Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Job
Book: Job
Chapter: 40
Overview:
Job humbles himself to
God.
(1-5) The
Lord reasons with
Job to
show his
Righteousness, power, and
Wisdom.
(6-14) God's power
shown in
Behemoth.
(15-24)
1-5 Communion with the
Lord effectually convinces and humbles a
Saint, and makes him glad to part with his most beloved sins.
There is need to be thoroughly convinced and humbled, to prepare
us for remarkable deliverances. After
God had shown
Job,
By his
manifest ignorance of the
Works of nature, how unable he was to
Judge of the methods and designs of
Providence, he puts a
convincing question to him; Shall he that contendeth with the
Almighty instruct him? Now
Job began to melt into godly sorrow:
when his friends reasoned with him, he did not yield; but the
voice of the
Lord is powerful. When the
Spirit of
Truth is come,
he shall convince.
Job yields himself to the
Grace of
God. He
owns himself an offender, and has nothing to say to justify
himself. He is now sensible that he has sinned; and therefore he
calls himself vile.
Repentance changes men's opinion of
themselves.
Job is now convinced of his error. Those who are
truly sensible of their own sinfulness and vileness, dare not
justify themselves before
God. He perceived that he was a
Poor,
mean, foolish, and sinful
Creature, who ought not to have
uttered one
Word against the Divine conduct. One glimpse of
God's holy nature would appal the stoutest rebel. How, then will
the wicked
Bear the sight of his
Glory at the
Day of
Judgment?
But when we see this
Glory revealed in
Jesus Christ, we shall be
humbled without being terrified; self-abasement agrees with
filial
Love.
6-14 Those who profit
By what they have heard from
God, shall
hear more from him. And those who are truly convinced of
Sin,
yet need to be more thoroughly convinced and more humbled.
No
doubt
God, and he only, has power to humble and bring down proud
men; he has
Wisdom to know when and how to do it, and it is not
for us to teach him how to govern the world. Our own hands
cannot save us
By recommending us to
God's
Grace, much less
rescuing us from his
Justice; and therefore into his
Hand we
must commit ourselves. The renewal of a believer proceeds in the
same way of conviction, humbling, and watchfulness against
remaining
Sin, as his first
Conversion. When convinced of many
evils in our conduct, we still need convincing of many more.
15-24 God, for the further proving of his own power, describes
two vast animals, far exceeding
Man in bulk and strength.
Behemoth signifies beasts. Most understand it of an
Animal Well
known in
Egypt, called the
River-
Horse, or hippopotamus. This
vast
Animal is noticed as an argument to humble ourselves before
the great
God; for he created this vast
Animal, which is
So
fearfully and wonderfully made. Whatever strength this or any
other
Creature has, it is derived from
God. He that made the
soul of
Man, knows all the ways to it, and can make the
Sword of
Justice, his wrath, to approach and touch it. Every godly
Man
has spiritual weapons, the whole
Armour of
God, to resist, yea,
to overcome the tempter, that his never-dying soul may be safe,
whatever becomes of his frail
Flesh and mortal body.