Prosperity Remembered Job 29 It seems that when Job had brought his discourse to the point which forms

the close of the twenty-eighth chapter, he again paused to see if any of the friends was disposed to speak. But as none answered, he proceeded; for at the beginning of the twenty-ninth chapter we again meet with the unusual formula, Moreover, Job continued his parable. The interval may have been of some duration, during which he appears to have been musing deeply on his former prosperity and happiness, and on the contrast to it which his present condition offered. The influence of these thoughts is seen when he again speaks. His speech is full of lingering regrets over the pleasant memories of his past estate, of which he gives a most eloquent description, replete with natural touches of pathos and tenderness. It marks the character of the man, that so far from being alienated from loving sympathies with his kind by the miseries he had suffered, and the injurious treatment to which he had been exposed, he looks back with peculiar pleasure upon the good which, in better days, his wealth and influence enabled him to accomplish. We must look into some of the circumstances of the engaging picture, which, in the form of a lamentation for what he had lost, Job draws of his former condition. Lamp at the Head of an Oriental Bed

He beginsOh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness! For candle read lamp, candles being even now little used in the East, and never for the purpose of burning through the night, which appears to be the source of the illustration. It is usual in the East to have a lamp burning all night in every occupied apartment. For this we never heard any reason, but that it was the custom, or that the light kept off evil spirits; but certain it is, that in most parts of Western Asia, a person would sooner dispense with something far more necessary, than with a light in his chamber during the night season. To obviate danger from fire, and that the light may be more equally diffused, the damp is usually placed high up in a recess of the wall, or on a kind of bracket, or is even suspended from the ceiling, hence shining upon the heads of those who repose below upon the floors or divans. Lanterns are sometimes hung up so as to throw their light upon the bed of a person of rank; and then, certainly, the lamp shines, in a very literal sense, over the head of the person lying there. The Orientals rarely do anything by artificial light there is no reading or working. Hence they are satisfied with very little of it, and as they sit upon the floor, the lamp usually shines upon their heads, even when not at rest. It is further possible that in the ensuing clause, which describes light given to one in motionWhen by his light I walked through darknessthere is an allusion to the torches or cressets carried aloft in the night-marches of large caravans, such as we formerly had occasion to notice. Note: First SeriesSixteenth WeekWednesday. Again, Job craves to be as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle. The word youth is ill put in the translation for a Hebrew word signifying ripeness

or maturity; and certainly the happiness which the patriarch describes, and the renewal of which he craves, is that of mature age, and not of youth. But what does he mean by the secret of God being upon (or in) his tabernacle? The word rendered secret, means a couch or cushion upon which one reclines, and also a divan or circle of friends sitting together in consultation. The idea intended to be expressed is, therefore, probably that God came, as it were, to his abode as a friend, and admitted him to the secrecy of His friendship, and to an acquaintance with his plans. Note: Psa_25:14When God watched over my house.LXX. When God prospered my house.Rogers, Coverdale, and Bishops Bible. When Gods providence was on my tabernacle.Genevan Translation. When God remained cordially in my tent.Umbreit. When God took counsel with me in my tent.Herder. When God was the friend of my tent.Noyes. When God abode in my tent as a friend.Barnes. When God guarded my tabernacle.Wemyss. This idea is continually presented to us by the sacred writers. Thus the Psalmist expresses the Lords friendship towards his people by the phrase, The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show there his covenant So likewise in the patriarchal history, we find the Lords remarkable question, Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do? Note: Gen_18:17.Compare Joh_15:15; Jas_2:23. The translations vary, but they generally convey this idea. We soon come to a touching allusion to the days when, as he says, My children were about me. He must be made of hard stuff who hears not in these words the echo of a sigh. The sentiment is exquisitely tender. He could not bear to dwell upon itnor need we do so; it is a most intelligible stroke of natural emotion. He says that in those happy days, he washed his steps with butter, and the rock poured him out rivers of oil. The first clause, doubtless, alludes to the abundance with which his flocks afforded butter, but whether it bears reference to any actual custom of anointing the feet with butter, is not clear. The feet of oriental pastors being much exposed to the parching air, it was an agreeable refreshment to mollify them with oil or ointment, after they have been washed. That butter is sometimes employed for this purpose, we know, and this was probably among the uses of it known in the time of Job. We should little hesitate about this, but for the abundance of oil mentioned in the next clause, for when oil is abundant, it is usually preferred for anointing both the head and the feet. But how is it that oil is said to be poured out in streams from the rock? Some think that the word rendered rock should here be taken for an oil-press. Put it seems to us more probable that he has rather in view the kind of rocky soil in which the olive delights. Then, to describe the rock as pouring forth streams of oil, becomes a bold and forcible metaphor, quite in character with the poetry of the book; whereas, to describe an oil-press as doing this, were comparatively tame and prosaic indeed. Job then goes on to describe the honor in which he had been held in the very town which now witnessed his humiliationwhere, it would appear from this account, he performed the duties, and received the consideration rendered to the principal magistrate or chief elder, or rather, perhaps, the emir or sheikh; for it is clear that he was not merely one of the principal inhabitants, but the chief of them. The picture thus presented is very interesting, and quite in accordance with

the existing usages of such a state of society as that which the book describes. In the discharge of his public functions, he represents himself as proceeding to the town-gate, the usual place of judicature and public business, and at or near it, preparing (or taking) his seat in the street. Seats thus set in the open air, are ordinarily prepared by a servant laying a mat or carpet upon the ground, or upon a stone bench, in some shady spot under a tree or a wall. Whether Job sat in this fashion cannot be known, but it is so simple, and so peculiarly oriental, as to render this probable. Accordingly, some recent translators render the clause by, I prepared my carpet in the street. Put this is interpretation, not translation. He says further, that when he appeared, the young men hid themselves, the aged rose and stood up, and the chiefs refrained from talking, and laid their hand upon their mouths. The same marks of respect would be at this time shown to a person holding the same high place and character, and the mention of them would strongly impress an Oriental with an idea of the high consideration in which Job was held. Mere boys never appear in society, or at meetings. Young men may be present, but must not speak; when grown to manhood, they may take part in conversation, but when the sheikh begins to speak, they cease, and attentively listen. That the aged should not only rise, but remain standing, as we apprehend it, till Job was seated, is a very strong evidence of respect to his position and characterfor being his seniors, and themselves objects of respect to others, this would not, in any ordinary circumstances, be expected from them, or rendered by them. Scarcely more emphatic is the bated breath of the chiefs, whose attitude with hand upon their lips, is graphically indicative of the hushed attention and respect with which the great man was received.