cannot improve it. The whole verse seems to me to point out Job in his _civil, military_, and _domestic_ life. As _supreme magistrate_ he _chose out their way_, adjusted their differences, and _sat chief_, presiding in all their civil assemblies. As _captain general_ he _dwelt as a king in the midst of his_ _troops_, preserving order and discipline, and seeing that his fellow soldiers were provided with requisites for their warfare, and the necessaries of life. As a _man_ he did not think himself superior to the meanest offices in domestic life, to relieve or support hi

I CHOSE OUT THEIR WAY - That is, I became their guide and counsellor. Rosenmuller and Noyes explain this as meaning, “When I came among them;” that is, when I chose to go in their way, or in their midst. But the former interpretation better agrees with the Hebrew, and with the connection. Job is speaking of the honors shown to him, and one of the highest which he could receive was to be regarded as a leader, and to have such respect shown to his opinions that he was even allowed to select the way in which they should go; that is, that his counsel was implicitly followed. AND SAT CHIEF - Hebrew “Sat head.” He was at the head of their assemblies. AND DWELT AS A KING IN THE ARMY - As a king, surrounded by a multitude of troops, all of whom were subservient to his will, and whom he could command at pleasure. It is not to be inferred from this, that Job was a king,

EXPOSITION JOB 29:1 From these deep musings upon the nature of true wisdom, and the contrast between the ingenuity and cleverness of man and the infinite knowledge of God, Job turns to another contrast, which he pursues through two chapters (Job 29:1; Job 30:1.)—the contrast between what he was and what he is—between his condition in the period of his prosperity and that to which he has been reduced by his afflictions. The present chapter is concerned only with the former period; and gives a graphic description of the life led, in Job's time and country, by a great chieftain, the head of a tribe, not of mere nomads, but of perseus who had attained to a considerable amount of civilization. The picture i

I CHOSE OUT THEIR WAY,.... When his friends and neighbours came to him for advice in things civil, he marked out their way for them, directed what steps to take, what methods to pursue for their good; they desired him to choose for them, preferring his judgment to theirs, and were determined to abide by his choice of ways and means, and to follow his counsel; and in religious matters, he instructed them in their duty, both towards God and men, and proposed unto them what was most eligible, both with respect to doctrine and practice; AND SAT CHIEF; in all their public assemblies; he presided in their councils and courts of judicature; and when met together for religious worship, he sat in the chair of the teacher, and instructed them; he was chief speaker, as the Heathens said of the Apostle Paul, Acts 14:12; AND DWELT AS A KING IN THE ARMY, or "troop" k. M

CHAPTER 29 _ 1. His past prosperity and honors (Job 29:1)_ 2. The good works he did (Job 29:11) Job 29:1. The words spoken by Job were wholesome words, showing that his mind was moving in another channel, but now he reverts to the old complaint in self-occupation, self-pity and self-vindication. What a horrible thing this old self? And before the sun can scatter his dark night, that self must be laid into the dust of self-abhorrence. And so we hear him review the past. Some 20 times he says “I” in this chapter. It reminds one of the man in Romans 7:1 with his “I.” Retrospect is good if it is done with praise and in humility. Not onc

JOB 29. JOB'S FORMER HAPPY DAYS. Job 29:1. Job longs that he might once again live as of old under God's favour. In Job 29:4 secret means intimacy (_cf._ Psalms 25:14). JOB 29:7. Job describes the reverence done to him by not only the young, but even the aged and the honourable. The gate of the city is the place of assembly, the counsel-house. Job lives on his country estate, but goes into the city to give counsel. JOB 29:21 should probably now follow (Budde, Peake). These verses continue the subject of...

Return to the main thought of the passage, his place among men, his brothers....

I CHOSE OUT THEIR WAY, &C.— _But if, with them, I sought after serious things, I sat in the chief place: as a king when he cometh to comfort the mourners, so did I dwell in the midst of the company._ Houb.; who makes this and the foregoing verse correspond to each other. Heath translates it very differently. _If I chose to travel with them, I had the most honourable place: I pitched in tent also as a king among the troop; when he leadeth them to the plains._ REFLECTIONS.—1st, Reflections upon Job's former prosperous state, contrasted with his present wretchedness, draw forth the deep sigh from his bosom, and, though no prospect of a change appears, he cannot but wish the return of happier days. _Oh, that I were as in months past,_ enjoying such outward blessings, or rather such communion with God, as even then was his greatest joy. _Note;_ (1.) God does not forbid us to pray for the rest...