The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 154

Yer, 10.-Wbioh doeth great thinga put and of Apophie, the great serpent, con- finding out; yea, and wondera without num- tinually represented BB ~ierced by Horue ber. An almost exact repetition of the words (Rawhnson's 'Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 257; of Eliphaz in oh. v. 9. The ropetition may • Hi~tory of Ancient Egypt,' vol. i. p. 8!15). have been conscious or unoonscious. Job In the earlier Arynn myths there ia a may have meant to eay, " My view of God simila.r parsoni1foation of evil In Vitro., embl'II.Oefl all that you can tell me of him, called Das~a., " ~he Destroyer," and nt per• e.nd goEll! further; " or he may simply have petnal enmity with Indra e.nd Agni (' Re- used words ooncerning the Divine uneearch• ligions of the Ancient World,' p. IH), The ablen8811 'l\'hich were common in the mouths Babylonians a.nd Assyria.us hau e. tradition of religious men in hie time (oomp. I·s. lnii. of a gre11t "war in lleavon" (' Records of 18; and infra, oh. xi. 7). the Past,' vol. v. pp. 188-186), carried on by Yer. ll.-Lo, he goeth by me, and I see seven spirits, who were finally reduced to llim not. Near as God is to us, close as he subjection. All these seem to be distorted comes to us, we cannot directly see him, or reminiscences of that great confl.iot, whereof feel him, or perceive his presence. Wu know the only trustworthy oooount is the one it hy faith, we may feel it in our inmost contained in the Revelation of St. John, Epirits; but there is no manifestation of it " There was war in heaven: Micho.el o.nd to our sensc,s. A sllarp line di,ides tile his angels fought o.g.rinst the dragon ; and visible and invisible worlds; and this line, the dragon fought and his angels "-the if it is ever crossed, is very rarely crossed. " helpers" of the present passage-" and Job possibly reflects upon the pretensiou of prevailed not; neither was their pl.a.ce found Elipllaz to have had a physical conscious- any more iu heaven" (Rev. xii. 7, 8). Job, ness of the visitation of a spirit (eh. iv. 15, it seems, had inherited one of such traditions, 16), and asserts, with a tinge of sarcasm, one in which the power of evil was known that it is otherwise with him-the spirit- e.s Re.bab, " the Proud One ; " and he means worlu passes him by, and he receives no here to say that God not only holds men light, no illumination, no miraculous direc- in subjection, bnt also beings much more tion from it. Re passeth on also. The same powerful than man, as Rnhab and his verb is used by Eliphe.z ( eh. iv. 15) in speak- llelpers, who hnd rebelled nncl maue war on ing of his spiritual visitation. Bnt I peroeive God, and been cast down from heaven, and him not. Eliphaz perceived the presence of were 110w prostrate under God's feet. the spirit (eh. iv. 15, 16) and heard its voice Ver. 14.-How much less sha.11 I answer (ch.iv.16-21). Job seems to mean that he him 1 If he be the Lord of earth and heaven, ill not eo favoured. if he rule the sun and the stars, if he tread Ver. 12.-Behold, he taketh away; rather, down the sea, if he be impalpable and irre- 1te seizeth the prey ( see the Revised Version). sistible, if he hold the evil power and his The expression is much stronger than the.t .helpers under restraint, how should I de.re used in eh. i. 21. Job seems to be eme.rting to answer him? How should any mere man under the recollection of all that he has lost, do so? And ohoose out my words to roe.son and takes an aggrieved tone. Who can hinder with him 1 Job feels that he would be too him 1 (comp. 1.ss.. xlv. 9; Jer. xviii 6; Rom. much overwhelmed to clloose his terms xix. 20). Who will ■ay 11Ilto him, Wh&t carefully, and yet 11. ooreleBB word might be doest thou 1 To he.ve to do with snch e.n an unpardonable offence. irresistible Being, alone in his might, would Ver. 15.-Whom, though I were righteous, indeed be terrible if, while ab~olutely power- yet would I not answer. Even perfect ful, unchecked and uncootrolled from with- righteousness, so far as possible in a creature, out, he were not also absolutely good, and would not euablo a man to etauu up in therefore controlled and checked by e. law coutrovC'roy with l,im who "chllrges his from within. This, however, Job, in hie angds witll folly" (eh. iv. 18); and, more- present mood, does not seem clearly to see. over, to such righteousne8s Job does not Ver. 13.-lf God will not withdraw Ilia pretend (see eh. vii. 20, 21). But I would nn.ger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. ma.ke supplication to my Judge; rather, to There is no " if" in the original ; and the mine advtr8ary (sec the Revised Version). )YJ.ESage is best taken categorically : "God Prayer is the 011ly rightful attitude of even dues not withdraw hie anger;" i.e. the anger the best man before his Maker-prayer for whicll he feels against tllose who resist him. mercy, prayer for pardon, prayer for grace, "The helpers of Re.bah do stoop [or, 'are prayer for advance in holiness. prostrate'] under Lim." Rahe.b in tl,i;! Ver. 16.-It I had called, and he had pe.asage, and also in eh. n vi. 12, as well as answered me. "If," that is, "I hn<.l chal- in Isa. Ii. 9, e1:ems to be used e.e the proper lenged God to a controversy, and lie had name of some greut power 'of evil Such a granted it, and bidden me to plead my cause pow1:r we.e recognized in the mythology of at his bar, yet could I not suppose that he Egypt, under the n.e.mee of Set (or Typhon) had really hearkened to me, and would OH, IX. 1-35,] THJ<J BOOK OF JOB, 157