The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 78

(1) Perhaps implying that Job had been previously resting with compla.cent satisfaction on his religious cbnracter, and deriving hope of Divine favour from the elevation of hie piety, which, if Job bad been doing, he had been living in egregious error, sinoe "by t.bi, deeds of the Law shall no flesh living be justified ; " but the statement of Eliphaz WIL6 a gratuitous slander, which one good man should always be r,ar~ul in circulating, saying, or even thinking about another, since God alone ca.n read the heart. (2) Insinuating that this previous confidence on the part of Job bad been ill grounded, inasmuch as bis piety could not have been sincere, in which case Job must have been guilty of hypocrisy; but this, again, was a mere inference on the part or Elipbaz, and :n point. of fact was incorrect. (3) Directing Job to find encouragement and hope in a return to the fear of God and to moral rectitude of life-an advice which, as addrelll'ed to Job, was not required, and, as given by Eliphaz, was a pure importinence. IV. A FALLACIOUS PHILO!IOPBY. 1. That good men never perish. "Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?" (ver. 7). (1) An unkind statement, even if it had been true; considering Job's situa- tion. If there is " a time to speak," there is also "a time to be silent;" and though it is unquestionably wrong to suppress or tamper with the truth, there is nothing in religion that requires one to proclaim all the truth irrespective of circumstances; or even to present truth under any circumstances in its most repulsive forms. (2) An incorrect statement, as well as an unkind one. It was contradicted by the plainest factii of history, as Job maintained, and as the least competent observer might have perceived (Gen. iv. 8; Acts ii. 22, 23; Heh. xi. 37). Those who undertake to comfort sufferers, and those who propound philosophies of affliction (or, indeed, of anything), should be ca1·eful to_ adhere to truth. 2. That bad men always peri8h. "Even as I have seen, they.that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same" (ver. 8); in which ma.y be no.ted: (1) 'l'he graphic description of wicked men, who are depicted (a) metaphorically as ploughing iniquity and sowing wickedness, alluding, perhaps, to the deliberate.purpose, mental activity, steady perseverance, onward progress, and eager expectation with which great criminals contrive and carry out their nefarious schemes; and (b) analogically, being likened to a lion passing through the successive stages of its development_, and increasing a.s it grows in strength, ferocity, and violence. (2) The melancholy orer- tbrow of wicked men, who are consumed (a) in accordance with the natural laws.of retribution, reaping the whirlwind where they have sown the vtind (Prov-. xxii. 8; Hos. viii. 7 ; x. 13 ; Gal. vi 7, 8); (b) by the express visitation o( God, perishing (as Job's children did, is what be means) by the blast of God, and before the breath of his nostrils; and (c) to the complete extinction of their former greatness, the prc;rV'.i- dentially overtaken and divinely punished transgressor being compared to an old lioness, once formidable and powerful, roaring and devouring, but now lying helpless and impotent, t.oothless and voiceless, dying for lack of prey, and abandoned even by her whelps. (3) The amount of truth in the representation, which is correct in so far as it describes individual ea.see; as e.g. the antediluvians, the cities of the plain, Adonibezek (Judg. i. 7), Belsha.zzar (Dan. v. 22, 30), Herod (Acts xii. 23); but incor~ect in so far as it claims to be of universal application. _ . Learn : 1. To cultivate the ha.bit of politeness of speech. Courtesy is a -dictate of religion a.s well as au element of virtue. 2. To commend where we can, and reprove only where we must. To detect goodness in others is a higher attainment than to espy faults. a. To beware of trusting in self-righteousness, as much after conversion as before. The saint's trust should never be in himself, but always in bis God. -4. 'l'o be cautious in making general deductiona from what may, after all, be isolated facts. One man's observation does not afford a basis broad enough for the construction of a pLilosophy of life. 5. To think a.bout the harvests we shall reap before commencing to plough snd sow. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man l!Oweth, that shall be also reap." Vers. 6----8.-../Jjftiction. I. THE SOURCE OF IT. 1. Negatively. (1) It comes not without a callll€. "Tbe curse causeless shall not come" (Prov. xxvi. 2). (2) It comes not for any cause; i.e. by haphazard, by accident, since the whole univeree ie under the dominion of la.w (Matt. x. 29). (3) It comes not from a material cause; it springs not from the ground; it is not the result of a man's terrestrial enviroJ1ment. oe. n,, 1-21.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 73