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11 When enemies plan a frontal assault,
they also send some of their forces secretly around to attack the flanks more boldly while the defenders concentrate on repelling the frontal assault. The wounds and losses Job suffered in this war were in this way like the frontal assault, while the taunts he bore from his counselors came like a sneak attack from the side. But Job persisted in all this fortified by the shield of his imperturbability, fending off the swords coming from all directions. He considered the loss of his wealth in silence, he grieved at the death of the flesh in his children without losing control of himself, he endured the sufferings of the flesh in himself patiently, and he offered prudent admonishment to the flesh when it offered wicked persuasion in the person of his wife.
On top of this, his friends burst out with harsh reproach and in fact added to his grief even though they had come to alleviate it. But the holy man turned all the devices of temptation into instruments to enhance his virtue. His patience was tested through the wounds he suffered, while his wisdom was exercised in answering the words of wife and friends. He fought back boldly on all fronts, surmounting the losses of the flesh with his strength and the words that wounded with his powers of reason. (His friends, who had come to console but who went so far as to rebuke, should be thought to have erred out of ignorance rather than malice. We must not believe a man like Job would have wicked friends, but when they could not understand the cause of his suffering, they fell into error.)
12 There are various kinds of blows we suffer in this world:
(1) some by which the sinner is struck for his punishment but not for his correction; (2) some by which a sinner is smitten so that he will mend his ways; (3) some by which someone is afflicted not to correct past faults but to prevent future ones; (4) some by which neither past sins are punished nor future sins prevented but for which the strength of a deliverer, coming unexpectedly at the end of the trials, is the more ardently loved, and when an innocent man is worn down by tribulation, the sum of his merits grows and grows. (1) Sometimes we see a sinner punished without hope of rehabilitation, as when it was said to a Judea on the brink of disaster, "I have smitten you with the blow of your enemy, with cruel punishment."[48] And again: "Why do you cry out to me that you are so worn down? Your grief is beyond healing."[49]
(2) Sometimes a sinner is punished in order to make him mend his ways; it is said to one in the gospel, "Behold you are made whole; now sin no more lest something worse should happen to you."[50] The words of the savior indicate that it was the magnitude of the preceding sins that demanded the punishment.
(3) Sometimes someone is smitten not to wash away past sins but to prevent future ones. Paul says this openly of himself: "And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me."[51] He does not say, because he was proud, but lest he might become proud, clearly showing that he was hindered by that sting from committing a sin rather than that it was meant to wash away one already committed.
(4) But once in a while someone is smitten for neither past nor potential wrongdoing, but simply so that the power of divine strength might be shown by the way the trial breaks off. So it is said to the Lord in the gospel of the man born blind, "Did this one sin, or his parents, that he might be born blind?" The Lord answered: "Neither this one sinned, nor his parents, but so that the power of God might be made known."[52] What does this demonstration of God's power do but enhance through trial the virtue of the victim? Since no past iniquity is washed away, great strength is brought out of patience.
So it is that blessed Job is first extolled by the judge, then handed over to the tempter. God addresses Job as a friend and rewards him after the whole trial is over, showing clearly how much he benefitted from the trial. The friends of blessed Job, because they could not distinguish these categories of tribulation, thought Job was smitten for his sins; and while they tried to claim God was just in his punishments, they were compelled in their ignorance to blame blessed Job since they did not know that he had been smitten in order for his punishment to bring about greater praise of the glory of God, not his punishment for sins he had never committed. They found forgiveness the more easily, because they had sinned out of ignorance rather than malice. Divine justice humiliated their pride all the more, in that it is only through the agency of the man they had despised that they are restored to grace. The mind of the haughty is vigorously put in its place if it is subordinated to one over whom it has boasted.
13 In this story of the wonders of divine providence
we can see how the stars come out to illuminate the darkness of this life one at a time, until at the end of the night the Redeemer of the human race rises like the true daystar. The night passes adorned by the grandeur and beauty of the sky through which the stars run their rising and setting courses. Each of these men came forth like a star in his own time to lighten the shadows of our night: Abel came to show us innocence, Enoch to teach purity in action, Noah to show patient hope and labor, Abraham to show obedience, Isaac to demonstrate the chastity of the married life, Jacob to show us how to bear up under our labors, Joseph to pay back good for evil, Moses to show us gentleness, Joshua to build confidence in adversity, and finally Job to show patience under misfortunes. See how we see the stars shining in the heavens! They let us walk along the pathways of our night sure of foot, for providence brings so many just men to our attention the way the heavens bring out so many stars over the shadows of sin. Then the true daystar rises proclaiming the eternal dawn for us, divinely gleaming brighter than all the other stars.
14 All the chosen people went on ahead of the daystar,
proclaiming it by their words and deeds. There was no just man who was not figuratively a messenger of his coming. It was fitting that they should all reveal by their lives the goodness from which all good people came and which they knew would be for the good of all. It is given without consideration of merits and held forever: possessed forever: therefore it should be proclaimed unceasingly, that all ages should proclaim what the end of the ages will make known for the redemption of all. So it was even for blessed Job, who shows us so many of the mysteries of the incarnation, that he should proclaim the Redeemer in his voice and resemble him in his way of life. His sufferings foretold Christ's passion, and he foretold the sacraments of that passion the more truthfully because he did not merely prophesy by speaking but by enduring.
But because our Redeemer revealed himself to be one person in union with his church (for of him it is said, "He is the head of us all,"[53] and of his church it is said, "The body of Christ, which is the church"[54]), whoever signifies in his own person Christ sometimes stands for the head and sometimes for the body, so that he has the voice not only of the head but also of the body. Thus Isaiah the prophet, speaking the words of that same Lord, says, "He placed a crown on my head as on a bridegroom and as a bride he decorated me with jewels."[55] For the Lord is the groom (as head) and also the bride (as body), so therefore sometimes Job speaks of the head, sometimes he shifts clearly and suddenly to speak for the body. And again, sometimes when he is speaking of the body, suddenly he rises to speak for the head.
Blessed Job with his body presents a figure of the coming Redeemer; but his wife, urging him to curse God, stands for those who live according to the flesh, who dwell within the holy church despite their wayward lives; placed alongside the just by their creed, they harass them all the more by their deeds. They are all the harder for the faithful to tolerate, since they cannot simply be avoided by them and must be endured within the church.
15 His friends who come inveighing against him
with their supposed consolation give us a portrait of the heretics who do the work of seduction under the pretext of giving counsel. They speak to Job as if on the Lord's behalf, but they are not approved by the Lord; for all heretics struggle to defend God but really offend him. This is said clearly of them by Job himself: "I wish to take up the issue with God, but first I will prove to you what you are, forgers of lies and adherents of perverse opinions."[56] It is clear that they represent the heretics in their error, for the holy man convicts them of enslavement to the cultivation of perverted dogmas. Every heretic opposes the truth of God just in the way he tries to defend Him, as the psalmist attests: "May you destroy your enemy and your defender."[57] The one who attacks the God he preaches is both enemy and defender at once.
16 Even blessed Job's name demonstrates that he bears the image of the coming Redeemer.
'Job' is translated 'Sufferer.'[58] That suffering expresses the passion of the Mediator and the toils of the holy church, a church tormented by the manifold vexations of this life. His friends also reveal by their names what their deeds deserve. 'Eliphaz' in Latin means 'contempt of the Lord.' What else do heretics do, believing false things of God, despising him in their pride. 'Baldad' is translated 'oldness alone.' This is a good name for every heretic who speaks of God to become a prophet not out of right intention but in a desire for earthly glory. They are stirred to speak not by the zeal of the new man but by the depravity of the old life. 'Sophar' in Latin is 'destruction of the watchtower' or 'destroying the lookout.' The minds of the faithful lift themselves up to contemplate lofty things, but when the words of the heretics try to lead those who contemplate wisely astray, they are trying to tear down the watchtower.
Thus in the names of the three friends of Job three varieties of heretical ruin are expressed. Unless they despised God, they would not think perverse things of him; unless they bore oldness in their hearts, they would not err in their understanding of the new life; and unless they destroyed the observation of good things, in no way would God's judgments reproach them with so strict a verdict for the errors of their words. Despising God, they maintain themselves in their oldness. Maintaining their oldness, they corrupt their contemplation of what is right by their wicked words.
17 Heretics sometimes, drenched by God's generous grace,
come back to the unity of the holy church; the reconciliation of the friends signifies this well.[59] Blessed Job is commanded to pray for them, because the sacrifices of heretics cannot be acceptable to God unless they are offered on their behalf by the hands of the universal church. They find a saving remedy through the merits of the church they had once assailed in combat with their barbed words. Seven sacrifices are said to have been offered on their behalf, because when in their confession they accept the Holy Spirit with his seven gifts they are, so to speak, making expiation with seven offerings.[60] Thus in John's Apocalypse the universal church is represented by the number of seven churches.[61] Thus Solomon says of Wisdom, "Wisdom has builded herself a house, and carved out seven pillars."[62] The number of sacrifices by which the heretics were reconciled demonstrates what they were before, when they could not be joined to the perfection of sevenfold grace except by coming back from where they had strayed.
18 It is well said, that bulls and rams were offered for them.
The bull stands for the stiff neck of pride, the ram for the leaders of flocks that follow. To sacrifice bulls and rams for the friends is to destroy their haughty guidance, so they might be humble themselves and leave off deceiving the hearts of innocent followers. Rearing their heads, they had shied away from the unity of the church and dragged weak people after them like flocks that follow. Let them come to blessed Job (that is, let them return to the church) and offer bulls and rams by sevens for the slaughter; thus they destroy their swollen pride in leadership with humility's aid to join the universal church.
19 Eliu stands for any arrogant person,
giving expression to good thoughts but led astray to foolish words of pride. There are many like him inside the holy church who refuse to proclaim properly the truths they believe. So Eliu is rebuked by divine dispraise and no sacrifice is offered for him, for he is arrogant though faithful. For the truth of his belief he is within the church, but for the stumbling block of swollen pride he is unacceptable to God. Eliu is rebuked with reproach, therefore, but sacrifice does not restore him, because he already believes what he should believe but heavenly justice drives him away on account of his flood of words. Thus it is that Eliu in Latin is aptly rendered. "This is my God" or "God, the Lord." Arrogant people inside the church proclaim God truly with their belief but flee him by their pride of life. What is it to call someone by name "This is my God" if not to proclaim openly the God in whom he believes? Or what is it to call someone "God, the Lord" if not to believe in God's divinity and testify to the Lord's incarnation?
20 After the loss of Job's possessions,
after all his bereavements, after all the suffering of his wounds, after all his angry debates, it is good that he is consoled by twofold repayment. In just this way does the holy church, while it is still in this world, receive twofold reward for the trials it sustains, when all the gentile nations have been brought into its midst, at the end of time, and the church converts even the hearts of the Jews to its cause. Thus it is written, "Until the fulness of nations enters and so all Israel is saved."[63] Then the church shall receive twofold when, with the trials of the present age ended, it rises not only to the soul's rejoicing but even to the bliss of their bodies. So the prophet says well: "They will possess twofold in their land."[64] The saints in the land of the living have twofold possession, rejoicing in happiness of mind and body simultaneously. This is why John, when in the Apocalypse he sees the souls of the blessed crying out before the resurrection of their bodies, says he saw them each receiving long robes and adds, "And there given to each of them long white robes and it was said to them that they should be at rest for yet a little while until the number of their fellow servants and brethren should be filled."[65] They are said each to receive robes before the resurrection because they enjoy so far only the happiness of the spirit. They will receive double when, in perfect joy of the spirit, they are dressed as well with incorruptible flesh.
21 The trials of blessed Job are described
but the length of time they last is not mentioned, for the holy church is seen to be tested in this life but no one knows how much longer the trial will persist. Thus it is spoken from the mouth of Truth:[66] "It is not yours to know the times or the moments which the father has set in his power."[67] Through the sufferings of blessed Job we are taught what we have learned from experience. Through the silence concerning the length of time he suffered, we are taught what we ought not to know.
We have prolonged the preface so that our discourse might, so to speak, sketch and outline the whole of the work. But because we have come to the beginning of our commentary, even after going on this long,[68] we should first plant the root of history so that we might later sate our souls on the fruit of allegory.[69]
101
(Jb 1,1)
To say where the saint lived is mentioned to indicate the special value of his virtue. Who would not know that Hus is a land of pagans? Pagans live bound to their sins by their ignorance of their creator. So let it be said where Job lived, to add to his praises the assertion that he was good in the midst of the wicked. It is not specially praiseworthy to be good in the midst of the just, but rather to be good in the midst of the wicked. Just as it is a graver fault not to be good in the midst of the good, so it is a tremendous distinction to have been good in the midst of the wicked. Hence blessed Job bears witness of himself as he says, "I was the brother of dragons, the companion of ostriches."[71]
For the same reason, Peter exalted Lot with great praise, finding him good among the reprobate: "Yet he saved Lot, an innocent man who was overborne by the violence of the unspeakably wicked; in all he saw and heard he was righteous, though he lived among men whose lawless doings, day after day, tormented that righteous spirit."[72] Nothing could torment that spirit if not hearing and seeing the vile deeds of his neighbors. And nevertheless he is called innocent in all he saw and heard because the life of the wicked touched the eyes and ears of the just man with no delight, only pain.
So also Paul says to his disciples: "In the midst of a vile and perverse nation, in which you shine out like stars to the world."[73]
So also it is said to the angel of the church of Pergamum: "I know where you live, in the seat of satan; and you keep my name and have not denied my faith."[74]
So also it is said in praise of the holy church by the bridegroom in the canticle of love: "Like a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters."[75]
It is fitting therefore that blessed Job is said, by the mention of his pagan land, to have lived among the wicked so that, as the bridegroom proclaimed, we could see how he grew like a lily among thorns. Here it adds at once, quite correctly:
102
(Jb 1,1)
Some, indeed, are so simple that they do not know what is right, but rather they abandon the innocence of true simplicity when they fail to rise to the upright life of virtue because they lack the cautiousness of uprightness and so cannot remain innocent through their simplicity alone.
So it is that Paul admonishes his disciples: "I want you to be wise in goodness, and simple in evil."[76] So also he says elsewhere: "Do not become childish in your thoughts, but be children in matters of evil."[77]
So it is that the Truth himself taught the disciples: "Be prudent like serpents and simple like doves."[78] Two things are necessarily combined in that warning, so that the cleverness of the serpent might instruct the simplicity of the dove, and that, in turn, the simplicity of the dove might restrain the cleverness of the serpent.
This is why the holy spirit makes its presence known to men not only in the form of a dove, but also in the form of fire.[79] The dove symbolizes simplicity, the fire zeal. The spirit is manifested in the dove and in the fire because whoever are full of the spirit are a servants to the gentleness of simplicity in such a way that they are still fired with the zeal of uprightness against the faults of sinners.
103
(Jb 1,1)
To fear God is to omit none of the good that is to be done. Thus it is said through Solomon: "The man who fears God neglects nothing."[80] But because there are some who do certain good deeds but still fail to refrain from other evils, after Job is said to have feared God he is also said to have drawn back from all evil. It is written, "Turn away from evil and do good,"[81] for good deeds stained by a mixture of evil are not acceptable to God. Thus Solomon: "Who sins in one thing, loses much that is good."[82] Hence James witnesses: "Whoever keeps the whole law, but sins on one point, is made liable to the whole."[83] Hence Paul: "A little yeast corrupts the whole mass."[84] Thus to show how pure Job was in his good deeds, it is vigorously declared that he was innocent of evil.
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It is the habit of those who are going to tell us of a wrestling match
first to describe the combatants' physiques: they tell us how broad and strong the chest is, in what good condition, how large the biceps are, how the belly below is neither weighed down by a paunch nor weakened by wasting away. When they have first shown us how suited the bodies are for the match, then they can tell us about the mighty blows. Since our athlete was setting out to struggle against the devil, the author of the sacred text, as if telling of a show in the arena, enumerates his spiritual virtues and describes his mental physique. Thus he says, "Simple and upright, fearing God and drawing back from all evil." When we know the condition of his limbs, we too can predict the coming victory by his strong condition.
105
(Jb 1,2)
A large family often stirs the heart of a parent to greed. The more heirs he is blessed with, the more he is stirred to try to build a great estate. To show the holiness of mind of blessed Job, he is proclaimed and shown to have been a just man and shown again to have been the father of a large family. At the very outset of the book he is said to have been devout in offering sacrifice, and later he is reported, in his own words, to have been generous with gifts. We should recognize the great strength he was endowed with when we think how not even love for his many children could make him cling to his property.
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five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she-asses, and a huge household. (Jb 1,3)
We know that greater losses drive the mind to greater grief. To show how great was his virtue, Job is said to have had a great deal of property to lose so patiently. Nothing is ever lost so calmly unless it is possessed without being loved. First he is said to have had great wealth, then he is said to have lost it patiently; if he lost it without grief, he must not have loved it when he had it.
Note also how the riches of the heart are listed before material wealth. Abounding riches usually lead men away from the fear of God by scattering their thoughts, and someone whose thoughts are scattered cannot keep his attention fixed on the things within. Truth itself spoke this truth, explaining the parable of the sower: "The seed which is sown among spines, that is, the one who hears the word, and yet the cares of this world and the deception of riches stifle the word and make it fruitless."[85] So see how blessed Job is said to have had much wealth and a little later is said to have persisted devotedly in offering divine sacrifices.
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Consider the holiness of this man, so distracted by many concerns and so sedulous in his performance of his duties to God. The command to leave everything behind[86] had not yet been proclaimed, but Job obeyed the force of that command in his heart, abandoning with a tranquil heart the wealth he had possessed without becoming infatuated with it.
108
(Jb 1,3)
Who does not know that the peoples of the east are astonishingly rich? To be great among the peoples of the east means that he was richer than the rich.
109
taking turns each on his own day. And they sent to invite their three sisters to eat and drink along with them. (Jb 1,4)
Great wealth is often a great source of discord among brothers. It speaks highly of the father's upbringing of his children that the father is called wealthy and the sons said to have been at peace with each other. Though there was wealth to be divided among them, undivided love filled all their hearts.
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Job sent and blessed them; rising up at first light he made burnt offerings for each of them. (Jb 1,5)
When it is said that he "sent to them and blessed them," it is clear what discipline he exercised by his presence, when he was so solicitous of them at a distance. But we should observe carefully that, when the days of feasting were over, the purifying holocaust was offered for each. The holy man knew that it is scarcely possible to have feasting without some fault ensuing. He knew that the banquet tables were to be atoned for by great purifying sacrifices. Whatever the sons had done to taint themselves in their feasting the father washed away by immolating his sacrificial victims. There are surely some vices that either cannot be kept out of great dinners, or can be kept out only with immense difficulty. Some immoderate pleasure almost always accompanies feasting, for while the body relaxes over the delights of repast, the heart is let go for hollow joys. So it is written, "The people sat down to eat and rose up for frivolity."[87]
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Unbridled speech almost always comes with banquets:
when the belly is filled, the tongue is unleashed. This is why the rich man in the nether world is said to have asked for water, saying, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and refresh my tongue, for I am tormented by this fire."[88] Before he was said to have banqueted splendidly every day and afterwards he begs for a drop of water on his tongue. As we said, unbridled speech runs free at banquets, so the penalty points to the crime, when the man, whom Truth had said was accustomed to splendid daily feasting, senses the fire most with his tongue.
Those who tune the harmony of stringed instruments have such skill that often they can pluck one string and another one, placed far away with many intervening strings, resonates in harmony. When the one gives sound, the other, in tune to the same melody, echoes back at the same time with the others silent. So often scripture often speaks of both virtues and vices, noting one thing explicitly, hinting at another implicitly. No mention is made explicitly of the fault of loose speech against the rich man, but when the penalty is said to have afflicted his tongue, the greater fault among all the ones of his feasting is identified.
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When the seven brothers are said to have made their feasting
through the week and come to the end of the week, Job is said to have offered seven sacrifices. The literal sense indicates clearly that blessed Job, offering his sacrifice on the eighth day, celebrates the mystery of the resurrection. The day we now call the Lord's day is the third day after the death of the Redeemer, but in the order of creation it is the eighth day--and also the first. But because it comes around after the seventh, it is more precisely called the eighth. The one who offers seven sacrifices on the eighth day is clearly being shown to have served the Lord, full of the sevenfold grace of the spirit, hoping in the resurrection. Thus psalms are said to have been written "for the octave" when they recount the joy of the resurrection.[89] But because the sons of Job were so well protected by the discipline of their father's upbringing that they could neither sin in their deeds nor in their words when they were feasting, it is clearly added:
113
(Jb 1,5)
It shows that the sons were perfect in thought and deed, when their father feared only for their thoughts. Because we ought not judge rashly of the hearts of others, we see that the holy man does not say, "Who have cursed in their hearts," but only, "Perhaps my sons have . . . cursed God in their hearts." So it is well said through Paul: "Do not judge before the time when the Lord comes to shine upon the things hidden in shadows and make known the counsels of the hearts."[90] Whoever wanders from the path of righteousness in his thoughts sins in the shadows. We should be the more wary of rebuking the thoughts of others out loud, the more we know that our sight cannot penetrate the shadows of another's thoughts. But note in this text carefully how sharply the father could discipline the deeds of his sons, when he could be so concerned to purify their hearts. What can those leaders of the church say to this, the ones who do not even know the outward doings of their flock? What excuse can they have in mind if they do not even cure the open wounds in the deeds of the ones committed to them?
Finally, to show that the saint persisted in this good work, it is added:
114
(Jb 1,5)
Indeed it is written, "The one who perseveres even to the end--this one will be saved."[91] In his sacrifices, we see his good works; in all the days of his sacrificing, we see the perseverance of that good work.
We have run over all this briefly, following the historical sense of the text. Now the order of our commentary demands that we go back to the beginning and unveil the secrets of allegory.
115
(Jb 1,1)
We believe that all these things took place as a matter of historical truth, but now let us consider, as a matter of allegorical meaning, how they achieved fulfillment. As we said, Job is translated "sufferer," Hus is translated "counsellor." By his name blessed Job stands for the one of whom the prophet said, "He has borne our suffering."[92] He lives in the land of Hus because he rules the hearts of the people with the judgment of a counsellor. Indeed, Paul says that Christ is the "strength and wisdom of God."[93] And wisdom itself says (through Solomon): "I, wisdom, dwell in counsel and am present in learned thoughts."[94] Job dwells in the land of Hus, inasmuch as wisdom, which bore the suffering of the passion on our behalf, dwells in the hearts of those devoted to the counsels of life.
116
(Jb 1,1)
By uprightness justice is meant, by simplicity is meant gentleness. Often when we pursue the right path of justice we abandon gentleness, and when we try to keep our gentleness we leave the straight path of justice. The incarnate Lord clung to simplicity with righteousness, for he lost neither the strictness of his justice through gentleness, nor gentleness by the strict exercise of justice. When they wanted to tempt him by bringing before him the woman caught in adultery, hoping he would lapse into either unrighteousness or mercilessness, he avoided both traps, saying, "Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone against her."[95] "Let he who is without sin" ensures simple kindliness, but zealous justice is guaranteed by "cast the first stone against her." So it was said through the prophet: "Press on, go forward with success, and rule by your truth and kindness and justice."[96] Following the Truth, Job preserved gentleness with justice, so neither the zeal of his righteousness would be dragged down by the weight of gentleness, nor would the solidity of gentleness be disturbed by zeal for righteousness.
117
(Jb 1,1)
For it is written of him, "And the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him."[97] For the incarnate Lord shows in himself all that he breathes into us, giving persuasive example for the commands he speaks. In his human nature, our Redeemer feared God, for he had taken on a humble human spirit in order to redeem the pride of man. This action is well described by what it says here, that Job drew back from all evil-doing. He drew back from evil-doing, not by his deeds but by the way he rebuked evil when he encountered it, for he left behind the old life of human society that he found when he came into the world and planted the new life which he brought with him in the lives of his followers.
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