The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 15

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.-Then Satan e.n■wered the Lord, nRml' is o 5,d{Jo>.os, "the Sle.nderer." The and ■aid, Doth lob fee.r God for nought I existence of e.n evil spirit must have been Sate.n insinuates that Job's motive is purely known t.o e.11 who rend or he11.rd the story selfish. He serves God not for love of God, of the fall of me.n (Gen. iii.), e.nd the or for love of goodness, but for what he gets d<'soriptive epithet, "the Adversary," is by it. Sat.an is too shrewd to endeavour, aa likely to hn'l'c been in use from e. very ee,rly Job's friends do le,tcr, to pick holes in Job's date. The notion t.hnt the Se.tan of the conduct. No; that is exemplary. But the Old Testament is a, reflex of the Persie,n trne che,rncter of nets is detel'mined by the Ahriman, e.nd tbnt the Jews derived their motive. What is Job's motive? Does he belief upon the subject. from the Persinns, not ser'l'e God to gain bis protection o.nd is quite untene.blc. The chnractcr and blessing? Similarly, in modern times, un- position of Snt&n in the Hebrew system e,re godly men e.rguo th11.t religious nod devout quite unlike those of Ahriman (Angro- persons are religious and devout with e. mainyus) in the religion of the Zoroastrie,ns view to their own interest, because they (s<'e ' Ancient Mona.rchies,' vol. iii. pp. expect to ge,in by it, either in this world, or 104-115). in the next, or in both. This is e. form of Ver. 7.-And the Lord 1aid unto Se.tan, cnlnmny which it is impossible to escape. Whence oomest thou t God condescends to And b11.d men, who are conscious to them- address the evil spirit, e.nd asks him ques- selves of never acting except from e. selfish tions-not the.t anything could be added to motive, may well imagine the same of others, his own knowledge, but thnt tbe e,ngels, It is re.rely that such an insinuation can be who were present (ver. 6), might hee.r and disproved. 1n the present inste,nce God vin- hn ve their attention called to the doings of diootes his servant, and covers the e.dverse.ry Sntan, which would need to be watched by with she.me, as the other e.dverse,ries and them, and sometimes to be wstrained or (it calumniators of righteousness will be covered me.y be) pre'l'ented (comp. 1 Kings :nii. 20, at the last day. where age.in the colloquy is opened by God Ver. 10.-Hast not thou ma.de e.n hedge lll!h.ing a question). Then Satan answered abont him ! i.e. " hedged him around, pro• the Lord, e.nd said, Fro:n going to e.nd fro in tccted him, made e. sort of invisible fence the earth, e.nd from wa.l.king up and down about him, through which no evil could in it. Se.t.an, therefore, is not himself, like creep." This was undoubtedly true. God the bulk of his e'l'il angels, "reserved in had so protected him. But the question everlasting cltainE under darkness to the was not o.s to this fact, but o.s to Job's motive. judgment of the last day" (Jude 6). He We.a it mere prudence ?-the desire to secure llCllrches the whole earth continue.Uy, never a continuance of this protection? .And e.bont pausin~, never resting, bnt "going abont," his house; i.e. "his family "-his sons e,nd as St. Peter se.ys (1 Pet. v. 8), "like a roar- daughters-the members of his household. ing lion, seeking whom he may devour," And about all that he hath on every side. His wo.iting till the coming of the "thouse.nd possessions-land, houses, cattle, live stock years," when e.n e.ngel will "bind him with of e,ll kinds, fuxnituro, goods and che.tlels. a great chain, and cast him into the bottom- Thou hast blessed the work of his hands le8a pit" (Rev. xx. 1, 2). It will be e. he.ppy (comp. Ps. L 3, where it is said of the righteous d.a.y for the earth when that time comes. man, the.t " whatsoever he doeth, it shall Ver. 8.-A.nd the Lord laid unto Satan, prosper"). So it we.s with Job. God's Hut thou ooil.lidered 1 literally, Hast thou blessing was upon him, e.nd success crowned 9t!t thine l,earl on j! equive,lent to "Ha.et all his enterprises. " The work of his thon 1-,'lven thine attention to?'' (comp. Isa. hands" will include everything that he xii. 22; Hag. L 5, 7). lly ae"e.nt lob; i.e. attempted. And his substanoe is inoreaeed "my trU,C servaut, fe.itW'ul in all that he in the land. In the former clause we he.ve dues" (comp. Heh. iiL 5). It is a. high the cause, God's blessing ; in the latter tile honour to aoy man for God to acknowledge effect, e. great increase in Job's "substance," him as his &arvant (cee Joeh. L 2; 1 Kings or "cattle" (marginal reading). (On tile xi. 13, etc.). That there is none like him in final number of his cattle, see ver. 3.) the earth ; rather, for t.hHe is none like him Ver. 11.-But pnt forth thine hand now; (see the Revised Version). This is given a.s literally, ,end forth tl'1J hand, as a mau does a rea.son wLy Sa.te.u ahonld have po.id specie.I who strikes e. blow (comp. Gen. :xxil. 12: attention to his case, and is a. sort of che.1- Exod. iii. 20; ix. 15, etc.). And touoh &11 1.t,nge: "TLon that art e.lwo.ys spying out that he hath; or, ,mite all that he hath; i.e. 10me defect or other in a righteous men, ruin him, strip him of his possessions. .And but thon noted my servant Job, and dis- ho will ourse thee to th7 faot, Professor OB. r, 1-22.j 'l'BE :SOOK OF JOB. Ii