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Job, in answer to Bildad, admits the truth of his arguments, but declines to attempt the justification which can alone entitle him to accept the favourable side of Bildad's alternative. Man cannot absolutely justify himself before God. It is in vain to attempt to do so. The contest is too unequal. On the one side perfect wisdom and absolute strength (verse 4); on the other, weakness, imperfection, ignorance. guilt (verses 17-20). And no "daysman," or umpire, between them; no third party to hold the balance even, and preside authoritatively over the controversy, and see that justice is done (verses 33-35). Were it otherwise, Job would not shrink from the controversy; but he thinks it ill arguing with omnipotent power. What he seems to lack is the absolute conviction expressed by Abraham in the emphatic words'" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen_18:25).
Job_9:1, Job_9:2
And Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth. "I freely admit," is; "all that has been said." God would not cast away a perfectly righteous man (Job_8:20); and, of course, he punishes evil-doers. But, applied practically, what is the result? How should man be just with God? or, before God? Apart from any knowledge of the doctrine of original or inherited sin, each man feels, deep in his heart, that he is sinful—"a chief of sinners." Bradford looks upon the murderer as he mounts the scaffold, and says, "But for the grace of God, there goes John Bradford!" Job has a similar conviction, that in the sight of God, righteousness, such as it is, shrinks away into insignificance, and is as nothing, cannot anyhow be relied upon. Such must be the attitude before God of every human soul that is not puffed up with pride or utterly insensate and sunk in apathy.
Job_9:3
If he will contend with him; rather, if he should desire to contend with him; i.e. if, notwithstanding his knowledge of his own weakness and guilt, he should nevertheless be mad enough to desire to contend with God, then he will find that he cannot answer him one of a thousand. Of the charges which God might in his omniscience bring against him, he could not make a satisfactory reply to one in a thousand. It is not that Job admits any special guilt in himself; but such he feels to be the universal condition of humanity. "All have sinned in ten thousand ways, "and come short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23).
Job_9:4
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. The sense is strengthened if we omit "he is," and render, Wise in heart, and mighty in strength, who hath hardened' etc.? God's combination of perfect wisdom with infinite strength renders it hopeless for any man to contend with him. Who hath hardened himself against him; and hath prospered? Job fully admits the wisdom of all that Eliphaz (Job_4:17) and Bildad (Job_8:3-6) have said, or hinted, with respect to his inability wholly to justify himself. No one has ever taken this line of absolute self-justification, and prospered.
Job_9:5-13
A magnificent description of the might and majesty of God, transcending anything in the Psalms, and comparable to the grandest passages of Isaiah (see especially Isa_40:21-24; Isa_43:15-20).
Job_9:5
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which overturneth them in his anger. Earthquakes are common in all the countries adjoining Syria and Palestine, and must always have been among the most striking manifestations of God's power. There are several allusions to them in the Psalms (Psa_8:8, Psa_104:32). and historical mention of them in Num_16:32; 1Ki_19:1; Amo_1:1; Zec_14:4, Zec_14:5; Mat_24:7. Josephus speaks of one which desolated Judaea in the reign of Herod the Great, and destroyed ten thousand people ('Ant. Jud.,' Mat_15:5. § 2). There was another in 1181, which was felt over the whole of the Hauran, and did great damage. A still more violent convulsion occurred in 1837, when the area affected extended five hundred miles from north to south, and from eighty to a hundred miles east and west. Tiberias and Safed were overthrown. The earth gaped in various places, and closed again. Fearful oscillations were felt. The hot springs of Tiberias mounted up to a temperature that ordinary thermometers could not mark, and the loss of life was considerable. The phrases used by Job are, of course, poetical. Earthquakes do not literally "remove" mountains, nor "overturn" them. They produce fissures, elevations, depressions, and the like; but they rarely much alter local features or the general configuration of a district.
Job_9:6
Which shaketh the earth out of her place. This is a still more startling figure of speech; but comp. Psa_46:2; Psa_68:16; Psa_114:4, Psa_114:6. And the pillars thereof tremble. The earth is conceived of, poetically, as a huge edifice, supported on pillars (comp. Psa_75:3), which in an earthquake are shaken, and impart their motion to the entire building. Rosenmuller's quotation of Seneca, 'Nat. Quaest.,' 6:20—"Fortasse ex aliqua parle terra veluti columnis quibusdam et pills sustinetur, quibus vitiatis et recedentibus tremit pondus impositum"—is apposite.
Job_9:7
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not. A magnificent idea of God's power, and, of course, quite true. All the movements of the earth and of the heavenly bodies are movements which God causes, and could at any moment suspend. The sun only rises upon the earth each day because God causes it to rise. If he were once to intermit his hand, the whole universe would fall into confusion. And sealeth up the stars. Either covers them with a thick darkness, which their rays cannot penetrate, or otherwise renders them invisible. The idea is that God, if he pleases, can remove the stars out of man's sight, hide them away, seal them up.
Job_9:8
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens (comp. Psa_104:2; Isa_40:22). The heavens are regarded as spread out over the whole earth, like a curtain or awning over a tent, everywhere overshadowing and promoting it. This "stretching" or "spreading out" is felt to be one of the mightiest and most marvellous of the Creater's works, and is constantly put forward in Scripture as a special evidence of his omnipotence (see, besides the pasages above quoted, Isa_42:5; Isa_44:24; Isa_45:12; It. 13; Jer_10:12). It adds to the marvellousness that God did it all "alone," or "by himself" (comp. Isa_44:24). And treadeth upon the waves of the sea; literally, the heights of the sea; i.e. the waves, which run mountains-high. God plants his feet upon these, to crush them in their proud might (comp. Psa_93:5).
Job_9:9
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades; literally, which maketh 'Ash' Kesil' and Kimah. The rendering of the LXX. ( ὁ ποιῶν Πλειάδα καὶ Ἕσπερον καὶ Ἀρκτοῦρον ), supported, as it is, by most of the other ancient versions and by the Targums, has caused the stellar character of these names to be generally recognized; but the exact meaning of each term is, to some extent, still a matter of dispute. On the whole, it seems most probable that 'Ash, or 'Aish (Job_38:32), designates "the Great Bear," called by the Arabs Nahsh, while Kesil is the name of the constellation of Orion, and Kimah of that of the Pleiades. The word 'Ash means "a litter," and may be compared with the Greek ἅμαξα and our own" Charles's Wain," both of them names given to the Great Bear, from a fancied resemblance of its form to that of a vehicle. Kesil means "an insolent, rich man" (Lee); and is often translated by "fool" in the Book of Pro_14:16; Pro_15:20; Pro_19:1; Pro_21:20, etc. It seems to have been an epitheton usitatum of Nimrod, who, according to Oriental tradition, made war upon the gods, and was bound in the sky for his impiety—the constellation being thenceforth called "the Giant" (Gibbor)' or "the insolent one' (Kesil), and later by the Greeks "Orion" (comp. Amo_5:8; and infra. Job_38:31). Kimah undoubtedly designates "the Pleiades." It occurs again, in connection with Kesil, in Job_38:31, and in Amo_5:8 The meaning is probably "a heap," "a cluster" (Lee); which was also the Greek idea: Πλειάδες , ὅτι πλείους ὁμοοῦ κατὰ μίαν συναγωγήν ' (Eustath; 'Comment. in Hom. II.,' 18.488); and which has been also inimitably expressed by Tennyson in the line, "Like a swarm of dazzling fireflies tangled in a silver braid." And the chambers of the south. The Chaldeans called the zodiacal constellations "mansions of the sun" and "of the moon"; but these do not seem to be here intended. Rather Job has in his mind those immense spaces of the sky which lie behind his southern horizon; how far extending, he knows not. Though the circumnavigation of Africa was not effected until about B.C. 600, yet it is not improbable that he may have derived from travellers or merchants some knowledge of the Southern hemisphere.
Job_9:10
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. An almost exact repetition of the words of Eliphaz in Job_5:9. The repetition may have been conscious or unconscious. Job may have meant to say, "My view of God embraces all that you can tell me of him, and goes further;" or he may simply have used words concerning the Divine unsearchableness which were common in the mouths of religious men in his time (comp. Psa_72:18; and infra, Job_11:7).
Job_9:11
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not. Near as God is to us, close as he comes to us, we cannot directly see him, or feel him, or perceive his presence. We know it by faith, we may feel it in our inmost spirits; but there is no manifestation of it to our senses. A sharp line divides the visible and invisible worlds; and this line, if it is ever crossed, is very rarely crossed. Job possibly reflects upon the pretension of Eliphaz to have had a physical consciousness of the visitation of a spirit (Job_4:15, Job_4:16), and asserts, with a tinge of sarcasm, that it is otherwise with him—the spirit-worm passes him by, and he receives no light, no illumination, no miraculous direction from it. He passeth on also. The same verb is used by Eliphaz (Job_4:15) in speaking of his spiritual visitation. But I perceive him not. Eliphaz perceived the presence of the spirit (Job_4:15, Job_4:16) and heard its voice (Job_4:16-21). Job seems to mean that he is not so favoured.
Job_9:12
Behold, he taketh away; rather, he seizeth the prey (see the Revised Version). The expression is much stronger than that used in Job_1:21. Job seems to be smarting under the recollection of all that he has lost, and takes an aggrieved tone. Who can hinder him? (comp. Isa_45:9; Jer_18:6; Romans 19:20). Who will say unto him, What doest thou? To have to do with such an irresistible Being, alone in his might, would indeed be terrible if, while absolutely powerful, unchecked and uncontrolled from without, he were not also absolutely good, and therefore controlled and checked by a law from within. This, however, Job, in his present mood, does not seem clearly to see.
Job_9:13
If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. There is no "if" in the original; and the passage is best taken categorically: "God does not withdraw his anger;" i.e. the anger which he feels against those who resist him. "The helpers of Rahab do stoop [or, 'are prostrate'] under him." Rahab in this passage, and also in Job_26:12, as well us in Isa_51:9, seems to be used as the proper name of some great power of evil Such a power was recognized in the mythology of Egypt, under the names of Set (or Typhon) and of Apophia, the great serpent, continually represented as pierced by Horus. In the earlier Aryan myths there is a similar personification of evil in Vitre, called Dasiya, "the Destroyer," and at perpetual enmity with Indra and Agni. The Babylonians and Assyrians had a tradition of a great "war in heaven". carried on by seven spirits, who were finally reduced to subjection. All these seem to be distorted reminiscences of that great conflict, whereof the only trustworthy account is the one contained in the Revelation of St. John, "There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels"—the "helpers" of the present passage—"and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven" (Rev_12:7, Rev_12:8). Job, it seems, had inherited one of such traditions, one in which the power of evil was known as Rahab, "the Proud One;" and he means here to say that God not only holds men in subjection, but also beings much more powerful than man, as Rahab and his helpers, who had rebelled and made war on God, and been east down from heaven, and were now prostrate under God's feet.
Job_9:14
How much less shall I answer him? If he be the Lord of earth and heaven, if he rule the sun and the stars, if he tread down the sea, if he be impalpable and irresistible, if he hold the evil power and his helpers under restraint, how should I dare to answer him? How should any mere man do so? And choose out my words to reason with him? Job feels that he would be too much overwhelmed to choose his terms carefully, and yet a careless word might be an unpardonable offence.
Job_9:15
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer. Even perfect righteousness, so far as possible in a creature, would not enable a non to stand up in controversy with him who "charges his angels with folly" (Job_4:18); and, moreover, to such righteousness Job does not pretend (see Job_7:20, Job_7:21). But I would make supplication to my Judge; rather, to mine adversary (see the Revised Version). Prayer is the only rightful attitude of even the best man before his Maker—prayer for mercy, prayer for pardon, prayer for grace, prayer for advance in holiness.
Job_9:16
If I had called, and he had answered me. "It," that is, "I had challenged God to a controversy, and he had granted it, and bidden me to plead my cause at his bar, yet could I not suppose that he had really hearkened to me, and would allow me boldly to stand up before him and freely to challenge his doings. Such condescension on his part, such an abnegation of his supremacy, is inconceivable, and! could not have acted on it." Yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice; rather, yet could I not believe. It was not that he would not have wished, but that he would not have been able, to believe.
Job_9:17
For he breaketh me with a tempest. "God," that is, "would not be likely patiently to hear my justification, and calmly to weigh it, when he is already overwhelming me with his wrath, breaking and crushing me (comp. Gen_3:15, where the same word ùÑåÌó is used) with a very storm of calamity." The sentiment can scarcely be justified, since it breathes something of a contamacious spirit. But this only shows that Job was not yet" made perfect through sufferings" (Heb_2:10). And multiplieth my wounds without cause. A further assertion, not of absolute sinlessness, but of comparative innocence—of the belief that he had done nothing to deserve such a terrible punishment as he is suffering (comp. Job_6:24, Job_6:29).
Job_9:18
He will not suffer me to take my breath. "He gives me no breathing-space," that is, "no time of relaxation or refreshment. My existence is one continual. misery." (comp. Job_7:3-6, Job_7:13-19). But filleth me with bitterness; literally, with bitter things' or bitterness (Hebrew, îÇîÀÌø åÉøÄéí ).
Job_9:19
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong. Still the idea is, "How can I contend with God? If it is to be a trial of strength, it is he who is strong, not I; if it is to be a suit, or pleading for justice, who will appoint me a day?" And if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? (comp. below, Job_9:33).
Job_9:20
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me. Since he could not wholly justify himself. "All men have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23). Job has already admitted the utterance of "rash words" (Job_6:3), and, at least hypothetically, that he "has sinned" (Job_7:20), and needs "pardon" for his "transgression" (Job_7:1-21 :24). Job, if he tried to "justify himself," would have to acknowledge such shortcomings, such imperfections, such sins—at any rate, of infirmity—as would make his attempted justification a real self-condemnation. If I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse; rather, even were I perfect, it (i.e. my mouth) would prove me perverse; i.e. supposing I were actually perfect, and tried to prove it, my speech would be so hesitating and confused, that I should only seem to be perverse.
Job_9:21
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. The original is very elliptical and very obscure. The words run, I perfect—I know not myself—I abhor my life, which some explain as meaning, "Were I perfect, I should not know it myself; I despise my life under such conditions" (Stanley Loathes); others, "I am perfect" (i.e. guiltless of any plain offence), "but do not understand myself, and care not what becomes of me" (Canon Cook); others again, "Were I perfect, should I not know myself, and, knowing myself, despise my own life?" (Professor Lee). The Septuagint gives us no help, as it plainly follows a different reading. Probably our present text is a corrupt one.
Job_9:22
This is one thing; rather, the matter is one' or it is all one. There is no difference, that is, between the case of the righteous and the wicked; all are alike sinful in God's sight, all equally "concluded under sin" (Gal_3:22), and all consequently obnoxious to punishment at his hands (comp. Ecc_9:2). In a certain sense the statement is true, and corresponds with the argument of Romans 1-3.; but no account is taken here of God's gracious forgiveness of sin, much less of the general scheme of redemption, or the compensation for earthly sufferings in an eternity of happiness, on which the hope of the Christian rests. Therefore I said it; rather, therefore I say, with the Revised Version. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. As far as this world is concerned, it is undoubtedly true that calamities fall alike upon the just and upon the unjust. Death is the lot of all; trouble, suffering, grief, the lot of all (Job_6:7). Nor can it even be said that the wicked in this world suffer more than the good. Their sufferings are more the natural consequence of their actions, but do not seem to exceed in amount or severity the sufferings of the good. But this only shows that there must be a future life to redress the apparent injustice of the present one, and set the balance right.
Job_9:23
If the scourge slay suddenly. Such a "scourge" as war, or pestilence, or famine, is probably meant. If one of these be let loose upon a land, and slay, as it always does slay, indifferently the good and the bad, the innocent and the guilty, what is God's attitude? Does he interpose to save the righteous? By no means. He looks on passively, indifferently. Job even goes further, and says, with an audacity that borders on irreverence, if it does not even overstep the border, He will laugh at the trial of the innocent. St. Jerome says, "There is nothing in the whole book harsher than this." It may, perhaps, be excused, partly as rhetorical, partly as needful for the full expansion of Job's argument. But it is a fearful utterance. (Professor Lee's attempt to explain the whole passage differently is scarcely a successful one.)
Job_9:24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. As a further proof of God's indifference to the sufferings of the innocent, Job adduces the fact that, in the high places of the earth, are mostly set wicked persons, who oppress and persecute the righteous. This has probably been true, in the East at any rate, at all times. He covereth the faces of the judges thereof. God covers up the eyes of those who have to judge between the oppressors and the oppressed, so that they pervert judgment, and side with the oppressors. He does this, since he permits it to be done. Corrupt judges are among the perennial curses of the East. If not, where, and who is he? rather, If it be not he, who then is it? (see the Revised Version). Job argues that the established condition of things in human society must be ascribed to God, since (at least) he allows it. There is no one else to whom it can be ascribed.
Job_9:25
Now my days are swifter than a post. Life slips away so fast that before it is well begun, it is ended. Job compares it to the swift passage of the trained runner, or messenger, who carried despatches for kings and other great personages in the olden times (see 2Ch_30:6; Est_3:13; Est_8:10, Est_8:14). Herodotus says of the trained runners employed by the Persians, "Nothing mortal travels so fast as these Persian messengers" (Herod; 8.98). There is abundant evidence of the employment of such persons in ancient Egypt. They flee away, they see no good. It seems to Job that his prosperity (Job_1:2-5) was only for a moment. He scarcely could look on it before it was gone.
Job_9:26
They are passed away as the swift ships; literally, like the ships of reed. The allusion is probably to the frail reed vessels of the Egyptians, of which many ancient writers speak (see Theophrastus, 'Hist. Plant.,' 4.9; Pithy, 'Hist. Nat.,' 6.56; 13.11; Luean, ' Pharsalis,' 4.36, etc.). They were long, light canoes, formed generally of the papyrus plant, and propelled either by a single paddle or by a punting-pole. They were fiat-bottomed and broad, like punts, with a stem and stern rising considerably above the level of the water. Isaiah speaks of them as "vessels of bulrushes," in which "swift messengers" were sent by the nations peopling the banks of the Nile (Isa_18:1, Isa_18:2). The Euphrates boats described by Herodotus (1.194) were of an entirely different construction, and cannot be here intended. They consisted of a framework of wood, which was covered with skins, and then coated with bitumen, and resembled the Welsh "coracles." As the eagle that hasteth to the prey; or, as the eagle that swoopeth on the prey (Revised Version). Job's observation presents to him three types of swiftness—the trained runner upon the earth, the swift ships upon the waters, and the hungry eagle in the air. It seems to him that his life passes away as swiftly as any of these.
Job_9:27
If I say, I will forget my complaint (comp. above, Job_7:13). Job represents himself as sometimes, for a moment, imagining that he might put aside his load of sorrow by not thinking of it. He tries, and says to himself, "I will forget," etc.; but in vain. The whole mass of his sufferings seems to rise up against him, and make even momentary forgetfulness impossible. I will leave off my heaviness; or, my black looks. And comfort myself (comp. Job_10:20 and Psa_39:13, where the same verb is rendered "recover strength").
Job_9:28
I am afraid of all my sorrows (see the comment on Job_9:27). I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. The worst of all Job's sorrows is the sense of alienation from God, which his unexampled sufferings have wrought in him. Though unconscious of having deserved them, he still, not unnaturally, looks upon them as marks of God s displeasure, proofs that God does not regard him as innocent.
Job_9:29
If I be wicked; rather, I am wicked; i.e. I am accounted so—I am already condemned. The extreme afflictions raider which I suffer indicate that God has passed sentence upon me, and awarded me my punishment. Why then labour I in vain? i.e. Why argue? Why seek to justify myself, since no result is likely to follow? Nothing that I can say will alter God's foregone conclusion.
Job_9:30
If I wash myself with snow-water (comp. Psa_51:7). If I should succeed in purging myself of all guilt, and establishing, so far as words can do it, my spotless innocence even then what advantage should I gain? Snow-water does not really cleanse what is defiled better than any other water, but a lively fancy might suppose it to do so. Job indulges in this fancy, but then checks himself, and adds a prosaic alternative. And make my hands never so clean; rather, and make my hands clean with lye. Lye, or potash, is the principal and most essential ingredient in soap. and the readiest and best detergent. If Job cleanses himself to the very utmost, "Cut bone?" he asks.
Job_9:31
Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch. Yet would God with ease undo his work, show his purity to be impure, his righteousness to be filthy rags, and thus, as it were, replunge him in the mire and clay from which he had sought to free himself, and hold him forth a more loathsome wretch than ever. And mine own clothes shall abhor me. So loathsome would he be that his very garments, stained and fouled by his disease, would shrink away from him and hate to touch him.
Job_9:32
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him; and we should come together in judgment (comp. Job_9:2-14). On one of two conditions only, Job thinks, could the contest be even between himself and God.
(1) If God, divesting himself of all his Divine attributes, became man;
(2) if some thirdsman could be found, some umpire or arbitrator, to preside over the contest, and decide it.
Neither condition, however, was (he thought) possible; and therefore no satisfactory judgment could take place. Recent commentators observe that the Christian scheme, which Job could not anticipate, provides almost a literal fulfilment of both conditions, since the God who is to judge us is "true Man," and is also a Mediator, or "Thirds-man," between us and the offended Father, with authority to make the final decision, 'the Father having committed all judgment unto the Son "(Joh_5:22), and" given him authority to execute judgment also'" for the very reason that he is "the Son of man" (Joh_5:27).
Job_9:33
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us; literally 'judge' or arbitrator called a "daysman," since he appoints the day on which the arbitration is to come off. The LXX. renders by μεσίτης , "mediator." That might lay his hand upon us bosh. Moderate between us, that is; keep us both in cheek; assert an authority to which we must both submit.
Job_9:34
Let him take his rod away from me; rather, who would remove his rod from me. Job means that it would be a part of the duty of the "daysman" to see that God's rod was removed from him before he was called upon to plead, so that he might not labour under so erect a disadvantage as his sufferings would place him under. And let not his fear terrify me; or, and would not suffer his fear to terrify me; i.e. would not allow Job to be placed under the disadvantage, either of pain or of fear, either of actual or prospective suffering.
Job_9:35
Then would I speak, and not fear him. Job has imagined conditions which are impossible; and says that, under the circumstances which he has imagined, he would not fear to justify himself before God. The assertion is over-daring, and, as Schultens says, shows the patriarch to be no longer master of himself, but carried away by the force of overwrought feeling. But it is not so with me; i.e. "I am not in such a position as to enter on my justification." I am weighted by my sufferings, and also by my fears. I therefore decline the contest.
II. A PERTINENT INTERROGATION. "How should man [literally, 'frail, perishable man'] be just," i.e. maintain his righteousness, establish his innocence, "with God?" Supposing, for the sake of argument, that such a sufferer possessed the inward, ineradicable conviction that he was innocent (i.e. free from notorious transgression): by what process could he vindicate his personal integrity so as to arrest the punitive hand of the Almighty? By none that would be availing, Job proceeds to show. In a profounder sense than is here employed, the question of the patriarch possesses a momentous significance for man. How shall man, the frail, sinful, and perishing, establish his righteousness before God? As in Job's case, so in every man's, the attempt to do so is a wild imagination, and can only result in failure, Not, however, because of the impossibility of establishing what really exists, as in Job's view, but because the thing, the righteousness, is not there to be maintained; all the world being in inward consciousness, as well as in outward fact, guilty before God.
III. AN EXTRAORDINARY SUPPOSITION. "If he will contend with him;" i.e. if the individual arraigned by Divine providence should propose to impeach the Divine equity, and even undertake to demonstrate his own innocence; or, as others interpret the pronouns, if God should be willing to enter into controversy with him, i.e. weak and imperfect man. According to the former explanation, the language is suggestive of sinful presumption; according to the latter, of gracious condescension; according to either, the subject of debate is not the question of man's sinfulness in general, but of man's guiltiness in respect of particular offences.
IV. A HOPELESS CONTENTION. On two grounds Job protests that any such litigation with the Almighty as to man's innocence of individual transgressions (much more, therefore, as to the question of man's sinful condition) would be unavailing.
1. Man's ignorance and frailty would disqualify him from replying to God's accusations. Infinite in subtlety and endless in succession, the charges that by such an assailant might be brought against him would simply confound and paralyze him. Overpowered by terror at the ineffable majesty of his Divine opponent, he would entirely lose command of his poor faculties, such as they were, and would be utterly unable to repel so much as one charge in a thousand, even were they all untrue (verse 3; cf. Psa_130:3).
2. God's wisdom and strength would render it impossible for any one engaging in such an enterprise to escape unhurt. "Wise in heart, and.mighty in strength, who hath braved him and been successful?" (verse 4). The wisdom of the Almighty, which enables him to search the heart (1Ch_28:9; Psa_7:9), to understand the thoughts (Psa_139:2), to know the works (Job_34:25), to consider the ways (Job_34:21), of men; and the power of the Omniscient, which secures that his counsel shall stand (Isa_46:10) and his purpose shall be fulfilled (Job_23:13, Job_23:14), clearly present a combination (Job_36:5; Job_37:23; Dan_2:20), against which it is not only needless, but must for ever be positively ruinous, to strive.
Learn
1. It becomes good men to acknowledge and confide in the righteousness of God.
2. The higher man s ideas use of God s holiness and equity, the lower fall his thoughts concerning his own impurity and iniquity.
3. As them can be no unrighteousness with God, so neither can there be any righteousness with man.
4. Though it is hopeless to contend with God in argument, it is not so to wrestle with him in prayer.
5. The best attitude for a frail and sinful man to assume before God is that of self-abasement and penitence.
6. Man's ignorance and weakness are no match for God's wisdom and might.
7. God's wisdom and might have, for man's advantage, been deposited in Christ, who is the Power and the Wisdom of God.
Job_9:1-4
1. Permitting sin. (Psa_92:5.)
2. Afflicting man. (Deu_8:5.)
3. Saving the penitent. (Rom_3:26; 1Jn_1:9.)
4. Punishing the wicked. (Rom_3:5; 2Th_1:6.)
II. A MELANCHOLY FACT. It is impossible for man to establish his righteousness before God (Job_9:2), his guiltiness being:
1. Declared by Scripture. (Psa_143:2; Pro_20:9; Ecc_7:20; Isa_53:6; Rom_3:19, Rom_3:23.)
2. Attested by conscience. (Rom_2:15.)
3. Confirmed by experience. (Psa_58:3; Eph_4:17, Eph_4:18; Jas_3:2.)
III. AN HUMILIATING DISCOVERY. That man is utterly unable to answer God's accusations against him (Job_9:3), in respect of either:
(1) their numbers, man's sins being as numerous as the hairs of his head (Psa_40:12); or
(2) their character, being infinitely heinous in the sight of God (Pro_15:9; Isa_43:24; Jer_44:4); or
(3) their proof, the evidence in support of God's charges being clear and overwhelming (Gen_18:21; Jer_17:10).
IV. A CHEERING EVANGEL. That salvation may be found by yielding to God (Job_9:4).
1. Nothing but hurt can arise from braving and opposing God (Isa_27:4).
2. Certain salvation springs from humble submission to God (Job_33:27; Psa_76:9; Isa_27:5 ).
Job_9:5-10
1. Overturning mountains. "Which removeth," i.e.. uprooteth or overtumeth, "the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger" (verse 5). Whatever be the allusion intended, whether to the convulsions of nature which occurred at the Flood, or to those usually associated with earthquakes, the language suggests the absoluteness of God's control over nature, and in particular:
(1) The greatness of his power, which, being able to uproot and overthrow mighty hills through its resistless force, must be competent to do the most stupendous works—must, in fact, be an agency to which there can be no impossibilities. The only power resembling it on earth is that of faith (Mar_9:23), to which also is ascribed the ability to remove mountains (Mar_11:23).
(2) The suddenness of his power, the mountains being represented as overturned unexpectedly, in a moment, "without their knowing," which again reflects upon the vastness of that power which can effect so gigantic a feat without effort and without labour, so easily and naturally ("He toucheth the hills, and they smoker Psa_104:32) that it is done instantaneously.
(3) The fierceness of his power, especially when it is put forth in judgment, the uprooting of the mountains being depicted as a terrible manifestation of the Almighty's wrath, concerning which the overturned hills seem to say, "Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him" (Nah_1:6; cf. Hab_3:6).
2. Convulsing the earth. "Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars," i.e. the internal foundations, "thereof tremble" (verse 6). Nothing is more seemingly stable than the solid globe (Psa_119:90). Its original establishment was a sublime witness to the power and wisdom of its Creator (1Sa_2:8; Psa_24:1, Psa_24:2; Psa_136:6; Jer_51:15). Yet, by the mysterious forces treasured up within its dark retreats, the Almighty can make it tremble as if about to be dissolved (Psa_104:32; Psa_114:7), as he did at Sinai (Exo_19:18; Psa_68:8), and as once again he will do at the end of time (Heb_1:10; 2Pe_3:10). The shaking of the earth is an emblem of Divine judgments (Isa_13:13).
II. IN THE WONDERS OF THE SKY.
1. Obscuring the sun. "Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth [or, 'shineth'] not" (verse 7). Alluding to both natural and supernatural obscurations of the solar light, of the former of which ordinary eclipses may be taken as illustrations, while the Egyptian darkness will constitute a sample of the latter.
(1) The sun is the most resplendent object in heaven. Here styled cherem, probably from its brilliant appearance (Delitzsch), or perhaps from its heat-giving properties (Gesenius). As such it is a silent witness to the great power of God (Gen_1:16; Psa_74:16; Psa_136:7,Psa_136:8; Jer_31:35).
(2) The sun is ever obedient to the will of its Creator. There is no part of God's universe that is not under law. The greatest suns as well as the smallest atoms continually recognize his authority. The orb of day is equally obedient in rising and in setting (Ecc_1:5). As such, it is an eloquent teacher of obedience to man (Psa_148:8).
(3) The sun is never wearied of its beneficent mission to shine. And it always shines, except when commanded not. As such, it is a preacher of diligence to the Christian, who is commanded to let his light shine (Mat_5:16).
(4) When the sun is obscured or commanded not to shine, it is in judgment on the sins of man (Joe_2:31; Ames 8:9; Luk_21:25; Act_2:20), as during the Egyptian darkness (Exo_10:22) and at the time of the Crucifixion (Mat_27:45). The darkened sun is an impressive and instructive emblem of the judgments God sends upon men and nations who neither value nor improve the light of truth and salvation they possess.
2. Concealing the stars. "And sealeth up the stars" (verse 7). The stars also are God's creatures (Gen_1:16), and as such are obedient to his control. The vast number, immense magnitudes, and incredible velocities of the heavenly bodies, as unfolded by modern astronomy, impart to us loftier conceptions of the Creatofs power than were possessed by devout Hebrews. The Divine wisdom also is significantly displayed in the regularity of their movements, which secures that they never fail to swim out into the blue sea of the celestial firmament when the light of day has departed. Yet the ease with which the splendor of the midnight sky can be extinguished, by pouring over it the brilliance of day, or drawing round it the thick gloom of clouds, is no less striking as a visible display of almighty wisdom and power, and one which must have appeared to an Oriental, looking up into a Syrian sky, infinitely more solemnizing than it does to an Occidental, who only sees the stars shining with a dimmer lustre.
3. Bringing down the clouds. "Which alone spreadeth out the heavens" (verse 8). The reference is probably not to the original creation of the firmament (Gen_1:6), but to the visible descent of storm-clouds upon the sea (Psa_18:9-11). The poet represents the striking phenomena of cloud-land as another exhibition of almighty power. The modern scientist imagines, when he has predicted the advent and measured the velocity of the tempest, he has effectually disposed of the Hebrew poet's notion of supernaturalism in connection with the marvels of the sky. But the laws by which storm-clouds are built up and let down, swept along and finally dispersed, have not been spontaneously developed, or inherently possessed by, but externally imposed on, nature by him whose strength is in the clouds (Psa_68:34), who employs them as his chariot (Psa_104:3), and who when he pleases draws them across the face of heaven (Psa_147:8).
4. Walking on the billows. "And treadeth upon the waves [literally, 'the heights'] of the sea" (verse 8); i.e. upon the fierce mountainous billows. The two clauses are descriptive of a storm at sea, in which sea and sky appear to intermingle (Psa_107:25, Psa_107:26). As the wind, so the water; as the sky, so the sea; as the cloud, so the wave, recognizes the authority of God. The Divine power is usually exhibited as calming the troubled billows (Psa_65:7; Psa_89:9, Psa_89:13). Here Jehovah is portrayed as exciting a tempest, bringing down his clouds, sending forth his hurricanes, raising the still waters into gigantic billows, lashing the quiet sea into a wild and tumultuous commotion, and then going forth in sublime sovereignty amidst the hurricane he has produced, walking calmly upon the crested heights of the ocean, causing his voice to be heard above the loudest roar of the storm,and at length saying, "Peace, be still!" So Christ visibly walked upon the Sea of Galilee (Mat_14:26). Another picture of God's sovereignty over creation, another lesson of God's ability to be the confidence of them that are afar off upon the sea (Psa_65:8).
III. IN THE CREATION OF THE STELLAR WORLD.
1. The constellations of the northern hemisphere. "Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades [literally, 'who made']."
(1) 'Ash; identified with Ursa Major, the Wain, the Bear, an exceedingly bright constellation in the northern sky, the Hebrew term signifying (according to some) "the Nightly Watcher" because of its never setting (Schultens), or perhaps with greater probability being contracted from an Arabic root n'ash, meaning "bier," the three stars in the tail being designated "Daughters of the Bier" (Gesenius); cf. Job_38:32.
(2) Chesil; literally, "Fool," regarded by the Assyrians as the famous hunter Nimrod, styled by the Arabs "the Hero," and by the Chaldeans, "the Giant;" commonly allowed to be the splendid constellation Orion, which "stands like a great giant in the heavens south of Taurus and Gemini" (Carey).
(3) Chimah; literally, "Heap;" the well-known cluster of stars named "the Pleiades," a sparkling group compared by Persian poets to s bouquet formed of jewels (Delitzsch).
2. The constellations of the southern hemisphere. "And the chambers of the south;" i.e. the regions of the southern sky, which are completely veiled from view to us, and only occasionally discovered to Arabian spectators.
IV. IN THE PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNIVERSE. The sentiment of Job_38:10, which almost verbatim repeats the utterance of Eliphaz (Job_5:10), may be viewed as a general description of the mighty power of God in upholding, as well as creating, the stupendous fabric he has summoned into being. Regarded in this light, it describes the operations of Divine energy as:
1. Great. He "doeth great things" (Job_38:10). Everything that God does (in creation and providence) may be characterized as great (Psa_92:5; Psa_111:2), as being the production of infinite power. The distinction between great and little, when applied to Divine acts, exists only in the human understanding. The creation of a solar system is as easy to Omnipotence as the construction of an atom, and the formation of the latter as much dependent on Divine power as the production of the former.
2. Wonderful. "He doeth wondrous things." The wisdom displayed in the Divine works is conspicuous to every intelligent observer (Psa_104:24). The marvels of creation are fully equalled by the wonders of providence. The formation of a crystal, the structure of a flower, the organization of an animal, are examples of the former; the Deluge, the Exodus from Egypt, the Babylonish exile, the incarnation and death of Christ, illustrations of the latter.
3. Unsearchable. He doeth things "past finding out." Much as modern science has discovered of the secrets of Nature, there are vast realms lying unexplored around and beyond her, into some of which it is doubtful if she will ever be able to penetrate. Her ascertained results also make it probable that there are works of God into which she cannot sink the plummet of her finite understanding; as e.g. the nature of electricity and magnetism, the mystery of life in all its forms and gradations, the mode in which matter and mind act and react upon one another.
4. Numerous. He doeth "wonders without number." The exquisite variety and the apparently limitless number of God's works are impressive testimonies to the infinite power and matchless wisdom of the Creator.
Learn:
1. There is no God like unto the God of the Christian (Exo_15:11; Deu_33:26).
2. Nothing can transcend the power of God (Gen_18:14; Jer_32:17).
3. God is infinitely worthy of the reverence, confidence, affection, and obedience of his intelligent creatures (Psa_89:7; Rev_4:11).
4. It cannot but be dangerous to resist God's will (Nah_1:6; Isa_40:24; Heb_12:29).
5. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Psa_27:1; Rom_8:31).
Job_9:11-20
1. His mysterious movements. "Lo! he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not" (verse 11). The language, recalling Eliphaz's description of the shadowy spectre (Job_4:15), recognizes:
(1) The personality of God. The Divine Being is not an impalpable abstraction or a dead unintelligent force, but a living, thinking, self-conscious Intelligence. Such a Deity is as much a necessity of reason as a postulate of revelation.
(2) The activity of God. Not confounding the Creator and the creature as modern pantheism does, but ever maintaining a separation between the almighty Artificer of the universe and his works, biblical theology (both Hebrew and Christian) is also careful to avoid the error of deism, which, while believing in a Deity, removes him to a distance from his creation, setting him apart in cold, chilling isolation, amid the radiant splendours of a metaphysical perfection, and in particular interjecting between him and the realm of this sublunary sphere a gulf impassable by either him or man. Contrary to this, scriptural theism conceives God as an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Intelligence, continually superintending the universe he has made, as being ever present and ever active in all parts and places of his dominion (Psa_130:1 -10; Jer_23:23, Jer_23:24; Eph_1:23; Joh_5:17).
(3) The nearness of God. In a sense that is very real, God is never far from any one of us (Act_17:27). Behind the veil which hides the unseen Eternities from mortal vision he continually sits, beholding all that transpires on earth; seeing all things and all persons, but ever remaining himself unseen. The besetting God of the Hebrew psalmist (Psa_139:5) is the God of all men. Were the veil to be uplifted, it would at once be seen that God is always at hand. Sometimes it is lifted; as e.g. to Abraham (Gen_15:1), to Hagar (Gen_16:13), to Jacob (Gen_28:13). And sometimes it is lifted to the soul when it remains closed to the bodily eye. God's nearness to man received its highest and truest expression when the Eternal Word became incarnate and dwelt among us.
(4) The invisibility of God. Absolutely, i.e. in his uncreated essence, the supreme Deity must always remain invisible to and incomprehensible by man (Job_23:8; Joh_1:18; Joh_6:46; 1Ti_6:16; 1Jn_4:12), if not also by all finite beings (Job_11:7; Job_37:23; Isa_14:15). Relatively, he may be said to be visible when the spirit can recognize the working of his almighty finger, and invisible when that working or the reason of it is hid. Job complains that, while he can distinctly apprehend God to be passing by him in the events of providence and the phenomena of his individual experience, he is quite unable to discern God himself, i.e. to understand either the mode or the purpose of his mysterious movements (cf. Job_11:7-9; Job_37:5, Job_37:23; Psa_77:19; Nah_1:3; Mat_11:25).
2. His resistless power.
(1) Invincible. "Behold, he taketh away [or,' he assails'], who can hinder him [or, 'who shall repel him']?" (verse 12). Impossible for the human soul not to feel overpowered with a sense of weakness and utter defencelessness when God, by the hand of providence, or by the inward stroke of his Spirit, collides with it. It is, however, some mitigation to the soul's distress, when it is able to recognize that the hand which strikes it is really God's (1Sa_3:18; Psa_39:9).
(2) Unchallengeable. Who will say unto him, What doest thou? (verse 12). The sovereignty of God in removing, as well as in bestowing, creature comforts, such as possessions, children, etc; is as plainly demon strated by experience as emphatically asserted in Scripture; and should be as cheerfully admitted by all as it was by Job (Job_1:21; Job_2:10) and by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan_4:35) God's sovereignty, however, does not mean mere arbitrary and imperious behaviour. When God rakes away (as also when he gives), he not only does what he has a perfect right to do, but the reasons present to his mind for doing it are such as cannot be impeached. God's power always acts for the best, being allied with infinite wisdom; only God explains not his motives to creatures; but saints are ever satisfied that he doeth all things well.
(3) Implacable. "Eloah restraineth not his anger" (verse 13); i.e. he never recalls it, never holds it in or turns it back until it has accomplished its purpose; but permits it, like a rising tide or sweeping hurricane, to carry all before it, so that "the proud helpers' (literally," the helpers of Rahab," i.e. "the helpers of pride," meaning probably either combinations of proud rebels, such as the antediluvians, or, "associates of the proud one," viz. the devil, or perhaps simply wicked men who, inspired by pride, think to interpose between the Almighty and the objects of his displeasure; such persons as are described in Psa_73:6-9; but vide Exposition) "stoop under him." The mightiest combinations and confederacies of wicked men and devils are utterly helpless against God (Psa_2:1-3; Psa_83:5, Psa_83:8; Jud Psa_1:6). Their source, pride (Psa_10:2 4); their purpose, opposition to God (Psa_12:3, Psa_12:4); their end, destruction (Psa_18:27; Pro_17:19; Isa_2:11; Isa_13:11).
3. His unanswerable charges.
(1) Because of man's weakness. "How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?" (verse 14). A blessed thought that man is permitted to reason with God (Isa_1:16; Isa_43:26), if not about his innocence, at least about his pardon and salvation. Persons who avail themselves of such permission should study to find appropriate language in which to state their case. Well-chosen words, if required in addressing man (Ecc_12:10), are much more indispensable in wrestling with God. Yet they who stand forth to plead with God should be profoundly impressed with a sense of their own unworthiness and insufficiency (Gen_32:10; Isa_6:5), and should accordingly be clothed with humility (2Sa_7:18).
(2) Because of God's greatness. "Whom, though I were righteous, I would not answer, but I would make supplication to my Judge" (verse 15). A glimpse into the better nature of Job. Though repudiating the calumnies of his friends, and sometimes defending his own innocence with language indicating an approach at least to self-righteous presumption, he here appears overpowered with such a sense of the Divine majesty as to lay him prostrate in silence and self-abasement before him Note the solemn relation in which God stands to all men—that of Judge; the character which the best of men bear in his sight—unrighteous; the summons which shall one day be addressed to all—to stand forth and answer for their sins; the attitude which all men should take towards God in view of that event—the attitude of supplication.
II. THE HUMAN COMPLAINANT.
1. Mistrusting the Divine condescension. Putting the case that he had summoned God into court, and that God had appeared, Job appears to conceive that a Being so infinitely exalted as he would not listen to the complaint of a frail mortal, or, if for a moment he did, would immediately break off in impatience and decline to listen further (verse 16). A total misrepresentation of the Divine character, contradicted alike by God's descriptions of himself (Isa_57:15, Isa_57:16; Psa_91:15), and by the saints' experience of his grace (Psa_34:6; Psa_40:17; Psa_86:13).
2. Impeaching the Divine goodness. Describing the treatment he would meet at God's hands, Job insinuates that it would be the opposite of kind; that God would u break him with a tempest," "multiply his wounds without cause," "not suffer him to take his breath," "fill him with bitterness" (verses 17, 18). As a matter of fact, the words present a literal account of Job's sufferings, and the aspect in which they were beginning to look to himself. Conscious that his calamities were causeless so far as any wickedness on his part was concerned, which God also testified (Job_2:3), and unable to discern the secret purpose for which he was being subjected to such excruciating tortures, he can only fall back upon the hypothesis that God has turned to be his enemy. Faith would have kept him right; but Job's faith, though not extinguished, was at this time suffering an eclipse. Sense and reason always misinterpret God. God never treats either saint or sinner as Job describes, aimlessly or maliciously, but always with tender love and for the loftiest ends (Heb_12:6, Heb_12:10).
3. Challenging the Divine equity. Practically he represents God as stifling the creature's attempt to maintain his integrity by overpowering him with the dazzling magnificence of his Godhead; by rushing as it were into the open court of justice, and shouting to the poor bewildered appellant, "Is it a question of strength? Here am I. Is it a matter of right? Who will challenge me?" (verse 19). But this, again, was a distorted view of the Divine character. God has no need to be afraid of any investigation into his conduct, and just as little to apprehend that puny man could cure, it his infinite wisdom or overreach his almighty power.
4. Despairing of Divine acceptance. So hopeless does the contest seem to Job between a poor suffering creature like himself and a Being of infinite majesty like God, that he confesses the dire impossibility of being able to establish his innocence before the tribunal of the skies. God's insufferable glory would so confound and stupefy him, that even if he were innocent, his own mouth would condemn him; were he guiltless, it would betray him (verse 20); i.e. he would, through sheer terror and amazement (1Pe_3:6), stumble out his own condemnation, and, conscious of his integrity, would yet confess himself guilty. What Job here asserts concerning his integrity or freedom from such transgression as Eliphaz and Bildad charged against him is certainly correct in the case of every one who would dare to maintain his moral purity in the sight of God. The clear revelation of God's majesty and holiness imparted to the awakened soul, when it appears as if standing face to face with God, renders it a hard task for man to uphold his sinlessness. If he attempted it, he would only stultify and condemn himself. Nay, he should not know his own soul (verse 21), but only thereby demonstrate his ignorance of himself (cf. 1Jn_1:8).
Learn:
1. It is impossible to entertain too exalted a conception of the great and holy God with whom we have to do.
2. It is quite possible, even for the best of men, to misconstrue God's dealings with the soul, and to regard him as an adversary who is really a Friend.
3. It is well to remember, in every appearance of conflict between the Creator and the creature, that all the right lies upon the side of the former.
4. The nearer saints advance towards perfection, the readier they are to acknowledge their imperfection.
5. A humble and self-abased spirit before God is quite compatible with the maintenance of one's blamelessness before men.
Job_9:21-35
1. Attested by his conscience. "Though I were perfect;" or, better, "I am guiltless" (verse 21). Before God Job did not claim to be absolutely spotless, but merely to be free from such transgressions of the moral law as his friends insinuated he must have committed to render him obnoxious to those palpable tokens of Divine displeasure which had overtaken him. Against this, however, he protested as a wholly baseless aspersion of his character, declaring his determination to maintain his integrity at all hazards, ay, even should it cost him his life. Yet would I not know [literally, 'I know not, i.e. I value not, care not for] my soul. I would despise [or, I despise ] my life" (verse 21). Vehement asseveration such as this would, of course, have been out of place, and altogether unjustifiable, unless Job had had the clearest and most irrefragable evidence of his own innocence behind it. But this Job professed to have in the inner testimony of his conscience, which declared him to be what Jehovah himself had already affirmed him to be—"a perfect man and an upright, one that feared God and eschewed evil" (Job_1:8). It is by no means impossible tot a good man to have a conscience void of offence both towards God and towards men (Act_23:1; Act_24:16). Decisions registered before the court of conscience are always in accordance with truth. Conscience may be stupefied through sin, and prevented from delivering its testimony (Eph_4:19). It may even be perverted and constrained to call evil good (Act_26:9). But where enlightened and free, it never fails to indicate the moral standing of the soul. Scripture distinctly recognizes the validity of the inner witness of conscience (Rom_8:16). And not