Listen carefully to my speech. Let my declaration be in your ears.
See now, I have set my cause in order. I know that I am righteous.
Who is he who will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the spirit.
“Only don’t do two things to me, then I will not hide myself from your face:
withdraw your hand far from me, and don’t let your terror make me afraid.
Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, and you answer me.
How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my disobedience and my sin.
Why do you hide your face, and consider me your enemy?
Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble?
For you write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth:
You also put my feet in the stocks, and mark all my paths. You set a bound to the soles of my feet,
though I am decaying like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 27 That is, cleared and not cast off for my…
That is, cleared and not cast off for my sins, as you reason.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–28 Job 13:17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration…
Job 13:17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
Ver. 17. Hear diligently my speech] Heb. Hearing hear, that is, incline your ears and hear, as Isa 55:3. Mark and attend; hear me not only, but heed me too; interrupt me not, neither give me the slip, as it may seem they were ready to do, when they heard him profess such a deal of faith and hope under so many and heavy afflictions; wherein they thought that either he was beside himself, or, at least, beside the cushion, as we say, and utterly out. See Job 13:6, and observe, that it is but needful often to stir up our auditors to attention. Job makes more prefaces than one to be heard; so do the prophets often. Hear the word of the Lord, hear and give ear, be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken it. So doth the arch prophet more than once, Rev 2:7; Rev 2:11; Rev 2:17; Rev 2:29; Rev 3:6; Rev 3:13; Rev 3:22 Mat 13:9, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." All Christ’s hearers had not ears; or if they had, yet they were stopped; or if open, yet the bore was not large enough. Oh pray that God would say unto us, Ephphatha, be opened, for a heavy ear is a singular judgment.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17–28 This he desired before, Job 13:6, and now repeateth,…
This he desired before, Job 13:6, and now repeateth, either because they manifested some neglect or dislike of his speech, and some desire to interrupt him; or because he now comes more closely to his business, the foregoing verses being mostly in way of preface to it.
My declaration, i.e. the words whereby I declare my mind.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v23 Here, I. Job enquires after his sins, and begs…
Here, I. Job enquires after his sins, and begs to have them discovered to him. He looks up to God, and asks him what was the number of them (How many are my iniquities?) and what were the particulars of them: Make me to know my transgressions, Job 13:23. His friends were ready enough to tell him how numerous and how heinous they were, Job 22:5. "But, Lord," says he, "let me know them from thee; for thy judgment is according to truth, theirs is not." This may be taken either, 1. As a passionate complaint of hard usage, that he was punished for his faults and yet was not told what his faults were. Or, 2. As a prudent appeal to God from the censures of his friends. He desired that all his sins might be brought to light, as knowing they would then appear not so many, nor so mighty, as his friends suspected him to be guilty of. Or, 3. As a pious request, to the same purport with that which Elihu directed him to, Job 34:32. That which I see not, teach thou me. Note, A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may be particular in the confession of them and on our guard against them for the future.
II. He bitterly complains of God's withdrawings from him (Job 13:24): Wherefore hidest thou thy face? This must be meant of something more than his outward afflictions; for the loss of estate, children, health, might well consist with God's love; when that was all, he blessed the name of the Lord; but his soul was also sorely vexed, and that is it which he here laments. 1. That the favours of the Almighty were suspended. God hid his face as one strange to him, displeased with him, shy and regardless of him. 2. That the terrors of the Almighty were inflicted and impressed upon him. God held him for his enemy, shot his arrows at him (Job 6:4), and set him as a mark, Job 7:20. Note, The Holy Ghost sometimes denies his favours and discovers his terrors to the best and dearest of his saints and servants in this world. This case occurs, not only in the production, but sometimes in the progress of the divine life. Evidences for heaven are eclipsed, sensible communications interrupted, dread of divine wrath impressed, and the returns of comfort, for the present, despaired of, Psa 77:7-9; Psa 88:7, Psa 88:15, Psa 88:16. These are grievous burdens to a gracious soul, that values God's loving-kindness as better than life, Pro 18:14. A wounded spirit who can bear? Job, by asking here, Why hidest thou thy face? teaches us that, when at any time we are under the sense of God's withdrawings, we are concerned to enquire into the reason of them - what is the sin for which he corrects us and what the good he designs us. Job's sufferings were typical of the sufferings of Christ, from whom not only men hid their faces (Isa 53:3), but God hid his, witness the darkness which surrounded him on the cross when he cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? If this were done to these green trees, what shall be done to the dry? They will for ever be forsaken.
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III. He humbly pleads with God his own utter inability to stand before him (Job 13:25): "Wilt thou break a leaf, pursue the dry stubble? Lord, is it for thy honour to trample upon one that is down already, or to crush one that neither has nor pretends to any power to resist thee?" Note, We ought to have such an apprehension of the goodness and compassion of God as to believe that he will not break the bruised reed, Mat 12:20.
IV. He sadly complains of God's severe dealings with him. He owns it was for his sins that God thus contended with him, but thinks it hard,
1. That his former sins, long since committed, should now be remembered against him, and he should he reckoned with for the old scores (Job 13:26): Thou writest bitter things against me. Afflictions are bitter things. Writing them denotes deliberation and determination, written as a warrant for execution; it denotes also the continuance of his affliction, for that which is written remains, and, "Herein thou makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth," that is, "thou punishest me for them, and thereby puttest me in mind of them, and obligest me to renew my repentance for them." Note, (1.) God sometimes writes very bitter things against the best and dearest of his saints and servants, both in outward afflictions and inward disquiet; trouble in body and trouble in mind, that he may humble them, and prove them, and do them good in their latter end. (2.) That the sins of youth are often the smart of age both in respect of sorrow within (Jer 31:18, Jer 31:19) and suffering without, Job 20:11. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. (3.) That when God writes bitter things against us his design therein is to make us possess our iniquities, to bring forgotten sins to mind, and so to bring us to remorse for them as to break us off from them. This is all the fruit, to take away our sin.
2. That his present mistakes and miscarriages should be so strictly taken notice of, and so severely animadverted upon (Job 13:27): "Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, not only to afflict me and expose me to shame, not only to keep me from escaping the strokes of thy wrath, but that thou mayest critically remark all my motions and look narrowly to all my paths, to correct me for every false step, nay, for but a look awry or a word misapplied; nay, thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet, scorest down every thing I do amiss, to reckon for it; or no sooner have I trodden wrong, though ever so little, than immediately I smart for it; the punishment treads upon the very heels of the sin. Guilt, both of the oldest and of the freshest date, is put together to make up the cause of my calamity." Now, (1.) It was not true that God did thus seek advantages against him. He is not thus extreme to mark what we do amiss; if he were, there were no abiding for us, Psa 130:3. But he is so far from this that he deals not with us according to the desert, no, not of our manifest sins, which are not found by secret search, Jer 2:34. This therefore was the language of Job's melancholy; his sober thoughts never represented God thus as a hard Master. (2.) But we should keep such a strict and jealous eye as this upon ourselves and our own steps, both for the discovery of sin past and the prevention of it for the future. It is good for us all to ponder the path of our feet.
V. He finds himself wasting away apace under the heavy hand of God, Job 13:28. He (that is, man) as a rotten thing, the principle of whose putrefaction is in itself, consumes, even like a moth-eaten garment, which becomes continually worse and worse. Or, He (that is, God) like rottenness, and like a moth, consumes me. Compare this with Hos 5:12, I will be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness; and see Psa 39:11. Note, Man, at the best, wears fast; but, under God's rebukes especially, he is soon gone. While there is so little soundness in the soul, no marvel there is so little soundness in the flesh, Psa 38:3.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv17–28 Hear diligently my speech,.... Or, "in hearing hear" (s);…
Hear diligently my speech,.... Or, "in hearing hear" (s); meaning, not only that his friends would attentively hear him, but continue to hear him; that they would hear him out what he had to say further: upon his expressing himself with so much faith and confidence in God, they might rise up from their seats and be preparing to be gone, as not having patience to hear a man talk so confidently, who they thought was a bad man and an hypocrite; or they might attempt to interrupt him while speaking, and therefore he desires they would be still, and patiently and diligently hear what he had more to say:
and my declaration with your ears; that is, that they would listen to it attentively, when he doubted not but he should make his case as clear as the sun, and set it in such a point of view, as that it would appear most plainly to be right, and he to be a just man.
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(s) "audite audiendo", Pagninus, Montanus, Beza, &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28 Hear - He now comes more closely to his…
Hear - He now comes more closely to his business, the foregoing verses being mostly in way of preface.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Verse 18. Behold now, I have ordered] I am…
Verse 18. Behold now, I have ordered] I am now ready to come into court, and care not how many I have to contend with, provided they speak truth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 Job 13:17. Hear diligently my speech — This he…
Job 13:17. Hear diligently my speech — This he desired before, (Job 13:6,) and now repeats, either, because they manifested some dislike of his speech, and some desire to interrupt him; or, because he now comes more closely to the question; the foregoing verses being mostly in the way of preface to it. And my declaration — That is, the words whereby I declare my mind.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv17–28 Hear diligently my speech - That which I have…
Hear diligently my speech - That which I have made; that is, the declaration which I have made of my innocence. He refers to his solemn declaration, Job 13:15-16 that he had unwavering confidence in God, and that even should God slay him he would put confidence in him. This solemn appeal he wished them to attend to as one of the utmost importance.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28 Truths. Literally, "riddles" to you. Hebrew achavathi, (Haydock) means…
Truths. Literally, "riddles" to you. Hebrew achavathi, (Haydock) means "instructions," &c. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv17–28 my declaration--namely, that I wish to be permitted to…
my declaration--namely, that I wish to be permitted to justify myself immediately before God.
with your ears--that is, attentively.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 18. Ordered — Set in order, or made ready.
18. Ordered — Set in order, or made ready.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 17–22. Assured of victory, he commands his friends to…
17–22. Assured of victory, he commands his friends to mark his pleading of his cause.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27 (19) If I hold my tongue, I shall give…
(19) If I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.—A marvellous confession, equivalent to, “If I give up my faith in Him who is my salvation, and my personal innocence, which goes hand-in-hand therewith, I shall perish. To give up my innocence is to give up Him in whom I hold my innocence, and in whom I live.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv17–28 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your…
Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. A last appeal to his opponents to give him their full attention (comp. ver. 6).
Vers. 17-28. Job to God: resumption of the third controversy: The pleading of a saint with Heaven.
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I PRELIMINARIES TO THE PLEADING.
1. Public audience invited. Job requests his discomfited friends to be silent spectators of the ensuing trial, and to attentively consider the defence he was about to offer (ver. 17). Intended chiefly for the ear of God, it should yet contain nothing unfit for publication in the hearing of men. Conscious of sincerity, Job had nothing to conceal. Guilelessness is ever a mark of true saintship. "A man with a clear conscience can stand fearlessly before the whole world." Undaunted courage is also characteristic of the godly, (Psa_27:1 Pro_28:1 1Jn_3:21) who, however, unlike Job, are emboldened, not by a sense of their own integrity, but by a calm reliance on the righteousness of Christ. (Isa_45:24, 25 50:7-9 Rom_8:32-34)
2. Perfect readiness expressed. Job asserts (ver. 18) that he had carefully arranged the several pleas he should urge in vindication of his outraged integrity. And in this Job"s example may be followed with advantage. Neither saint nor sinner should irreverently and presumptuously intrude into God"s presence without having first composed his heart and, as far as possible, arranged his thoughts. (Ecc_5:2) No man is ready for reasoning with God in prayer until he knows both what he wants and how to plead for it.
3. Hopeful confidence entertained. "I know that I shall be justified" (ver. 18). This was no presumption on the part of Job, who probably based his justification before God, in the strictly forensic sense of absolution and acceptance, not upon his own righteousness, but upon the free favour of God, through the merit of his Redeemer; (Job_19:25) but merely that inward consciousness of personal integrity which a good man may justly rely on as evidence of a gracious state, and by which he may encourage his fainting spirit when about to appear before God, like Hezekiah, (Isa_38:3) David, (Psa_26:1) St. Peter, (Joh_21:17) St. Paul, (Rom_9:1) and St. John. (1Jn_3:21) Of course, it would be presumption were a sinful man, standing on his own righteousness, to expect that he would be justified before God. (Psa_143:2 Rom_3:20) But, trusting in the great propitiatory sacrifice of him who is "the Lord our Righteousness," the guiltiest and most unworthy sinner may draw near to God with holy boldness, (Heb_4:16 Heb_10:22) and with absolute assurance of acceptance and salvation, (Heb_7:25 Rom_8:1) saying, "I know that I shall be justified.
4. Sinful impeachment challenged. "Who is he that will plead with me?" i.e. against me, contradicting and disproving what I now so fearlessly assert, viz. my personal integrity. If there is any, let him stand forth and establish his indictment. If be succeed in tarnishing my fair name, "I shall be silent, I shall give up the ghost," feeling that, honour gone, life itself can have no further charm for me. Many a one besides Job has felt that "good name in man and woman is the immediate jewel of their souls" ("Othello," act 3. sc. 3), "the immortal part" of themselves (ibid., act 2. sc. 3), and that, that being lost, nothing worthy of possessing can remain (cf. "Richard II," Ac 1. sc. 1). Job"s language reminds us of St. Paul"s address to his accusers before Felix; (Act_24:16-21) and afterwards before Festus; (Act_25:11) also of the loftier challenge addressed by Christ to his countrymen. (Isa_50:8 Joh_8:46) And though certainly believers cannot use the question as did Christ, and may sometimes have a difficulty in employing it in the sense of either Job or St. Paul, it is always open to them, as they keep their eyes on the cross, to exclaim, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God"s elect?". (Rom_8:33)
II CONDITIONS OF THE PLEADING.
1. A cessation of his troubles. (Ver. 21) The hand of God a frequent biblical expression for affliction, (1Sa_5:6, 7 Psa_32:4 Psa_38:2 Isa_1:25) which is sent, (Deu_8:5 2Sa_7:14 Job_5:17 Psa_94:12 Heb_12:6, Heb_12:7) guided, (Job_33:17-19 Pro_3:11, 12 Isa_48:10 Eze_20:37) and removed (Psa_50:15 Psa_66:12 Zec_13:9 Joh_16:20 Mat_5:4) by Divine wisdom and power. The fatherly chastisements of God are directly designed to refine and purify the saintly soul, (Job_36:8, 10 Isa_48:10 Heb_12:11) and to draw it near his footstool in penitence and faith, humility and love. (Hos_5:15 Heb_12:9) Yet, not unfrequently, one of the first effects of bodily affliction upon a good man, especially if it be severe, is to discompose his mind, disturb his heart, and generally unfit him for converse with God. Notwithstanding the spiritual benefits folded up in tribulation, there can be no greater blessing, even with a view to the exercises of religion, than mens sans in sano corpore. Much of the spiritual depression experienced by Christians is traceable to extreme bodily infirmity, though sometimes happy invalids can say with St. Paul," When I am weak, then am I strong;" "Most gladly will I glory in infirmities, that the power of God may rest upon me." Then, if pious souls, groaning beneath the pressure of physical maladies and mental anxieties, find it hard to concentrate their thoughts upon Divine things, what must be the madness of those who delay the work of repenting and pleading with God for forgiveness and salvation till they are lying on a sick-bed, racked with pain, and perhaps trembling in the grasp of death?
2. A removal of his fear. (Ver. 21) The Divine character has a terrifying, as well as an attractive, side to sinful man. The glory of the Divine purity is so effulgent, (Job_4:18) of the Divine justice so incorruptible, (Job_9:2) of the Divine wisdom so ineffable, (Job_9:4) of the Divine strength so overwhelming, (Job_9:19) that the human spirit instinctively shrinks back in alarm. Burdened with guilt, tainted with pollution, lying under condemnation, it cannot hold up its head in the presence of such awful majesty, but, falling prostrate before the footstool of heaven"s glorious King, exclaims, like Isaiah, "Woe is me; for I am undone!"; (Isa_6:5) and like David, "In judgment enter not with me, thy servant poor; For why, this well I wet, no sinner can endure The sight of thee, O God. (Psa_143:2, metrical version.) And like St. Peter, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord". (Luk_5:8) Job felt that, unless his mind were relieved from such paralyzing views of the overwhelming grandeur of his invisible Judge, it would be utterly hopeless to expect he could even state his case aright, much less win his cause. Hence already he had craved the interposition of a daysman, who should both take away God"s rod and remove God"s fear (Job_9:34) in order to enable him to speak; and to this he apparently again recurs. Happily such a daysman has been provided for us in Christ, in whom the anxious sinner may now behold, not only the rod of Divine punishment removed, but the greatness of the Divine glory veiled, so that one who desires to speak with God may do so without a fear, "whether God himself opens the cause, or permits him to have the first word.
III CONTENTS OF THE PLEADING.
1. A bold interrogation. (Ver. 23)
(1) A valuable definition. Sin is avon"or perverse acting, a bending, twisting, or turning aside from the Divine Law; chattah, a false step, hence a failing, an error, a sin of weakness or infirmity; and pesha" a breaking away, hence deliberate and malignant wickedness. The first epithet describes the nature of sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the Law of God;" the second points to the source of sin human weakness; (Jer_10:23) while the third indicates the heinousness of sin it is essentially rebellion against God. (Rom_8:7) Or the three expressions may allude to different kinds of sin, palpable offences, venial imperfections, notorious crimes, of all which Job was supposed to be guilty.
(2) A candid confession. Whatever iniquities, sins, or transgressions Job had committed, God perfectly knew them, could reckon up their number and estimate their heinousness. Men often are unconscious of their faults, frequently forget their shortcomings, and can seldom realize the enormity of their wickednesses. But all these are patent to God"s omniscient mind. (Psa_69:5 Psa_73:23 Luk_16:15 Heb_4:13)
(3) A passionate supplication. That God would enable Job to understand the nature and enormity of those offences of which he had been guilty, and for which his friends alleged he was suffering. The prayer is admirably suited to and urgently needed by all, though not in the sense in which it was employed by Job. No man can attain to a clear discovery, of his own sinfulness, to an adequate estimate of the number of his misdeeds, to a just appreciation of their essential wickedness, except through Divine teaching. Such teaching God imparts through his Word (Psa_94:12 Rom_7:9) and Spirit. (Joh_16:8)
(4) An obvious implication. Job designed it to be understood that he himself was unconscious of any such offences, though of course he did not claim to be entirely innocent.
2. An inexplicable problem. (Ver. 24) Here is
(1) a painful experience, the sense of having lost the Divine favour, to a gracious soul the highest blessing attainable or even conceivable on earth; (Psa_30:5 Psa_63:3)
a. a common experience, realized by David, (Isa_13:1 Isa_22:1) by, (Psa_88:14) and by Christ, (Mat_27:46) as well as by many of Christ"s followers since;
b. a mysterious experience, not that God should hide his face and seem to withdraw his favour from a sinful soul, but that, having once admitted a repenting and believing sinner to his love, he should to all appearance cast him off a course of conduct for which Job was perfectly at a loss to account; yet
c. a needful experience, in the case of Christ to make him perfect as a Saviour, in that of Job, David, Heman, and others to make them perfect as saints.
3. A pathetic expostulation.
(1) The unworthiness of the Divine conduct in afflicting Job. Absolutely powerless and insignificant had Job become through his long-continued trouble, like a fallen leaf upon the way, agitated and tossed by every passing wind, or like the withered stubble of a corn-field, and yet the Almighty assailed him with the full force of his Divine artillery, as if he were some formidable opponent whom it required the battalions of omnipotence to crush (ver. 25). To Job"s mind it seemed wholly incongruous, entirely preposterous, completely unbecoming the Divine Majesty. So God"s procedure in providence oftentimes appears to sense and reason unworthy of his greatness and glory; but faith, coming to the rescue, reminds the doubting heart that doeth all things well.
(2) The seeming injustice of God"s conduct in afflicting Job. Conscious of innocence in his riper years, Job could only offer, as the solution of that perplexing enigma by which he was confronted, that God was going back upon the sins of his youthful days, although these had long since been repented of and forgiven (ver. 26). But sin once forgiven is for ever forgotten. (Isa_43:25 Mic_7:18, Mic_7:19) God never reproduces for punishment the transgression he has freely pardoned. Yet the iniquities of youth which have not been cancelled by Divine mercy have a strange power of self-resuscitation in riper years; and God often makes wicked men (e.g. the drunkard, the profligate), in accordance with the established and righteous laws of retribution, to inherit, or possess, or reap the hitter fruits in old age of the excesses and indulgences of youth. Hence the necessity of cultivating moral purity in youth, and the propriety in after-years of praying, "Remember not the sins of my youth". (Psa_25:7)
(3) The extreme severity of God"s conduct in afflicting Job, who was treated like a prisoner; whose feet were thrust into the stocks, as were those of Jer_20:2 Jer_29:6, and of Paul and Silas; (Act_16:24) whose steps were narrowly watched, lest he should either enjoy too much freedom or attempt to escape, (cf. Job_10:14; and see homiletics on Job_7:12-21) and whose liberty was (according to one interpretation), restrained within narrow limits, by a boundary or circle drawn around the soles of his feet (ver. 27), and that though he, the chained, inspected, and immured prisoner, was a poor miserable creature, lying rotting on an ash-heap like a garment that the moth gnaweth (ver. 28).
Learn:
1. The gratitude which saints and sinners both owe to God for the throne of grace.
2. The sublime fearlessness with which the guiltiest no less than the godliest may approach that throne.
3. The liberty which all enjoy to pour out their hearts before God.
4. The propriety of seeking a more intimate acquaintance with the reality and power of indwelling sin.
5. The sinfulness of supposing that God ever treats any of his creatures as enemies.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 Then call Thou, and! will answer.
Job_13:22
Then call Thou, and! will answer.
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The echo
There are places where, if you speak with a loud voice, your words will come back to you after a short interval with the utmost distinctness. This repetition is called an echo. The ancients thought this mysterious being was an Oread, or mountain nymph, born of the air and earth, who loved a beautiful youth, and because her affection was not returned, she pined away until nothing was heard but her voice, and even then she could not speak until she was spoken to. In the text are two kinds of echo. God calling to man, and man answering; and then man speaking to God, and God answering.
I. God calling and man answering. It is God who always begins first in every good thing. Our religion tells us distinctly that it was not man who first called upon God, but God who first called upon man. God sought man to do him good, even when he had sinned and deserved to be punished. And that is what He has always done since. God has not been silent. He has spoken out, not by the dull, unchanging signals of nature that do the telegraph work of the world, but in human language, in human thoughts and words. God addresses you personally in the Holy Scriptures. Will you be silent to Him? Will no response, no echo come from your heart to His voice?
II. Man calling and God answering. David once said, Be not silent unto me, O Lord. He had prayed, but he had got no answer. But God was all the time preparing to give him the answer that he needed. In the natural world you cannot have an echo everywhere. Sometimes in nature an echo is made more or less indistinct according to the state of the weather. An echo in nature repeats your very words exactly. Some echoes refuse to send back a whole sentence, and only repeat the last word of it. Gods response is an answer to your whole prayer. He often does for you exceeding abundantly above all that you can ask or think. Is not it wonderful that by a breath you can call up such marvellous responses? He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. (Hugh Macmillan, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 20, 23, 26 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Job continues speaking to God.
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See now
This emphasizes what follows. "Listen now" or "Please pay special attention"
I have set my defense in order
Setting his defense in order represents deciding what he will say to defend himself. AT: "I have thought through how I will defend myself" or "I have decided how I will explain myself" (See: Metaphor)
Who is the one who would argue against me in court?
Job uses this question to express his belief that since he is right, no one would argue against him. AT: "I do not believe that anyone would argue against me in court." (See: Rhetorical Question)
If you came to do so
"If you came to argue against me"
If you
"You" here means God himself.
if I were proved wrong
This can be stated in active form. AT: "if you were to prove me wrong" (See: Active or Passive)
give up my life
Giving up one's life is a metaphor for dying. AT: "die" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
innocent
court
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22, 24, 25 13:20-21 Job had contemplated finding an arbiter to remove…
13:20-21 Job had contemplated finding an arbiter to remove God’s heavy hand (9:33-34). Eliphaz had urged Job to accept God’s chastening (5:17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.