Job 10:16 Komentář

Job owns here that he was full of confusion (Job 10:15), and as he was so was his discourse: he knew not what to say, and perhaps sometimes scarcely knew what he said. In this chapter, I. He complains of the hardships he was under (Job 10:1-7), and then comforts himself with this, that he was in the hand of the God that made him, and pleads that (Job 10:8-13). II. He complains again of the severity of God's dealings with him (Job 10:14-17), and then comforts himself with this, that death would put an end to his troubles (Job 10:18-22).

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 10 Job here declares the greatness of his afflictions, which made him weary of his life, and could not help complaining; entreats the Lord not to condemn him but show him the reason of his thus dealing with him, Job 10:1; and expostulates with him about it, and suggests as if it was severe, and not easily reconciled to his perfections, when he knew he was not a wicked man, Job 10:3; he puts him in mind of his formation and preservation of him, and after all destroyed him, Job 10:8; and represents his case as very distressed; whether he was wicked or righteous it mattered not, his afflictions were increasing upon him, Job 10:13; and all this he observes, in order to justify his eager desire after death, which he renews, Job 10:18; and entreats, since his days he had to live were but few, that God would give him some respite before he went into another state, which he describes, Job 10:20.

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me,.... Not the devils, as some, nor Job's friends, as others; but rather afflictions, which were daily renewed, and frequently repeated, new troubles coming continually one upon another; which were brought as fresh witnesses against him, which made the suit tiresome to him, the trial to last the longer, which he wished was at end, that the decisive sentence might be pronounced and executed, and he be dispatched at once; but instead of that the affair was protracted by bringing in one witness after another, or one affliction upon the back of another, which were brought as witnesses "before him" (a), as some render it; either to accuse him, and convince of sin, or as proofs of God's indignation against him, as in the next clause; or they were witnesses against him with the profane world, and even with his friends, who from hence concluded he must have been, and was, a wicked man, that had so many and such great afflictions laid upon him, and these continued and repeated; of which they judged these were full and sufficient proofs and testimonies. Schultens renders it, "thy incursions", and interprets it of instruments of hunting, as nets and the like, to which afflictions may be compared: and increasest thine indignation upon me; the tokens of it, by increasing afflictions, and the sense of it in his mind; for from his afflictions, and the increase of them, he judged of the indignation of God upon him, or "against him" (b), and the increase of it; as these were daily renewed, and were greater and greater, so was the sense he had of the wrath and displeasure of God against him; see Job 6:4, changes and war are against me; or "with me", or "upon me" (c); by changes are meant the various afflictive providences which attended him, which were repeated, or succeeded one another in their turns; great changes he had undergone in his estate and substance, from the greatest man in the east now become the poorest; in his family, his servants and children being destroyed; in his body, being covered with boils; and in his mind, being filled with a sense of God's displeasure, and under the hidings of his face: and "war" was against him on every side, not only the law in his members was warring against the law of his mind, his corruptions working powerfully under his afflictions; and he was conflicting with Satan, and his principalities and powers; but even his friends were at war with him, yea, God himself, in his opinion, counted and treated him as an enemy. Job was in a warfare state, and his afflictions came upon him like troops, and charged him one after another; or his afflictions were like an "army" (d) as the word may be rendered, many and numerous; and these were either repeated, or new ones succeeded others; different afflictions in their turns came upon him, and particularly an army of worms were continually running to and fro upon him; see Job 7:5; the word is rendered an "appointed time", Job 7:1; and so some take it here, and may signify that all the changes and vicissitudes in life he passed through, the various afflictions that came upon him, were at the set and appointed time, as well as there was an appointed time for him on earth, until his last change came. (a) "coram me", Pagninus, Montanus, Beza, Mercerus, Schmidt, Schultens. (b) "adversus me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens; so Vatablus. (c) "mecum", Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Morcerus, Schmidt; "apud me", Beza, Piscator, Cocceius. (d) "militia", Montanus, Bolducius; "exercitus", Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Schmidt, Schultens.

A human being is called “lion” with good reason, because he is a royal animal, and even more so the righteous, because, by preserving the honor of God’s form, he is dreadful to his enemies. That is why he has been properly called so in Proverbs, “the righteous is as bold as a lion.” Yet if he stoops down to the lustful temptations presented by his enemies, he is “caught in the hunt like a lion for slaughter” and becomes an object of mockery for his hunters, like a lion, who, after being deluded by them, “has been caught in the hunt.”

And by reason of pride, Thou wilt take me like a lioness. When a lioness hunts for food for her whelps, she rushes with ravening jaws into the pitfall. For as the account goes from certain countries, they make a pit in her path, and deposit a sheep in it, that the lioness in her ravening appetite may be provoked to precipitate herself into it, and they make it both narrow and deep at the same time, that she may have room to tumble into it in circling round it, but never get out by taking a leap. There is another pit too dug, which is to be close to the former, but which is joined to the one in which the sheep is, by the opening of the part at the bottom. And in this is put a cage, that the lioness tumbling in, forasmuch as she is pressed by terrors from above, when she goes about as it were to hide herself in the more secret part of the pit, may of her own will go into the cage; her savage temper being now no longer an object of fear, seeing that she is lifted up enclosed in the cage. For the beast that threw itself of its own accord into the pit is brought back to the regions above hedged round with bars. Thus, thus is it that the mind of man is taken, which being created in the liberty of free will, whilst it craved to feed the desires of the flesh, was like a lioness seeking food for her cubs, and fell into the pit of self-deception, in that at the suggestion of the enemy it stretched forth the hand to take the forbidden food, but it quickly found a cage in the pit, in that coming by its own act to death, it exposed itself at once to the prison house of its own corruption, and is brought back to the free air by grace intervening. But whereas it tries to do many things, and has no power, it is bound by the hindrances of that same corruption, as though by the bars of a cage. It is now free of that pit of damnation into which it had fallen, in that receiving help from the hand of Redemption, in being brought back to pardon, it has got above the punishment of the death to follow. But yet, being shut in close, it feels the cage, in that it is encircled by the bands of heavenly discipline, that it may not roam through the desires of the flesh. And she that of her own will went down into the pit; returns to the free air in confinement, in that she both fell into sin by the liberty of the will, and yet the grace of the Creator holds her in by constraint, and against her will, from following her own motions. And so after the pit she has the cage to bear, in that being rescued from eternal punishment, she is withheld from the motions of a froward liberty, under the controlling hand of the heavenly Artificer. Therefore he says aright, And by reason of pride, Thou wilt take me like a lioness; in that both when free, man brought death upon himself through food, and on being brought back to pardon, he lives shut up under discipline for his greater good. Therefore like a lioness he was taken by reason of pride, in that the discipline, that belongs to his corrupt condition, now keeps him down from the very same cause, that not fearing the transgression of the commandment he boldly leapt into the pit. But if for a short space we turn aside the eye of our mind from the sin of our first parent, we find that we ourselves are every day taken like the lioness, by the evil habit of pride. For it often happens that by the virtues that have been vouchsafed him, man is lifted up into the boldness of self-presumption, but by a wonderful ordering of Providence, some object is set before his eyes for him to fall therein. And whilst he seeks something in sin, what else is this but that he longs for the prey in the pit? With open mouth he falls by his own act, but has no power to rise by his own strength. And whereas he sees that of himself he is nothing, assuredly he learns Whose aid he must seek. Yet the heavenly Compassion draws him, thus taken out of the pit, as it were, in that as soon as his weakness is known, It restores him to pardon. And so like a lioness, by reason of pride that man hastes back to the upper regions within the cage, who when he is lifted up in the score of virtuous attainments, after he has fallen into evil desires, is bound fast in humility. For whereas he had in the first case brought himself to destruction by his presuming on self, it is brought to pass by wonderful pitifulness, that he now lives walled in by the knowledge of his own weakness. And because the holy man sees that this often happens to his fellow creatures, he adopts in his own person the cry of peril that belongs to us, that when we read of his lamentations, we may be instructed what the things are in ourselves that we ought to lament. Now when pride uplifts the mind, the piercing sense of love for the Highest departs from us, but when grace from above descends upon us, immediately it prompts us to longings for itself in tears. And hence it is fitly subjoined, And returning, Thou dost torture me marvellously. When we are forsaken by our Creator, we do not at all feel even the very ills of our abandonment. For in proportion as our Creator goes far off from us, our mind becomes more hardened in insensibility, loves nothing that is of God, entertains no longing for things above, and because it has no warmth of interior love, it lies frozen towards the earth, and in a pitiable way it becomes every day the more self-secure, in proportion as it becomes worse; and whereas it no longer remembers whence it has fallen, and no longer dreads the punishments to come, it knows nothing how deeply it is to be bewailed. But if it be touched by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, at once it wakes up to the thought of its ruin, rouses itself in the pursuit after heavenly things, glows with the hot emotions of love towards the Highest, takes thought of the ills which every way beset it round about, and she weeps while making progress, who before was going to ruin in high glee. Therefore it is well said to the Creator, And returning Thou dost torture me marvelously. For by the same act whereby Almighty God in visiting our soul lifts it to the love of Himself, He makes it the more to sorrow in tears. As if it were in plain words, 'In going from me Thou dost not influence me, because Thou renderest me insensible, but when Thou returnest, Thou dost torture me, because whilst Thou dost cause Thyself to enter into me, Thou shewest to me mine own self, and how deeply I am to be pitied.' And hence he never says that he is tortured judicially, but 'marvellously,' since while the mind is transported on high in weeping, with a feeling of joy it marvels at the pains of its piercing sorrow, and it is its joy to be so touched, because it sees that by its anguish it is lifted up on high. But often when heavenly Pity sees us slacken in the exercising ourselves in holy desires, It presents to our view the example of those that cleave to Itself, that the mind which is unbraced by indolence, in proportion as it observes in the case of others the advancement of minds well awake, may take shame for the dulness of sloth in itself.

Because Eliphaz imputed the fact that he said he was innocent to pride, he then says, "Because of my pride, you will capture me like a lioness." For Eliphaz had already referred to Job saying, "The roaring of the lion and the voice of the lioness and the teeth of the lion's whelps have been broken." (4:10) Therefore he says, "Because of my pride, you will capture me like a lioness," as if he should say: You make me to be reckoned by those who hear my words like a lioness because of pride. The very fact that he was considered evil for that reason was for him a further punishment on top of the first one. So he continues, "and returning you torment me wondrously," for you first came afflicting me taking away things and wounding my body and now you have returned again and torment me through my friends. This is cause for wonder because I ought rather to receive consolation from my friends. Or he says this because a man is most tormented when he is derided by his friends.

Observations on wisdom and folly, Ecc 10:1-3. Concerning right conduct towards rulers, Ecc 10:4. Merit depressed, and worthlessness exalted, Ecc 10:5-7. Of him who digs a pit and removes a landmark, Ecc 10:8, Ecc 10:9. The use of wisdom and experience, Ecc 10:10. Of the babbler and the fool, Ecc 10:11-15. The infant king, Ecc 10:16. The well-regulated court, Ecc 10:17. Of slothfulness, Ecc 10:18. Of feasting, Ecc 10:19. Speak not evil of the king, Ecc 10:20.

For it increaseth - Probably this refers to the affliction mentioned above, which is increased in proportion to its duration. Every day made his escape from such a load of evils less and less probable. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion - As the hunters attack the king of beasts in the forest, so my friends attack me. They assail me on every side. Thou showest thyself marvelous - Thy designs, thy ways, thy works, are all incomprehensible to me; thou dost both confound and overpower me. Mr. Good translates thus: - "For uprousing as a ravenous lion dost thou spring upon me. And again thou showest over me thy vast power."

JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD CONTINUED. (Job 10:1-22) leave my complaint upon myself--rather, "I will give loose to my complaint" (Job 7:11).

increaseth--rather, "(if) I lift up (my head) Thou wouldest hunt me," &c. [UMBREIT]. and again--as if a lion should not kill his prey at once, but come back and torture it again.