The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 210

eo, rel\eone Job, will the providential government of God be seen, when thoroucrhly examined, to reflect the matchless wisdom of hie omniscient mind, and attest the mensureleee force of his almighty hand, II, Ae ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN AND BESIBTLESS. "Behold, he breaketh down, and It cannot be built again: he shutteth up II man, and there can be no opening" (ver.14). The first may aJlude to the destruction of the Tower of Babel, and the second to the confusion of tongues; though the reference may be more general, to such acts of destruc- tion (and, by Implication, of restoration) and of restraint (and again, by implication, of liberation) as attest hie e.lmighty power, Illustrations of the former may be found in the burning of Sodom by fire; the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Titus; the overthrow of Babylon and Nineveh; the engulfment of Herculaneum and Pompeii by volcanic agency ; while the shutting up of men in prisons may be regarded as having been exemplified in Joseph (Gen, xxxvil. 24), Jeremiah (Lam. iii. 53; cf. Jer. xxxviii. 6), Jonah (i. 17). III. As EXTENDING TO NATURE AND MAN, 1. To nature. "Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up : also he eendeth them out, and they overturn the earth" (ver, 15), Perhaps exemplified in the first formation of the dry land (Gen. i. 9), and in the Deluge (Gen. vii. 11); though more probably pointing to the Divine agency a.a the true cause of drought (1 Kings xvii. 1), and of floods or destructive inundations. 2. ·Toman. "The deceived and the deceiver are his" (ver. 16). Possibly alluding to himself and his companions (M. Good), though it i~ better to give the language a wider reference. Exemplified in Satan and man (eh. i. 12; Rev. XL 3), the lying spirit and Ahab (1 Kings xxii. 22), antichrist and unbelievers (2 Thess. ii. 11). The language forcibly expresses God's complete control over all classes of men. IV. As OONTROLLING INDIVIDUAL!! AND COMMUNITIES. 1. lndividual,s. (1) Civic rulers. "He leadeth counsellors away spoiled [literally, 'naked,' i.e. 'stripped of their official robes, and-of their clothes and shoes as captives'], and maketh judges fools," destroying their power and degrading their position (cf. Isa. iii. 2, 4; xl. 23; xliv. 25). " Re looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle" or cord; meanie g either he unbinds their prisoners, and makes them prisoners instead, or he unlooses the jeweJled girdle of kings, the insignia of royalty, and ties their loins with the cords of servitude, ·Illustrations: Zedekiah, Napoleon, etc. (2) Ecclesiastical officers. "He leadeth princes [literally,• priests'] away spoiled [literally, 'stripped of their robes'], and overthroweth the mighty [or, 'the long established '-those of great and high repute for sanctity and wisdom, probably such priest-princes as Melchizedek a.ad Jethro]." (3) Eloquent senators. "He removeth away the speech [literally, 'the lip'] of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged" (ver. 20). So he turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (2 Sam. xv. 31). (4) Haughty nobles. "He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty;" literally, "looseth the girdle of the strong" (ver. 21). The girdle being the belt by which the garments were fastened prior to undertaking any violent exertion, the language exprPsses the idea that it is God'.s province either to impart or to withhold the strength requisite for any undertaking in which man may engage. (5) Intriguing politicians. "He dis- covereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death" (ver. 22). While the language may with perfect propriety be applied to the power possessed by God of disclosing truths which lie beyond the reach of the human intellect, as e.g. those of revelation, or of bringing to light recondite discoveries in science and philosophy, which are ever wrapt in impenetrable darkness till he is pleased to unfold them, the connection seems to rather point to God's ability to read the secret thoughts and intentions of the human heart (Heh. iv. 12, 13), and in particular to detect and expose "the deep and desperate designs of traitors, conspirators, and other state villa.ins" (Good); as those, e.g. of Absalom against David (2 Sam. xv. 6), and Haman against the Jews (Estb. iii. 9), of Herod against Christ (Matt. ii. 8), and of the Jews against Paul (Acts xxiii. 21), as the Catiline conspiracy in Rome, and the Gunpowder Plot in England. 2. Communities. (1) National tendencies. 'l'he deep things out of dark- ness and the discovered death-shade may also allude to "the hicl.den bents and CLUTents which slowly give shape to the character and functions of a nation or ever it is aware, or ever even its rulers are aware, of them; that stream of tendency running partly underground for a while, which silently carries us we know not whither, we know noli  TlIE BOOK OF JOB.