Job 34:20 Komentář

Elihu, it is likely, paused awhile, to see if Job had any thing to say against his discourse in the foregoing chapter; but he sitting silent, and it is likely intimating his desire that he would go on, he here proceeds. And, I. He bespeaks not only the audience, but the assistance of the company (Job 34:2-4). II. He charges Job with some more indecent expressions that had dropped from him (Job 34:5-9). III. He undertakes to convince him that he had spoken amiss, by showing very fully, 1. God's incontestable justice (Job 34:10-12, Job 34:17, Job 34:19, Job 34:23). 2. His sovereign dominion (Job 34:13-15). 3. His almighty power (Job 34:20, Job 34:24). 4. His omniscience (Job 34:21, Job 34:22, Job 34:25). 5. His severity against sinners (Job 34:26-28). 6. His overruling providence (Job 34:29, Job 34:30). IV. He teaches him what he should say (Job 34:31, Job 34:32). And then, lastly, he leaves the matter to Job's own conscience, and concludes with a sharp reproof of him for his peevishness and discontent (Job 34:33-37). All this Job not only bore patiently, but took kindly, because he saw that Elihu meant well; and, whereas his other friends had accused him of that from which his own conscience acquitted him, Elihu charged him with that only for which, it is probable, his own heart, now upon the reflection, began to smite him.

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 34 In this chapter Elihu reassumes his discourse, and proceeds in his answer to Job, in which are first a preface exciting attention, Job 34:1; then a charge is brought against Job, expressed in or extracted from some words that dropped from his lips, not so well guarded, Job 34:5; a refutation of these expressions of his in a variety of arguments, Job 34:10; and the chapter is closed with some good advice to Job, Job 34:31; and with an earnest request of Elihu to men of understanding, to join with him in trying him to the uttermost, Job 34:34.

For his eyes are upon the ways of man,.... Which denotes the omniscience of God, which reaches to every man, to every individual, and to all men in general; and to their ways, to every step taken by them, to the whole of their lives and conversations, and every action of them; to all their internal and external ways and goings; perhaps the former may be meant in this, and the latter in the following clause. This may denote all their inward thoughts, the workings of their mind, the imaginations of their heart; all their secret purposes, designs, and schemes; and all the desires and affections of their soul; and all these, whether good or bad: and he seeth all his goings; the whole of his walk and conversation, conduct and behaviour; all his external ways, works, and actions; and these whether of good or bad men, see Psa 139:1.

Suddenly shall they die, and the people shall bow down at midnight, and pass away. However long it be before the ungodly are taken out of this life, they are taken away suddenly, and at an instant, since they know not how to foresee their end by thinking on it. That is sudden to any one, which he has not been able to think of beforehand. That rich man was taken away suddenly, who left the barns which he was preparing, and found the place of hell, which he was not looking for. He was employing his soul in thinking in one direction, he parted with it in another by his sentence. He fixed his thoughts on one object when alive, he experienced another when he was dying. For he left those temporal things, which he had long engaged in, and he found eternal things which he did not look for. Whence, in consequence of this his blind ignorance, it is well said to him by the Divine sentence, This night do they require thy soul of thee. [Luke 12, 20] For that soul was taken away by night, which was lost in blindness of heart. That was taken away by night, which refused to enjoy the light of consideration, in order to foresee what it would suffer. Whence the Apostle Paul rightly says to his disciples who are thinking on future things, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and children of day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [l Thess. 5, 4. 5.] For the day of death seizes as a thief in the night, when it casts out the souls of foolish men, which do not look onward to the future. Whence it is here also fitly subjoined, And the people shall bow down at midnight, and pass away. They bow down and pass away at midnight, who are brought low and swept away by the darkness of their negligence. They will then be bowed down by the sentence of the Judge, who now refuse to bend with humility of heart. But the Elect bow themselves of their own accord in humility, that they may not be bowed down against their will in death. Whence is it said to Holy Church, of the converted children of her persecutors, The sons of them who humbled thee, shall come bending to thee. [Is. 60, 14] And he says properly of dying peoples, not that 'they will pass along,' but pass away, because simply by living in the world we are daily coming to an end, and we pass along this present life, as though wearing a track in a road. But that men live subject to death, is a kind of journeying deathwards. And every day we pass of our life, we are approaching as it were on our journey by as many steps to the appointed spot. But the very increase of our years, is a wearing them away; for the length of our life begins to be not so much as it was at first. But the first man was so fashioned, that, as time passed on, he remained stationary, so as not to journey on together with it. For he remained still, as the moments hasted away; since he did not approach to the end of his life, through the increase of his days. And he stood the firmer, the closer he clung to Him who is ever stationary. But after he touched the forbidden thing, having offended his Creator, he began to pass onward together with time. Having lost, namely, the stability of an immortal condition, the stream of mortal being engulphed him. And, while borne along by youth to age, and by age to death, he learned, as he journeyed on, what he was when he remained stationary. And because we are sprung from his stock, we retain, like shoots, the bitterness of our root. For because we derive our origin from him, we inherit his course of life, at our birth, so that every moment of every day that we live, we are constantly passing away from life, and the length of our life decreases by the very means by which it is believed to increase. Since then we are daily proceeding, as our years increase, to the issue of death, it is well said of the dying, not that they pass along, but pass away. For they pass along, even while they live, but pass away, as they die. It follows, And they will take away the violent without hand. Thou understandest, 'The divine judgments.' But they will take him away without hand, who was violent with his hand. They will take him away without hand, because, namely, he is snatched away, by the violence of a sudden death, invisibly, who used visibly to spoil others. He beheld those whom he spoiled, but beholds not him who hurries him away in death. The violent therefore is taken away without hand, because he both beholds not his spoiler, and yet is hurried along. And there follows him a severer sentence, the longer great forbearance is extended [al. 'was first granted.'] to him when sinning: because the severity of God punishes a sinner the more strictly, the longer it has borne with him. But it is frequently the case, that while the Divine mercy is waiting for sinners, they plunge into greater blindness of heart. Whence it is written, Knowest thou not that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up for thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God? [Rom. 2, 4. 5.] Observe, then, that while the man of violence is spoiling those whom he is able, is oppressing the weak, and indulging a long time all his sinful desires; because he is not smitten at once, and because his punishment is deferred to the end, his most wicked conduct is believed not to be observed by God.

To answer the possible objection that God only accuses the powerful and does not punish them further, he continues with their twofold punishment. First, death overcomes them unexpectedly, and so he says, "They will die suddenly," as Isaiah says, "Suddenly, when it is not expected, his grief will come." (30:13) For if death overcame them in the usual way as expected, this would not be attributed to divine judgment, but to secondary causes. Second, he places the punishment of the rebellion of their subjects, through which they lose power, and so he says, "and in the middle of the night the people will be moved aside," for the peoples subject to princes and kings suddenly swerve by some hidden plot to revolt against their leaders, and so he says, "and they will pass away." changing lordship, "and they will take away," they will depose from rule or even kill, "the violent man," i.e. he who bore violence to his subjects by despising justice, "without the aid," of armed men. For when a prince is deposed by foreigners, he must have an armed force against him, but when his own subjects in whom his whole power consisted suddenly desert him, he seems that he is born away without an armed band. Although even this can refer to the punishment of the peoples, the first interpretation is better because he speaks now about the justice which God exercises over the great, and then he will speak about the justice which God exercises towards peoples. (v.24)

Elihu begins with an exhortation to Job's friends, Job 34:1-4; charges Job with accusing God of acting unrighteously, which he shows is impossible, Job 34:5-12; points out the power and judgments of the Almighty, vv. 13-30; shows how men should address God, and how irreverently Job has acted, Job 34:31-37.

In a moment shall they die - Both are equally dependent on the Almighty for their breath and being; the mighty as well as the poor. If the great men of the earth have abused their power, he sometimes cuts them off by the most sudden and unexpected death; and even at midnight, when in security, and least capable of defense, they are cut off by the people whom they have oppressed, or by the invisible hand of the angel of death. This appears to be spoken in reference to Eastern tyrants, who seldom die a natural death.

(Job 34:1-37) answered--proceeded.

they--"the rich" and "princes" who offend God. the people--namely, of the guilty princes: guilty also themselves. at midnight--image from a night attack of an enemy on a camp, which becomes an easy prey (Exo 12:29-30). without hand--without visible agency, by the mere word of God (so Job 20:26; Zac 4:6; Dan 2:34).