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Commentary on Job 6 verses 14–21
Eliphaz had been very severe in his censures of Job; and his companions, though as yet they had said little, yet had intimated their concurrence with him. Their unkindness therein poor Job here complains of, as an aggravation of his calamity and a further excuse of his desire to die; for what satisfaction could he ever expect in this world when those that should have been his comforters thus proved his tormentors?
I. He shows what reason he had to expect kindness from them. His expectation was grounded upon the common principles of humanity (Job 6:14): "To him that is afflicted, and that is wasting and melting under his affliction, pity should be shown from his friend; and he that does not show that pity forsakes the fear of the Almighty." Note, 1. Compassion is a debt owing to those that are in affliction. The least which those that are at ease can do for those that are pained and in anguish is to pity them, - to manifest the sincerity of a tender concern for them, and to sympathize with them, - to take cognizance of their case, enquire into their grievances, hear their complaints, and mingle their tears with theirs, - to comfort them, and to do all they can to help and relieve them: this well becomes the members of the same body, who should feel for the grievances of their fellow-members, not knowing how soon the same may be their own. 2. Inhumanity is impiety and irreligion. He that withholds compassion from his friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. So the Chaldee. How dwells the love of God in that man? Jo1 3:17. Surely those have no fear of the rod of God upon themselves who have no compassion for those that feel the smart of it. See Jam 1:27. 3. Troubles are the trials of friendship. When a man is afflicted he will see who are his friends indeed and who are but pretenders; for a brother is born for adversity, Pro 17:17; Pro 18:24.
II. He shows how wretchedly he was disappointed in his expectations from them (Job 6:15): "My brethren, who should have helped me, have dealt deceitfully as a brook." They came by appointment, with a great deal of ceremony, to mourn with him and to comfort him (Job 2:11); and some extraordinary things were expected from such wise, learned, knowing men, and Job's particular friends. None questioned but that the drift of their discourses would be to comfort Job with the remembrance of his former piety, the assurance of God's favour to him, and the prospect of a glorious issue; but, instead of this, they most barbarously fall upon him with their reproaches and censures, condemn him as a hypocrite, insult over his calamities, and pour vinegar, instead of oil, into his wounds, and thus they deal deceitfully with him. Note, It is fraud and deceit not only to violate our engagements to our friends, but to frustrate their just expectations from us, especially the expectations we have raised. Note, further, It is our wisdom to cease from man. We cannot expect too little from the creature nor too much from the Creator. It is no new thing even for brethren to deal deceitfully (Jer 9:4, Jer 9:5; Mic 7:5); let us therefore put our confidence in the rock of ages, not in broken reeds - in the fountain of life, not in broken cisterns. God will out-do our hopes as much as men come short of them. This disappointment which Job met with he here illustrates by the failing of brooks in summer.
1.The similitude is very elegant, Job 6:15-20. (1.) Their pretensions are fitly compared to the great show which the brooks make when they are swollen with the waters of a land flood, by the melting of the ice and snow, which make them blackish or muddy, Job 6:16. (2.) His expectations from them, which their coming so solemnly to comfort him had raised, he compares to the expectation which the weary thirsty travellers have of finding water in the summer where they have often seen it in great abundance in the winter, Job 6:19. The troops of Tema and Sheba, the caravans of the merchants of those countries, whose road lay through the deserts of Arabia, looked and waited for supply of water from those brooks. "Hard by here," says one, "A little further," says another, "when I last travelled this way, there was water enough; we shall have that to refresh us." Where we have met with relief or comfort we are apt to expect it again; and yet it does not follow; for, (3.) The disappointment of his expectation is here compared to the confusion which seizes the poor travellers when they find heaps of sand where they expected floods of water. In the winter, when they were not thirsty, there was water enough. Every one will applaud and admire those that are full and in prosperity. But in the heat of summer, when they needed water, then it failed them; it was consumed (Job 6:17); it was turned aside, Job 6:18. When those who are rich and high are sunk and impoverished, and stand in need of comfort, then those who before gathered about them stand aloof from them, those who before commended them are forward to run them down. Thus those who raise their expectations high from the creature will find it fail them when it should help them; whereas those who make God their confidence have help in the time of need, Heb 4:16. Those who make gold their hope will sooner or later be ashamed of it, and of their confidence in it (Eze 7:19); and the greater their confidence was the greater their shame will be: They were confounded because they had hoped, Job 6:20. We prepare confusion for ourselves by our vain hopes: the reeds break under us because we lean upon them. If we build a house upon the sand, we shall certainly be confounded, for it will fall in the storm, and we must thank ourselves for being such fools as to expect it would stand. We are not deceived unless we deceive ourselves.
2.The application is very close (Job 6:21): For now you are nothing. They seemed to be somewhat, but in conference they added nothing to him. Allude to Gal 2:6. He was never the wiser, never the better, for the visit they made him. Note, Whatever complacency we may take, or whatever confidence we may put, in creatures, how great soever they may seem and how dear soever they may be to us, one time or other we shall say of them, Now you are nothing. When Job was in prosperity his friends were something to him, he took complacency in them and their society; but "Now you are nothing, now I can find no comfort but in God." It were well for us if we had always such convictions of the vanity of the creature, and its insufficiency to make us happy, as we have sometimes had, or shall have on a sick-bed, a death-bed, or in trouble of conscience: "Now you are nothing. You are not what you have been, what you should be, what you pretend to be, what I thought you would have been; for you see my casting down and are afraid. When you saw me in my elevation you caressed me; but now that you see me in my dejection you are shy of me, are afraid of showing yourselves kind, lest I should thereby be emboldened to beg something of you, or to borrow" (compare Job 6:22); "you are afraid lest, if you own me, you should be obliged to keep me." Perhaps they were afraid of catching his distemper or of coming within smell of the noisomeness of it. It is not good, either out of pride or niceness, for love of our purses or of our bodies, to be shy of those who are in distress and afraid of coming near them. Their case may soon be our own.
46. When the wicked inflict evils upon the good, if they see them to be shaken from the interior hope, they are overjoyed at their deceiving taking effect, for they account the spread of their error to be the greatest gain, in that they rejoice have fellows in perdition, but whilst the good man's hope is rooted within, and never bent to the ground by outward evils, confusion seizes the soul of the wicked, in that whilst they are unable to get at the innermost parts of the distressed, they are ashamed to prove themselves cruel for no end. Therefore let the holy man say in his own voice, let him say in the endurance of the Church universal in affliction and groaning, Who, amidst the contrarieties of the wicked, without any default of mind, longs for the joy of the heavenly recompense, and by dying holds on to life; They are confounded, because I have hoped. As though it were in plain words, ‘because the wicked by hard persecutions fail to soften the force of my rigid mind, surely being covered with shame they lose the labours of their cruel ways.’ And hence at once he looks on the blessings of the Retribution to come as henceforth here, and marks what an arraignment awaits the wicked at the Judgment, adding,
They came even unto me, and were ashamed.
47. For lost sinners ‘come even to Holy Church’ on the Day of Judgment, in that they are then brought even to the beholding of her glory, that for the greater punishment of their guilt they may see in their rejection what they have lost. Then shame covers the wicked, when conscience bearing witness convicts them in the sight of the Judge. Then the Judge is beheld without, and the accuser is felt within. Then every sin is called up before the eyes, and the soul, over and above the burnings of hell, is worse tortured by its own fire. Concerning these it is rightly said by the Prophet, Lord, let Thy hand be exalted, that they see not [g], let them see and be confounded. [Is. 26, 11] For now their merits darken the understanding of lost sinners, but then the knowledge of their guilt enlightens it, so that both now they in no wise see what is to be followed, and then they perceive it, after they have lost it. For now they do not care to understand the things of eternity, or they refuse to make them their object, when understood; but then assuredly, both understanding and longing after them, they have them disclosed to their sight, when they can no longer obtain them thus longed for.
48. Which same words of blessed Job, moreover, are in an especial manner suited to his friends, who set themselves to shake the mind of the holy man by bitter upbraidings. For he says, They were confounded because I have hoped. As if it were in plain words, ‘Whilst they fail by foolish revilings to turn me to despair, they are themselves confounded by the madness of their fool-hardiness.’ They came even up unto me, and were ashamed. As though he expressed it, ‘Seeing the sores of my body, but ignorant of the constancy of my mind, whilst they took upon them to reproach me for unrighteousness, they did not yet ‘come up unto me,’ but striking with cruel reproaches, whereas they find that my soul stands firm amidst adversity, ‘coming to me,’ as it were, ‘they are ashamed.’ For herein they ‘come to me,’ in that they know me in the interior of my heart, and there they are ‘covered with shame,’ where outward loss moves me not, standing with firm mien.’ Now there are some, who do not know how to fear God, saving when they are either affrighted by adversity experienced in their own person, or known in others; whom prosperity uplifts from presumptuousness, and crosses dismay from weakness. Of the number of which same, blessed Job charged his friends with being.
“They are confounded, because I have hoped.” When the wicked inflict evils upon the good, they are overjoyed at the success of their deceptions, if they see the good shaken from interior hope. For the wicked reckon the spread of their error to be the greatest gain, for they rejoice to have companions in perdition. But when the good person’s hope is rooted within, never bent to the ground by outward evils, confusion seizes the soul of the wicked. Their inability to get at the innermost parts of the distressed results in shame for the wicked. Their cruelty has not produced the effect they expected.… “They came even to me and were ashamed.” For lost sinners “come even to holy church” on the day of judgment, in that they are brought even then to behold its glory. For the punishment of their guilt is even greater when they see what they have lost as they are rejected. Then shame covers the wicked, when the conscience bears witness and convicts them in the sight of the Judge. At that time the Judge is beheld without and the accuser is convicted within. Every sin is called up before the eyes and the soul. The soul is tortured by its own fire, over and above the burnings of hell.
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SUMMARY
Job 6:20 masterfully encapsulates the profound disappointment and deep shame that arise when one's fervent hopes are placed in unreliable sources, particularly drawing a vivid parallel to desert travelers who eagerly anticipate life-giving water from seasonal streams only to discover them barren. This verse serves as a poignant climax to Job's lament, articulating his bitter experience of his friends' failure to provide the expected comfort and understanding, leaving him, much like the parched travelers, utterly confounded and humiliated by their unfulfilled expectations.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 6:20, functioning as the climactic conclusion to the preceding verses, powerfully employs Analogy (or Simile) by comparing Job's friends and their failed comfort to deceitful, dried-up wadis (seasonal streams). This analogy is not merely illustrative but deeply resonant within the arid ancient Near Eastern context, immediately conveying the depth of Job's disappointment and the life-threatening nature of such betrayal. The strategic use of two closely related but distinct terms for shame, bûwsh' ("confounded") and châphêr' ("ashamed"), functions as Intensification or Synonymous Parallelism. This rhetorical choice amplifies the emotional impact, underscoring the profound and multifaceted nature of the humiliation experienced by those whose hopes were utterly dashed. Furthermore, the verse contributes significantly to the overall Pathos of Job's lament, evoking a strong sense of pity and empathy for his plight as he grapples with not only physical suffering but also the profound emotional pain of misplaced trust and the betrayal of friendship.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 6:20 serves as a stark and enduring reminder of the inherent vulnerability and ultimate futility of placing our deepest hope and trust in anything or anyone other than God. While human relationships, support systems, and earthly resources are valuable and God-ordained, this verse, within the broader narrative of Job's profound suffering, underscores their inherent limitations and fallibility. When our deepest longings for comfort, understanding, deliverance, or security are directed solely towards finite human sources or worldly circumstances, the inevitable outcome can be profound disappointment, confusion, and shame. The theological implication is a profound call to re-evaluate the ultimate object of our hope. True, unwavering, and unfailing hope is found not in the shifting sands of human reliability or the fleeting nature of worldly circumstances, but in the steadfast character, unfailing promises, and eternal faithfulness of God, who alone is an unceasing spring in the desert of our trials.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job's poignant words in Job 6:20 resonate deeply with the universal human experience of unmet expectations and the searing pain of misplaced trust. In a world that constantly promises satisfaction, security, and happiness through various means—from financial stability to relational perfection, career success, or even the wisdom of human experts—we are often left feeling "confounded" and "ashamed" when these sources inevitably fall short. This verse challenges us to critically examine the foundations of our hope. Are we building our trust on the shifting sands of human fallibility and worldly promises, which are prone to dry up like seasonal wadis, or on the unshakeable rock of God's unwavering faithfulness? True spiritual maturity involves recognizing the inherent limitations of all earthly sources of comfort and security, and intentionally re-centering our ultimate hope in the One who never fails, never disappoints, and whose steadfast love endures forever. This profound shift in perspective does not negate the value of human relationships or efforts, but rather places them in their proper, secondary context, preventing the bitter shame of misplaced ultimate reliance and allowing us to find true and lasting peace.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are "they" in this verse, and what do they represent?
Answer: In Job 6:20, "they" primarily refers to the caravans or travelers mentioned in the immediately preceding verses (Job 6:18-19). These travelers, journeying through the arid desert, place their desperate hope in seasonal wadis (streams) for water, only to find them dry and barren. Figuratively, these travelers represent anyone who places their hope in an unreliable or ultimately insufficient source. In Job's immediate, personal context, "they" implicitly refers to his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who came to comfort him but have instead offered empty words, conventional wisdom, and accusations. In Job's eyes, they have proven to be as unreliable and deceitful as the dried-up wadis, failing to meet his profound need for genuine empathy and understanding. Job feels "confounded" and "ashamed" by their failure to provide true comfort, just as the travelers are confounded by the dried-up streams.
What is the significance of using two different Hebrew words for "confounded" and "ashamed" in the same verse?
Answer: The use of bûwsh (translated "confounded" or "ashamed") and châphêr (translated "ashamed") in Job 6:20 is a powerful rhetorical device common in Hebrew poetry, known as synonymous parallelism or intensification. While both words convey a strong sense of shame, disappointment, or humiliation, their combined use serves to emphasize and intensify the profound emotional distress experienced. Bûwsh often implies a sense of being bewildered, confused, or put to shame due to a failure of expectation or a dashed hope. Châphêr can suggest a more outward manifestation of humiliation, disgrace, or blushing. By employing both terms in quick succession, Job underscores the depth and multifaceted nature of the humiliation and disappointment felt by those whose fervent hopes are utterly dashed, highlighting the stark contrast between their eager expectation and the bitter reality of emptiness and betrayal. It paints a complete picture of internal and external shame.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 6:20, with its poignant portrayal of hope misplaced in unreliable human sources, finds its ultimate and glorious Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus, who is the steadfast, unfailing, and eternal object of all true hope. While Job's friends proved to be like deceitful wadis, offering no true comfort or sustenance, Jesus presents Himself as the Living Water and the Bread of Life, sources that never run dry and always satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul. Unlike the travelers who came to empty streambeds and were left ashamed, those who come to Christ for salvation, sustenance, and security will never be put to shame. He is the faithful One in whom all the promises of God are "Yes" and "Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20), guaranteeing their fulfillment. Furthermore, Jesus Himself experienced profound shame and abandonment, not because of His own misplaced hope, but as the Lamb of God who bore the shame and disgrace of humanity's sin on the cross, despising its ignominy for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). Through His suffering, death, and triumphant resurrection, He offers a hope that is living, imperishable, and undefiled, a hope that secures us from the shame of our sin and the disappointments of a fallen world, anchoring our souls eternally in the unfailing faithfulness and boundless grace of God.