Job 36:28 Komentář

Elihu, having largely reproved Job for some of his unadvised speeches, which Job had nothing to say in the vindication of, here comes more generally to set him to rights in his notions of God's dealings with him. His other friends had stood to it that, because he was a wicked man, therefore his afflictions were so great and so long. But Elihu only maintained that the affliction was sent for his trial, and that therefore it was lengthened out because Job was not, as yet, thoroughly humbled under it, nor had duly accommodated himself to it. He urges many reasons, taken from the wisdom and righteousness of God, his care of his people, and especially his greatness and almighty power, with which, in this and the following chapter, he persuades him to submit to the hand of God. Here we have, I. His preface, (Job 36:2-4). II. The account he gives of the methods of God's providence towards the children of men, according as they conduct themselves (Job 36:5-15). III. The fair warning and good counsel he gives to Job thereupon (Job 36:16-21). IV. His demonstration of God's sovereignty and omnipotence, which he gives instances of in the operations of common providence, and which is a reason why we should all submit to him in his dealings with us (Job 36:22-33). This he prosecutes and enlarges upon in the following chapter.

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.

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.

Which flow from the clouds. Which cover all things above. For these whirlpools do indeed flow from the clouds; because, if the power of understanding did not begin with the holy Apostles, it would not flow more fully through the mouths of teachers. For by 'clouds' in Holy Scripture, sometimes fickle men, sometimes Prophets, sometimes Apostles, are designated. By clouds the fickleness of the human mind is expressed; as Solomon says, He that observeth the wind, doth not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds, doth never reap. [Eccles. 11, 4] He doubtless calls the unclean spirit, 'wind,' but men who are subjected to him, 'clouds;' whom he impels backwards and forward, hither and thither, as often as his temptations alternate in their hearts from the blasts of suggestions. He, therefore, who observes the wind, does not sow; since he who dreads coming temptations, does not direct his heart to good works. And he who regards the clouds, does not reap, since he who trembles from the dread of human fickleness, deprives himself of the recompense of an eternal reward. By 'clouds' are Prophets set forth, as is said by the Psalmist; Dark water in the clouds of the air; [Ps. 18, 11] that is, hidden wisdom in the Prophets. By 'clouds' also Apostles are designated, as is said by Isaiah, I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. [Is. 5, 6] They are 'stars' then, because they shine with the merits of their life; they are 'clouds,' because they water the parched ground of our heart with the streams of heavenly knowledge. For if they were not 'clouds,' the Prophet would not have said, when looking on them, Who are these that fly as clouds? [Is. 60, 8] The whirlpools of showers pour then from the clouds, because the profound instructions of those that follow derived the origin of their wisdom from the holy Apostles. When the clouds cover the air above, if we lift up our eyes to the heaven, we behold not the heaven, but them; nor does our sight penetrate the ethereal regions, because its own infirmity conceals them from it. And when the sun shines forth from the heaven, it first feeds itself on the air which is poured between, that so it may afterwards contemplate the rays of the sun in the sky. Because, therefore, we are carnal men, when we endeavour to attain to heavenly things, we raise, as it were, our eyes to heaven, and direct our gaze thither; for oppressed by our connection with bodily things, we wish to teach it spiritual things. But because our intellect is not permitted to pass over to Divine objects, unless it be first fashioned by the examples of preceding Saints, our eye, as it were, now looks up to heaven, but beholds clouds; because it seeks to comprehend those things which are of God, but is barely able to admire those things which have been given to men. Whence it is said in another place, Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the eternal mountains. [Ps. 76, 4] For he, who cannot behold the rising sun, looks at the mountains tinged with his rays, and discovers that the sun has risen. God enlightens us, therefore, from the eternal mountains, because He illuminates us with the ray of His brightness, by our admiring the doings of former fathers. Behold we are kindled with zeal of devotion and love for the Lord; but we are the better moulded in this devotion and love by our contemplation of these clouds. For what was more devoted than Peter? What more full of love than John? The one through his devotion feared not to tread the watery ridges of the sea. [Matt. 14, 28. 29.] The other rested through love on the very breast of our Maker: and he who had come to the refreshment of a bodily feast, derived spiritual food from the bosom of the Redeemer. [John 13, 23-25] But because we have said, that Prophets also are signified by 'clouds,' it is necessary for us still to bring forward the examples of the ancient fathers. Behold when we are wishing to submit, through obedience, to heavenly precepts, we are assisted by considering the footsteps of the old fathers. For what was more obedient than Abraham, who at one word from the Lord, forsakes his kindred, and his country; [Gen 12, 1-4] and for the sake of obtaining his eternal inheritance, fears not to smite him, whom he had received as his heir, when now old and almost ready to die? When we are endeavouring to gain hold of the virtue of patience, we look at the examples of those who precede us. For what is more patient than Isaac, who carries the wood, asks about the burnt offering, and is, shortly afterwards, bound, and speaks not: is placed upon the altar, and resists not? [Gen. 22, 6-9] What then can be spoken of, more patient than this man? who is led, as if for consolation, and makes an enquiry; who is bound ready for the blow, and is silent; who speaks when about to offer a burnt offering, but when about to be offered as a burnt offering speaks not? When we are endeavouring to gird ourselves for endurance of toils, we are supported by preceding examples. For what is more laborious than Jacob, who though near to Laban by the rights of kindred, discharged for so long a time servile offices in his family, and obeyed him in the place of a servant, that he might enjoy the rewards of the heir? [Gen. 29, 15-30] When we are striving to ascend the citadel of continence and chastity, we are supported by the examples of those who precede us. For what is more chaste than Joseph, who could not, even though a captive, be brought under the yoke of lust at the desire of his wanton mistress? [Gen. 39, 7. 8.] And he was indeed a slave to men, but was, even in slavery, free from the power of dominant wickedness. When we are wishing to be filled with gentleness, we are assisted with the examples of those who precede us. For what was more gentle than Moses, who bears with the sedition of the people committed to his care, and yet entreats the Lord when angry, in behalf of these his persecutors, and exposes himself in their stead to the Divine wrath; because love glows in his holy breast even from persecution? [Numb. 16, 20-22] When we are endeavouring to fashion the constancy of our mind against the adversities of the world, we are supported by the consideration of those who precede us. For what is more constant than Joshua, who, when sent to search out the nature of the nations, feared not either the hugeness of their height, nor the multitude of their numbers? [Numb. 14, 6-9] Whence he subdued in battle those very same nations which he feared not in searching them out. When we are endeavouring to reach the height of kindness, we are instructed by the examples of those who go before us. For what is more kind than Samuel, who when deposed from his office of governing the people, humbly seeks for his successor; and anoints him when found to be king, and soon endures him when anointed as his persecutor? He is afraid of dying by his hands, and yet entreats the Lord not to be angry with him. For he himself says when he was sent, Saul will hear, and will kill me. [1 Sam. 16, 2] And the Truth says to him by Itself; How long dost thou mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him. [ib. 1] What then can be mentioned more kind than that man, who wishes not that even he should be smitten by God, by whom he is afraid of being killed? When we are advancing to the height of mercifulness and humility, we are supported by the examples of those who go before us. For what can be mentioned more merciful than David, what more humble, who received from the reprobate king insults for his victories, who by his strength rescued the nation of the Israelites from the hand of their enemies, and yet fled away himself lest he should die, as one of no strength? He knows that he himself was elected by the Divine sentence, and that his persecutor was rejected; and yet he submits himself to this very same persecutor of his, with the humility of frequent satisfaction, who takes away the spear of his persecutor, cuts off the border of his cloak, [l Sam. 24, 4] and hastens at once to the top of the mountain, and at one and the same time shews that he has had the power of slaying, and prays that he might not be slain. [ib. 26, 12-16] Because then we are instructed by preceding examples, in all things which we spiritually desire, it is well said of these clouds, Which cover all things above. For we are covered by the life of the fathers spread over us, like clouds, in order that we may be watered, to bear the produce of a fruitful growth. And we behold, as it were, the clouds first, when looking up to heaven; because we first behold, with admiration, the doings of the good, and we afterwards penetrate, by our experience, those things which are heavenly. But because the life and the virtue of these clouds, that is, of these ancient fathers, would not be open to us, unless other clouds, that is the Apostles, disclosed it with the light of their preaching, let our discourse turn back to those clouds, which go about the world with their preaching; and let it shew what the Lord has done by their means in the world.

Such an abundance of rain seems wonderful if the origin of rain is considered, because so much water bursts forth from the clouds which have no solidity, and as to this he says, "which," the torrents "flow from the clouds" not because such rain exists in act in the clouds, but because the vapors themselves of the clouds gradually condense into rain. The rain is more wonderful because it is poured over the great expanse of the region and so he says, "and covers everything from above," so that in places where it rains no part of the land remains unwatered.

Elihu vindicates God's justice, and his providential and gracious dealings with men, Job 36:1-9. Promises of God to the obedient, and threatenings to the disobedient; also promises to the poor and afflicted, Job 36:10-16. Sundry proofs of God's merely, with suitable exhortations and cautions, vv. 17-33.

Which the clouds do drop - In proportion to the evaporation will be the clouds or masses of volatilized and suspended vapor; and in proportion to this will be the quantum of rain which in different forms will fall upon the earth. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the Septuagint. I shall insert the whole verse: Ῥυησονται παλαιωματα, εσκιασε δε νεφη επι αμυθητῳ βροτῳ· ὡραν εθετο κτηνεσιν, οιδασι δε κοιτης ταξιν· επι τουτοις πασιν ουκ εξισταται σου ἡ διανοια, ουδε διαλλασσεται σου ἡ καρδια απο σωματος; "The rains descend, and the clouds cover with their shadows multitudes of men: he hath appointed to animals to know the order of their dwellings. At the contemplation of these things is not thy mind transported, and thy heart ready to part from thy body?"

(Job 36:1-33) Elihu maintains that afflictions are to the godly disciplinary, in order to lead them to attain a higher moral worth, and that the reason for their continuance is not, as the friends asserted, on account of the sufferer's extraordinary guilt, but because the discipline has not yet attained its object, namely, to lend him to humble himself penitently before God (Isa 9:13; Jer 5:3). This is Elihu's fourth speech. He thus exceeds the ternary number of the others. Hence his formula of politeness (Job 36:2). Literally, "Wait yet but a little for me." Bear with me a little farther. I have yet (much, Job 32:18-20). There are Chaldeisms in this verse, agreeably to the view that the scene of the book is near the Euphrates and the Chaldees.

abundantly--literally, "upon many men."