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Job Chapter
Thirty-six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 36
This
chapter
with the following
contains Elihu's fourth and last discourse
the
principal view of which is to vindicate the righteousness of God; which is done
by observing the dealings of God with men in his providence
according to their
different characters
and from the wonderful works wrought by him in a
sovereign manner
and for the benefit of his creatures. This chapter is
introduced with a preface
the design of which is to gain attention
Job 36:1; the
different dealings of God with men are observed
and the different issue of
them
and the different ends answered thereby
Job 36:5; and it is
suggested to Job
that had he attended to the design of the providence he was
under
and had submitted to it patiently
things would have been otherwise with
him; and therefore Elihu proceeds to give him some advice
which
if taken
would be for his own good
and the glory of God
Job 36:16; and
closes the chapter by observing the unsearchable greatness of God
as appears
by the works of nature wrought by him
Job 36:26.
Job 36:1 Elihu
also proceeded and said:
YLT
1And Elihu addeth and saith:
--
Elihu also proceeded
and said. Or "added"F6ויסף "et addidit"
Pagninus
Montanus
Cocceius
Mercerus
Michaelis. what follows to his former discourses; pausing a while to
see whether Job would make any reply to what he had already said; but
perceiving he had no inclination to do it
and having more upon his mind to
deliver
went on with his discourse.
Job 36:2 2 “Bear with me a little
and I will show you That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.
YLT
2Honour me a little
and I
shew thee
That yet for God [are] words.
Suffer me a little
.... Bear with me a little longer
and allow
me to say a few words more. I have but little more to say
and it will take but
a little time to say it in; thus
proposing brevity
he hoped to be heard with
patience
since he should not long trespass upon it. The word used has the
signification of a crown; but not to be understood in the sense of surrounding
as a crown surrounds the head
as some
who interpret it
stand about me
surround me
in order to hear; for this cannot with propriety be said to a single
person; but rather in the sense of doing honour
as Aben Ezra; and so the
meaning may be
do me the honour of giving; me thy presence a little longer
and hearing me out patiently;
and I will show thee: make things clear
manifest
and plain to thee: clearness of expression
with brevity
recommends
a discourse. Something may be here supplied; for a greater stop is here to be
made than in our version
as either "my opinion"
as in Job 32:10; his
sentiment concerning God and his righteousness in his dealings with the sons of
men; or "truth"
as Ben Gersom; truth in general
plain naked truth
without any colouring
just as it is
cordially
sincerely
in love
and by
clear manifestations of it; and particularly the truth of the righteousness of
God in all his ways and works. He proposed to make it clear to him that God did
all things well and right
and to lay before him in the plainest manner what
were the ends God had in view in dealing thus with Job
and what was his duty
to do in his present circumstances;
that I have yet to speak in God's behalf: or "for
I have yet to speak"F7כי
"quia"
Pagninus
Montanus; "nam"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator.
&c. Elihu had said much for God already
in vindication of his
sovereignty
purity
holiness
and justice
and he had yet more to say; out of
the abundance of his heart his mouth spake for God; he set out with this
that
he was full of matter
and wanted to vent himself
that he might be eased
Job 32:18; and he
had vented much
but he had yet more to deliver; and since it was not for
himself
in his own behalf
nor of any other but God
he hoped he should be
heard: it may be rendered
"for yet God has words"F8עוד לאלוה מלים
"adhue Deo sermones"
Montanus; "habit enim Deus adhue quod
dicet"
Castalio; so some in Michaelis.
to put into my mouth
and speak
by me; signifying
that he had spoken by him already
and had still more to say
by him; and since it was not so much he that spoke
as God that spoke in him
and by him
it might be expected he would be heard.
Job 36:3 3 I will fetch my knowledge
from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
YLT
3I lift up my knowledge from
afar
And to my Maker I ascribe righteousness.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar
.... Not from himself;
for it is but a small share of knowledge that a man gets of himself
or attains
to by the light of nature
and especially concerning God and divine things; but
from others
either from persons that lived in former ages
and in foreign
countries; it being usual for men desirous of acquiring knowledge to travel
into distant parts for it; and such were generally much esteemed of
and the
knowledge they professed to have got and published; as the queen of Sheba came
from the further parts of the earth to hear and learn the wisdom of Solomon
1 Kings 10:1
or
rather the sense is
he would fetch the knowledge he should now communicate
concerning God from God himself
from the nature and perfections of God
who
and his knowledge
are high as heaven; and from the works of God
which are far
above men; or should treat of things deep and sublime
and not common; though
perhaps it is best of all to read the words
"I will bring forth knowledge
concerning"
or "with respect to him that is afar off"F9למרחוק "ei
vel de eo qui est longinquus"; so
Aben Ezra
Bar Tzemach. ; that is
God
who is in the highest heavens
and
inhabits the high and holy place; a God both at hand and afar off; with which
agrees what follows; though some interpret it of lifting it up
and causing it
to be heard afar off so some
as Aben Ezra;
and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker: God is the
Maker of all men; Elihu considered him as his Maker with gratitude
while many
have no regard of him
Job 35:10; and
therefore thought himself obliged to speak for him
and on his behalf; and
particularly in vindication of his righteousness; assert this to be an
essential attribute and perfection of his nature; own
acknowledge
publish
and declare it; give him the glory of it
and demonstrate that he is righteous
in all his ways and works; and clear him from all imputation of
unrighteousness.
Job 36:4 4 For truly my words are
not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
YLT
4For
truly
my words [are]
not false
The perfect in knowledge [is] with thee.
For truly my words shall not be false
.... But
strictly true; he would take the utmost care to say nothing but the truth
with
the greatest impartiality and sincerity
so that what was said might be
depended upon; truth spoken briefly
clearly
and on so important a subject as
the righteousness of God
deserved attention;
he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee; meaning
either God
whose knowledge is perfect
who knows all persons and things; knows
himself
his nature
persons
and perfections; his thoughts
counsels
and
purposes; all his creatures
angels and men; the hearts of all men
their
thoughts
words
and works; he
the omniscient and omnipresent God was with
Job
from whose presence there is no fleeing; and therefore it became him to be
careful of his thoughts
words
and actions; that he did not entertain any
unbecoming thoughts of God
and say anything unworthy of him
or do anything
that tended to his dishonour; since he was present with him
and nothing could
escape his notice: or else Elihu means himself; suggesting
that he who
undertook to speak for God and plead his cause
and clear him from the charge
of unrighteousness
was no novice
but one that thoroughly understood the point
in hand; and though no man is perfect in knowledge in an absolute sense
yet
may be in comparison of others; or however may be upright and sincere in his
knowledge; which sense the word used often has; and so it may signify
that as
he was a sincere searcher after knowledge
and had through divine goodness
attained to a competent share of it
even of sound and not superficial
knowledge
he should be honest and upright in the communication of it; and this
he might choose to observe the more
to excite the attention of Job to what he
had to say; though it may be the truest reading of the words is
"perfect
knowledge" or "perfection of knowledge is with thee"F11תמים רעות עמך
"scientiae perfectae tecum"; so some in Bar Tzemach.
that is
in
his own apprehension
so Jarchi; and may be understood either ironically
or
rather really
insinuating that Job was a man of such consummate wisdom and
knowledge
that he would easily see the force of his reasonings
and the
justness of them
and acquiesce in them; and having thus prefaced his
discourse
he next enters upon his subject.
Job 36:5 5 “Behold
God is
mighty
but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
YLT
5Lo
God [is] mighty
and
despiseth not
Mighty [in] power [and] heart.
Behold
God is mighty
.... This is a clear
plain truth
easy to be discerned
and worthy of notice
and therefore
introduced with a "behold"; that God is mighty
the most mighty
the
Almighty
as appears from his works of nature and providence; making all things
out of nothing
upholding them by the word of his power
and governing and
overruling all things in the world
and doing in it whatever he pleases: and
from the works of redemption and grace; ransoming his people out of the hands
of them that are stronger than they; converting them by the power of his grace;
assisting them to do all they do in a spiritual way; supporting them under all
their troubles; protecting and defending them from all their enemies; supplying
all their wants
and preserving them safe to his kingdom and glory;
and despises not any; not the meanest of his
creatures
clothing the grass of the field
feeding the fowls of the air
and
preserving man and beast; and particularly he despises not any of the sons of
men: not the mighty through fear of them
nor envy at them
whose power and
grandeur are from him
which he gives and can take away at his pleasure; nor
the mean and miserable the poor and the afflicted
to whom he has a merciful
regard; much less the innocent and harmless
as the Septuagint; or the just and
righteous man
as the Targum: he does not despise his own people
whom he has
loved and chosen
redeemed and called; nor any
as Aben Ezra observes
without
a cause; for though there are some whose image he will despise
it is because
of their own sins and transgressions; and since
therefore
though he is
mighty
yet despises not any of his creatures
he cannot do any unrighteous
thing; he does not and cannot use or abuse his power to the in jury of any of
his creatures;
he is mighty in
strength and wisdom
as there is a pleonasm
a redundancy in the
expression
"mighty in strength"
it denotes the abundance of his
strength
that he is exceeding strong
superlatively and all expression so; and
also strong in wisdom
his strength is tempered with wisdom
so that he cannot
employ it to any bad purpose
or be guilty of any unrighteousness. Some men
have strength
but not wisdom to make a right use of it; but God abounds as
much in wisdom as in strength; he is the only wise and the all wise God
and
therefore can do no injustice; and thus Elihu
as he promised
ascribes
righteousness to his almighty Maker.
Job 36:6 6 He does not preserve the
life of the wicked
But gives justice to the oppressed.
YLT
6He reviveth not the wicked
And the judgment of the poor appointeth;
He preserveth not the life of the wicked
.... He makes
a difference between wicked and righteous men
which shows him to be a holy and
righteous God; though he preserves the life of all men so long as they live
yet not in the same way; he preserves the lives of wicked men in the common
course of his providence
but not in a special way and manner
as he does the
lives of the righteous
which are dear and precious to him; nor does he
preserve to any great length such as are notorious sinners
who are guilty of
capital crimes
as murder
&c. their lives are shortened
and they do not
live out half their days: or he does not quicken them
bestow his spiritual
favour upon them
in which only is life; and though they will be quickened and
raised at the last day
as well as the righteous
yet not to the resurrection
of life
but to the resurrection of damnation;
but giveth right to the poor; pleads their cause and
rights their wrongs
administers justice to them
especially to the poor in
spirit
who hunger and thirst after righteousness; to these he gives freely the
righteousness of his son
which only denominates persons truly righteous: of
whom in Job 36:7.
Job 36:7 7 He does not withdraw His
eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings
For He
has seated them forever
And they are exalted.
YLT
7He withdraweth not from the
righteous His eyes
And [from] kings on the throne
And causeth them to sit for
ever
and they are high
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous
.... His eyes
of providence are upon them to supply their temporal wants
and to protect and
defend them from their enemies
and they are never off of them; his eyes of
love
grace
and mercy
are upon them; he always viewed them as righteous in
his Son
and through his righteousness imputed; and looked upon them with
delight and pleasure
and always so views them; they are engraven on his heart
and on his hands
and are ever before him
and in his sight: and his eyes are
upon them from the beginning of the year to the end of it
yea
from one
eternity to another; these were set upon them from everlasting
and are upon
them in time; at the time of their conversion to quicken them
and call them by
his grace; and afterwards they continue upon them under all their afflictions
temptations
and desertions
and ever will remain on them; they will never be
withdrawn
nothing can separate them from the love of God;
but with kings are they on the throne; that is
either the eyes of the Lord are with them
even with righteous kings
as the
Targum; to guide and direct them in the affairs of government
and to protect
and preserve them from the designs of evil men: or the righteous are with kings
on the throne
or are the favourites of kings that are on thrones; are admitted
into their presence
and are highly esteemed by them
and have honour conferred
on them
even to be the next to them in the throne and kingdom
as Joseph and
Daniel
Genesis 41:41
or
rather
the righteous are equal to kings on the throne; they are so accounted
of by the Lord as kings; they are made by him kings and priests
and are
regarded by him as such; they have the power
and riches
and honour of kings;
they have a kingdom of grace bestowed on them now
and a kingdom of glory they
are entitled to hereafter; and shall reign with Christ on earth a thousand
years
and in the ultimate glory to all eternity
Revelation 20:6;
yea
he doth establish them for ever; as righteous
persons in their righteousness
which is an everlasting one; so that they shall
never come into condemnation: they are established in the love of God
in the
covenant of grace
in the hands of Christ
and in a state of grace now
and
shall be in a stable permanent state of happiness to all eternity;
and they are exalted: now
being raised as
beggars from the dung hill to sit among princes
even among the princes of
God's people; and they will be exalted hereafter
and sit at Christ's right
hand
and be introduced into his kingdom
where they will be set down with him
in his throne
and reign with him for ever and ever
Revelation 22:5.
Job 36:8 8 And if they are
bound in fetters
Held in the cords of affliction
YLT
8And if prisoners in fetters
They are captured with cords of affliction
And if they be bound in fetters
.... Not the
wicked
as the Targum
but the righteous spoken of in Job 36:7
with
which this is closely connected; and this is not to be understood of righteous
kings on the throne in particular
or their special favourites
but of the
righteous in general; and not in a literal sense
of their bonds and
imprisonment for religion and righteousness sake
which is sometimes their lot;
but in a figurative sense
of afflictions
as chastenings and corrections for
sin
as appears by the next clause; and the design is to obviate an objection
and to show that the eye of God is upon them
and his heart towards them; and
they are not the less objects of his love and delight
of his value and esteem
care and protection
though they are afflicted by him
and
as it may seem
used with some severity; seeing he has gracious ends and designs in all this
which are suggested in the following verses;
and be holden in cords of
affliction; righteous men are not exempt from afflictions; the afflictions
of the righteous are many
according to divine appointment
the covenant of
grace
the declaration of God
the constant experience of good men
it being
the way in which they are all led
and must enter into the kingdom; and the
metaphor here used shows that afflictions are sometimes heavy upon them
like
fetters and chains
and those made heavy by the hand of God pressing them sore
Lamentations 3:7;
no affliction is joyous
but grievous and heavy in itself; it is indeed
comparatively light when viewed with the weight of glory; and God can make a
heavy affliction light with his presence
and the discoveries of his love; but
they are heavy to the flesh
as Job felt his to be
Job 6:2; and
like
fetters and cords
they cannot free themselves from them
or loose them
until
it is the pleasure of God to take them off; and moreover by these they are
sometimes held and restrained from going into more or greater sins
which is
one use of them: as they are with afflictions hedged about that they cannot
come out
any more than a person bound fast in a prison; so they are hedged up
with thorns that they cannot go out after their lovers
Lamentations 3:7
Hosea 2:6. Some
render the phrase
"cords of poverty"F12בתבלי עני "funibus
paupertatis"
Mercerus
Drusius; "funibus inopiae"
Cocceius. ;
it is oftentimes the case of righteous persons to be poor
and to be sadly
hampered with poverty
and out of which
by all that they can do
cannot
extricate themselves; and sometimes they fall into it
and are held in it
after they have enjoyed much worldly prosperity
which was the case of Job. Mr.
Broughton renders it
cords of anguish; and indeed the word for
"cords" is used of the pains of a woman in travail
who has then
great anguish and trouble; and anguish on various accounts lays hold on the
righteous
and they are holden thereby
and cannot relieve themselves
Psalm 119:143; and
yet this is all in mercy
and to answer some good ends and purposes
as follow.
Job 36:9 9 Then He tells them their
work and their transgressions—That they have acted defiantly.
YLT
9Then He declareth to them
their work
And their transgressions
Because they have become mighty
Then he showeth them their work
.... Either what they
ought to do
so the Tigurine version; and which they have not done
their sins
of omission; when they have been negligent either of the duty of prayer in
private and public
or of attendance on the ordinances of the house of God;
then he sends an affliction
and by it
as in a glass
presents to their view
the omissions they have been guilty of: or else the work which they have done
and should not have done
their sins of commission: sin is a work at which some
toil and labour
and weary themselves to commit; it is a work of the flesh; and
so it is in good men; it is a man's own work
and which he can work of himself;
to have a will
and to do good works
is owing to God working in his people
and it is through him strengthening them they do them; but sin fill works are
their own act and deed
though tempted to them by others
and which they are
able to do of their own freewill and power. Now God
in the glass of affliction
holds forth to view the sinful actions of good men
and brings them to their
remembrance which they had forgotten; as the cases of Joseph's brethren
David
and others
prove: the Lord shows them that they have done such actions
and
shows them the evil of them
how exceeding sinful they are; and humbles them
under a sense of them
and brings them to repentance for them
and the
acknowledgment of them; which sense is confirmed by the next clause
which
explains what this their work is
and their transgressions that they have exceeded. Sin is a
transgression of the law
1 John 3:4; every
sin
greater or lesser
is
and even righteous persons are guilty of many; for
there is not a just man that sinneth not; and these exceed the bounds set by
the righteous law of God
and many of them are sadly aggravated by the light
and knowledge
grace and mercy
such have been favoured with; and some of them
they are suffered to fall into
are exceeding great and exceeding sinful; such
as those of David
Peter
and others; all which they are made to see
bewail
and weep over
when God by afflictions brings them to a sense of them. Or
"when" or "because they have prevailed"F13כי יתגברו "quum
invalescunt"
Mercerus; "quum invaluerunt"
Munster
Piscator;
so Drusius
Panginus
Bolducius. ; or begin to prevail: as soon as ever
indwelling sin begins to be prevalent
the Lord is pleased to take measures to
nip it in the bud
by sending a sharp and severe affliction; or when it has
prevailed greatly
as sometimes it does
so that good is hindered from being
done
and much evil is committed
then the soul is so much under the power of
it
as to be carried captive with it; see Romans 7:23. Or
"because they are become proud"
or "behaved themselves
proudly"F14"Quia superbierunt"
Tigurine version; so
Cocceius
Michaelis
Schultens. ; and therefore he afflicts them to humble
them
and drive pride from them.
Job 36:10 10 He also opens their ear to
instruction
And commands that they turn from iniquity.
YLT
10And He uncovereth their ear
for instruction
And saith that they turn back from iniquity.
He openeth also their ear to discipline
.... Or
"to correction"F15למוסר "ad
correptionem"
Montanus; "ad correctionem"
Beza
Michaelis
Schultens. ; to the rod of correction; to hear the voice of it and him that has
appointed it; its reproving voice for sin
its directing voice to duty
and its
commanding voice to return from iniquity
as in the next clause. Or "to
instruction"F16"Ad eruditionem"
Cocceius. ; God's
corrections of his people being instructions to them
whereby they learn more
of their duty
and of the rich experiences of grace; their faith
hope
love
and patience
are tried and increased hereby; and more of the love of God
of
his care and faithfulness
of his covenant
of his gracious presence
and
communion with God
what it is; and even of the doctrines of the everlasting
Gospel: sometimes more is learned by an affliction than by a sermon. Now in
order to hearken hereunto
to the voice of God in an affliction
the ear must
be opened; which is first done in conversion by the mighty power of God: but
sometimes good men fall asleep
and are inattentive to divine things; and this
is one way God takes to awaken them
to arouse their attention; he speaks to
them out of a whirlwind; he sends some terrible startling affliction
which
fetches them out of their slumber
and so their ears are opened to hear what he
says in it: at the noise of his waterspouts
and his billows one after another
rolling over them
they are awakened to a sense of their sin and duty
Psalm 42:7;
and commandeth that they return from iniquity; repent of
their sin
turn from it and forsake it: such a strong voice has an affliction
in it
when sanctified and attended with the spirit and power of God; then it
effectually teaches men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts
as the word of
God
the Gospel of the grace of God does
when accompanied with the same; as
there is a commanding voice in the one
so there is in the other; and happy it
is when such ends as these are answered by afflictions.
Job 36:11 11 If they obey and serve Him
They shall spend their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasures.
YLT
11If they do hear and serve
They complete their days in good
And their years in pleasantness.
If they obey and serve him
.... That is
God
to
whom so many things are ascribed in the preceding verses; and who only is to be
obeyed and served in a religious way
with the obedience of faith and love
in
all his commands and ordinances. But here not so much obedience to his word
his law or Gospel
as to his rod is intended: "if they hear"
&c.F17אם ישמעו ויעכדו
"si audierint et fecerint"
Codurcus. ; hear the rod and him that has
appointed it; hearken to his reproving
instructing
and commanding voice
in
affliction; to his calls
cautions
and admonitions thereby given; and act
according to them; humble themselves under the mighty hand of God
and return
from iniquity:
they shall spend their days in prosperity
and their years in
pleasures; which intimates
that those to whom afflictions are sanctified
and they obedient under them
when recovered out of them shall enjoy long life;
not only live many days
but years
and those in great prosperity and pleasure;
be blessed with much temporal prosperity
which lies in riches and wealth
as
this word is rendered in Job 21:13; and in
bodily health
which is a considerable part of outward prosperity; but more
especially prosperity of soul may be intended
see 3 John 1:2; which
is enjoyed when a man is favoured with the discoveries of the love of God to
him; with applications of pardoning grace and mercy; when grace is in lively
exercise in him
and he has a spiritual appetite for the good word of God
and
is fruitful in every good work: and so pleasures do not so much design
corporeal pleasures
though ever so innocent and lawful; for though they may at
proper times be indulged unto
yet a man's days and years are not to be spent
in them; but rather spiritual pleasures
which are had in views of the
wonderful love of God in Christ; in the enjoyment of the gracious presence of
God
and communion with him; and which the people of God are favoured with
in
his house and ordinances
ways and worship: and when those years are gone
endless pleasures at God's right hand
and in his presence
will follow.
Job 36:12 12 But if they do not obey
They
shall perish by the sword
And they shall die without knowledge.[a]
YLT
12And if they do not hearken
By the dart they pass away
And expire without knowledge.
But if they obey not
.... Who seem to be
righteous and are not; and when afflicted are not submissive to the will of
God; attend not to the voice of his providence; receive no instruction thereby;
but kick against the pricks
and rebel
against God; complain of him
and
murmur at his dealings with them:
they shall perish by the sword; or they shall pass away
out of the world by it
or by some missive weapon: they shall die a violent
death
by the sword of justice
of the civil magistrate
or by the sword of
men; or
as a Jewish commentatorF18R. Simeon
Bar Tzemach.
paraphrases it
by the dart of death
by the sword of Satan
they shall pass
out of this world;
and they shall die without knowledge; without
knowledge of their death being near
it coming upon them suddenly and at
unawares; or without knowledge of themselves and of their miserable and lost
estate; and without knowledge of Christ
and of God in Christ
and of the way
of salvation by him. Or they shall perish for lack of knowledge; because they
have none; through ignorance and that affected; they know not nor will they
understand
but despise the means of knowledge
and hate instruction.
Job 36:13 13 “But the hypocrites in
heart store up wrath; They do not cry for help when He binds them.
YLT
13And the profane in heart
set the face
They cry not when He hath bound them.
But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath
.... Or
"and the hypocrites"F19וחנפי
"et hypocritae"
Montanus; "et loripedes"
Schultens. ; for
these are the same with the disobedient in Job 36:12; who seem
to be righteous
but are not; pretend to what they have not; have a double
heart
Psalm 12:2
or say
one thing with their mouth
and mean another thing in their hearts; or with
their mouths draw nigh to God
but their hearts are far from him
Matthew 15:8; and
so hypocrites
at least outwardly righteous before men
but inwardly full of
wickedness
as the Pharisees were
whom our Lord often calls hypocrites
Matthew 15:7
these
"put" or add wrath
as Aben Ezra interprets it; they increase the
wrath of God; or
as we express it
heap up wrath; or
to use the apostle's
phrase
treasure up wrath against the day of wrath: though some understand it
of the wrath of the hypocrites against God for afflicting them; so Jarchi. When
afflictions come upon them
they reproach and blaspheme; they are angry with
God and are wrathful
and quarrel at his dealings with them: "they put the
nose"F20ושימו אף
"ponent nasum"
Montanus; "ponunt nasum". Schultens. ; so
it may be literally rendered; they erect that against God
and point it at him
in a proud
haughty
wrathful
and contumacious manner;
they cry not when he bindeth them; in fetters and cords of
affliction
Job 36:8; or when
he corrects them
as Mr. Broughton rightly as to the sense renders it: they
pray not
as Ben Gersom interprets it; whereas sanctified afflictions bring
good men to the throne of grace
who have been too long absent from it: but
these men cry not unto God for grace and mercy
help
assistance
and
deliverance; they cry out against God
but not unto him.
Job 36:14 14 They die in youth
And
their life ends among the perverted persons.[b]
YLT
14Their soul dieth in youth
And their life among the defiled.
They die in youth
.... They
or "their soul"F21נפשם "anima eorum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Tigurine
version
Vatablus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
&c. ; which
though
that dies not
being immaterial and immortal; yet being the principal part of
man
is put for the whole person
and which being taken away
the body dies.
All men must die
but all do not die at an age; there is a common term of human
life
Psalm 90:10; some
few exceed it
multitudes arrive not to it; such who die before it may be said
to die in youth; it seems to signify premature and untimely death: the word
signifies an "excussion"
or violent shaking out; and the Vulgate
Latin version is
"in a tempest"; in a tempest of divine wrath
and
in a storm in their consciences
Job 27:20. Jarchi
interprets it by suffocation or strangling;
and their life is among the unclean: all men are
by nature unclean
and all that is in them; some are more notoriously and
openly so than others
who give themselves over to lasciviousness
to work all
uncleanness with greediness; such as whoremongers and fornicators
of whom Mr.
Broughton understands those unclean persons; or Sodomites
of whom the word is
sometimes used
Deuteronomy 23:17.
And this may be understood either of the present life of hypocrites before they
die; who are unclean persons themselves
whatever show of purity they make
and
love to live and converse
at least privately
if not openly
with unclean
persons
and die while they live with such and in their sins: or of their life
after death; for wicked men live after death; their souls live in hell
and
their bodies at the resurrection will be raised to life
and be reunited to
their souls
and both together will live in endless punishment; and the life of
hypocrites will be among such; as is a man in life
so he is at and after
death; if filthy
filthy still; and such will have no admittance into the
heavenly state
and with such impure ones
hypocrites will live for ever
Revelation 21:8.
Job 36:15 15 He delivers the poor in
their affliction
And opens their ears in oppression.
YLT
15He draweth out the
afflicted in his affliction
And uncovereth in oppression their ear.
He delivereth the poor in his affliction
.... The
righteous or godly poor; who are not only poor in worldly things
but poor in
spirit; who are humbled
brought low
and made contrite
through the afflicting
hand of God: these
though the Lord does sooner or later deliver
"out" of their afflictions
yet that is not intended here
but a
deliverance "in" them; which is done by supporting them under them
by supplying them with his grace to bear them patiently
by granting them his
gracious presence for their comfort in them
by stilling the enemy and the
avenger
keeping Satan from disturbing them
and freeing them from doubts and
fears and unbelief
and by drawing their hearts and affections off of the
world
and the things of it
to himself;
and openeth their ears in oppression; while they
are oppressed; not only to discipline
correction
and instruction
Job 36:10; but to
hear comfortable words spoken
to them by the Lord; who
in the midst of their
affliction and oppression
whispers in their ears
and tells them how he loves
them
though they are rebuked and chastened by him; how he has chosen them to
everlasting life and happiness
though now in the furnace of affliction; that
he is their covenant God and Father
and knows and owns their souls in
adversity that he has pardoned all their sins
though he takes vengeance on
their inventions; and in a little time will free them from all their
afflictions and oppressions.
Job 36:16 16 “Indeed He would have brought
you out of dire distress
Into a broad place where there is no
restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness.
YLT
16And also He moved thee from
a strait place
[To] a broad place -- no straitness under it
And the sitting
beyond of thy table Hath been full of fatness.
Even so
.... Here Elihu accommodates what he had said to the case of Job;
that had he hearkened and been obedient to the voice of God in his rod
and had
submitted to his chastening hand
and patiently bore his afflictions;
he
God
would have removed thee out of the strait into a broad
place
where there is no straitness: that is
out of the
strait circumstances in which he was
into liberty; would have brought him into
a large place
where he might walk at liberty
as David experienced
Psalm 4:1; and may
be understood both in a temporal and spiritual sense. In a temporal sense; he
was now in great straits
in poverty and affliction; these pressed him hard on
every side
so that his way
as he says
was "fenced up
that he could not
pass"
Job 19:8. Now had
he been rightly humbled under his affliction
God would have taken him out of
the straits of adversity
and set his feet in a large room of prosperity; see Psalm 31:7. In a
spiritual sense; persons are as in a strait place and pent up
when they cannot
come forth in the free exercise of grace and duty; their souls are as it were
in prison
they are shut up
and have not freedom with God nor man; their faith
is ready to fail
their hope is sunk very low
they are straitened in their own
bowels or affections
in their love to God and his people: and then they are
removed into a large place
when it is the reverse with them; when they are
favoured with the free spirit of the Lord
for where he is there is liberty;
and when their hearts are enlarged with the love of God
and in the exercise of
grace; and then they can run cheerfully the ways of his commandments;
and that which should be set on thy table should be full of
fatness; which in a temporal sense denotes
that he should have had a
plentiful table
spread with the best of provisions
the richest dainties
the
finest of the wheat
and the fattest of the creatures; and these should rest
and remain upon his table
or be constantly renewed there: and in a spiritual
sense
that his soul should have been satisfied with the love of God
shed
abroad in his heart; with the blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace
applied unto him; and with the goodness of the house of God
his word and
ordinances
as with marrow and fatness; see Psalm 63:5.
Job 36:17 17 But you are filled with
the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.
YLT
17And the judgment of the
wicked thou hast fulfilled
Judgment and justice are upheld -- because of fury
But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked
.... SomeF23Schmidt
Michaelis. take this to be a continuation of the happiness Job would have enjoyed
had he behaved in his affliction as he ought to have done; then he would have
been filled to satisfaction
by seeing the judgments of God exercised on wicked
men
as on the Chaldeans and Sabeans
who had injured him: "and judgment
and justice would have upheld thee"; when they should be cast down. But
these words rather seem to be expressive of his present state
and the reason
of it
he not being sufficiently humbled: and the sense is
not that he had
lived a vicious course of life
as the wicked do
and filled up the measure of
his wickedness as they; and so deserved to be filled with the like judgments as
inflicted on them. Mr. Broughton reads the words
"as
thou hast fulfilled the sentence of the wicked
sentence and judgment have laid
hold:'
but
rather the meaning is
that he had "fulfilled the contention of the
wicked"F24ירין רשע
מלאת "et litem improbi implevisti"
Schultens. ; pleaded as they did
argued with God after their manner: and
therefore is said to go in company and walk with them
and make answers for
them
Job 34:8. Wherefore
justice and judgment take hold on thee; afflictions
in righteousness
or the chastening hand of God
in righteous judgment
had
taken hold upon him
and would hold him until he was sufficiently humbled under
them.
Job 36:18 18 Because there is
wrath
beware lest He take you away with one blow; For a large
ransom would not help you avoid it.
YLT
18Lest He move thee with a
stroke
And the abundance of an atonement turn thee not aside.
Because there is wrath
.... Either wrath in Job
so some; indignation and impatience under the afflicting hand of God
expressed
by cursing the day of his birth
and by his angry pleadings with God: and
therefore Elihu advises him to beware of it
and check this impetuous spirit;
cease from his anger and forsake wrath
and fret not himself to do evil
and
provoke the Lord to take him away at once
and then his case would be
irretrievable. Or rather wrath in God
which is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. His vindictive and punitive
justice
to revenge and punish wickedness
the effects of which are sometimes
awful judgments on men in this life; and eternal vengeance hereafter
called
wrath to come: this is laid up in store with him
and sealed up in his
treasures
prepared in his purposes and decrees
is revealed in his law
and
breaks forth in various instances; see Numbers 16:46. And
there is an appearance of wrath
a little wrath
which is no other than love
displeased
in the afflictions and chastisements of God's people
and might be
perceived by Job: and this being the case
Elihu advises him to
beware; which
though not expressed in the original
is well supplied;
and his meaning is
that he would be cautious of what he said
and not go on to
multiply words against God; speak unbecomingly of him
arraign his justice
and
find fault with his dealings with him; as well as beware of his actions
conduct
and behaviour
that his tongue and his doings be not against the Lord
to provoke the eyes of his glory;
lest he take thee away with his stroke; out of the
world by death
which is the stroke of his hand; and is sometimes given
suddenly
and in an awful manner
in wrath and vengeance. Some render the last
word
"with clapping of hands"F25בשפק
"complosione manuum"
Tigurine version; so some in Munster. ; either
the hands of men
Job 27:23; or of
God; expressing his exultation and pleasure at the death of such a person
laughing at his calamity
and mocking when fear cometh; which is dreadful and
tremendous;
then a great ransom cannot deliver thee: there is no
ransom on earth equal to the life or soul of man; "what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26; see Psalm 49:6. The
great ransom of all is the ransom of Christ
which Elihu had made mention of
before
Job 33:24; and what
else could he have in his mind now? This is the ransom found by infinite
wisdom
which Christ came to give
and has given; and by which he has ransomed
his people from him that is stronger than they
from the bondage of sin
of
Satan
of the world
of hell and death
and everlasting destruction: and this
is a great one
plenteous redemption
a great salvation; the ransomer is the
great God and our Saviour; the ransom price is not corruptible things
as
silver and gold
but the precious blood of Christ
his life
yea
he himself.
How great must this ransom be! and it is given for great sinners
the chief of
them; and is sufficient for all the elect of God
both Jews and Gentiles: and
yet
as great as it is
it is of no avail to one that God has taken away by a
stroke out of this world
and sent to everlasting destruction; not through want
of sufficiency in this ransom
but by reason of the final and unalterable state
of such persons; as
even in the present life
it is of no avail to the deniers
and despisers of it
Hebrews 10:26.
Job 36:19 19 Will your riches
Or all
the mighty forces
Keep you from distress?
YLT
19Doth He value thy riches?
He hath gold
and all the forces of power.
Will he esteem thy riches? no
not gold
nor all the forces
of strength. Riches can be of no account
nor bear any weight with God; for
they are of him and come from him
and what he has a right to take away and
dispose of as he pleases. These cannot ward off the stroke of death
or secure
from it; nor can a man possessed of them carry them with him into the other
world; nor will they profit in the day of wrath. Mr. Broughton renders it
"will he esteem thy nobleness?" so Junius and Tremellius; thy noble
birth
rank and station
thou hast had among men? Not at all. God is no
respecter of persons; he regards not the noble and the rich more than the poor:
and as for gold
the same may be said of that
which
though the most valuable
among men
is of no esteem with God; and besides it is his: "the gold is
mine"
says he
"and the silver is mine"
Haggai 2:8. Nor is
death to be bribed with it
or put off by it; nor is a "munition"F26לא בצר "non
munitionem"
Tigurine version. fortress or castle
as some render the
word
any defence against it: "nor all the forces of strength". Had a
man at his command ever such numerous and powerful armies
they could not
protect him from the stroke of death
or deliver him from eternal punishment
the demerit of sin. Though as Job had no riches
no gold
nor troops of
soldiers about him; nor was there any great likelihood that this would be his
case at death; I should think the words might be better rendered
"will he
regard thy cry? no
not in distress; not even the most strong and
forcible" cries or entreaties: when the stroke of death is given
the
sentence of wrath is passed
and eternal destruction takes place; weeping and
wailing will signify nothing: the cries and howlings of the damned in hell are
of no avail; their strong cryings
and most intense and earnest entreaties
will have no effect on the Lord; though he is a God of great pity and
compassion
and has sympathy with his people in distress
and in all their
afflictions is afflicted; yet will have no regard to cries and tears
when the
decree is gone forth and carried into execution: the verb from whence the first
word is derived is used for "crying" in this chapter
Job 36:13; and the
Targum renders it here by supplication and petition; so some other Jewish
writersF1Vid. Aben Ezra
Bar Tzemach
Sephorno. interpret it of
crying: and the second word is by several rendered "in straits"F2"In
angustia"
Mercerus
Drusius
Piscator; "in arcto"
Cocceius
Schultens. and distress; and Cocceius has observed the notion of intense and
fervent prayer in the third
and renders the whole pretty near to what has been
observedF3"Num aequalis esset imploration tua non in arcto et
omnes contentiones virium"
Cocceius. .
Job 36:20 20 Do not desire the night
When
people are cut off in their place.
YLT
20Desire not the night
For
the going up of peoples in their stead.
Desire not the night
.... Either in a literal
sense
which Job might do; not for secrecy to commit sin
as the thief
murderer
and adulterer do; Elihu had no such suspicion of Job; nor for ease
and rest
which he expected not; nor would his sores admit thereof; his nights
were wearisome
and when come he wished they were gone
Job 7:2; but either
for retirement
that he might muse and consider
and endeavour to search and
find out the reason of God's dealing with men
in cutting off sometimes such
great numbers together. Elihu suggests
that such a search was altogether vain
and to no purpose; he would never be able to find out the reason of these
things: or rather for shelter from the eye and hand of God; as nothing before
mentioned could ward off his stroke
so neither could the night or darkness
preserve from it; see Psalm 139:11. Or
else the words may be taken in a figurative sense; either of the night of
calamity and distress
he might be tempted to desire and wish for
to come upon
his enemies; or rather of the night of death
he wished for himself
as he
often had done; in doing which Elihu suggests he was wrong; not considering
that if God should take him away with a stroke
and he not be humbled and
brought to repentance
what would be the consequence of it;
when people are cut off in their place; as sometimes
they are in the night
literally taken; just in the place where they stood or
lay down
without moving elsewhere
or stirring hand or foot as it were. So
Amraphel
and the kings with him
as Jarchi observes
were cut off in the
night
the firstborn of Egypt
the Midianites and Sennacherib's army
Genesis 14:15; and
so in the night of death
figuratively
the common passage of all men
as Mr.
Broughton observes
who renders the words
"for people's passage to their
place".
Job 36:21 21 Take heed
do not turn to
iniquity
For you have chosen this rather than affliction.
YLT
21Take heed -- do not turn
unto iniquity
For on this thou hast fixed Rather than [on] affliction.
Take heed
regard not iniquity
.... Not any iniquity
as
to show any approbation of it
love for it
and desire after it. All appearance
of sin
of every sin
is to be abstained from; but particularly by the iniquity
here meant may be the sin of impatience under his affliction; murmuring at the
dealings of God with him; arraigning his justice
and saying very indecent
things of him
as in Job 34:5. Or it may
mean the evil he had been guilty of in so earnestly desiring the night of
death:
for this thou hast chosen rather than affliction; chose rather
to die than to be afflicted as he was; or chose rather to complain of God
as
if he dealt hardly with him
and did not do justly by him
than to submit
patiently to the will of God
as he
ought to have done: or this he chose
"through affliction"F4מעני
"prae afflictione"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "prae
miseria ex adflictione"
Michaelis. ; through the force of it
because of
it
and by means thereof; and so is a sort of excuse that Elihu makes for him;
though at the same time he would have him by no means to regard such iniquity
and indulge to it.
Job 36:22 22 “Behold
God is exalted by
His power; Who teaches like Him?
YLT
22Lo
God doth sit on high by
His power
Who [is] like Him -- a teacher?
Behold
God exalteth by his power
.... He exalts himself
or causes himself to be exalted
and even above all the blessing and praise of
his creatures; by his power
in the works of creation and providence
he makes
such a display of his glorious perfections
as to set him on high
and out of
the reach of the highest praises of men. He exalts his Son as Mediator
and has
made him higher than the kings of the earth
1 Timothy 2:5; he
exalts him as a Prince and a Saviour
Acts 5:31
to give
repentance and remission of sins to his people
and to be the Judge of quick
and dead
Acts 10:42. He has
exalted the human nature of Christ to the grace of union to the Son of God: and
exalted him in this nature at his right hand
far above all principality and
power
Ephesians 1:21
he
exalts men in a civil sense
who are in a low estate
and raises them to a very
high one; promotion is alone of him
he sets up and puts down at pleasure. In a
spiritual sense
he exalts men when he brings them out of a state of nature
into an open state of grace; brings them out of the horrible pit
and sets
their feet upon the rock Christ Jesus; takes them as beggars from the dunghill
and places them among princes
even the princes of his people; admits them to
communion with himself
puts and keeps them in his favour
as in a garrison;
and at last causes them to inherit the throne of glory
1 Samuel 2:8. He
exalts men
when he sets the poor on high from affliction
and brings them out
of adversity into prosperity; and which is what may be chiefly intended here;
let a man he brought as low as may
God can by his power
if he will
raise him
up again. And this may be said for the comfort and encouragement of Job
in his
present circumstances: and so Aben Ezra interprets it
"God
will exalt thee;'
as
he afterwards did. The Targum is
"behold
God alone is strong in his might;'
see
Psalm 21:13;
who teacheth like him? He teaches by his
providences
adverse as well as prosperous; he teaches by his word and
ordinances; he teaches by his Spirit and grace
and none teaches like him.
Ministers of the word teach men both doctrine and duty
but not like him; they
have their gifts for teaching
their wisdom and knowledge
their doctrine
and
all the use they are of
from him; none teach so pleasantly
so profitably
so
powerfully and effectually
as he does: the Targum adds
"right
things?'
Job 36:23 23 Who has assigned Him His
way
Or who has said
‘You have done wrong’?
YLT
23Who hath appointed unto Him
his way? And who said
`Thou hast done iniquity?'
Who hath enjoined him his way?.... He teaches men his
own ways
the methods of his grace and mercy towards them; and he prescribes to
them the ways in which they should walk; but none can lead or prescribe to him;
as the way of governing the world
in what manner he should act in it; who has
"taught him in the path of judgment?" or "showed to him the way
of understanding?" Isaiah 40:14; and
particularly whom he should afflict
in what manner he should do it
when and
how long he should continue it; all which he does according to his sovereign
will
and is not to be controlled: and
in a spiritual sense
no man can or
ought to enjoin and prescribe to him whom he should save
and in what way; he
saves whom he pleases
and in his own way
even by his Son Jesus Christ
and no
other; or "who hath visited"
or "should visit on him"
or
"with him his way"F5מי פקד עליו דרכו
"quis visitavit super illum viam ejus"
Montanus
Michaelis;
"cum eo"
Tigurine version. ? who can take upon him to examine into
his ways
and scrutinize them
and call him to an account for what he does? no
man can overlook his ways and works
or censure him for any of his actions:
or
who can say
thou hast wrought iniquity? this may be
said of every man
but it cannot be said of God by any without sin; for
as
there is no iniquity in his nature
there can be none in his works; not any in
his works of providence
no
not in the afflictions of his people; just and
true are all his ways.
Job 36:24 24 “Remember to magnify His
work
Of which men have sung.
YLT
24Remember that thou magnify
His work That men have beheld.
Remember that thou magnify his work
.... Or his works; his works
of creation and providence
which are great in themselves
and declare the
greatness of God; and which
though they cannot be made greater than they are
men may be said to magnify them when they ascribe them to God
and magnify him
on account of them; when they think and speak well of them
and give glory to
God: and particularly by his work may be meant the chastisement of his people
which is a rod in his hand
which he appoints
and with which he smites; it is
his own doing
and he may do what he pleases this way; and it becomes his
people to be still and patient because he does it; and then do they magnify
this work of his
when they bear it patiently
quietly submit to it
and humble
themselves under the mighty hand of God;
which men behold: for the works of God are visible
particularly the works of creation
and the glory of God in them; which men of
wisdom and understanding behold with admiration and praise; and so the Targum
is
"which
righteous men praise;'
and
some derive the word here used from a root which signifies to "sing"
and so may be understood of men's celebrating the works of God in songs of
praise; though his work here may chiefly design the afflictions he lays on his
people
and particularly which he had laid upon Job
which were so visible
and
the hand of God in them was so clearly to be seen
that men easily beheld it
and took notice of it.
Job 36:25 25 Everyone has seen it; Man
looks on it from afar.
YLT
25All men have looked on it
Man looketh attentively from afar.
Verse 25
Every man may see it
.... Not only was to be
seen by the wise and learned
the just and good
but by the common people;
whether it is to be understood of the works of creation
or of the afflictive
providences of God in general
or of Job's afflictions in particular;
man may behold it afar off; as to time
from the
creation of the world to the present time
as Jarchi; or as to place
from the
heaven
so distant
where are the sun
moon
and stars; and which
though so
far off
are easily beheld; or as to the manner of seeing them
not darkly
imperfectly
and in a confused manner
as things at a distance are seen
so
some understand it; but rather clearly and plainly
as things easy to be seen
are clearly discerned at a distance; and it signifies that the work of God here
meant is so visible
that he must be quite blind and stupid that cannot see it;
it may be seen
as it were
with half an eye
and a great way off; he that runs
may see and read.
Job 36:26 26 “Behold
God is
great
and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be
discovered.
YLT
26Lo
God [is] high
And we
know not the number of His years
Yea
there [is] no searching.
Behold
God is great
.... In his power and
might
in his wisdom and knowledge
in his truth and faithfulness
in his love
grace
and mercy
and that to admiration; and it is worthy of notice and
attention
which the word "behold"
prefixed hereunto
is expressive
of: or is "much" or "many"F6שגיא
πολυς
Sept.
"multus"
Mercerus
Drusius. ; as he is in his persons: for though
his essence is one
his persons are more
they are three
Father
Son
and
Spirit; in his perfections
of which there is a fulness; in his thoughts
counsels
purposes? and decrees
which respect other persons and things; in his
works of creation
providence
and grace
and in the blessings of his goodness
which are so many as not to be reckoned up;
and we know him not; God is to be known by
the works of creation
and even by the very Heathen; though such is their
inattention to them
that they are said not to know God; yea
even the wisest
among them
by all their wisdom
knew not God
1 Corinthians 1:21;
for though they might know there was a God
they knew not who and what he was.
God is known by his word among those who are favoured with a divine revelation
of him
and especially by true believers in Christ
who know God in Christ
whom to know is life eternal; and yet these know but in part
there is no
finding out the Almighty to perfection; God is not known clearly
fully
and
perfectly
by any: or "we know it not"; the greatness of God;
he is great
but we know not how great he is; his greatness is beyond all
conception and expression;
neither can the number of his years be searched out; years are
ascribed to God
after the manner of men
otherwise
properly speaking
they
are not applicable to him; by which time is measured
and which belongs not to
the eternal God; however
the number of his years in an eternity past
and of
those to come
cannot be searched out and reckoned up: it requires no great
skill in arithmetic to reckon up the years of the oldest man that ever lived;
yea
the months
the days
the hours
and minutes
of his life may be counted;
but the years of the Most High cannot; this is a phrase expressive of the
eternity of him which is
and was
and is to come
and who from everlasting to
everlasting is God. He was before the world was
as the creation of it out of nothing
shows. Jehovah the Father had a Son
and he loved him before the foundation of
the world
and all his people in him; he made an everlasting choice of them in
him
before the world began; he made an everlasting covenant with them in him
and gave them grace in him as early as that; he set him up as Mediator from
everlasting
from the beginning
or ever the earth was; and will be the
everlasting and unchangeable portion of his people to all eternity. Cocceius
thinks that these words are expressive of the constant love of God to the
church
and the continuance of his kingdom in it; and of his most fixed purpose
of love to men
and indefatigable care of them.
Job 36:27 27 For He draws up drops of
water
Which distill as rain from the mist
YLT
27When He doth diminish
droppings of the waters
They refine rain according to its vapour
For he maketh small the drops of rain
.... Elihu
proceeds to give instances and proofs of the greatness of God
and begins with
rain
as Eliphaz does
Job 5:9; a common
phenomenon
what is very frequent
and well known in all ages and countries
and by all men
more or less; and yet there are some things relative to it
which are beyond the comprehension of men
and show the greatness and
incomprehensibleness of God: and the design of this
and all other instances of
this kind
is to convince Job of his folly in searching out the causes and
reasons of God's works of providence
when the common works of nature lie out
of the reach of men; and to reconcile him to them
and bring him patiently to
submit to the will of God
whose ways are past finding out; and some render the
words
"he restrains the drops of rain"F7יגרע נטפי מים
"aufert stillas pluviae et prohibebit"
Pagninus; so Vatablus
Tigurine version
Targum
& Ben Gersom. ; he withholds it from the earth
which causes a drought
and so brings on a famine; others
"he
subtracts"
or draws out
or draws up
the drops of waterF8"Attrahit"
Codurcus; "subtrahit"
i.e. "a mare"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
Schultens.
which he exhales by the heat of the sun out
of the earth and out of the sea; see Psalm 135:7
Amos 5:8; and which
are drawn up in small particles
but form large bodies of waters in the clouds;
and which are let down again upon the earth in small drops
in an easy and
gentle manner
and so soak into the earth and make it fruitful; which is what
is meant by our version here: this is a wonderful instance of God's power
wisdom
and goodness
and is beyond our comprehension; for no mortal man can
tell how the Almighty parts and divides those large quantities of water in the
clouds
that sometimes hang over our heads
into millions and ten thousand
times ten thousand millions of drops
even innumerable; and causes these waters
in such a manner to descend on the earth; lets them not fall at once
or in
waterspouts
which would wash away the inhabitants of cities and towns
the
cattle of the field
and the produce of the earth
as at the general deluge;
they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: the water
drawn up and formed into large bodies in the heavens
pours down rain in a
gentle and plentiful manner
according to the quantity of vapours exhaled out
of the earth and sea; if a small quantity is drawn up
a small quantity is let
down; and if a large quantity is attracted
a large quantity
or a plentiful
shower
is given: some think that a small rain is meant in the preceding
clause
and a great rain in this; for there is the small rain and the great
rain of his strength
Job 37:6. The word
translated "pour" has the signification of liquefying
melting
and
dissolving
and of purging and purifying; and which is applicable to clouds
which melt and dissolve gradually as they descend in drops upon the earth; and
the water which they let down is of all the most clear and pure
as Galen and
HippocratesF9Apud Pinedam in loc.
those eminent physicians
have
observed; and a late celebrated one tells usF11Boerhaav. Elem. Chem.
p. 600. apud Schultens in loc.
that rain water is so truly distilled by
nature
that the chemist
with all his distilling art
cannot produce purer
water; for
though it is exhaled out of the dirty earth
out of miry places
bogs
and ditches
yet
being bound up in the clouds as in a garment
and
passing through the atmosphere
it comes down to us pure as if it had been
percolated or strained through a linen cloth; and though the water as drawn up
out of the sea is salt
yet carried up into the air
and there
as in an
alembic
distilled
it descends to us sweet and fresh
and has not the least
brackishness in it.
Job 36:28 28 Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.
YLT
28Which clouds do drop
They
distil on man abundantly.
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. Not upon the
persons of men
which they take care as much as possible to shun and avoid
but
upon the fields of men
and so for the profit and advantage of men; and this
denotes both the gentle manner in which the clouds let down rain
and the
liberal profusion of them; they let it down both in an easy and plentiful
manner
and upon an abundance of men
or upon an abundance of fields and lands
belonging to men; though sometimes rain falls upon the wilderness
where no man
is
Job 38:26. The
Targum is
"at
the prayer of a son of a great man
'
or
at the prayer of a man that has great interest with God; that is famous for his
faith and piety
as Elijah was
to whom perhaps the Targumist may have respect.
The rain is an emblem of the word of God
the Gospel of Christ
which drops and
distils on the souls of men like rain
and refreshes them
and makes them
fruitful; and is dispensed by the ministers of it
who are compared to clouds
according to the measure of the gift of grace received by them
and that freely
and fully as they have received it.
Job 36:29 29 Indeed
can anyone
understand the spreading of clouds
The thunder from His canopy?
YLT
29Yea
doth [any] understand
The spreadings out of a cloud? The noises of His tabernacle?
Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds
.... Or
"of a cloud"F12עב
"nubis"
Montanus
Tigurine version
Mercerus
Piscator
Schultens.
a thick cloud
a single one; which sometimes at the beginning is very small
about the size of a man's hand
1 Kings 18:44; and which
in a little time spreads all over the heavens
and covers them with black
clouds and darkness; none can understand
describe
and tell by what means so
small a cloud at first appearance is spread to such a prodigious extent; and
which is done partly for the use of God himself
to be a pavilion or tent
around him
Psalm 18:11; and
partly for the use of men
either to let down ram on the several parts of the
world
or to be a sort of an umbrella to men
to shelter them from scorching
heat; nor can any understand how the clouds
stretched out to such a compass
are poised and balanced in the air
so as to retain their position as long as
it is the pleasure of God; see Job 37:16. Ben
Gersom
who is followed by othersF13מפרשי
"differentias"
Pagninus; "varietates"
Vatablus.
interprets this of the differences of the clouds
which are unaccountable
as
to the form and colour of them being curious
and the matter which they contain
or what issues from them; out of some rain
others hail
others snow and sleet
others wind
others thunder and lightning; and yet all arise from the same
even from vapours exhaled from the earth and sea; some become moist and cold
others hot and dry. As clouds are emblems of Gospel ministers
Isaiah 5:6; this
may lead us to observe the different gifts of grace bestowed on them
and the
different uses they are of; some are Boanergeses
sons of thunder
Mark 3:17; others
Barnabases
sons of consolation
Acts 4:36; and the
extent of the Gospel ministry all over the world
which first began as a small
cloud over the land of Judea
and then was spread throughout the Gentile world;
or the noise of his
tabernacle; the tabernacle of God
which are the clouds
which are laid as
the flooring of his palace
and are drawn about him as a tent or pavilion
Psalm 104:3
where
he sits invisible
and from whence
as a general of an army
he issues out his
orders
and sends forth his artillery
rain
hail
snow
thunder
and
lightning
and stormy wind fulfilling his word; the noise hereof is either the
noise of the waters in the clouds
the sound of an abundance of rain
1 Kings 18:41; or
of the blustering winds
by which the clouds are moved and portend rain; or of
the thunder that bursts out of them with a vehement noise
and which is usually
followed with rain; and the thunder of his power who can understand? Job 26:14. This may
be an emblem of the voice of God in his Gospel out of his tabernacle
the
church
which the natural man understands not; or the voice of God in his
providences
in which he speaks to men once and twice
and they perceive it
not.
Job 36:30 30 Look
He scatters His
light upon it
And covers the depths of the sea.
YLT
30Lo
He hath spread over it
His light
And the roots of the sea He hath covered
Behold
he spreadeth his light upon it
.... Upon his
tabernacle; that is
upon the clouds
which are his tabernacle; either the
light of the sun
whereby the clouds are dispersed and blotted out; an emblem
of the blotting out of sin
or the forgiveness of it
Isaiah 44:22
which
is like a clear shining after rain
2 Samuel 23:4
or
on a thin cloud
whereby the rainbow is formed
an emblem of peace and
reconciliation by Christ; or lightning
which bursting out of the dark cloud is
spread over it
when it seems to be all in flames. Cocceius renders it
"he spreads the light about himself"; God spreads it about himself
clothing himself with light as with a garment
and dwelling in light
inaccessible to men: or he "spreads it upon him"
upon man;
causing his sun to shine on the just and unjust; or on it
the earth; so it was
spread when first commanded to shine out of darkness
with which the earth in
its primeval state was covered; and so it is spread every morning upon the
earth; as soon as day breaks
the morning is spread upon the mountains
and in
a short time it overspreads the whole hemisphere; an emblem this of the spread
of the light of grace over the dark hearts of men
in conversion
which are
like the earth in its chaotic state
or as in the night season covered with
darkness; out of which they are called and brought by the grace of God
having
the true light sprung and placed in their souls; which at first is but
glimmering
and at best imperfect in the present state
yet is spreading and
increasing
Proverbs 4:18; and
of the spread of the great and glorious light of the Gospel in the world
in
the times of the apostles
and as it will be in the latter day glory;
and covereth the bottom of the sea
or "the roots of
the sea"F14שרשי הים
"radices maris"
Pagninus
Montanus
&c. ; though one would think
they should be rather covered with water and with darkness
as they are; see Job 38:8. This is
to be understood either of the light of the sun
and the rays of it
which are
so piercing and penetrating as to reach to the bottom of the sea
and cover it
and exhale waters out of it; or of lightning
which is equally as piercing and
penetrating
or more
and strikes to the very roots of the sea
and covers
them
or rather discovers them
so that the channels of waters are seen
and
the foundations of the world are discovered
Psalm 18:14; the
Targum of this verse is
"he
spreads upon it rain
and covers the rocks or foundations of the sea;'
and
the rain is called light according to Ramban
because by the descent of it the
day is enlightened
and the darkness of the clouds removed; and by this means
the bottom of the sea is covered
so that it passes its bounds and covers the
rocks
that is
the borders of it
as others explain itF15In Bar
Tzemach in loc. .
Job 36:31 31 For by these He judges the
peoples; He gives food in abundance.
YLT
31For by them He doth judge
peoples
He giveth food in abundance.
For by them judgeth he the people
.... That is
by the
clouds; which the Lord uses both in a way of judgment
as expressed in this
clause; and in a way of mercy
as in the following; by these
and what issue
out of them
as rain
hail
winds
thunder
and lightning
he sometimes
punishes the inhabitants of the earth
as he did the old world by a deluge of
water
which came partly from the fountains of the great deep
and partly from
the windows of heaven
which destroyed man and beast
and the increase of the
earth
Genesis 7:11; he
punished the Egyptians by a violent storm of hail
Exodus 9:23; and
slew many of the Canaanites with hailstones
Joshua 10:11;
Pharaoh and his host sunk like lead when he blew with his wind
Exodus 15:10; and
Sodom and Gomorrah
with the cities of the plain
were destroyed with thunder
and lightning
fire and brimstone
from heaven
Genesis 19:24; as
the army of the Philistines were discomfited by thunder in the times of Samuel
1 Samuel 7:10; and
the captains of fifties
with their men
were consumed by lightning in the
times of Elijah
2 Kings 1:14; and
as the heavens and the earth will be burnt with fire at the end of all things
Matthew 13:40
2 Peter 3:12;
he giveth meat in abundance; very plentifully
or to
a multitude of creatures
both men and cattle; who have a liberal supply of
food by means of the clouds and rain
which falling upon the earth make it
fruitful
so that it gives bread to the eater
and seed to the sower; causes
grass to grow up for the beasts of the field
and produces bread corn
oil
and
wine
for the benefit of men; an emblem of the variety and plenty of spiritual
food dispensed to the churches of Christ
through the ministry of the word
and
by the ministers of it.
Job 36:32 32 He covers His hands
with lightning
And commands it to strike.
YLT
32By two palms He hath
covered the light
And layeth a charge over it in meeting
With clouds he covereth the light
.... Either the
lightning
which is hid and covered in the black dark cloud until it bursts out
of it; or the light of the sun
which is wonderful
that waters naturally clear
and transparent
when formed into clouds
should obstruct the rays of the sun
and darken it; see Ezekiel 32:7; and
thus it was in the storm and tempest the Apostle Paul was in many days
which
was so thick and dark
that the sun and stars did not appear of a long time
Acts 27:20;
and commandeth it not to shine
by the cloud that
cometh betwixt; that is
commands the sun that it shines not
or hinders it from
shining
by reason of the intervening clouds; this is an emblem of sin
interposing between God and his people
which causes him to hide his face from
them and not shine upon them: sins are comparable to clouds for numbers
being
more than can be told; and for their nature and quality
like clouds they rise
out of the earthly and carnal heart of man; and which is also like a troubled
sea which cannot rest; and which reach up unto heaven and bring down wrath and
vengeance from thence on wicked men; and in God's own people
like the clouds
they intercept the light of his countenance
the bright shining of the sun of
righteousness
the comfort
peace
and joy of the Holy Spirit: the words may be
rendered
"with hands he covers the light
and commands that it shine
not by reason of what comes between": and they are understood
by some
as by Schmidt particularly
of the eclipses of the sun and moon
when
God as it were covers them with hands
and suffers them not to shine by
intervening bodies; so the eclipse of the sun is occasioned by the moon's
coming between that and the earth
and the eclipse of the moon by the
interposition of the earth between that and the sun; the Targum is
"because
of rapine of hands he restrains rain
and commands it to descend because of him
that prays
'
who
comes between and intercedes for a sinful people
as Elijah did; or
as others
he commands the lightning that it harms not because of him that comes between
and intercedes with his prayers.
Job 36:33 33 His thunder declares it
The
cattle also
concerning the rising storm.
YLT
33He sheweth by it [to] his
friend substance
Anger against perversity.
The noise thereof showeth concerning it
.... The rain
that it is coming; it is a presage and prognostic of it
namely
the noise of
the clouds in the air
the sound of abundance of rain there; or the noise of
the winds
which is often a forerunner of it: or the noise of thunder when rain
frequently follows
Jeremiah 10:13;
the cattle also concerning the vapour; that is
the
cattle likewise show signs of rain
being sensible of the vapours which rise up
out of the earth
and are drawn up into the air and form clouds there; these
through their sharp sight
discern the vapours rising out of the earth insensible
by men; or by their quick smellF16Vid. Democrit. Fragment. &
Rendtorf. Not. in ib. apud Fabritii Bibliothec. Gr. l. 4. c. 29. p. 338
362.
or taste discern them
these leaving some tincture upon the grass they are
feeding on; and which occasion some motions and gestures in them by which
husbandmen
and those that are accustomed to them
know that the rain is at
hand: and there are various things observable in brutes
fowls
and cattle
and
other creatures
which are signs of approaching rain; as the cawing of crows
the croaking of frogs
the flying about of cranes and swallows
the motion of
ants
the retire of cattle to places of shelter
and the like; Aben Ezra
observes that sheep lying on their right side portends rain; the above things
with others are most beautifully expressed by VirgilF17"Aut
illum surgentem vallibus imis"
c. Georgic
l. 1. v. 374
&c. Bacon's
Nat. Hist. cent. 9. p. 208. and which with many others are collected together
by PlinyF18Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 35. Vid. Democrit. Fragm. ut supra
p. 335
358
362
366. ; and though there are various interpretations given of
this passage
this seems to be the most agreeable
and which suits with our
version; unless the following
which I only propose
should be more eligible
"he"
that is
God
"by it"
the rain
"declares his good will" to men
likewise to "the cattle
and
also towards what rises up" out of the earth
the herbs and plants; all
which receive much benefit by the clouds and rain.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)