Giobbe 21:19 Commento

This is Job's reply to Zophar's discourse, in which he complains less of his own miseries than he had done in his former discourses (finding that his friends were not moved by his complaints to pity him in the least), and comes closer to the general question that was in dispute between him and them, Whether outward prosperity, and the continuance of it, were a mark of the true church and the true members of it, so that the ruin of a man's prosperity is sufficient to prove him a hypocrite, though no other evidence appear against him: this they asserted, but Job denied. I. His preface here is designed for the moving of their affections, that he might gain their attention (Job 21:1-6). II. His discourse is designed for the convincing of their judgments and the rectifying of their mistakes. He owns that God does sometimes hang up a wicked man as it were in chains, in terrorem - as a terror to others, by some visible remarkable judgment in this life, but denies that he always does so; nay, he maintains that commonly he does otherwise, suffering even the worst of sinners to live all their days in prosperity and to go out of the world without any visible mark of his wrath upon them. 1. He describes the great prosperity of wicked people (Job 21:7-13). 2. He shows their great impiety, in which they are hardened by their prosperity (Job 21:14-16). 3. He foretels their ruin at length, but after a long reprieve (Job 21:17-21). 4. He observes a very great variety in the ways of God's providence towards men, even towards bad men (Job 21:22-26). 5. He overthrows the ground of their severe censures of him, by showing that the destruction of the wicked is reserved for the other world, and that they often escape to the last in this world (Job 21:27, to the end), and in this Job was clearly in the right.

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 21 This chapter contains Job's reply to Zophar's preceding discourse, in which, after a preface exciting attention to what he was about to say, Job 21:1; he describes by various instances the prosperity of wicked men, even of the most impious and atheistical, and which continues with them as long as they live, contrary to what Zophar had asserted in Job 20:5, Job 21:7; as for himself, he disapproved of such wicked men as much as any, and owns that destruction comes upon them sooner or later, and on their posterity also, Job 21:16; but as God is a God of knowledge, and needs no instruction from any, and is a sovereign Being, he deals with men in different ways; some die in great ease, and peace, and prosperity, and others in bitterness and distress, but both are alike brought to the dust, Job 21:22; and whereas he was aware of their censures of him, and their objections to what he had said, he allows that the wicked are reserved to the day of destruction, which is future, and in the mean while lie in the grave, where all must follow; yet they are not repaid or rewarded in this life, that remains to be done in another world, Job 21:27; and concludes, that their consolation with respect to him was vain, and falsehood was in their answers, Job 21:34.

His eyes shall see his destruction,.... Or "should see his destruction" (b); calamities coming upon himself and upon his children; or otherwise it will not affect him: but when a man has a personal experience of affliction as punishments of his sin, or with his own eyes sees his children in distressed circumstances on his account, this must sensibly affect him, and be a sore punishment to him; as it was to Zedekiah to have his children slain before his eyes, Jer 52:10; and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty; or "he should drink" (c) of it now, according to the principles of Job's friends, even he in person, and not his posterity only; the wrath of God is on account of sin, and dreadful to bear: if the wrath of a temporal king is as the roaring of a lion, what must be the wrath of the Almighty God, the King of kings, and Lord of lords? this is frequently in Scripture compared to a cup, and is called a cup of trembling, of wrath and fury: and of which all the wicked of the earth shall drink sooner or later, Psa 75:8; but this they should do now, according to the notions of Job's friends, whereas they do not; waters of a full cup, though not in wrath indeed, are wrung out to the people of God, and, as they apprehend, in wrath, when the wicked drink wine in bowls, and the cup of their prosperity overflows. (b) "videret ejus oculi exitium suum", Beza, Cocceius. (c) "biberet", Beza, Cocceius.

Since he spoke before him [Zophar] and said “from the time man was set upon the earth,” things go on in this manner. Job addresses his reproaches to him, because he ignores what is clear and evident. He says to him, you asserted that things are not as I said, but quite the opposite. Therefore, no one must know the secret plans of God, who rules the entire creation. Now tell me, why are those who are not impious punished? One is in need, the other in wealth, but their wickedness is the same.

Ver. 19. God shall lay up for his children the grief of their father. And when He repayeth, then he shall know it. 57. We know that it is written; Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and fourth generation. [Ex. 34, 7] And again it is written, What mean ye that ye make this a proverb among you concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord, ye shall not have this for a proverb any more in Israel. Behold all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. [Ezek. 18, 2-4] Thus in these two sentences whereas there is found a dissimilar meaning, the mind of the hearer is instructed, that it should search out with minute care the way of discernment. Since original sin we derive from our parents, and, except by the grace of Baptism we be loosed from it, we bear with us the sins of our very parents, seeing that surely we are still one with them. And so 'He visiteth the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,' when on account of the guilt of the parent, the soul of the offspring is polluted by original sin. And again He does not 'visit the sins of the fathers upon the children,' in that when we are freed from original guilt by Baptism, we no longer own the sins of our fathers, but those which we have ourselves been guilty of. Which however may be understood in another way as well, in that whosoever imitates the wicked ways of a bad father, is bound in his sins also. But whosoever does not follow the wickedness of his parent, is never burthened by his offence. And hence it comes to pass that the bad son of a bad father not only pays for his own sins, which he has added; but the sins of his father as well; seeing that to the evil practices of his father, which he is not ignorant that the Lord is angry with, he is not afraid to add yet further his own wickedness too. And it is meet that he who being liable to a strict Judge does not fear to follow the ways of a wicked parent, should be compelled in this present life to pay for even his parent's misdeeds. And hence it is there said, The soul of the father is Mine, and the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die, because in the flesh by the sin of the father the sons too are sometimes ruined. But now that original sin has been done away, they are not bound in the soul by the parent's wickedness. For how is it that little children are very often seized by devils, saving that the flesh of the son is mulcted in punishment of the father? For the bad father is stricken in his own person, and is too stubborn to feel the force of the blow. Very often he is stricken in his children, so as to be more sharply stung, and the sorrow of the father is rendered to the flesh of the children, to the end that the evil heart of the parent may be chastened by inflictions on the children. But when not little children, but such as are now more advanced in years, are stricken by the parent's sin, what else are we given clearly to understand, but that they likewise pay the penalties of those whose deeds they have imitated? And hence it is rightly said, Even unto the third and fourth generation. For whereas it is possible that 'even to the third and fourth generation,' children may witness the life of their father, which they copy, vengeance extends even to them, who witnessed what they might mischievously imitate. 58. And because sin shuts the eyes of the ungodly, but punishment opens them wide at the last, it is rightly subjoined; And when He repayeth, then he shall know it. For the ungodly man knows not the evil things he has done, except when he has already begun to be punished for those same evil deeds. Hence it is said by the Prophet; And the vexation alone shall give understanding to the hearing. For he then 'understands' what he has heard, when he now grieves that he is 'vexed' for the neglect of it. Hence it is said by Balaam concerning himself; the man whose eye is shut hath said: He hath said which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, which shall fail, and so his eyes shall be opened. [Num. 24, 3. 4.] For he gave counsel against the children of Israel, but he saw afterwards in punishment what it was he had been guilty of before in sin. Now the Elect, forasmuch as they see beforehand so that they should not sin, the eyes of these surely are open before their fall. But the wicked man opens his eyes after his fall, because after his sin he now in his own punishment sees that he ought to have avoided that ill which he did. Concerning the knowledge of which man, at that time useless from henceforth, the words are next introduced.

After this he speaks about his adversity as to his sons when he says, "God will save the pain of the father for the sons," because the punishment of the father extends to the sons as imitators of the evil of the father. Nor will this be deferred until after the death of the father, but this will happen while the father is alive and knows it, and so he says, "and when he (God) repays" namely, when God renders the punishment to the sons, "then he (the father) will know."

The king's heart is in the hand of God. We should practice mercy and justice. The lying tongue. The quarrelsome woman. The punishment of the wicked. The uncharitable. The private gift. The happiness of the righteous. The wicked a ransom for the righteous. The treasures of the wise. He who guards his tongue. Desire of the sluggard. The false witness. Salvation is of the Lord.

God layeth up his iniquity for his children - This is according to the declaration of God, Exo 20:5 : "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." This always supposes that the children, who are thus visited, have copied their parents' example; or that ill-gotten property is found in their hands, which has descended to them from their wicked fathers; and of this God, in his judgments, strips them. It is, however, very natural to suppose that children brought up without the fear of God will walk in the sight of their own eyes, and according to the imaginations of their own hearts. He rewardeth him, and he shall know it - He shall so visit his transgressions upon him, that he shall at last discern that it is God who hath done it. And thus they will find that there would have been profit in serving him, and safety in praying unto him. But this they have neglected, and now it is too late.

JOB'S ANSWER. (Job 21:1-34) consolations--If you will listen calmly to me, this will be regarded as "consolations"; alluding to Eliphaz' boasted "consolations" (Job 15:11), which Job felt more as aggravations ("mockings," Job 21:3) than consolations (Job 16:2).

Equally questionable is the friends' assertion that if the godless himself is not punished, the children are (Job 18:19; Job 20:10); and that God rewardeth him here for his iniquity, and that he shall know it to his cost. So "know" (Hos 9:7).