PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Job
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 615,689 words · 663 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D-: •M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OF GLOUCESTER; AND BY THE REV. JOSEPH S, EXELL, M.A. WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERBURY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RA…
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prosperity, to deprive him of his property, destroy his numerous offspring, and finally inflict upon him a most loathsome, painful, and terrible diseaAe, from which there was, humanly epeaking, no hope of recovery. Under thie accumulation of evils, the faith of Job's wife gives way entirely, and she reproaches her husb…
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sufferings (veri:i. 6-16), maintains his innocence (ver. 17), and appea\ 11 to earth and heaven to declare themselves on hie side ( vers. 18, 19), ancl to God himself to be his Witness (ver. 19), "The train of thought thus suggested carries him," as Canon Cook observes,1 "much further in tho way towards the great truth…
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were originally me.de, how they are ordered and me.intained, how the stars e.re kept in their courses, how the various phenomena of nature are pro- duced, how the animal creation is sustained and provided for. He ma,keH a. half-eubmiesion (eh. xl. 3-5); and then he is asked two further questions-Will he undertake t…
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regard enot and complete symmetry as imperative, and will not sacrifice it to any other consideration. Zophar's silence at the close of eh. xxvi., like Bildad's short speech in eh. xxv., is probably intended to mark the exhaustion of Job's opponente in the controversy, and to prepare the way for their entire collapse a…
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xxxiii, 16), and to 1H1bserve the formation in each individual of that charac- ter, temper, and frame of tnind which God desires to have formed in him.1 To regard Elihn as "proceeding evidently on the false hypothesis of the three friends," and as echoing their views, is to do him scant justice. He takes an independent…
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to the most modern times; " 1 thirdly, that had the work been a fiction of a late period (as supposed by the sceptical school) it could not possibly have presented so vivid, so true, and so harmonious a picture of the patriarchal times, no ancient writer having ever succeeded in reproducing the manners of a past age, o…
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The manners, customs, inetitntione, and general mode of life described in the book are euch as belong eepecialJy to the times which are commonly called "patria.rcha.l." 'fhe pa.store.I descriptions have the genuine air of the wild, free, vigorous life of the desert. The city life ( eh. xxix.) is exactly that of the ear…
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§ 5. OBJECT OF THE WoBx. The e.u.tbor of the Book of Job, though dealing with historical facts, is scarcely to be termed, in the ordinary sense of the word, an.historian. He is a didactic writer, and comes forward. with a moral and religions object. Placing the complicated problem of human life before him, he sets him…
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possible, the darJ..--ness of the tomb mll&t therefore be ascribed to the writer, and e. desire at once to oheer men by the glorious hope of e. future life, e.nd to clear God of any suspicion of unjust rule by pointing to a. time when justice will be done, and the inequalities of the existing condition of things re…
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trlderable knowledge of the original, is that of De Pineda 1 (A.D.1597-1600), which contains a reswme of all that is most valuable in tho labours of hie Roman Catholic predecessors. Among the early Reformers, Bnoer,1 CEcolampe.dius,1 and Calvin' produced works on Job, which have some merit, the 'Conciones' of Calvi…
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from the Persian e.nd the Arabic. Other useful English commentaries are thoBe of Bishop Wordsworth (London, 1865-71), Canon Cook (London, 1873),1 and Dr. Stanley Lea.thee (London, Paris, and New York, 1884).1 CRnon Cook also published an important article on Job (not altogether 1mperseded by the Introduction to his 'C…
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"Saul." According to 8 Jewish tmdition, horses or mules from this liet-&n fndioation. ndopted by eome of the Chrieti&n F&thers, ?f high antiq.uity. Horses were not known Job'e originRl nRme WRB "Jobab," and 1~ Egypt till the time of the shepherd- under tbie name he reigned 88 King of kings (about B.o. 1~00-1650), wh…
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hl}he ~11bit of feasting" (Rbeenmitller, Lee). Heb!a.ists to the expre1Bion o•nS1t -,-,:i. Ac- Th: their house■. Each had his own resi- cor<lLDg to some, 7-0 he.a its nsual senso, 1fence, nnd the residence was not a tent but a "house." • Job llnd his sons were not " to bless," e,nd □•riS1t signifies" f11lse god" " iner…
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them before God de.y llnd nigbt" <Rev. xii. oovered any fault In him ?" A perfeot and 10). Th<' nt'eusAtione that he makes me.y &n upright m&n, one the.t feareth God, e.n4 be <'iiher tr11<' or false, but tbey 11.re so e ■oheweth evil (see the comment on ver. 1). often fnlee thRt his o:rdinary New Testament Ver. 9.-T…
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Lee tr,melBfAle, "U not, he will bl8118 thee unto lob, and said, The oxen were plough- to thy foce;" the LXX., "81ll'ely he will ing, and the aasea (literally, the •he-a..ea) bless thee to thy foco ; " Oanon Cook, " See feeding beside them (literally, at thei'r hand.). if ho will not renounce thee openly." But Note t…
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Still, it c-annot be Paid that suob a etorm is to tell thee (Qompe.re the comment on ver. impol!Bi.blc; 1md perhaps the dam11.go c'loue l!i). ' wns not great.er than that which followed 'Ver. 18,-While he wee yet apealdnf, on the seventh Eg:,-ptian plngoc (Bee EJ:l'.ld. there came alao anothe~Land said (eeo the ix.…
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less. ueunl but still not uncommon sign of "Jehonh," though eleewhero the "grr,nt gtief, forbidden under the Law of the Jews Name" appeara onlle only in the wor<la of (Lev. xxi. 6; Deut. xiv. I), bill widely Job (eh. xii. 9), and never in the words 01 practised by the Gentiles (lei!.. u. 2; Jer. hie friends. The nat…
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transparent. in moti"'e, single and undivided in aim, pure and unmixed in affection without guile, without hypocrisy, without duplicity-a quality again exemplified by David (Ps. :avi. l), Zaohariasand Elisabeth (Luke i. 6), Nathanael(John i. 47), St. Paul (2 Cor, iv. 2), and enjoined by Christ as a perpetua[ obligat…
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Vere. 1-5.-Job. I. AN OmENTAL PRINCE. II. A WEALTHY :r.u.N, Ill. AN EMINENT SAINT, IV. A GODLY PARENT, V. A SACRIFICL'IG PRIEST. Ver. 3.-Wealth and piety. I. THEIR COMMON CHARACTERISTICS, 1. 0ocl's gifts; and therefore to be received with thankfulness. 2. Man's OT'naments; and there- fore to be borne humbly. 3. A (Jhr…
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(lea. xl. 13, H; Rom. xi. 34), but as ambassadors returning from their respe!tir• circuits to render account of their ministra.tions and to receive commissions for future executio1?. Eve11 so mu~t all God's intelligent creatures upon euth appear before the dread tribunal of the skies (2 Cor. v. 10), and every one gi…
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practic11lly involved in the st11nding or falling of Job, whoRe sincerity was impeached. In the devil's sermond there is always more than meets the ear (cf. Gen. iii. 5). (4) An audacious proposition-that God should bring the question in debate to an issue by experiments on the patriarch, as if God had doubts concernin…
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Vers. 1-'-22.-The first trial of the patrid!rch. I. TBE PREPARATION FOR THB TRIA_L, The pati-iarch at the height of his prosperity. The season pitched upon for makmg ~n as~ult upon the patriarch was a day of: 1. Festive _re;'oicing; when the patrmrcb s family were convened at a banquet of unusual magmficence "eating…
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intoneity of the pe.trle.roh'e emotion, e.nd the second pointing to its calmness and moderation, 2. With piO'Us resignation. Acknowledging: (I) His originally destitute condition:" No.ked co.me I out of my mother's womb;" so that hie calamities had only set him where he was o.t first-o.n argument for contentment (1 Tim…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. 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 mak…
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st'tlndl!''lfy'whtili his conscience 'tlT ·contclousness tells him, th11t hla con:Mience i8 neces- snrily in the right. St. Paul pointed out this (Acts xxvi. 9; 1 Cor,iv. 4). Still, a man must hold by conscience ns the nearest oracle till he gets better light, which is certain in the end to come when needed. 4. Equa…
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soft-clothed, proaperoua inmate of a wealthy home to sit in aackoloth, amidat uhl!B by a dlll!el'ted harth; yet still- " Perfect then are all his waya, Whom ee.rth adores and heaven obeys." Noble book I that gave, perhapa, to the ancient world the first hint of the aolution of the mystery of pain, by detaching fro…
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sufficient provision of external goods r.ns essential to complete; happiness, just as the equipping of the Greek chorus was necessary for the representaUon 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 sac…
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exaggerate, nor to bo pnrl,i11l in our statements; not to add to nor take from/acts; to "t~ll the truth, the wholo truth, and nothing but the truth;" to abstain from flattery on ! he one hand, and slanderous perversion on the other; to regard one's word ae one's bond: to think nnd speak with others in that candour, …
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no object of pity In any time when men are obeying the lawe of God in their social lifo. U ie the solitary, and those who are doomed to lead a too self-centred existence who need our pity. 2. HiB property. It consisted, we are told, in ample herds of cattle-sheep, c11mels, oxen, asses, and in a proportionate number of …
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disposition to ignore, even for II moment, tlie holy influ~nces of religion, tbe presence of God. In coatre.st, then, to the gay e.bandonmeat to mirth, the thoughtless devotion to the plel\sures of the hour OD the pl\rt of his children, we see in Job a mind which no di~traction could divert from the constant sense o…
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Vere. 6--12,-Counsels in heaven conce;rning 'TIUJJn's life on earth. I. EVERY 1,u,N'B LIFE IS AN ODJE0T OF INTEREST 1N HEAVEN. '£his is e. sublime thought, powerfolly 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 pow…
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11ervanll! of eo d11rk a spirit., the agents of such malice I Wheneve~ we find the rust of ele.nder e.nd be.ckbiting gathering too easily on our tongues, whenever we find the.t the sight of good men's failures affords us more pleasure than the.t of their success and honour, we he.ve need to look closely into the hea…
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tninly thnt is one f<lrm of trinl, through which Job ha.d passed, gaining noble instmc- liort. But it is n 'form of temptation for more severe tO' be cast down suddenly fmm previous Influence and wealth, than to be suddenly raised to it. Our instinctive sym- pathy o.bd pity towo.rds those who have thus suffered teach u…
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leisure of hie prosperous d&ys, were now to receive the illustration of actual experience. A series of w&ves 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 t…
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of life. We did not determine the externa.1 condition in which we shoul<l bo born. We all came naked into the world, and shall pass away tak',ng nothing with UR. 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. Tho deep sense of tb…
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Vers. 6-19.-The trial of the righteous man. The central subject of this boolr is the trial of the righteous man. Job is acknowledged of God to be "a perfect and a# upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil." Yet be is tried,. and tried &orely, and by permission of God. The difficulty to be solved by the …
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for other resources of bleseedneee the.n those fonnd in the cha.ngeful conditions of the present life. 'l'he hand must not gre.sp earthly riches too firmly. All that is of earth fadeth: how needful to seek "durable riches" I 3. The whole surroundings and pos- aeesione of life may be mllde the occasions of the testing o…
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Ver. 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 inner-first 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…
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Ver. 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 i…
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Ver. 12.-In Satan's power. I. GoD PERMITS TEMPORAL ADVERSITY. I. 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 iH sorno consolation in adversity to know that this has not fallen without God's observin…
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Vers. 21, 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 t…
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~ angelic host c"me to preeent th81118elvee tbe.t of hia ne&r811t a.nd de&r81lt. Job, he before the throne of God, and Sa.tan ea.me insinuates, submitted to the loss of hie with them. To present himself before the children without. a mu~innr, beoRuse he Lord. The110 words are 11,dditional to those feared that otherwis…
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Commentary,' vol. Iv. p. 26: "An intense that he would do (eh. i. 11; Ii. :'>), anrl had hee.t, 11 burning and ulcerous swelling, or evidently wished him to do, thus fighting on leprosy in its moet terrific form, taking i!s his siile, o.nd increasing her husband's diffi- na1110 from tho appearance of the body, culti…
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vii. 8). They oame every one from hill own ment, and, perhaps, in pa.rt, to a want or plaoe. They had separate homes, and pro- love. bablr lived at some considerable dista.noe Ver. 12.-And when they lifted up their from· one another. Eliphu the Temanite. eyes afar off, and knew him not. Job was There w&B an Eliphaz…
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atlll 11,ppeo,rs enthroned amidst the principo,litles and powers of heaven-the devils also being subjeot to him (cf. 1 Pet. iii. 22); (2) the permanence of moral obligation in the heavenly world and amongst 11ngels as well as on the earth, neither lapse of time nor change of circumstances having the slightest effect in…
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2. Some men will even prnt with a good conscience to eave life. 3. But there are those who would rather die than renounce their integrity. Vere. 7-10.-Tlie patri<Jlrch'B second trial. I. Tm: TWOFOLD ASSAULT UPON Tm: PATBIABOH, 1. TIUJ inftictiO'TI of a loathsome disease. (1) Its author. Satan. Tbat diseases genern.lly…
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parable submh1sion I "In all thia Job sinned not with hie lip.1," 2. The entrance of wifely umpt.ation he enccunwed with: (1) Deserved rebuke. "Thou speakest ae one of the foolish women speaketh." Language distinctly bearing that the popular estimate of Job's wife, which makes her to have been a sort of Orient&! shr…
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this book; though, from his Bcque.inte.nce with Bildad, Eliphaz, e.nd Job, it may be Inferred he e.leo was e. person of distinction. Probably e.11 three were, like the patriarch in hie prosperity, powerful Arabian sheiks. II. '!'HE EXCELLENT OIIARACTERB THEY FOBBEBSED. 1. Points of agreement. (1) Intellectual ability.…
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HOMILIES 13Y VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-10.-.Renewed assaults and temptatiom of tlie adversary. The first scene in this drama of affliction bas clo,,ed, and a fresh one opens, bringing, however, no happy change, no alleviation, but rather an aggravation of the hero's woe. A second time the adversary of mankind appear…
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picture of true friendship in it~ prompt sympathy, its ready offio88. The three intimate friends of Job, on hearing of his troubles, arrange t.o visit him and offer the comfort of their presence and condolence. We 11re reminded- I. OF TRE BLESSIN0 OF FRIENDSHIP. Sympathy is the lndispeMable need of the he11rt. It d…
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Vers. 11-13.-Human impotence in presence of great sorrow. The prompting of pure and faithful friendship leads Job's friends to hurry to his help. They" come to mourn with him and to comfort him." When yet afar off they lift up their eyes and behold their friend. But, a:J.as ! disease has wrought so great a change in hi…
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Ver. 4.-" Saean's old saw" (Browning). Sa.tan was defeated in the first trial, but not convinced. '11.ith persistent malignity he proceeded to suggest a more severe test. It wa~ no fault of his that the first test, hard as it was, had not gone to the utmost extremity; for he had been expressly limited by the words, …
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Ii secondary way are Job in his fidelity, and every mirtyr ancl hero and Ohrist,.like man.-W. F. A. Vere. 7, 8.-Job's leproay. St1t11n hae now obtaine<l permission to go a step further, and lay his hand on the person of God's servant. He uses the new privilege with skilful ingenuHy, selecting the most horrible and …
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Vers. 11-13.-Job's comforters. We now enter on a new scene, one that prepares for the mri.in action of the drama. Hitherto the court of heaven, the roving errands of Satan, the personal and domestic afflictions of Job, have engaged our attention. Now the light of the larger human world is let iu on this scene. Job i…
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CHAPTER III. their feelings. All that such cursing mean11 is that one wishes one had never been born. The " Historical Introduction" ended, we Vere. 2, 3.-And Job spe.ke, and said, Let come upon a long colloquy, in which the the day perish wherein I we.a born. An eever11.l dramatis personai speak for them- idle wi8h,…
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• ,rind arises, we are told, "The eky in- Rction by their sorceries the great power of atantly becomes black and heavy ; the sun evil, symbolized in Oriental mythologies by loees its splendour, and appears or a dim a huge serpent, or dragon, or crocodile. .-iolet hne; a light, warm breeze is felt, On the whole, the …
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seooncl claUBe of the distioh repeate the idea the Cai;pian, opened by the Russian authori- of the first, merely varying the phraseology. ties, contained ornaments set with rubies and Ver. 12.-Why did the knees prevent me 1 em~ra)ds, together with four sheets of gold, i.e. "Why did my mother take me on her we1ghmg f…
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v. 13, "Fulfil your works, fulfil your daily grave." In euoh thoughts as those to whioll_. taBks." In the grnve these hated sounds Job ~ere gives expression Ulere is somethint would not be lit>ard. morbid and unreal. , Ver. 19.-The ame.11 e.nd gree.t a.re there; Ver. 23.-Why is light give11 to a man i.e. "11ll &rt'…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-10.-The stricl,en patriarch's lament : 1. IJeploring his birth. I. DELIBERATE DIBOOURBE, 1. The time. "After this;" i.e. after the seven days' silence, after wait- ing, perhaps, for some expression of sympathy from his friends, perhaps also after dis- cerning no mitigation in hie misery-an indic…
773 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.