Job 29:18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. (vers. 18-20; 30:26, 31). It would be impossible to find a more admirable description of prosperity than that given in this chapter. Job fondly anticipated that all this prosperity and power would be continued to him. How different the result proved. Job's experience has its counterpart in that of the children of men in general; in some, of course, more than in others, yet more or less in all. For some the disappointment of life is the disappointment of non-attainment. This may be illustrated in Abraham. What is God's loving design in life's disappointments? They form the medium whereby we reach higher blessings than those we miss. How was Job recompensed? Not by material blessings, which were but incidental. The true recompense lay in the purifying and perfecting of his character and life; in the spiritual blessings he reaped as the result of the discipline. So with ourselves. If rightly exercised by life's adverse influences, we may find gain in every loss. The disappointments of life operate favourably by bringing us nearer to God. (S. D. Hillman.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.WEB: Then I said, 'I shall die in my own house, I shall number my days as the sand. |
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