Job 14:3

3 Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him?

Job 14:3 Meaning and Commentary

Job 14:3

And dost thou open thine eyes on such an one
So frail and feeble, so short lived and sorrowful, so soon and easily cut down and destroyed: and by opening of his eyes is not meant his providential care of men; whose eyes indeed are everywhere, run to and fro throughout the earth, and are careful of and provident for all sorts of men, which is very wonderful, ( Psalms 8:4 ) ; nor the displays of his special grace and favour towards his own peculiar people, on whom his eyes of love, grace, and mercy, are opened, and are never withdrawn from them, which is marvellous lovingkindness; but the exercise of rigorous justice in punishing, afflicting, and chastising with so much severity, as Job thought to be his own case; the eyes of God, as he thought, were set on him for evil, and not for good; he looked wistly on him, and in a very frowning manner; he sharpened his eye upon him, as the phrase is, ( Job 16:9 ) ; and as some render the word F6 here, looked narrowly into all his ways, and watched every motion and every step he took, and pursued him with great eagerness, and used him with great strictness in a way of justice, which he, a poor, weak creature, was not able to bear; which sense is confirmed by what follows:

and bringeth me into judgment with thee?
by this it appears Job has a view to himself all along, and to the procedure of God against him, which he took to be in strict justice, and that was what he was not able to bear; he was not a match for God, being such a frail, weak, sinful, mortal creature; nor was God a man as he was, that they should come together in judgment, or be fit persons to contend together upon the foot of strict justice; sinful man can never be just with God upon this bottom, or be able to answer to one objection or charge of a thousand brought against him; and therefore, as every sensible man will deprecate God's entering into judgment with him, so Job here expostulates with God why he should bring him into judgment with him; when, as he fled to his grace and mercy, he should rather show that to him than in a rigorous manner deal with him.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kynye txqp) "super illo acuis oculos tuos", Cocceius; "super hune apertos vibras oculos", Schultens.

Job 14:3 In-Context

1 As for man, the son of woman, his days are short and full of trouble.
2 He comes out like a flower, and is cut down: he goes in flight like a shade, and is never seen again.
3 Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him?
4 If only a clean thing might come out of an unclean! But it is not possible.
5 If his days are ordered, and you have knowledge of the number of his months, having given him a fixed limit past which he may not go;
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