《The Pulpit Commentaries–Job (Vol. 1)》(Joseph S. Exell)
Contents and the Editors
One of the largest and best-selling homiletical commentary sets of its kind. Directed by editors Joseph Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones, The Pulpit Commentary drew from over 100 authors over a 30 year span to assemble this conservative and trustworthy homiletical commentary set. A favorite of pastors for nearly 100 years, The Pulpit Commentary offers you ideas and insight on "How to Preach It" throughout the entire Bible.
This in-depth commentary brings together three key elements for better preaching:
- Exposition-with thorough verse-by-verse commentary of every verse in the Bible.
- Homiletics-with the "framework" or the "big picture" of the text.
- Homilies-with four to six sermons sample sermons from various authors.
In addition, this set also adds detailed information on biblical customs as well as historical and geographical information, and translations of key Hebrew and Greek words to help you add spice to your sermon.
All in all, The Pulpit Commentary has over 22,000 pages and 95,000 entries from a total of 23 volumes. The go-to commentary for any preacher or teacher of God's Word.
About the Editors
Rev. Joseph S. Exell, M.A., served as the Editor of Clerical World, The Homiletical Quarterly and the Monthly Interpreter. Exell was also the editor for several large commentary sets like The Men of the Bible, The Pulpit Commentary, Preacher's Homiletic Library and The Biblical Illustrator.
Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones was born in London on January 14, 1836. He was educated at Corpus Christi, Cambridge where he received his B.A. in 1864. He was ordered deacon in 1865 and ordained as a priest is the following year. He was professor of English literature and lecturer in Hebrew at St. David's College, Lampeter, Wales from 1865-1870. He was rector of St. Mary-de-Crypt with All Saints and St. Owen, Gloucester from 1870-1877 and principal of Gloucester Theological College 1875-1877. He became vicar and rural dean of St. Pancras, London 1877-1886, and honorary canon since 1875. He was select preacher at Cambridge in 1883,1887,1901, and 1905, and at Oxford in 1892 and 1903. In 1906 he was elected professor of ancient history in the Royal Academy. In theology he is a moderate evangelical. He also edited The Pulpit Commentary (48 vols., London, 1880-97) in collaboration with Rev. J. S. Exell, to which he himself contributed the section on Luke, 2 vols., 1889, and edited and translated the Didache 1885. He passed away in 1917 after authoring numerous individual titles.
00 Introduction
Introduction.
§ 1. ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK
THE Book of Job is a work which divides itself manifestly into sections. These may be made more or fewer, according to the extent to which the work of analysis is carried out. The least critical reader cannot fail to recognize three divisions:
I. An historical prologue, or introduction;
II. A main body of moral and religious discourses, chiefly in the form of dialogue; and
III. An historical conclusion, or epilogue.
Part I and Part III. of this division, being comparatively brief and concise, do not lend themselves very readily to any subdivision; But Part II., which forms the main hulk of the treatise, and extends from the beginning of Job 3. to ver. 6 of Job 42., falls naturally into several very distinct portions. First there is a long dialogue Between Job and three of his friends — Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar — which reaches from Job 3:1 to the end of Job 31., where a marked line is drawn by the insertion of the phrase, "The words of Job are ended." Then follows a harangue by a new speaker, Elihu, which occupies six chapters (Job 32.-37.). Next comes a discourse ascribed to Jehovah himself, which occupies four chapters (Job 38. -41.); and after this there is a short speech by Job (Job 42:1-6), extending to less than half a chapter. Further, the long dialogue Between Job and his three friends resolves itself into three sections — a first dialogue, in which all the four speakers take part, reaching from Job 3:1 to the end of Job 14.; a second dialogue, in which again all the speakers are engaged, extending from Job 15:1 to the end of Job 21.; and a third dialogue, in which Job, Eliphaz, and Bildad take part, reaching from Job 22:1 to the end of Job 31. The scheme of the book may thus be exhibited as follows: —
I. Introductory historical section. Job 1, 2.
II. Moral and religious discourses. Job 3.-42:6.
1. Discourses between Job and his three friends. Job 3-31.
(1) First dialogue. Job 3. - 14.
(2) Second dialogue. Job 15. - 21.
(3) Third dialogue. Job 22. - 31
2. Harangue of Elihu. Job 32. - 37
3. Discourse of Jehovah. Job 38. - 41
4. Short speech of Job. Job 42:1-6.
III.Concluding historical section. Job 42:7-16
1. The "Introductory section" explains the circumstances under which the dialogues took place. The person of Job is, first of all, set before us. He is a chieftain of the land of Uz, of great wealth and high rank — "the greatest of all the Beney Kedem, or men of the East" (Job 1:3). He has a numerous and flourishing family (Job 1:2, 4, 5), and enjoys in advanced life such a degree of earthly happiness as is accorded to few. At the same time, he is noted for his piety and good conduct. The author of the section declares him to have been "perfect and upright, one that feared God, and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1, and later on adduces the Divine testimony to the same effect: "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and eschcweth evil?" (Job 1:8; 2:3). Job is living in this prosperous and happy state, respected and beloved, with his family about him, and a host of servants and retainers continually ministering to his wants (Job 1:15-17), when in the courts of heaven a scene occurs which brings this happy condition of things to an end, and reduces the patriarch to extreme wretchedness. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, appears before the throne of God together with the blessed company of the angels, and, having his attention called to Job by the Almighty, replies with the scoff, "Doth Job fear God for nought?" and then backs up his sarcasm with the bold assertion, "Put forth thy band now, and touch all that he hath," i.e. withdraw his blessings, "and he will curse thee to thy face" (Job 1:9-11). The question is thus raised with respect to Job's sincerity, and, by parity of reasoning, with respect to the sincerity of all other apparently religious and God-fearing men — Is there such a thing as real piety? Is not the appearance of it in the world a mere form of selfishness? Are not the so-called "perfect and upright men" mere self-seekers, like others, only self-seekers who add to their other vices the detestable one of hypocrisy? The question is one of the highest moral interest, and, to solve it, or to help towards solving it, God allows the trial to be made in the person of Job. He permits the accuser to strip Job of his earthly prosperity, to deprive him of his property, destroy his numerous offspring, and finally inflict upon him a most loathsome, painful, and terrible disease, from which there was, humanly speaking, no hope of recovery. Under this accumulation of evils, the faith of Job's wife gives way entirely, and she reproaches her husband with his patience and tameness, suggesting to him that he should do, exactly what Satan had declared that he would do, "Curse God, and die" (Job 2:9). But Job remains firm and unmoved. At the loss of his property he says not a word; when he hears of the destruction of his children, he shows the tokens of natural grief (Job 1:20), but only utters the sublime speech, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord" (Job 1:21); when he is stricken with his foul disease, he submits without a murmur; when his wife offers her foolish and wicked counsel, he repels it with the remark, "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" "In all this did not Job sin with his lips" (Job 2:10), nor did he "charge God foolishly" (Job 1:22). Here the narrative might have ended, Satan being baffled, Job's character vindicated, and the real existence of true and disinterested piety having Been irrefragably manifested and proved. But s new incident supervened, giving rise to the discussions with which the book is mainly concerned, and in which the author, or authors, whoever he or they were, was, it is evident, chiefly anxious to interest readers. Three of Job's friends, hearing of his misfortunes, came to visit him from some considerable distance, to condole with him on his sufferings, and, if possible, to comfort him. After one burst of irrepressible grief on beholding his miserable state, they sat down with him in silence on the ground, "seven days and seven nights," without addressing to him a word (Job 2:13). Then at length he broke the silence, and the discussion began.
2. The discussion opened with a speech from Job, in which, no longer able to control himself, he cursed the day that gave him birth, and the night of his conception, lamented that he had not died in his childhood and expressed a longing to go down to the grave at once, as having no further hope on earth. Eliphaz, then, probably the oldest of the throe "comforters," took the word, rebuking Job for his want of fortitude, and at once suggesting (Job 4:7-11) — what becomes one of the main points of controversy — that Job's calamities have come upon him from God's hand as a punishment for sins which he has committed, and of which he has not repented. On this view he naturally exhorts him to repent, confess, and turn to God, promising him in that case a renewal of all his former prosperity (Job 5:18-26). Job replies (Job 6. and 7.), and then in turn the other two "comforters" address him (Job 8. and 11.), re-echoing in the main the arguments of Eliphaz, while Job answers them severally in Job 9., 10., and 12. - 14. As the discussion continues, the disputants wax hot. Bildad is harsher and blunter than Eliphaz; Zophar, ruder and coarser than Bildad; while Job, on his part, exasperated by his friends' unfairness and want of sympathy, grows passionate and reckless, uttering words which he is obliged to acknowledge to be rash, and retorting upon his opponents their own discourteous language (Job 13:4). The argument makes little progress. The "friends" maintain Job's guilt. Job, while admitting that he is not exempt from human frailty, acknowledging "iniquities of his youth" (Job 13:26), and allowing frequent sins of infirmity (Job 7:20, 21; 10:14; 13:23; 14:16, 17), insists that he "is not wicked" (Job 10:7); that he has not fallen away from God; that, if his cause is heard, he is certain to be justified (Job 13:8). To the "friends" this insistence seems almost blasphemous, and they take a worse and worse view of his moral condition, becoming convinced that he has been secretly guilty of some unpardonable sin, and is hardened in guilt, and irrecoverable (Job 11:20; 15:4-6). The fact of his sufferings, and their intensity, is to them proof positive that he lies under the anger of God, and therefore must have provoked him by some heinous sin or other. Job, in rebutting their arguments, allows himself to be drawn into statements with regard to God's indifference to moral good and evil (Job 9:22-24, 12:6) which are, to say the least, incautious and presumptuous, while he also goes near to tax God with injustice towards himself (Job 3:20-26; 7:12-21; 9:30-35, etc.). At the same time, he in no way renounces God or ceases to trust in him. He is confident that in some way or other and at some time or other, his own innocence will be vindicated, and God's justice manifested. Meanwhile he hangs upon God, turns to him when his friends' words are too cruel, continually prays to him, looks to him for salvation, proclaims that, "though he slay him, yet will he trust in him" (Job 13:15). Finally, he expresses a presentiment that, after death, when he is in the grave, God will find a mode of doing him justice, will" remember him" (Job 14:13), and give him a "renewal" (Job 14:14).
3. A second dialogue begins with the opening of Job 15., and extends to the end of Job 21. Again Eliphaz takes the word, and, after reproaching Job for presumption, impiety, and arrogance (Job 15:1-16), in a tone much more severe than that which he had used previously, resumes the argument, and endeavours to prove, from the authority of the wise men of old, that wickedness is always punished in this life with the utmost severity (vers. 17-35). Bildad follows, in Job 18., with a series of denunciations and threats, apparently assuming the guilt of Job as proved, and maintaining that the calamities which have fallen upon him are exactly what he ought to have expected (vers. 5-21). Zophar, in Job 20., continues the same strain, ascribing Job's calamities to special sins, which he supposes him to have committed (vers. 5-19), and menacing him with farther and worse evils (vers. 20-29). Job makes reply to each of the friends separately (Job 16, 17, 19, and 21.), but at first scarcely deigns to grapple with their arguments, which seem to him "words of wind" (Job 16:3). Instead, be addresses himself to God, describes his sufferings (vers. 6-16), maintains his innocence (ver. 17), and appeals to earth and heaven to declare themselves on his side (vers. 18, 19), and to God himself to be his Witness (ver. 19). "The train of thought thus suggested carries him," as Canon Cook observes, "much further in the way towards the great truth — that, since in this life the righteous certainly are not saved from evil, it follows that their ways are watched, and their sufferings recorded, with a view to a future and perfect manifestation of the Divine justice. This view becomes gradually brighter and more definite as the controversy proceeds, and at last finds expression in a strong and clear declaration of his conviction that at the latter day (evidently the day which Job had expressed a longing to see, Job 14:12-14) God will personally manifest himself, and that he, Job, will then see him in his body, with his own eyes, and notwithstanding the destruction of his skin, i.e. the outward man, retaining or recovering his personal identity. There can be no doubt that Job here (Job 19:25-27)virtually anticipates the final answer to all difficulties supplied by the Christian revelation." On the other hand, provoked by Zophar, Job concludes the second dialogue with a very wrong-headed and overcoloured view of the happiness of the wicked in this life, and maintains that the distribution of good and evil in the present world proceeds on no discoverable principle (Job 21:7-33).
4. The third dialogue, which begins with Job 22. and terminates at the close of Job 31., is confined to three interlocutors — Job, Eliphaz, and Bildad, Zophar taking no part in it, at any rate as the text stands at present. It comprises four speeches only — one by Eliphaz (Job 22.), one by Bildad (Job 25.), and two by Job (Job 23, 24., and Job 26-31.). The speech of Eliphaz is an elaboration of the two points on which he had principally insisted throughout — Job's extreme wickedness (Job 25:5-20), and God's readiness to pardon and restore him if he will humble himself in the dust, repent of his evil doings, and turn to God in sincerity and truth (Job 25:21-30). Bildad's speech consists of a few short reflections on the majesty of God, and the weakness and sinfulness of man. Job, in his reply to Eliphaz (Job 23., 24.), repeats in the main his former statements, enforcing them, however, by new arguments. "His own innocence, his longing for judgment, the misery of the oppressed, and the triumph of the oppressors, are successively brought forward." In his second speech (Job 26. - 31.) he takes a wider and more comprehensive survey. After brushing aside the irrelevant remarks of Bildad (Job 26:1-4), he proceeds to deliver with all solemnity his "last word" (Job 31:40) upon the whole controversy. First of all, he makes a full acknowledgment of 'God's greatness, might, and inscrutableness (Job 26:5-14). Then he addresses himself once more to the question of God's dealings with the wicked in this life, and, retracting his previous utterances on the subject (Job 9:22-24; 12:6; 21:7-33; 24:2-24), admits that, as a general rule, retributive justice overtakes them (Job 27:11-23). Next, he shows that, great as is man's cleverness and ingenuity with respect to earthly things and physical phenomena, with respect to heavenly things and the spiritual world he knows next to nothing. God is inscrutable to him, and his nearest approach to wisdom is, through the fear of the Lord, to direct his conduct aright (Job 28.). Finally, he turns his eye upon himself, and in three touching chapters describes his happy condition in his former life before his troubles came (Job 29.), the miserable state to which he has since then been reduced (Job 29.), and his moral character and condition, as shown by the way in which he has conducted himself under all the various circumstances and relations of human existence (Job 31.). This last review amounts to a complete vindication of his character from all the aspersions and insinuations of his opponents.