Job’s Summary Defense
Job bemoaned himself of his former prosperity and honour. 1. Continued his parable. From his profound meditation upon the nature of true wisdom and the contrast between the accomplishments of man and the infinite knowledge of God, Job turns to another contrast which he follows through two chapters (chs. 29 and 30).
Job 29:1 Job continued his discourse:
This discourse presents the contrast between what Job was and what he is—between his condition in the time of his prosperity and that to which he has been reduced by his afflictions. The description of his former life in ch. 29 effectively answers the accusations of his friends regarding his character and conduct.
Job 29:2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
No one ever longed more deeply for the “good old days” than did Job. Few men ever suffered greater reversal of circumstances or more compelling reasons for cherishing the memory of days gone by. Preserved.
Or, “watched over me.” In this expression may be seen not only a longing for past material blessings but a loneliness for the care of the God who once seemed so near him. Job’s cry is like that of an orphaned child.
Job 29:3 when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
Compare Job 18:6; 21:17; Ps. 18:28. God had been a light to Job. Suddenly that light had gone out, leaving him to grope in darkness. But he remembers the light, longs for the light, and hopes against hope that he will be able to find it again. Compare Prov. 20:27.
Job 29:4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
Job probably refers to the days of his mature manhood, which he had reached when his calamities fell upon him. Job seems to picture God, as a friend, coming to his tent, and his enjoying God’s companionship and sharing God’s plans. Now, it seems, God has passed him by. He no longer understands the ways of God, and God has left him to suffer alone without an explanation of why such suffering has come upon him.
Job 29:5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
Job, through his afflictions, had come to look upon the Almighty as no longer with him (see chs. 6:4; 7:19; 9:17; 10:16).
Children. The two experiences that pained Job most are made parallel in this verse— the apparent withdrawing of the friendship of God and the loss of his children. The greatest happiness has within it the possibilities of the greatest sorrow. The greatest blessings, when they are removed, leave the greatest emptiness.
Job 29:6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
Cream and oil were symbols of prosperity among the Orientals.
Job 29:7 “When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
Job recalls three primary sources of his former happiness: (1) fellowship with God, (2) companionship with his children, (3) respect of his fellow men. The greatest amount of attention is given in this chapter to the last of these three experiences.
The gate was the place where justice was administered and public business carried on. At this place the crowds gathered, and paid respect to Job as a leader among them (see Neh. 8:1, 3, 16).
My seat. A seat would be brought out and prepared where the judges would sit to hear cases and pass judgments.
Job 29:8 the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
The whole image presents a beautiful illustration of Oriental manners and of the respect paid to a man of character and distinction. The young men withdrew to inconspicuous corners, and the old men stood up in reverent respect. The homage paid was not so much to age as to dignity.
Job 29:9 the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
These dignitaries never ventured an opinion in opposition to Job, so highly did they respect his wisdom and character (cf. ch. 21:5).
Job 29:10 the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job 29:11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
This verse comprehends, in addition to the princes and nobles, the people. The common folk hailed Job as a champion and protector, and he obtained the satisfaction that comes from the sincere love of the people.
Job 29:12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
This verse reveals the spirit of Job in contrast with the accusations of his friends (see ch. 22:5–10). One of the most often stressed ethical principles of the OT is justice for the poor and mercy for the helpless (see Ps. 72:12–14; Prov. 21:13; 24:11, 12; Isa. 1:17).
Job 29:13 The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.
He refers to the man who was falsely accused and was in danger of execution, or the man who was near death as the result of poverty and want. There is no gratitude more enthusiastic and sincere than that of a person whose benefactor has delivered him from imminent death.
Widow’s heart. Job lived in a day when the survival of the helpless classes, such as widows and orphans, was dependent on the large-heartedness of sympathetic persons. There was no “welfare state,” such as exists in some lands today, to meet human need. Such men as Job brought great happiness to those whose support had been taken away.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
Righteousness and judgment were so much a part of Job that they became the distinctive characteristics by which the people recognized him (Isa. 61:10; cf. Ps. 109:18, 19).
Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
In the days prior to modern medical science, the blind were numerous.
Often, they eked out an existence by begging. Job did not forget these outcasts. The figure indicates that his gifts were more than a pittance. Apparently, he went as far as possible in supplying their lack. Such charity would justify him in saying that he was “eyes” to the blind and “feet” to the lame.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger
Job’s gifts kept pace with his sympathy. The cause which I knew not. Job was willing to put forth effort on behalf of strangers, to see that they received justice. Job 29:17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
The metaphor is taken from hunting. Job compares the wicked to a wild beast with its helpless victim in its grasp. He pictures himself as the one who rescues such victims by breaking the jaws of the beast of prey.
Job 29:18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
As the sand. A simile of long life.
Job 29:19 My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
Job compares himself in his former prosperous state to a tree growing by the side of a river, nourished by the water that reaches its roots, and the dew on its leaves and branches (see Gen. 27:39; Ps. 1:3; 133:3; Jer. 17:8).
Job 29:20 My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’
A symbol of strength (Gen. 49:24). Job was not exhausted; he continued in vigor and strength.
Job 29:21 “People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
In v. 7 Job had spoken of his office as judge. Now he refers to the position that he had occupied among his countrymen as statesman and counselor.
Job 29:22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
Job 29:23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
To compare Job’s counsel with rain was to assign to it the very highest value. The “latter rain” refers to the spring rains that aided in bringing crops to maturity (see Deut. 11:14; Jer. 3:3; 5:24; Joel 2:23; Hosea 6:3).
Job 29:24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
The old Jewish commentators considered this text to mean that men so highly respected Job’s importance that they could not believe it possible for him to smile familiarly with them. A more plausible explanation is that Job cheered despondent people with friendly smiles.
My face was precious to them. Job was able to help by his smile those who were perplexed and despondent, and despondency on the part of others was never able to cast down his countenance. He had sufficient spiritual resources to enable him to remain happy and unperturbed, though those about him were despondent.
Job 29:25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.
This verse seems to point out Job in his civil, administrative, and domestic life. As a magistrate, he chose the way, adjusted the differences, and sat chief. As an able administrator, he dwelt as a king over an army, preserving order and discipline.
As a man, he endeavored to relieve and comfort his fellow men. Why did Job endeavor so earnestly to vindicate himself? He had been charged with enormous guilt and hypocrisy. These charges could not go unchallenged. This recital of Job’s former happiness tended to emphasize, by contrast, the greatness of his misery.