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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J O B
CHAP. XLII.
Solomon says, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning
thereof,”
It was so here in the story of Job; at the evening-time it was light.
Three things we have met with in this book which, I confess , have
troubled me very much; but we find all the three grievances redressed,
thoroughly redressed, in this chapter, everything set to-rights.
I. It has been a great trouble to us to see such a holy man as Job was
so fretful, and peevish, and uneasy to himself, and especially to hear
him quarrel with God and speak indecently to him; but, though he thus
fall, he is not utterly cast down, for here he recovers his temper,
comes to himself and to his right mind again by repentance, is sorry
for what he has said amiss, unsays it, and humbles himself before God,
II. It has been likewise a great trouble to us to see Job and his
friends so much at variance, not only differing in their opinions, but
giving one another a great many hard words, and passing severe censures
one upon another, though they were all very wise and good men; but here
we have this grievance redressed likewise, the differences between them
happily adjusted, the quarrel taken up, all the peevish reflections
they had cast upon one another forgiven and forgotten, and all joining
in sacrifices and prayers, mutually accepted of God,
III. It has troubled us to see a man of such eminent piety and
usefulness as Job was so grievously afflicted, so pained, so sick, so
poor, so reproached, so slighted, and made the very centre of all the
calamities of human life; but here we have this grievance redressed
too, Job healed of all his ailments, more honoured and beloved than
ever, enriched with an estate double to what he had before, surrounded
with all the comforts of life, and as great an instance of prosperity
as ever he had been of affliction and patience,
All this is written for our learning, that we, under these and the like
discouragements that we meet with, through patience and comfort of this
scripture may have hope.
| Job’s Humble Confession. | B. C. 1520. |
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1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no
thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore
have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for
me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of
thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine
eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
The words of Job justifying himself were ended,
After that he said no more to that purport. The words of Job judging
and condemning himself began,
Here he goes on with words to the same purport. Though his patience had
not its perfect work, his repentance for his impatience had. He is here
thoroughly humbled for his folly and unadvised speaking, and it was
forgiven him. Good men will see and own their faults at last, though it
may be some difficulty to bring them to do this. Then, when God
had said all that to him concerning his own greatness and power
appearing in the creatures, then Job answered the Lord
(v. 1),
not by way of contradiction (he had promised not so to answer again,
but by way of submission; and thus we must all answer the calls of
God.
I. He subscribes to the truth of God’s unlimited power, knowledge, and
dominion, to prove which was the scope of God’s discourse out of the
whirlwind,
v. 2.
Corrupt passions and practices arise either from some corrupt
principles or from the neglect and disbelief of the principles of
truth; and therefore true repentance begins in the acknowledgement
of the truth,
2 Tim. ii. 25.
Job here owns his judgment convinced of the greatness, glory, and
perfection of God, from which would follow the conviction of his
conscience concerning his own folly in speaking irreverently to him.
1. He owns that God can do every thing. What can be too hard for him
that made behemoth and leviathan, and manages both as he pleases? He
knew this before, and had himself discoursed very well upon the
subject, but now he knew it with application. God had spoken it
once, and then he heard it twice, that power belongs to God; and
therefore it is the greatest madness and presumption imaginable to
contend with him. “Thou canst do every thing, and therefore
canst raise me out of this low condition, which I have so often
foolishly despaired of as impossible: I now believe thou art able to do
this.”
2. That no thought can be withholden from him, that is,
(1.) There is no thought of ours that he can be hindered from the
knowledge of. Not a fretful, discontented, unbelieving thought is in
our minds at any time but God is a witness to it. It is in vain to
contest with him; for we cannot hide our counsels and projects from
him, and, if he discover them, he can defeat them.
(2.) There is no thought of his that he can be hindered from the
execution of. Whatever the Lord pleased, that did he. Job had
said this passionately, complaining of it
What his soul desireth even that he doeth; now he says, with
pleasure and satisfaction, that God’s counsels shall stand. If
God’s thoughts concerning us be thoughts of good, to give us an
unexpected end, he cannot be withheld from accomplishing his
gracious purposes, whatever difficulties may seem to lie in the
way.
II. He owns himself to be guilty of that which God had charged him with
in the beginning of his discourse,
v. 3.
“Lord, the first word thou saidst was, Who is this that darkens
counsel by words without knowledge? There needed no more; that word
convinced me. I own I am the man that has been so foolish. That
word reached my conscience, and set my sin in order before me. It is
too plain to be denied, too bad to be excused. I have hidden counsel
without knowledge. I have ignorantly overlooked the counsels and
designs of God in afflicting me, and therefore have quarrelled with
God, and insisted too much upon my own justification: Therefore I
uttered that which I understood not,” that is, “I have passed a
judgment upon the dispensations of Providence, though I was utterly a
stranger to the reasons of them.” Here,
1. He owns himself ignorant of the divine counsels; and so we are all.
God’s judgments are a great deep, which we cannot fathom, much less
find out the springs of. We see what God does, but we neither know why
he does it, what he is aiming at, nor what he will bring it to. These
are things too wonderful for us, out of our sight to discover, out of
our reach to alter, and out of our jurisdiction to judge of. They are
things which we know not; it is quite above our capacity to pass a
verdict upon them. The reason why we quarrel with Providence is because
we do not understand it; and we must be content to be in the dark about
it, until the mystery of God shall be finished.
2. He owns himself imprudent and presumptuous in undertaking to
discourse of that which he did not understand and to arraign that which
he could not judge of. He that answereth a matter before he heareth
it, it is folly and shame to him. We wrong ourselves, as well as
the cause which we undertake to determine, while we are no competent
judges of it.
III. He will not answer, but he will make supplication to his
Judge, as he had said,
“Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak
(v. 4),
not speak either as plaintiff or defendant
(ch. xiii. 22),
but as a humble petitioner, not as one that will undertake to teach and
prescribe, but as one that desires to learn and is willing to be
prescribed to. Lord, put no more hard questions to me, for I am not
able to answer thee one of a thousand of those which thou hast put; but
give me leave to ask instruction from thee, and do not deny it me, do
not upbraid me with my folly and self-sufficiency,”
Now he is brought to the prayer Elihu taught him, That which I see
not teach thou me.
IV. He puts himself into the posture of a penitent, and therein goes
upon a right principle. In true repentance there must be not only
conviction of sin, but contrition and godly sorrow for it, sorrow
according to God,
2 Cor. vii. 9.
Such was Job’s sorrow for his sins.
1. Job had an eye to God in his repentance, thought highly of him, and
went upon that as the principle of it
(v. 5):
“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear many a time from
my teachers when I was young, from my friends now of late. I have known
something of thy greatness, and power, and sovereign dominion; and yet
was not brought, by what I heard, to submit myself to thee as I ought.
The notions I had of these things served me only to talk of, and had
not a due influence upon my mind. But now thou hast by
immediate revelation discovered thyself to me in thy glorious majesty;
now my eyes see thee; now I feel the power of those truths which
before I had only the notion of, and therefore now I repent, and unsay
what I have foolishly said.” Note,
(1.) It is a great mercy to have a good education, and to know the
things of God by the instructions of his word and ministers. Faith
comes by hearing, and then it is most likely to come when we hear
attentively and with the hearing of the ear.
(2.) When the understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of grace our
knowledge of divine things as far exceeds what we had before as that by
ocular demonstration exceeds that by report and common fame. By the
teachings of men God reveals his Son to us; but by the teachings of his
Spirit he reveals his Son in us
(Gal. i. 16),
and so changes us into
the same image,
2 Cor. iii. 18.
(3.) God is pleased sometimes to manifest himself most fully to his
people by the rebukes of his word and providence. “Now that I have been
afflicted, now that I have been told of my faults, now my eye sees
thee.” The rod and reproof give wisdom. Blessed is the man whom thou
chastenest and teachest.
2. Job had an eye to himself in his repentance, thought hardly of
himself, and thereby expressed his sorrow for his sins
(v. 6):
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Observe,
(1.) It concerns us to be deeply humbled for the sins we are convinced
of, and not to rest in a slight superficial displeasure against
ourselves for them. Even good people, that have no gross enormities to
repent of, must be greatly afflicted in soul for the workings and
breakings out of pride, passion, peevishness, and discontent, and all
their hasty unadvised speeches; for these we must be pricked to the
heart and be in bitterness. Till the enemy be effectually humbled, the
peace will be insecure.
(2.) Outward expressions of godly sorrow well become penitents; Job
repented in dust and ashes. These, without an inward change, do but
mock God; but, where they come from sincere contrition of soul, the
sinner by them gives glory to God, takes shame to himself, and may be
instrumental to bring others to repentance. Job’s afflictions had
brought him to the ashes
he sat down among the ashes), but now his sins brought him
thither. True penitents mourn for their sins as heartily as ever they
did for any outward afflictions, and are in bitterness as for an only
son of a first-born, for they are brought to see more evils in their
sins than in their troubles.
(3.) Self-loathing is evermore the companion of true repentance.
They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have
committed. We must no only angry at ourselves for the wrong and
damage we have by sin done to our own souls, but must abhor ourselves,
as having by sin made ourselves odious to the pure and holy God, who
cannot endure to look upon iniquity. If sin be truly an abomination to
us, sin in ourselves will especially be so; the nearer it is to us the
more loathsome it will be.
(4.) The more we see of the glory and majesty of God, and the more we
see of the vileness and odiousness of sin and of ourselves because of
sin, the more we shall abase and abhor ourselves for it. “Now my eye
sees what a God he is whom I have offended, the brightness of that
majesty which by wilful sin I have spit in the face of, the tenderness
of that mercy which I have spurned at the bowels of; now I see what a
just and holy God he is whose wrath I have incurred; wherefore I abhor
myself. Woe is me, for I am undone,”
God had challenged Job to look upon proud men and abase them. “I
cannot,” says Job, “pretend to do it; I have enough to do to get my own
proud heart humbled, to abase that and bring that low.” Let us leave it
to God to govern the world, and make it our care, in the strength of
his grace, to govern ourselves and our own hearts well.
| God’s Vindication of Job. | B. C. 1520. |
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7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words
unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is
kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have
not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job
hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams,
and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt
offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I
accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have
not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar
the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded
them: the LORD also accepted Job.
Job, in his discourses, had complained very much of the censures of his
friends and their hard usage of him, and had appealed to God as Judge
between him and them, and thought it hard that judgment was not
immediately given upon the appeal. While God was catechising Job out of
the whirlwind one would have thought that he only was in the wrong, and
that the cause would certainly go against him; but here, to our great
surprise, we find it quite otherwise, and the definitive sentence given
in Job’s favour. Wherefore judge nothing before the time. Those who are
truly righteous before God may have their righteousness clouded and
eclipsed by great and uncommon afflictions, by the severe censures of
men, by their own frailties and foolish passions, by the sharp reproofs
of the word and conscience, and the deep humiliation of their own
spirits under the sense of God’s terrors; and yet, in due time, these
clouds shall all blow over, and God will bring forth their
righteousness as the light and their judgment as the noon-day,
Ps. xxxvii. 6.
He cleared Job’s righteousness here, because he, like an honest man,
held it fast and would not let it go. We have here,
I. Judgment given against Job’s three friends, upon the controversy
between them and Job. Elihu is not censured here, for he distinguished
himself from the rest in the management of the dispute, and acted, not
as a party, but as a moderator; and moderation will have its praise
with God, whether it have with men or no. In the judgment here given
Job is magnified and his three friends are mortified. While we were
examining the discourses on both sides we could not discern, and
therefore durst not determine, who was in the right; something of truth
we thought they both had on their side, but we could not cleave the
hair between them; nor would we, for all the world, have had to give
the decisive sentence upon the case, lest we should have determined
wrong. But it is well that the judgment is the Lord’s, and we are sure
that his judgment is according to truth; to it we will refer ourselves,
and by it we will abide. Now, in the judgment here given,
1. Job is greatly magnified and comes off with honour. He was but one
against three, a beggar now against three princes, and yet, having God
on his side, he needed not fear the result, though thousands set
themselves against him. Observe here,
(1.) When God appeared for him: After the Lord had spoken these
words unto Job,
v. 7.
After he had convinced and humbled him, and brought him to repentance
for what he had said amiss, then he owned him in what he had said well,
comforted him, and put honour upon him; not till then: for we are not
ready for God’s approbation till we judge and condemn ourselves; but
then he thus pleaded his cause, for he that has torn will heal
us, he that has smitten will bind us. The Comforter shall
convince,
See in what method we are to expect divine acceptance; we must first be
humbled under divine rebukes. After God, by speaking these words, had
caused grief, he returned and had compassion, according to the
multitude of his mercies; for he will not contend for ever, but will
debate in measure, and stay his rough wind in the day of his east wind.
Now that Job had humbled himself God exalted him. True penitents shall
find favour with God, and what they have said and done amiss shall no
more be mentioned against them. Then God is well pleased with us when
we are brought to abhor ourselves.
(2.) How he appeared for him. It is taken for granted that all his
offences are forgiven; for if he be dignified, as we find he is here,
no doubt he is justified. Job had sometimes intimated, with great
assurance, that God would clear him at last, and he was not made
ashamed of the hope.
[1.] God calls him again and again his servant Job, four times
in
and he seems to take a pleasure in calling him so, as before his
troubles
(ch. i. 8),
“Hast thou considered my servant Job? Though he is poor and
despised, he is my servant notwithstanding, and as dear to me as when
he was in prosperity. Though he has his faults, and has appeared to be
a man subject to like passions as others, though he has contended with
me, has gone about to disannul my judgment, and has darkened counsel by
words without knowledge, yet he sees his error and retracts it, and
therefore he is my servant Job still.” If we still hold fast the
integrity and fidelity of servants to God, as Job did, though we may
for a time be deprived of the credit and comfort of the relation, we
shall be restored to it at last, as he was. The devil had undertaken to
prove Job a hypocrite, and his three friends had condemned him as a
wicked man; but God will acknowledge those whom he accepts, and will
not suffer them to be run down by the malice of hell or earth. If God
says, Well done, good and faithful servant, it is of little
consequence who says otherwise.
[2.] He owns that he had spoken of him the thing that was right,
beyond what his antagonists had done. He had given a much better and
truer account of the divine Providence than they had done. They had
wronged God by making prosperity a mark of the true church and
affliction a certain indication of God’s wrath; but Job had done him
right by maintaining that God’s love and hatred are to be judged of by
what is in men, not by what is before them,
Observe, First, Those do the most justice to God and his
providence who have an eye to the rewards and punishments of another
world more than to those of this, and with the prospect of those solve
the difficulties of the present administration. Job had referred things
to the future judgment, and the future state, more than his friends had
done, and therefore he spoke of God that which was right, better than
his friends had done. Secondly, Though Job had spoken some
things amiss, even concerning God, whom he made too bold with, yet he
is commended for what he spoke that was right. We must not only not
reject that which is true and good, but must not deny it its due
praise, though there appear in it a mixture of human frailty and
infirmity. Thirdly, Job was in the right, and his friends were
in the wrong, and yet he was in pain and they were at ease–a plain
evidence that we cannot judge of men and their sentiments by looking in
their faces or purses. He only can do it infallibly who sees men’s
hearts.
[3.] He will pass his word for Job that, notwithstanding all the wrong
his friends had done him, he is so good a man, and of such a humble,
tender, forgiving spirit, that he will very readily pray for them, and
use his interest in heaven on their behalf: “My servant Job will
pray for you. I know he will. I have pardoned him, and he has the
comfort of pardon, and therefore he will pardon you.”
[4.] He appoints him to be the priest of this congregation, and
promises to accept him and his mediation for his friends. “Take your
sacrifices to my servant Job, for him will I accept.” Those whom
God washes from their sins he makes to himself kings and priests. True
penitents shall not only find favour as petitioners for themselves, but
be accepted as intercessors for others also. It was a great honour that
God hereby put upon Job, in appointing him to offer sacrifice for his
friends, as formerly he used to do for his own children,
And a happy presage it was of his restoration to his prosperity again,
and indeed a good step towards it, that he was thus restored to the
priesthood. Thus he became a type of Christ, through whom alone we and
our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God; see
“Go to my servant Job, to my servant Jesus” (from whom for a
time he hid his face), “put your sacrifices into his hand, make use of
him as your Advocate, for him will I accept, but, out of him, you must
expect to be dealt with according to your folly.” And, as Job prayed
and offered sacrifice for those that had grieved and wounded his
spirit, so Christ prayed and died for his persecutors, and ever lives
making intercession for the transgressors.
2. Job’s friends are greatly mortified, and come off with disgrace.
They were good men and belonged to God, and therefore he would not let
them lie still in their mistake any more than Job, but, having humbled
him by a discourse out of the whirlwind, he takes another course to
humble them. Job, who was dearest to him, was first chidden, but the
rest in their turn. When they heard Job talked to, it is probable, they
flattered themselves with a conceit that they were in the right and Job
was in all the fault, but God soon took them to task, and made them
know the contrary. In most disputes and controversies there is
something amiss on both sides, either in the merits of the cause or in
the management, if not in both; and it is fit that both sides should be
told of it, and made to see their errors. God addresses this to
Eliphaz, not only as the senior, but as the ringleader in the attack
made upon Job. Now,
(1.) God tells them plainly that they had not spoken of him the
thing that was right, like Job, that is, they had censured and
condemned Job upon a false hypothesis, had represented God fighting
against Job as an enemy when really he was only trying him as a friend,
and this was not right. Those do not say well of God who represent his
fatherly chastisements of his own children as judicial punishments and
who cut them off from his favour upon the account of them. Note, It is
a dangerous thing to judge uncharitably of the spiritual and eternal
state of others, for in so doing we may perhaps condemn those whom God
has accepted, which is a great provocation to him; it is offending his
little ones, and he takes himself to be wronged in all the wrongs that
are done to them.
(2.) He assures them he was angry with them: My wrath is kindled
against thee and thy two friends. God is very angry with those who
despise and reproach their brethren, who triumph over them, and judge
hardly of them, either for their calamities or for their infirmities.
Though they were wise and good men, yet, when they spoke amiss, God was
angry with them and let them know that he was.
(3.) He requires from them a sacrifice, to make atonement for what they
had said amiss. They must bring each of them seven bullocks, and
each of them seven rams, to be offered up to God for a
burnt-offering; for it should seem that, before the law of
Moses, all sacrifices, even those of atonement, were wholly burnt, and
therefore were so called. They thought they had spoken wonderfully
well, and that God was beholden to them for pleading his cause and owed
them a good reward for it; but they are told that, on the contrary, he
is displeased with them, requires from them a sacrifice, and threatens
that, otherwise, he will deal with them after their folly. God is often
angry at that in us which we are ourselves proud of and sees much amiss
in that which we think was done well.
(4.) He orders them to go to Job, and beg of him to offer their
sacrifices, and pray for them, otherwise they should not be accepted.
By this God designed,
[1.] To humble them and lay them low. They thought that they only were
the favourites of Heaven, and that Job had no interest there; but God
gives them to understand that he had a better interest there than they
had, and stood fairer for God’s acceptance than they did. The day may
come when those who despise and censure God’s people will court their
favour, and be made to know that God has loved them,
Rev. iii. 9.
The foolish virgins will beg oil of the wise.
[2.] To oblige them to make their peace with Job, as the condition of
their making their peace with God. If thy brother has aught against
thee (as Job had a great deal against them), first be reconciled
to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. Satisfaction must
first be made for wrong done, according as the nature of the thing
requires, before we can hope to obtain from God the forgiveness of sin.
See how thoroughly God espoused the cause of his servant Job and
engaged in it. God will not be reconciled to those that have offended
Job till they have first begged his pardon and he be reconciled to
them. Job and his friends had differed in their opinion about many
things, and had been too keen in their reflections one upon another,
but now they were to be made friends; in order to that, they are not to
argue the matter over again and try to give it a new turn (that might
be endless), but they must agree in a sacrifice and a prayer, and that
must reconcile them: they must unite in affection and devotion when
they could not concur in the same sentiments. Those who differ in
judgments about minor things are yet one in Christ the great sacrifice,
and meet at the same throne of grace, and therefore ought to love and
bear with one another. Once more, observe, When God was angry with
Job’s friends, he did himself put them in a way to make their peace
with him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but the
reconciliation begins on his.
II. The acquiescence of Job’s friends in this judgment given,
v. 9.
They were good men, and, as soon as they understood what the mind of
the Lord was, they did as he commanded them, and that speedily and
without gainsaying, though it was against the grain to flesh and blood
to court him thus whom they had condemned. Note, Those who would be
reconciled to God must carefully use the prescribed means and methods
of reconciliation. Peace with God is to be had only in his own way and
upon his own terms, and they will never seem hard to those who know how
to value the privilege, but they will be glad of it upon any terms,
though ever so humbling. Job’s friends had all joined in accusing Job,
and now they join in begging his pardon. Those that have sinned
together should repent together. Those that appeal to God, as both Job
and his friends had often done, must resolve to stand by his award,
whether pleasing or unpleasing to their own mind. And those that
conscientiously observe God’s commands need not doubt of his favour:
The Lord also accepted Job, and his friends in answer to his
prayer. It is not said, He accepted them (though that is
implied), but, He accepted Job for them; so he has made us
accepted in the beloved,
Eph. i. 6; Matt. iii. 17.
Job did not insult over his friends upon the testimony God had given
concerning him, and the submission they were obliged to make to him;
but, God being graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled
to them, and then God accepted him. This is that which we should aim
at in all our prayers and services, to be accepted of the Lord; this
must be the summit of our ambition, not to have praise of men, but to
please God.
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10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for
his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had
before.
11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his
sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before,
and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him,
and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought
upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one
an earring of gold.
12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his
beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand
camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of
the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.
15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the
daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among
their brethren.
16 After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his
sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
You have heard of the patience of Job (says the apostle,
and have seen the end of the Lord, that is, what end the Lord,
at length, put to his troubles. In the beginning of this book we had
Job’s patience under his troubles, for an example; here, in the close,
for our encouragement to follow that example, we have the happy issue
of his troubles and the prosperous condition to which he was restored
after them, which confirms us in counting those happy which endure.
Perhaps, too, the extraordinary prosperity which Job was crowned with
after his afflictions was intended to be to us Christians a type and
figure of the glory and happiness of heaven, which the afflictions of
this present time are working for us, and in which they will issue at
last; this will be more than double to all the delights and
satisfactions we now enjoy, as Job’s after-prosperity was to his
former, though then he was the greatest of all the men of the east. He
that rightly endures temptation, when he is tried, shall receive a
crown of life
(Jam. i. 12),
as Job, when he was tried, received all the wealth, and honour, and
comfort, which here we have an account of.
I. God returned in ways of mercy to him; and his thoughts concerning
him were thoughts of good and not of evil, to give the expected
(nay, the unexpected) end,
Jer. xxix. 11.
His troubles began in Satan’s malice, which God restrained; his
restoration began in God’s mercy, which Satan could not oppose. Job’s
sorest complaint, and indeed the sorrowful accent of all his
complaints, on which he laid the greatest emphasis, was that God
appeared against him. But now God plainly appeared for him, and
watched over him to build and to plant, like as he had (at least
in his apprehension) watched over him to pluck up and to throw
down,
Jer. xxxi. 28.
This put a new face upon his affairs immediately, and every thing now
looked as pleasing and promising as before it had looked gloomy and
frightful.
1. God turned his captivity, that is, he redressed his
grievances and took away all the causes of his complaints; he loosed
him from the bond with which Satan had now, for a great while, bound
him, and delivered him out of those cruel hands into which he had
delivered him. We may suppose that now all his bodily pains and
distempers were healed so suddenly and so thoroughly that the cure was
next to miraculous: His flesh became fresher than a child’s, and he
returned to the days of his youth; and, what was more, he felt a
very great alteration in his mind; it was calm and easy, and the tumult
was all over, his disquieting thoughts had all vanished, his fears were
silenced, and the consolations of God were now as much the delight of
his soul as his terrors had been its burden. The tide thus turned, his
troubles began to ebb as fast as they had flowed, just then when he
was praying for his friends, praying over his sacrifice which he
offered for them. Mercy did not return when he was disputing with his
friends, no, not though he had right on his side, but when he was
praying for them; for God is better served and pleased with our warm
devotions than with our warm disputations. When Job completed his
repentance by this instance of his forgiving men their
trespasses, then God completed his remission by turning his
captivity. Note, We are really doing our business when we are praying
for our friends, if we pray in a right manner, for in those prayers
there is not only faith, but love. Christ has taught us to pray with
and for others in teaching us to say, Our Father; and, in
seeking mercy for others, we may find mercy ourselves. Our Lord Jesus
has his exaltation and dominion there, where he ever lives making
intercession. Some, by the turning of Job’s captivity, understand
the restitution which the Sabeans and Chaldeans made of the cattle
which they had taken from him, God wonderfully inclining them to do it;
and with these he began the world again. Probably it was so; those
spoilers had swallowed down his riches, but they were forced to
vomit them up again,
ch. xx. 15.
But I rather understand this more generally of the turn now given.
2. God doubled his possessions: Also the Lord gave Job twice as much
as he had before. It is probable that he did at first, in some way
or other, intimate to him that it was his gracious purpose, by degrees,
in due time to bring him to such a height of prosperity that he should
have twice as much as ever he had, for the encouraging of his hope and
the quickening of his industry, and that it might appear that this
wonderful increase was a special token of God’s favour. And it may be
considered as intended,
(1.) To balance his losses. He suffered for the glory of God, and
therefore God made it up to him with advantage, and allowed him more
than interest upon interest. God will take care that none shall lose by
him.
(2.) To recompense his patience and his confidence in God, which
(notwithstanding the workings of corruption) he did not cast away, but
still held fast, and that is it which has a great recompence of
reward,
Heb. x. 35.
Job’s friends had often put their severe censure of Job upon this
issue, If thou wert pure and upright, surely now he would awake for
thee,
ch. viii. 6.
But he does not awake for thee; therefore thou art not upright. “Well,”
says God, “though your argument be not conclusive, I will even by that
demonstrate the integrity of my servant Job; his latter end shall
greatly increase, and by that it shall appear, since you will have it
so, that it was not for any injustice in his hands that he suffered the
loss of all things.” Now it appeared that Job had reason to bless God
for taking away (as he did,
since it made so good a return.
II. His old acquaintance, neighbours, and relations, were very kind to
him,
They had been estranged from him, and this was not the least of the
grievances of his afflicted state; he bitterly complained of their
unkindness,
&c. But now they visited him with all possible expressions of affection
and respect.
1. They put honour upon him, in coming to dine with him as formerly,
but (we may suppose) privately bringing their entertainment along with
them, so that he had the reputation of feasting them without the
expense.
2. They sympathized with him, and showed a tender concern for him, such
as becomes brethren. They bemoaned him when they talked over all the
calamities of his afflicted state, and comforted him when they took
notice of God’s gracious returns to him. They wept for his griefs, and
rejoiced in his joys, and proved not such miserable comforters as his
three friends, that, at first, were so forward and officious to attend
him. These were not such great men nor such learned and eloquent men as
those, but they proved much more skilful and kind in comforting Job.
God sometimes chooses the foolish and weak things of the world, as for
conviction, so for comfort.
3. They made a collection among them for the repair of his losses and
the setting of him up again. They did not think it enough to say, Be
warmed, Be filled, but gave him such things as would be of use to
him,
Every one gave him a piece of money (some more, it is likely,
and some less, according to their ability) and every one an ear-ring
of gold (an ornament much used by the children of the east), which
would be as good as money to him: this was a superfluity which they
could well spare, and the rule is, That our abundance must be a supply
to our brethren’s necessity. But why did Job’s relations now, at
length, show this kindness to him?
(1.) God put it in their hearts to do so; and every creature is that to
us which he makes it to be. Job had acknowledged God in their
estrangement from him, for which he now rewarded him in turning them to
him again.
(2.) Perhaps some of them withdrew from him because they thought him a
hypocrite, but, now that his integrity was made manifest, they returned
to him and to communion with him again. When God was friendly to him
they were all willing to be friendly too,
Others of them, it may be, withdrew because he was poor, and sore, and
a rueful spectacle, but now that he began to recover they were willing
to renew their acquaintance with him. Swallow-friends, that are gone
in winter, will return in the spring, though their friendship is of
little value.
(3.) Perhaps the rebuke which God had given to Eliphaz and the other
two for their unkindness to Job awakened the rest of his friends to
return to their duty. Reproofs to others we should thus take as
admonitions and instructions to us.
4. Job prayed for his friends, and then they flocked about him,
overcome by his kindness, and every one desiring an interest in his
prayers. The more we pray for our friends and relations the more
comfort we may expect in them.
III. His estate strangely increased, by the blessing of God upon the
little that his friends gave him. He thankfully received their
courtesy, and did not think it below him to have his estate repaired by
contributions. He did not, on the one hand, urge his friends to raise
money for him; he acquits himself from that
(ch. vi. 22),
Did I say, Bring unto me or give me a reward of your substance?
Yet what they brought he thankfully accepted, and did not upbraid them
with their former unkindnesses, nor ask them why they did not do this
sooner. He was neither so covetous and griping as to ask their charity,
nor so proud and ill-natured as to refuse it when they offered it; and,
being in so good a temper, God gave him that which was far better than
their money and ear-rings, and that was his blessing,
The Lord comforted him now according to the days wherein he had
afflicted him, and blessed his latter end more than his
beginning. Observe,
1. The blessing of the Lord makes rich; it is he that gives us
power to get wealth and gives success in honest endeavours. Those
therefore that would thrive must have an eye to God’s blessing, and
never to out of it, no, not into the warm sun; and those that have
thriven must not sacrifice to their own net, but acknowledge their
obligations to God for his blessing.
2. That blessing can make very rich and sometimes makes good people so.
Those that become rich by getting think they can easily make themselves
very rich by saving; but, as those that have little must depend upon
God to make it much, so those that have much must depend upon God to
make it more and to double it; else you have sown much and bring in
little,
Hag. i. 6.
3. The last days of a good man sometimes prove his best days, his last
works his best works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his
path, like that of the morning-light, shines more and more to the
perfect day. Of a wicked man it is said, His last state is worse
than his first
(Luke xi. 26),
but of the upright man, His end is peace; and sometimes the
nearer it is the clearer are the views of it. In respect of outward
prosperity God is pleased sometimes to make the latter end of a good
man’s life more comfortable than the former part of it has been, and
strangely to outdo the expectations of his afflicted people, who
thought they should never live to see better days, that we may not
despair even in the depths of adversity. We know not what good times we
may yet be reserved for in our latter end. Non, si male nunc, et
olim sic erit–It may yet be well with us, though now it is
otherwise. Job, in his affliction, had wished to be as in months
past, as rich as he had been before, and quite despaired of that;
but God is often better to us than our own fears, nay, than our own
wishes, for Job’s possessions were doubled to him; the number of his
cattle, his sheep and camels, his oxen and she-asses, is just double
here to what it was,
This is a remarkable instance of the extent of the divine providence to
things that seem minute, as this of the exact number of a man’s cattle,
as also of the harmony of providence, and the reference of one event to
another; for known unto God are all his works, from the beginning to
the end. Job’s other possessions, no doubt, were increased in
proportion to his cattle, lands, money, servants, &c. So that if,
before, he was the greatest of all the men of the east, what was he
now?
IV. His family was built up again, and he had great comfort in his
children,
The last of his afflictions that are recorded
(ch. i.),
and the most grievous, was the death of all his children at once. His
friends upbraided him with it
(ch. viii. 4),
but God repaired even that breach in process of time, either by the
same wife, or, she being dead, by another.
1. The number of his children was the same as before, seven sons and
three daughters. Some give this reason why they were not doubled as
his cattle were, because his children that were dead were not lost, but
gone before to a better world; and therefore, if he have but the same
number of them, they may be reckoned doubled, for he has two fleeces of
children (as I may say) mahanaim–two hosts, one in heaven, the
other on earth, and in both he is rich.
2. The names of his daughters are here registered
(v. 14),
because, in the significations of them, they seemed designed to
perpetuate the remembrance of God’s great goodness to him in the
surprising change of his condition. He called the first Jemima–The
day (whence perhaps Diana had her name), because of the
shining forth of his prosperity after a dark night of affliction. The
next Kezia, a spice of a very fragrant smell, because (says
bishop Patrick) God had healed his ulcers, the smell of which was
offensive. The third Keren-happuch (that is Plenty
restored, or A horn of paint), because (says he) God had
wiped away the tears which fouled his face,
Concerning these daughters we are here told,
(1.) That God adorned them with great beauty, no women so fair as
the daughters of Job,
v. 15.
In the Old Testament we often find women praised for their beauty, as
Sarah, Rebekah, and many others; but we never find any women in the New
Testament whose beauty is in the least taken notice of, no, not the
virgin Mary herself, because the beauty of holiness is that which is
brought to a much clearer light by the gospel.
(2.) That their father (God enabling him to do it) supplied them with
great fortunes: He gave them inheritance among their brethren,
and did not turn them off with small portions, as most did. It is
probable that they had some extraordinary personal merit, which Job had
an eye to in the extraordinary favour he showed them. Perhaps they
excelled their brethren in wisdom and piety; and therefore, that they
might continue in his family, to be a stay and blessing to it, he made
them co-heirs with their brethren.
V. His life was long. What age he was when his troubles came we are
nowhere told, but here we are told he lived 140 years, whence some
conjecture that he was 70 when he was in his troubles, and that so his
age was doubled, as his other possessions.
1. He lived to have much of the comfort of this life, for he saw his
posterity to the fourth generation,
Though his children were not doubled to him, yet in his children’s
children (and those are the crown of old men) they were more than
doubled. As God appointed to Adam another seed instead of that which
was slain
(Gen. iv. 25),
so he did to Job with advantage. God has ways to repair the losses and
balance the griefs of those who are written childless, as Job was when
he had buried all his children.
2. He lived till he was satisfied, for he died full of days, satisfied
with living in this world, and willing to leave it; not peevishly so,
as in the days of his affliction, but piously so, and thus, as Eliphaz
had encouraged him to hope, he came to his grave like a shock of
corn in his season.
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