The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 650

the e~t tb&t truth lay upon the side of Job rather than upon that of the frlendR1 t.o whom accordingly he now, in turn, directs bis Bddress. 1. The imputation fn<rll~, Elipbar. and bis friends had not 11poken concerning him that whioh was right, 88 Job had. They had erred in two waya-in presenting an erroneous view of the Divine dealings with mankind in general, and in maintaining it at the expense both of God and of Job. In order to make good their theory, they bad alleged, in defia.nce of all evidence to the contrary, that Job was a wicked man, and that God was incensed against him 1•:itb righteous indignation-both of which assertions were incorrect, Neither WM God puni8hing Job, nor was Job a wicked man, but one whom all through the tremendous ordeal God recognized as his servant. And if Elipbaz and hie friends bad transgressed against God in misrepresenting the Divine character and ways, they had offended scarcely less by misjudging the character and WRysof Job. If Job himself was not entirely free from blame in the views be was sometimes driven in anguish to express, it must still be remembered that he was nearer the truth than they were, and that occasionally he was able to recognize the Divine justice and love in his tribulation. 2. The direction given. "Therefore t&ke unto you now seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering." Interesting ns showing the antiquity: of sacrificial worship beyond the bounds of the Holy Land, this statement is also valuable as pointing out the close correspondence as to fundamental ideas and prevailing forms between the worship observed in heathen countries and that subsequently practised in Israel. Here, as afterwards in the Mosaic cultus, the burnt offering is the appointed medium of pardon and ·acceptance, proclaiming to Job and his contemporaries, as later to Abraham's descendants, that without shedding of blood there is no remission, that reconciliation is impossible except upon the ground of an atoning sacrifice. Here, as afterwards, bullocks and rams are the animals selected for the sacrificial ritual, perhaps also for a like purpose, to typify the holy Lamb of God who should in tbe end of the ages become the world's Propitiation, while at the same time they suggested forcibly their own insufficiency (Heb. ix. 11-14-; x. 1-5) to cleanse the conscience from sin. Here also, as afterwards, the offering is directed to be presented through an officiating priest (in this case Job), to signiry that no man can come to God except through the intervention of a Mediator. Thus the rudiments of the gospel may be sa.ic. to have existed in that early age-the work of Christ being clearly symbolized, his great propitiation by the aacrificial victims, his heavenly intercession by the prayer of Job. 3. The en.wuro,gement offered. "My servant Job shall pray for you: for him [literally, 'his face or person 'J will I accept." Having graciously constituted Job a Mediator between himself and the friends, Jehovah guarantees that if they will avail themselves of hie services, he will be accepted, and of course they also in him. Here, again, it is impossible not to descry another shadow of the gospel. God, having constituted Christ a High Priest for ever, distinctly engages to accept all who through him supplicate his favour. Hence Christ says, "I am the Way : ... no man cometh unto tWi Father, but by me; " and the writer to the Hebrews declares that "he is able to save unto the uttermost all them that come unto God through him." 4. The warning appended. "Lest I deal with you after your folly." 'l'hat is to say, unless they fled for refuge to this hope set before them, they could not escape the punishment their folly merited. If they complied with the Divine instruction, they were safe; if they declined, they would suffer. So likewise has the gospel its warning. If sinful men flee to Cl:..rist, the one Mediator between God and man, they will certainly be delivered; if they do not, they shall just as certainly be destroyed. 5. The obedience rendered. "So Elipbaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did accordincr as the Lord commanded them." And in so doing they expressed their peniten~they tacitly acknowledged their offence; their faith-they acted precisely as the Lord bad commanded; their humility-they sought the friendly offices of one whom they had reiarded as an outcast; their submission-they acquiesced in the Divine verdict, though it had gone against them. In all this they show to sinful men a pattern of how the guilty should draw near to God. III. THE SETTLE.Id.EN'!' OF THE FIRST OR FUNDAMENTAL CONTROVERSY BETWEEN JEHOVAH AND SATAN, (Vers. 9-17.) It has been repeatedly explained (eh. i. 9, homiletics) that controversy is here also ended by the action of God, who, by delivering his aervant from the furnace of affliction a.nd reinstating him in even more than hi1 de. xtn.1-11.] THE BOOK OF JO:ll 667