Matthew Henry Commentary Job 18
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 18
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 18
"Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long will ye hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. Wherefore are we counted as beasts, [And] are become unclean in your sight? Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?" — Job 18:1-4 (ASV)
Bildad had before given Job good advice and encouragement; here he used nothing but rebukes, and declared his ruin. And he concluded that Job shut out the providence of God from the management of human affairs, because he would not admit himself to be wicked.
"Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon the toils. A gin shall take [him] by the heel, [And] a snare shall lay hold on him. A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way." — Job 18:5-10 (ASV)
Bildad describes the miserable condition of a wicked man; where there is much certain truth, if we consider that a sinful condition is a sad condition, and that sin will be their ruin, if they do not repent. Though Bildad thought the application of it to Job was easy, yet it was not safe nor just. It is common for angry disputants to rank their opponents among God's enemies, and to draw wrong conclusions from important truths.
The destruction of the wicked is foretold. That destruction is represented under the likeness of a beast or bird caught in a snare, or a criminal taken into custody. Satan, as he was a murderer, so he was a robber, from the beginning. He, the tempter, lays snares for sinners wherever they go.
If he makes them sinful like himself, he will make them miserable like himself. Satan hunts for the precious life. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare for himself, and God is preparing for his destruction. See how the sinner runs himself into the snare.
"Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side. The members of his body shall be devoured, [Yea], the first-born of death shall devour his members. He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors. There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He shall have neither son nor son`s son among his people, Nor any remaining where he sojourned. They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God." — Job 18:11-21 (ASV)
Bildad describes the destruction wicked people are reserved for in the next world, and which, to some extent, often overtakes them in this world. The way of sin is the way of fear and leads to everlasting confusion, of which the present terrors of an impure conscience are foretastes, as in Cain and Judas. Miserable indeed is a wicked man's death, however secure his life was. See him dying; all that he trusts in for his support will be taken from him.
How happy are the saints, and how indebted to the Lord Jesus, by whom death is so completely overcome and changed, that this king of terrors has become a friend and a servant! See the wicked man's family ruined and cut off. His children will perish, either with him or after him. Those who consider the true honor of their family and its welfare will be afraid of destroying everything through sin.
The judgments of God follow the wicked man after death in this world, as a proof of the misery his soul is in after death, and as a foretaste of that everlasting shame and contempt to which he will rise in the great day. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot (Proverbs 10:7). It would be good if this account of wicked men would cause anyone to flee from the wrath to come, from which their power, policy, and riches cannot deliver them. But Jesus lives forever to deliver all who trust in him.
Therefore, take courage, suffering believers. You will for a little time have sorrow, but your Beloved, your Savior, will see you again; your hearts will rejoice, and your joy no man taketh away.
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