The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 253

Divine ntme, tbaa thOl!e of hie advertmiee. of thy mouth 1 It is remarkable th a\ neither In hb! raply, without claiming any apecial Eliphaa nor either of his ftienda ever poinll wisdom, be po11n1 -contempt on their pre• out what parliaul.M words of Job they •ntiollll to apiritual understanding (oh. xvii. objeot to and regard aa impioue, so aa to t, 10). What uadel'lltandeBt thou, whioh is give him the opportunity of defending, es.- not in u 1 A mere repetition of the first ple.ining, or retraoting them. '!'hey tak• member of the veree in different words. refuge in vague generalitiee, with. whicll lt Ver. 10.-With u are both the grey• is impossible to grapple. But this vague- headed and very aged men. "With ua" ness and we.at of logioal e.ccuracy is chamoter- seems to mE'an •• of our party," or "on our istio of the Oriental. nations, who sca.roely side." EliphM: olaims that all the grey-, ever reuon oogen.tly or bring matters to .a beRrds of the time, ea well B8 all the ancient point. . . • men of paet times (oomp. eh. viii. 8, end Ver. U.-What ia man.. that he ehould .be below, ver. 18), are on hie side, and think as olea.n 1 A vain "bee.ting of the. air." . Eli- he does. llnoh elder t.h&n thy father. Men, pha.z had assert.ed the same ·troth in his first i,e_ not merely of the preceding, but of much speech, when he said, " Shall mortal ma1;1 more disant generations. His ele.im to be be more jnst than God? shall. a man, be supported. by the voice of antiquity was, no more pure than his Maker? Beholdj he doubt, in strict accordance with fact. put no trust in his servants ; e.li.d his angela Yer. 11.-Are the oonsolations of God small he t.ai:etb with folly : hoio muoh less in them with thee! Bv .. the consolations of God" that dweU in hoU8611 of cl.a,y, whose foundation Elipblll', probably moons the hopes which is in the dust, which are crushed before tile he and bis friends had held out, speaking in moth?" (ah. iv. 17-;'-19); and.Job ho.d given God's Ne.me, the.t if Job would bumble him• his foll e.ssent to it, when he exclaimed, "I self, and ronfess bis guilt, and sue toGodfor know it is so of a truth : but how .should man pardon, he would be restored to favour, be just with God? If he will contend with recover hie prosperity, and live to a good him, he oannotanswer him one of a thousand" old age in tranquil happiness (see oh. v. 18 (oh. iL 2, 3). The true question. was noi -27 ; viii. 20-22 ; xi. 13-19). He wishes whether Job or any other man was "cleanr to J..-now if Job thinks lightly of all this, i.e. wholly sinless, but whether Job ,had rege.rde it B8 of small aON>unt, will make no siun.ed so deeply and grievously that -hia cB'urt to obtain the bloeSBings held out to sufferings were the natural and just puo.i11h'... him. This is all reasonable enough from his ment for his sins. And a mere repetition of standpoint, thst Job is conscious of secret the statement that all men were sinful 11.nd heinous guilt; but it can make no impression unclean was off the point,-flihil ad rerrr~ on Job, who is oonecious of the reverse. la altogether futile and superfluous, . .And he there any secret tb..m« with thee 1 rather, that is barn of a woman, that ha eho11ld lie -4.nd u the word [of IIIBOO, aeoount that righteoua t (CQmp. eh. xxv. 4). The clause deal.eth] genay witA thee? Eliphaz oon- is a mere variant of the preceding one. &id0I11 that his own words and those of his Ver. 15.-Behold, he putteth .no .trust in two comptmious he.ve been soft words, dee.I· his saints; rather, in his holy Oll8B (see ing " gen.tly" with Job'.s refraotariDess, and the Revised Version), The word "saint" that Jou ought to h&ve been imprel!lllld by hB8 .in course of time come to .be so e:a;• them. elusively attached to holy men, that it C&ll Ver. 12.-Why doth thine heart oarry thee no longer be applied, without danger of being away 1 or, W7•it.her doth thine heart flMf'JI misunderstood, to angels. Eliphaz here, fJlll awayf i.e. to what a pitch of presomp- aa in eh. v. 1, spew not.of holy men,. but tion. and audacity do thy proud though111 of the holy angels. Without taxing theJJl carry thee ? And what do thy eyes wink with sin, he is strongly convinced of their at 1 or, WJierejore do thy eye, roll f The imperfection-their defective wisdom (!!h. verb Wied oceun only in this plaae. Its v. 18), weakness, &nd untrustworthiness, mean.i.D.g is very doubtful. Bia views are decidedly peculiar, and not Ver. 15.-that thou t1lmellt thy 1pirit home ont by the rest of Scripture. Yea, the e.ga.imt God. To Eliphaz and his companions, heav8Jl8 are not clean in his Bight. ' The the wild remonstrancea of Job, his vehement material h.eavens are . probably intended, expostulations and deapairing outcries, are, That limpid liquid blue in which the buman one e.D.d e.Jl, nothing betttr than indications eye sees no stain or speck, to,the Divil)e eye of a proud and rebellioos spirit, that sets is tinged with uncleanness. The idea :i8 it.self up age.inst the Almighty, and openly that ueither animate nor i11animate nature cont.ends with him. They view Job, after contains any form of being tl.iat is 11-bsolutely the speeches that he has made, &11 a declared without spot or blemish. In God o.lo.ne ia rebel, and DD longer regard it u incwn.bent there perfect purity. upon ~ to Ulle any "gentleneu" 4D their V ez. 16.-llow muoh more abominable and reprim&nda. AIUl leiiNt such wolllll go out tlthJ ii man. which drinketh iDiqllit)' like OH, XV, 1-35,] THE BOOK OF JOB. 263