Taking a general view of the argument thus far, Job's three friends may be considered as asserting the follow- ing positions :
(1.) No man being free from sin, we need not wonder that we are liable to calamities, for which we must ac- count by a reference, not to God, but to ourselves. From the misery of the distressed, others are enabled to infer their guilt ; aud they must take this view in order to vindicate divine justice.
(2.) The distress of a man proves not only thai he has sinned, but shows nlso the degree and measure of his sin; and thus, from the extent of calamity sustainctl, may be inferred the extent of sins committed, and from this the measure of impending misfortune.
(3.) A distressed man may recover his former happi- ness, and even attain to greater fortune than he ever enjoyed before, if he takes a warning from his afflic- tions, repents of his sins, reforms his life, and raises him- self to a higher degree of moral rectitude. Impatience and irreverent expostulation with God serve but to pro- long and increase punishment ; for, by accusing God of injustice, a fresh sin "is added to former transgressions.
(4.) Though the wicked man is capable of prosperity, still it is never lasting. The most awful retribution soon overtakes him ; and his transient felicity must it- self be considered as punishment, since it renders him heeiUess, and makes him feel misfortune more keenly.
In opposition to them, Job maintains :
(1.) The most upright man may be highly unfortu- nate— more so than the inevitable faults and shortcom- ings of human nature would seem to imply. There is a savage cruelty, deserving the severities of the divine resentment, in inferring the guilt of a mau from his dis- tresses. In distributing good and evil, God regards neither merit nor guilt, but acts according to his sover- eign pleasure. His omnipotence is apjiarent in every part of the creation, but his justice cannot be seen in the government of the world; the afflictions of the righteous, as well as the prosperity of the wicked, are evidence against it. There are innumerable cases, and Job considers his own to be one of them, in which a suf- ferer has a right to justify himself before God, and to appeal to some other explanation of his decrees. Of this right Job freely avails himself, and maintains it against his friends.
(2.) In a state of composure and calmer reflection, Job qualifies, chiefly in his concluding speech, some of j his former rather extravagant assertions, and says that, I although God generally afflicts the wicked, and blesses |
the righteous, still there are exceptions to this rule, sin-" gle cases in which the pious undergo severe trials; the inference, therefore, of a man's guilt from his misfor- tunes is b.y no means warranted. For the cxccijtioiis established by experience prove that God docs not al- ways distribute prosperity and adversity after tliis rule, but that he sometimes acts on a different principle, or as an absolute lord, according to his mere will and pleasure.
(3.) Humbly to adore God is our duty, even when we are subject to calamities not at all deserved; but we shoidd abstain from harshly judging of those who, when distressed, seem to send forth complaints against God.
3. Thus ends the discussion, in which it is evident both parties had partially failed. Job has been betray- ed into very hazardous statements, while his friends had been on the one hand disingenuous, on the other bigot- ed, harsh, and pitiless. The points which had been omitted, or imperfectly developed, are now taken uii by a new interlocutor (ch. xxxii-xxxvii), who argues the justice of the divine administration both from the na- ture of the dispensations allotted to man, and from the essential character of God himself. Elihu, a young man, descended from a collateral branch of the family of Abraham, has listened in indignant silence to the ar- guments of his elders (xxxii, 7), and, impelled by an inward inspiration, he now addresses liiinsclf to both parties in the discussion, and s|i((i;i]ly t<i Job. He shows, first, that they had accused .Idli upon false or in- sufficient grounds, and failed to convict him, or te vin- dicate God's justice. Job, again, had assumed his entire innocence, and had arraigned that justice (xxxiii, 9^11). These errors he traces to their both overlookmg one main object of all suffering. God speaks to man by chastisement (ver. 14, 19-22)— warns him, teaches him self-knowledge and humility (ver. IG, 17 ) — and prepares him (ver. 23) by the mediation of a spiritual interpreter (the angel Jehovah of Genesis) to iipplore and to obtain pardon (ver. 24), renewal of life (ver. 25), perfect access and restoration (ver. 26). This statement does not in- volve any charge of special guilt, such as the friends had alleged and Job had repudiated. Since the warn- ing and sufiFering are preventive as well as remedial, the visitation anticipates the commission of sin ; it saves mau from pride, and other temptations of wealth and power, and it effects the real object of all divine inter- positions, the entire submission to God's wiU. Again, Elihu argues (xxxiv, 10-17) that any charge of injus- tice, direct or implicit, against God involves a contra- diction in terms. God is the only source of justice; the very idea of justice is derived from his governance of the universe, the principle of which is love. In his ab- solute knowledge God sees all secrets, and by his abso»- lute power he controls all events, and that for the one end of bringing righteousness to light (verse 21-30). Man has, of course, no claim upon God ; what he re- ceives is purely a matter of grace (xxxv, 6-9), The occasional appearance of unanswered prayer (verse 9), when evil seems to get the upper hand, is owing merely to the fact that man prfivs in a proud and insolent spirit (ver. 12, 13). Job may look to his heart, and he will see if t'hat is true of himself.