This is the wicked man's portion from God--the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. Sermons
I. AFFLICTION UPON HIS FAMILY. A curse is upon his home. The sword, the famine, the pestilence, carry off his children, even if they be multiplied. II. INSECURITY OF HIS WEALTH. Yea, "though he heap up silver as the dust." The Divine retributions are everywhere acknowledge(! to extend to ill-gotten gain. Job is speaking of "the wicked man" and of "oppressors." They have an earthly "heritage," but there is a God that judgeth in the earth, and there is a "heritage" also which they shall receive of the Almighty. III. THE INSTABILITY OF HIS HOUSE. That in which man takes so great a pride. To establish a name in the earth, to be distinguished as a family, a house, is a marked aim on the part of most men. The effort and hope of the wicked are cut off. The very "name of the wicked shall rot." IV. HE IS THE VICTIM OF SORROW, UNHAPPINESS, AND FEAR. That which sustains the righteous in his afflictions, viz. his conscious integrity, is wanting in the wicked, and he becomes filled with fear. V. HE IS FINALLY UPROOTED AND CAST AWAY. He leaves no permanent memorial. His name, his works, his memory, are not cherished by any. "The east wind carrieth him away," and he is hurled "out of his place." He is judged of God; he is despised of man (vers. 22, 23). This, in Job's view, is the lot of the ungodly; and though he himself has Suffered many things at the hands of the Lord, he is conscious of his righteousness, and has confident hope of final vindication. - R.G.
I will teach you by the hand of God. Homilist. Looking at Job's lecture or address, we have to notice two things.I. ITS INTRODUCTION. The eleventh and twelfth verses may be regarded as an exordium; and in this exordium he indicates two things. 1. That his arguments are drawn from the operations of God in human history. "I will teach you by the hand of God." 2. That the facts of human history are open to the observation of all. "Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it." II. ITS DOCTRINE. The doctrine is this, that punishment will ultimately overtake wicked men, however much, for a time, they may prosper in the world. "He gives back," says a modern writer, "to his three friends the doctrine which they had fully imparted to him." 1. That great wickedness often prospers for a time in this life. 2. That though it may, it must be followed by terrible punishment. Conclusion —(1) This address of Job's is worthy of the imitation of religious teachers.(2) It shows that worldly prosperity is neither a test of character, nor a safeguard against punishment. (Homilist.) 1. That Eliphaz and Bildad had each spoken three times, and that we are naturally led to expect a third speech from Zophar; but, according to the present arrangement, there is none. 2. That the sentiments accord exactly with what Zophar might be expected to advance, and are exactly in his style; that they are expressed in "his fierce manner of accusation," and are "in the very place where Zophar's speech is naturally expected." But the objections to this view are insuperable. They are —(1) The entire want of any authority in the manuscripts, or ancient versions, for such an arrangement or supposition. All the ancient versions and manuscripts make this a part of the speech of Job.(2) If this had been a speech of Zophar, we should have expected a reply to it, or an allusion to it, in the speech of Job which follows. But no such reply or allusion occurs.(3) If the form which is usual on the opening of a speech — "And Zophar answered and said" — had ever existed here, it is incredible that it should have been removed. But it occurs in no manuscript or version; and it is not allowable to make such an alteration in the Scripture by conjecture. Wemyss, in his translation of Job, accords with the view of Kennicott, and makes the verses 13-23 to be the third speech of Zophar.For this, however, he alleges no authority, and no reasons except such as had been suggested by Kennicott. Coverdale has inserted the word "saying" at the close of verse 12, and regards what follows to the end of the chapter as an enumeration or recapitulation of the false sentiments which they had maintained, and which Job regards as the "vain" things (ver. 12) which they had maintained. In support of this view, it may be alleged —(1) That it avoids all the difficulty of transposition, and the necessity of inserting an introduction, as we must do, if we suppose it to be a speech of Zophar.(2) It avoids the difficulty of supposing that Job had here contradicted the sentiments which he had before advanced, or of conceding all that his friends had maintained.(3) It is in accordance with the practice of the speakers in this book, and the usual practice of debaters, who enumerate at considerable length the sentiments which they regard as erroneous, and which they design to oppose.(4) It is the most simple and natural supposition, and, therefore, most likely to be the true one. (Albert Barnes.) People JobPlaces UzTopics Allots, Almighty, Cruel, Evil-doer, Heritage, Inheritance, Mighty, Ones, Oppressors, Portion, Punishment, Receive, Receives, Ruler, Ruthless, Terrible, Tyrants, Violent, WickedOutline 1. Job protests his sincerity8. The hypocrite is without hope 11. The blessings which the wicked have are turned into curses Dictionary of Bible Themes Job 27:13-14Library The Touchstone of Godly SincerityWho, then, is this "wicked man," thus portrayed before us? And what are the first symptoms of his depravity? We ask not the question idly, but in order that we take heed against the uprise of such an evil in ourselves. "Beneath the saintly veil the votary of sin May lurk unseen; and to that eye alone Which penetrates the heart, may stand revealed." The hypocrite is very often an exceedingly neat imitation of the Christian. To the common observer he is so good a counterfeit that he entirely escapes … Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871 Whether Hypocrisy is Contrary to the virtue of Truth? On the Interior Man Wesley in St. Albans Abbey The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate, The Sinner Arraigned and Convicted. God's Sovereignty and Prayer Job Links Job 27:13 NIVJob 27:13 NLT Job 27:13 ESV Job 27:13 NASB Job 27:13 KJV Job 27:13 Bible Apps Job 27:13 Parallel Job 27:13 Biblia Paralela Job 27:13 Chinese Bible Job 27:13 French Bible Job 27:13 German Bible Job 27:13 Commentaries Bible Hub |