23 If there be with him an angel, An interpreter, one among a thousand, To show unto man what is right for him;
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening `of the prison' to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art reproved of him; For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom `his' father chasteneth not? But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened `us' as seemed good to them; but he for `our' profit, that `we' may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, `even the fruit' of righteousness. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees;
We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech `you' on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.
But I speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;
And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Then spake Haggai Jehovah's messenger in Jehovah's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith Jehovah.
Therefore hath Jehovah watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth therein; in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
And the angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:
I know, O Jehovah, that thy judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.
`Touching' the Almighty, we cannot find him out He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict.
And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions; Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. He openeth also their ear to instruction, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they hearken and serve `him', They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he bindeth them.
How much less when thou sayest thou beholdest him not, The cause is before him, and thou waitest for him!
That which I see not teach thou me: If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly;
And Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Job 33
Commentary on Job 33 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 33
Pompous prefaces, like the teeming mountain, often introduce poor performances; but Elihu's discourse here does not disappoint the expectations which his preface had raised. It is substantial, and lively, and very much to the purpose. He had, in the foregoing chapter, said what he had to say to Job's three friends; and now he comes up close to Job himself and directs his speech to him.
Job 33:1-7
Several arguments Elihu here uses to persuade Job not only to give him a patient hearing, but to believe that he designed him a good office, and to take it kindly, and be willing to receive the instructions he was now about to give him. Let Job consider,
Job 33:8-13
In these verses,
Job 33:14-18
Job had complained that God kept him wholly in the dark concerning the meaning of his dealings with him, and therefore concluded he dealt with him as his enemy. "No,' says Elihu, "he speaks to you, but you do not perceive him; so that the fault is yours, not his; and he is designing your real good even in those dispensations which you put this harsh construction upon.' Observe in general,
In these verses he shows how God teaches and admonishes the children of men by their own consciences. Observe,
Job 33:19-28
God has spoken once to sinners by their own consciences, to keep them from the paths of the destroyer, but they perceive it not; they are not aware that the checks their own hearts give them in a sinful way are from God, but they are imputed to melancholy or the preciseness of their education; and therefore God speaks twice; he speaks a second time, and tries another way to convince and reclaim sinners, and that is by providences, afflictive and merciful (in which he speaks twice), and by the seasonable instructions of good ministers setting in with them. Job complained much of his diseases and judged by them that God was angry with him; his friends did so too: but Elihu shows that they were all mistaken, for God often afflicts the body in love, and with gracious designs of good to the soul, as appears in the issue. This part of Elihu's discourse will be of great use to us for the due improvement of sickness, in and by which God speaks to men. Here is,
Job 33:29-33
We have here the conclusion of this first part of Elihu's discourse, in which,