Expositor's Bible: The Book of Job Part 25

"_Suffer me a little and I will show thee, For I have somewhat yet to say on G.o.d's behalf.

I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

For truly my words are not false: One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee._"

Elihu is zealous for the honour of that great Being whom he adores because from Him he has received life and light and power. He is sure of what he says, and proceeds with a firm step. Preparation thus made, the vindication of G.o.d follows--a series of sayings which draw to something useful only when the doctrine becomes hopelessly inconsistent with what has already been laid down.

"_Behold G.o.d is mighty and despiseth not any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

He preserveth not the life of the wicked, But giveth right to the poor.

He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous, But, with kings on the throne, He setteth them up for ever, and they are exalted.

And if they be bound in fetters, If they be held in cords of affliction, Then He showeth them their work And their transgressions, that they have acted proudly, He openeth their ear to discipline And commandeth that they return from iniquity._"

"G.o.d despiseth not any"--this appears to have something of the humane breadth hitherto wanting in the discourses of Elihu. He does not mean, however, that the Almighty estimates every life without contempt, counting the feeblest and most sinful as His creatures; but that He pa.s.ses over none in the administration of His justice. Ill.u.s.trations of the doctrine as Elihu intends it to be received are supplied in the couplet, "He preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth right to the poor." The poor are helped, the wicked are given up to death.

As for the righteous, two very different methods of dealing with them are described. For Elihu himself, and others favoured with prosperity, the law of the Divine order has been, "With kings on the throne G.o.d setteth them up for ever." A personal consciousness of merit leading to honourable rank in the state seems at variance with the hard dogma of the evil desert of all men. But the rabbi has his own position to fortify. The alternative, however, could not be kept out of sight, since the misery of exile was a vivid recollection, if not an actual experience, with many reputable men who were bound in fetters and held by cords of affliction. It is implied that, though of good character, these are not equal in righteousness to the favourites of kings. Some errors require correction; and these men are cast into trouble, that they may learn to renounce pride and turn from iniquity. Elihu preaches the benefits of chastening, and in touching on pride he comes near the case of Job. But the argument is rude and indiscriminative.

To admit that a man is righteous and then speak of his transgressions and iniquity, must mean that he is really far beneath his reputation or the estimate he has formed of himself.

It is difficult to see precisely what Elihu considers the proper frame of mind which G.o.d will reward. There must be humility, obedience, submission to discipline, renunciation of past errors. But we remember the doctrine that a man's righteousness cannot profit G.o.d, can only profit his fellow-men. Does Elihu, then, make submission to the powers that be almost the same thing as religion? His reference to high position beside the throne is to a certain extent suggestive of this.

"_If they obey and serve G.o.d, They shall spend their days in prosperity And their years in pleasures.

But if they obey not They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge._"

Elihu thinks over much of kings and exaltation beside them and of years of prosperity and pleasure, and his own view of human character and merit follows the judgment of those who have honours to bestow and love the servile pliant mind.

In the dark hours of sorrow and pain, says Elihu, men have the choice to begin life anew in lowly obedience or else to harden their hearts against the providence of G.o.d. Instruction has been offered, and they must either embrace it or trample it under foot. And pa.s.sing to the case of Job, who, it is plain, is afflicted because he needs chastis.e.m.e.nt, not having attained to Elihu's perfectness in the art of life, the speaker cautiously offers a promise and gives an emphatic warning.

"_He delivereth the afflicted by his affliction And openeth their ear in oppression.

Yea, He would allure thee out of the mouth of thy distress Into a broad place where is no straitness; And that which is set on thy table shall be full of fatness.

But if thou art full of the judgment of the wicked, Judgment and justice shall keep hold on thee.

For beware lest wrath lead thee away to mockery, And let not the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.

Will thy riches suffice that are without stint?

Or all the forces of thy strength?

Choose not that night, When the peoples are cut off in their place: Take heed thou turn not to iniquity, For this thou hast chosen rather than affliction._"

A side reference here shows that the original writer dealing with his hero has been replaced by another who does not realise the circ.u.mstances of Job with the same dramatic skill. His appeal is forcible, however, in its place. There was danger that one long and grievously afflicted might be led away by wrath and turn to mockery or scornfulness, so forfeiting the possibility of redemption. Job might also say in bitterness of soul that he had paid a great price to G.o.d in losing all his riches. The warning has point, although Job never betrayed the least disposition to think the loss of property a ransom exacted of him by G.o.d. Elihu's suggestion to this effect is by no means evangelical; it springs from a worldly conception of what is valuable to man and of great account with the Almighty. Observe, however, the reminiscences of national disaster.

The picture of the night of a people's calamity had force for Elihu's generation, but here it is singularly inappropriate. Job's night had come to himself alone. If his afflictions had been shared by others, a different complexion would have been given to them. The final thrust, that the sufferer had chosen iniquity rather than profitable chastis.e.m.e.nt, has no point whatsoever.

The section closes with a strophe (vv. 22-25) which, calling for submission to the Divine ordinance and praise of the doings of the Almighty, forms a transition to the main theme of the address.

Chap. x.x.xvi. 26--x.x.xvii. 24. There need be little hesitation in regarding this pa.s.sage as an ode supplied to the second writer or simply quoted by him for the purpose of giving strength to his argument.

Scarcely a single note in the portion of Elihu's address already considered approaches the poetical art of this. The glory of G.o.d in His creation and His unsearchable wisdom are ill.u.s.trated from the phenomena of the heavens without reference to the previous sections of the address. One who was more a poet than a reasoner might indeed halt and stumble as the speaker has done up to this point and find liberty when he reached a theme congenial to his mind. But there are points at which we seem to hear the voice of Elihu interrupting the flow of the ode as no poet would check his muse. At chap, x.x.xvii. 14 the sentence is interjected, like an aside of the writer drawing attention to the words he is quoting,--"_Hearken unto this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of G.o.d._" Again (vv. 19, 20), between the description of the burnished mirror of the sky and that of the clearness after the sweeping wind, without any reference to the train of thought, the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n is introduced,--"_Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told Him that I speak? If a man speak surely he shall be swallowed up._" The final verses also seem to be in the manner of Elihu.

But the ode as a whole, though it has the fault of endeavouring to forestall what is put into the mouth of the Almighty speaking from the storm, is one of the fine pa.s.sages of the book. We pa.s.s from "cold, heavy and pretentious" dogmatic discussions to free and striking pictures of nature, with the feeling that one is guiding us who can present in eloquent language the fruits of his study of the works of G.o.d. The descriptions have been noted for their felicity and power by such observers as Baron Humboldt and Mr. Ruskin. While the point of view is that invariably taken by Hebrew writers, the originality of the ode lies in fresh observation and record of atmospheric phenomena, especially of the rain and snow, rolling clouds, thunderstorms and winds. The pictures do not seem to belong to the Arabian desert but to a fertile peopled region like Aram or the Chaldaean plain. Upon the fields and dwellings of men, not on wide expanses of barren sand, the rains and snows fall, and they seal up the hand of man. The lightning clouds cover the face of the "habitable world"; by them G.o.d judgeth the peoples.

In the opening verses the theme of the ode is set forth--the greatness of G.o.d, the vast duration of His being, transcending human knowledge.

"_Behold G.o.d is great and we know Him not, The number of His years is unsearchable._"

To estimate His majesty or fathom the depths of His eternal will is far beyond us who are creatures of a day. Yet we may have some vision of His power. Look up when rain is falling, mark how the clouds that float above distil the drops of water and pour down great floods upon the earth. Mark also how the dark cloud spreading from the horizon obscures the blue expanse of the sky. We cannot understand; but we can realise to some extent the majesty of Him whose is the light and the darkness, who is heard in the thunder-peal and seen in the forked lightning.

"_Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, The crashings of His pavilion?

Behold He spreadeth His light about Him; And covereth it with the depths of the sea.

For by these judgeth He the peoples; He giveth meat in abundance._"

Translating from the Vulgate the two following verses, Mr. Ruskin gives the meaning, "He hath hidden the light in His hands and commanded it that it should return. He speaks of it to His friend; that it is His possession, and that he may ascend thereto." The rendering cannot be received, yet the comment may be cited. "These rain-clouds are the robes of love of the Angel of the Sea. To these that name is chiefly given, the 'spreadings of the clouds,' from their extent, their gentleness, their fulness of rain." And this is "the meaning of those strange golden lights and purple flushes before the morning rain. The rain is sent to judge and feed us; but the light is the possession of the friends of G.o.d, that they may ascend thereto,--where the tabernacle veil will cross and part its rays no more."[9]

The real import does not reach this spiritual height. It is simply that the tremendous thunder brings to transgressors the terror of judgment, and the copious showers that follow water the parched earth for the sake of man. Of the justice and grace of G.o.d we are made aware when His angel spreads his wings over the world. In the darkened sky there is a crash as if the vast canopy of the firmament were torn asunder. And now a keen flash lights the gloom for a moment; anon it is swallowed up as if the inverted sea, poured in cataracts upon the flame, extinguished it. Men recognise the Divine indignation, and even the lower animals seem to be aware.

"_He covereth His hands with the lightning, He giveth it a charge against the adversary.

Its thunder telleth concerning Him, Even the cattle concerning that which cometh up._"

Continued in the thirty-seventh chapter, the description appears to be from what is actually going on, a tremendous thunderstorm that shakes the earth. The sound comes, as it were, out of the mouth of G.o.d, reverberating from sky to earth and from earth to sky, and rolling away under the whole heaven. Again there are lightnings, and "_He stayeth them not when His voice is heard._" Swift ministers of judgment and death they are darted upon the world.

We are asked to consider a fresh wonder, that of the snow which at certain times replaces the gentle or copious rain. The cold fierce showers of winter arrest the labour of man, and even the wild beasts seek their dens and abide in their lurking-places. "The Angel of the Sea," says Mr. Ruskin, "has also another message,--in the 'great rain of His strength,' rain of trial, sweeping away ill-set foundations. Then his robe is not spread softly over the whole heaven as a veil, but sweeps back from his shoulders, ponderous, oblique, terrible--leaving his sword-arm free." G.o.d is still directly at work. "_Out of His chamber cometh the storm and cold out of the north._" His breath gives the frost and straitens the breadth of waters. Towards Armenia, perhaps, the poet has seen the rivers and lakes frozen from bank to bank. Our science explains the result of diminished temperature; we know under what conditions h.o.a.r-frost is deposited and how hail is formed. Yet all we can say is that thus and thus the forces act. Beyond that we remain like this writer, awed in presence of a heavenly Will which determines the course and appoints the marvels of nature.

"_By the breath of G.o.d ice is given, And the breadth of the waters is straitened.

Also He ladeth the thick cloud with moisture, He spreadeth His lightning cloud abroad; And it is turned about by His guidance, That it may do whatsoever He commandeth Upon the face of the whole earth._"

Here, again, moral purpose is found. The poet attributes to others his own susceptibility. Men see and learn and tremble. It is for correction, that the careless may be brought to think of G.o.d's greatness, and the evil-doers of His power, that sinners being made afraid may turn from their rebellion. Or, it is for His earth, that rain may beautify it and fill the rivers and springs at which the beasts of the valley drink. Or, yet again, the purpose is mercy. Even the tremendous thunderstorm may be fraught with mercy to men. From the burning heat, oppressive, intolerable, the rains that follow bring deliverance. Men are fainting for thirst, the fields are languishing.

In compa.s.sion G.o.d sends His great cloud on its mission of life.

More delicate, needing finer observation, are the next objects of study.

"_Dost thou know how G.o.d layeth His charge on them, And causeth the light of His cloud to shine?

Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, The wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?_"

It is not clear whether the light of the cloud means the lightning again or the varied hues which make an Oriental sunset glorious in purple and gold. But the balancings of the clouds must be that singular power which the atmosphere has of sustaining vast quant.i.ties of watery vapour--either miles above the earth's surface where the filmy cirrhus floats, dazzling white against the blue sky, or lower down where the rain-cloud trails along the hill-tops. Marvellous it is that, suspended thus in the air, immense volumes of water should be carried from the surface of the ocean to be discharged in fructifying rain.

Then again:--

"_How are thy garments warm When the earth is still because of the south wind?_"

The sensation of dry hot clothing is said to be very notable in the season of the siroccos or south winds, also the extraordinary stillness of nature under the same oppressive influence. "There is no living thing abroad to make a noise. The air is too weak and languid to stir the pendant leaves even of the tall poplars."

Finally the vast expanse of the sky, like a looking-gla.s.s of burnished metal stretched far over sea and land, symbolises the immensity of Divine power.

"_Canst thou with Him spread out the sky Which is strong as a molten mirror?...

And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies: Yet the wind pa.s.seth and cleanseth them._"

It is always bright beyond. Clouds only hide the splendid sunshine for a time. A wind rises and sweeps away the vapours from the glorious dome of heaven. "_Out of the north cometh golden splendour_"--for it is the north wind that drives on the clouds which, as they fly southward, are gilded by the rays of the sun. But with G.o.d is a splendour greater far, that of terrible majesty.

So the ode finishes abruptly, and Elihu states his own conclusion:--

"_The Almighty! we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power, And in judgment and plenteous justice; He will not afflict.

Men do therefore fear Him; He regardeth not any that are wise of heart._"

Is Job wise in his own conceit? Does he think he can challenge the Divine government and show how the affairs of the world might have been better ordered? Does he think that he is himself treated unjustly because loss and disease have been appointed to him? Right thoughts of G.o.d will check all such ignorant notions and bring him a penitent back to the throne of the Eternal. It is a good and wise deduction; but Elihu has not vindicated G.o.d by showing in harmony with the n.o.blest and finest ideas of righteousness men have, G.o.d supremely righteous, and beyond the best and n.o.blest mercy men love, G.o.d transcendently merciful and gracious. In effect his argument has been--The Almighty must be all-righteous, and any one is impious who criticises life. The whole question between Job and the friends remains unsettled still.

Elihu's failure is significant. It is the failure of an attempt made, as we have seen, centuries after the Book of Job was written, to bring it into the line of current religious opinion. Our examination of the whole reveals the narrow foundation on which Hebrew orthodoxy was reared and explains the developments of a later time. Job may be said to have left no disciples in Israel. His brave personal hope and pa.s.sionate desire for union with G.o.d seem to have been lost in the fervid national bigotry of post-exilic ages; and while they faded, the Pharisee and Sadducee of after days began to exist. They are both here in germ. Springing from one seed, they are alike in their ignorance of Divine justice; and we do not wonder that Christ, coming to fulfil and more than fulfil the hope of humanity, appeared to both the Pharisee and Sadducee of His time as an enemy of religion, of the country, and of G.o.d.