Chapter 10

1 Job, taking liberty of complaint, expostulateth with God about his afflictions. 18 He complaineth of life, and craveth a little ease before death.

1. Leave my complaint. Job announces his intention to speak plainly. The three parts of the sentence have been described as “three convulsive sobs like the sparse large drops before the storm.”

2. Shew me wherefore. Job is again raising the unanswered question, “Why?” In the verses that follow, he examines one supposition after another as to why God treats him thus. These suppositions Job rejects as being out of harmony with God’s nature. The chapter ends with Job still confused as to the intentions and purposes of God.

3. Is it good unto thee? That is, “Does it seem good unto thee?” Does God get any pleasure out of oppressing His creatures? God has made man. Why should He despise His workmanship?

Shine upon. Or, “glorify.” “How is it,” Job inquires, “that the wicked seem to be better treated than those who love God?”

4. Eyes of flesh. Job’s second question: “Is God finite in His judgments—that He distributes rewards and punishments on the basis of a mistaken understanding of men’s merits?” His friends have misjudged him; perhaps God has misjudged him also.

5. As the days of man. Job’s third question: “Is God short-lived, therefore limited in experience and understanding? Does God expect soon to die, and therefore bear down on Job as if time were limited?”

As man’s days. Heb. kime geber, “like the days of a strong man.” The parallel expression in the preceding clause is a translation of kime Хenosh, “like the days of mankind.”

7. Thou knowest. Rather, “although thou knowest.”

None that can deliver. Two ideas appear throughout Job’s speeches: first, his sense of innocence; and second, his sense of helplessness. Job realizes that his questions (vs. 3–6) are so obviously out of harmony with God’s character that he cannot give them serious consideration. The distracted sufferer is back where he started, still faced with the taunting question, “Why?”

8. Fashioned me. Who makes a beautiful vase only to be destroyed? Who molds a statue from marble only to break it in pieces? Who builds a splendid edifice only to pull it down? Who plants a rare and precious flower only to have the pleasure of plucking it up?

9. As the clay. “Of clay” (LXX). See Job 33:6; Isa. 29:16; 45:9; Jer. 18:6; Rom. 9:20, 21.

10. Poured me out. This and the following verse are generally considered as descriptive of conception and embryonic development.

12. Favour. Heb. chesed. Generally translated “mercy”; frequently “kindness,” or “loving-kindness”; only rarely “favor.” There is no one English word that adequately translates chesed. The RSV renders it “steadfast love,” which comes closer to the meaning of the original, though it still falls short of conveying to the reader of the English what chesed does to the reader of Hebrew. It is difficult to describe the character of God in human language.

Visitation. A word that describes not only the visit but also that which the visit accomplishes. Here the “visitation” represents the solicitude and care exercised toward Job. Job recognized the keeping power of God, from his conception to full manhood, but this recognition only increases the question of why God is dealing with him now so severely.

13. These things. Either the intricacies of Job’s creation or the calamities that God had brought upon him. The latter is generally supposed.

This is with thee. That is, the intention to bring these calamities. The phrase is thought by some to introduce the verses that follow. Job is saying, if this interpretation is correct, that in spite of God’s care for him, He had entertained malignant purposes that now were finding expression.

14. Sin. Heb. chataХ, “to miss the mark,” not willful rebellion, which is represented in Hebrew by the root pashaФ. Job complains that God is too severe concerning small sins.

15. Be wicked. Or, “act wickedly.” The Hebrew root from which the verb is translated indicates acts of violence, in contrast with chataХ (v. 14).

If I be righteous. Job complains that even in this case he cannot lift up his head. He suffers in spite of his righteousness and cannot vindicate himself.

16. It increaseth. Literally, “he is lifted up.” The Syriac reads, “I be lifted up.”

As a fierce lion. See Isa. 31:4; Jer. 25:38.

Shewest thyself marvellous. God afflicts in strange and marvelous ways, says Job.

17. Renewest thy witnesses. Each fresh calamity testifies that God is displeased with Job.

Changes and war. Literally, “changes and a host.” The figure is probably that of armies, ever renewing their forces so as to maintain the pressure and momentum of their attacks.

18. Brought me forth. Job renews his lament regarding his birth (see ch. 3:1–13).

Given up the ghost. Literally, “expired” (see on ch. 3:11).

20. Let me alone. Plaintively, Job pleads for a little comfort before he dies.

21. Darkness. The idea of darkness is stressed in this and the following verse. Various Hebrew terms are employed. In v. 21 the common word for darkness is used. It is immediately followed by the word translated “shadow of death,” which is poetic for the world of the dead.

22. Without any order.Nothing describes death more vividly than darkness and chaos. Conversely, there are no better symbols of life than light and organization.

A homiletical outline of ch. 10 has been suggested as follows: Verses 1–7: (1) sobbing in the ear of God, (2) pleading before the throne of God, (3) appealing to the heart of God. Verses 8–17: (1) God’s former loving care, (2) God’s present cruel treatment. Verses 18–22: (1) A great mercy despised, (2) a sinful regret indulged, (3) a passionate entreaty offered, (4) a dismal future depicted.

Ellen G. White comments

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