Job 9:22

9:22-24 Job touches briefly upon the main point now in dispute. His friends maintained that those who are righteous and good, always prosper in this world, and that none but the wicked are in misery and distress: he said, on the contrary, that it is a common thing for the wicked to prosper, and the righteous to be greatly afflicted. Yet there is too much passion in what Job here says, for God doth not afflict willingly. When the spirit is heated with dispute or with discontent, we have need to set a watch before our lips.

This is one thing,.... Or "one thing there is" (x) in the world, as Jarchi adds; or "one measure", as the Targum, to good and bad men; one event alike to the righteous, and to the wicked, Ecclesiastes 9:2 ; so that, as others render it, "it is all one" (y), whether a man righteous and perfect, or whether he is not, he is equally liable to be afflicted and distressed: and "this is one thing, very singular" (z), amazing and astonishing, and very unaccountable; but so it is, and which he differed from his three friends about; as to the justice of God, he agreed with them in that; yea, he believed he was righteous in whatever he did, and even in this, which was so strange and surprising, though he could not account for it: and "this is uniform", as Mr.

Broughton translates it; either God acts uniformly in what he does, treating all men alike, good and bad men; or Job was uniform in his sentiments, he was all of a piece, steady and constant, retaining the same sense of things, from which he had not departed, nor could he depart: therefore I said it; with the greatest confidence and assurance, because he believed it, and would say it again, seeing no reason at all to alter his judgment; the thing was quite clear to him, of which he had, at least as he thought, unquestionable evidence; and the thing he has respect to is as follows: he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked; this is thought by some to be a very bad expression, bordering on blasphemy, and contrary to the nature and perfections of God, and to the methods of his providence, Genesis 18:23; and that Job speaks in the person of one destitute of the grace of God: but nothing is more certain than that this was the real sentiment of his mind, his firm belief, nor could he be persuaded to the contrary; indeed it may be understood in a good sense: by a "perfect" man we are to understand a truly good man, one that has received the grace of God in truth, and is perfectly justified and pardoned through the blood and righteousness of Christ; and by a "wicked" man one that is under the influence of his lusts, is abandoned to them, and never easy but while he is serving them, which he is continually doing.

Job 9:22-23 . This one thing — In the other things which you have spoken of, God’s greatness, power, and justice, I do not contend with you; but this one thing I do, and must affirm against you. Therefore I said it — I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked — God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. If the scourge slay suddenly — If some common judgment come upon a people, which destroys both good and bad: or if God inflict some grievous and unexpected stroke upon a holy person. He will laugh at the trial of the innocent — God will be pleased to see how the same, or a similar scourge, which is the perdition of the wicked, is only the trial of the integrity, faith, and patience of the innocent, that is, of his own people, and a means of their further purification and improvement.

22 . This verse reads, It is all one, therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked, that is, indiscriminately. Here there is not only the former statement of ch. 7. that the destiny of man at the hands of God is hard and crushing, but in addition an express denial of the position of Bildad that God’s dealing with men was discriminating. An emphasis falls on He . It is not quite easy to decide what is meant by it is all one . The close connexion with Job 9:21 makes it most natural to understand: it is all one whether I live or die; so that the Job 9:21-24 are all one outburst, in which the Almighty is described as a crushing force that bears down on all good and bad without distinction.

Verse 22. - This is one thing ; rather, the matter is one or it is all one . There is no difference, that is, between the case of the righteous and the wicked; all are alike sinful in God's sight, all equally "concluded under sin" ( Galatians 3:22 ), and all consequently obnoxious to punishment at his hands (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:2 ). In a certain sense the statement is true, and corresponds with the argument of Romans 1-3 ; but no account is taken here of God's gracious forgiveness of sin, much less of the general scheme of redemption, or the compensation for earthly sufferings in an eternity of happiness, on which the hope of the Christian rests. Therefore I said it ; rather, therefore I say with the Revised Version. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked . As far as this world is concerned, it is undoubtedly true that calamities fall alike upon the just and upon the unjust. Death is the lot of all; trouble, suffering, grief, the lot of all ( Job 6:7 ). Nor can it even be said that the wicked in this world suffer more than the good (comp. 1 Oct. 1529). Their sufferings are more the natural consequence of their actions, but do not seem to exceed in amount or severity the sufferings of the good. But this only shows that there must be a future life to redress the apparent injustice of the present one, and set the balance right. Job 9:22

In the other things which you have spoken of God’s greatness, justice, &c., I do not contend with you, but this one thing I do and must affirm against you. Therefore I said it; I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. Compare Psalm 73:2 Ecclesiastes 9:2 Jeremiah 12:1 , &c.

This is one thing, therefore I said it - This may mean, "it is all the same thing. It makes no difference whether a man be righteous or wicked. God treats them substantially alike; he has one and the same rule on the subject. Nothing can be argued certainly about the character of a man from the divine dealings with him here." This was the point in dispute, this the position that Job maintained - that God did not deal with people here in strict accordance with their character, but that the righteous and the wicked in this world were afflicted alike. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked - He makes no distinction among them. That Job was right in this his main position there can be no doubt; and the wonder is, that his friends did not all see it. But it required a long time in the course of events, and much observation and discussion, before this important point was made clear. With our full views of the state of retribution in the future world, we can have no doubt on the subject. Heavy and sudden judgments do not necessarily prove that they who are cut off are especially guilty, and long prosperity is no evidence that a man is holy. Calamity, by fire and flood, on a steamboat, or in the pestilence, does not demonstrate the unusual and eminent wickedness of those who suffer (compare Luke 13:1-5), nor should those who escape from such calamities infer that of necessity they are the objects of the divine favor.