Matthew Henry Commentary Job 42
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 42
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 42
"Then Job answered Jehovah, and said, I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained. Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor [myself], And repent in dust and ashes." — Job 42:1-6 (ASV)
Job was now aware of his guilt; he would no longer speak in his own defense. He abhorred himself as a sinner in heart and life, especially for murmuring against God, and felt ashamed.
When the understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of grace, our knowledge of divine things far exceeds what we had before, just as the sight of the eyes excels hearsay and common reputation.
By the teachings of men, God reveals His Son to us; but by the teachings of His Spirit, He reveals His Son in us (Galatians 1:16) and changes us into the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18).
It is important for us to be deeply humbled for the sins of which we are convinced. Self-loathing is always the companion of true repentance.
The Lord will bring those whom He loves to adore Him in self-abasement, while true grace will always lead them to confess their sins without self-justifying.
"And it was so, that, after Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as Jehovah commanded them: and Jehovah accepted Job." — Job 42:7-9 (ASV)
After the Lord had convinced and humbled Job, and brought him to repentance, He acknowledged him, comforted him, and bestowed honor upon him. The devil had undertaken to prove Job a hypocrite, and his three friends had condemned him as a wicked man; but if God says, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, it is of little consequence who says otherwise. Job's friends had wronged God by making prosperity a mark of the true church, and affliction a certain proof of God's wrath.
Job had referred things to the future judgment and the future state more than his friends; therefore, he spoke of God what was right, better than his friends had done. And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those who had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed for His persecutors and ever lives, making intercession for the transgressors. Job's friends were good men and belonged to God, and He would not let them persist in their mistake any more than He had allowed Job to persist in his; but having humbled Job by a discourse out of the whirlwind, He took another way to humble them.
They were not to argue the matter again, but they had to agree on a sacrifice and a prayer, and that was to reconcile them. Those who differ in judgment about lesser things, yet are one in Christ the great Sacrifice, ought therefore to love and bear with one another. When God was angry with Job's friends, He showed them a way to make peace with Him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but making peace begins on His.
Peace with God is to be found only in His own way and on His own terms. These will never seem hard to those who know how to value this blessing: they will be glad of it, like Job's friends, on any terms, however humbling. Job did not insult his friends; but, God having been graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled to them. In all our prayers and services, we should aim to be accepted by the Lord; not to receive praise from men, but to please God. (Job 42:10–17)
"And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold. So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: And he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemimah: and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons` sons, [even] four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days. Book I " — Job 42:10-17 (ASV)
In the beginning of this book, we had Job's patience under his troubles as an example; here, for our encouragement to follow that example, we have his happy end. His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose. Mercy did not return when Job was disputing with his friends, but when he was praying for them.
God is served and pleased with our warm devotions, not with our warm disputes. God doubled Job's possessions. We may lose much for the Lord, but we will not lose anything by him. Whether the Lord gives us health and temporal blessings or not, if we patiently suffer according to his will, in the end we will be happy.
Job's estate increased. The blessing of the Lord makes rich; it is he that gives us power to get wealth and gives success in honest endeavors. The last days of a good man sometimes prove his best, his last works his best works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his path, like that of the morning light, shines more and more unto the perfect day.
Jump to: