1Bildad asserteth the sovereignty of God, before whom man cannot be justified.
1THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
21Dominion and fear are 2with him, he 3maketh peace in 4his high places.
1 That is, the supreme regiment, joined with an infinite power and incomprehensible majesty, for which all must stand in awe and fear.
2 Namely, with God; with Whom nevertheless thou, O Job, didst wanted to go to court, Job 23:3, 4, whereas it would have become thee better to have humbled thyself with fear and supplication under His almighty hand.
3 Or, he holdeth. The sense is, that God keeps all the celestial creatures in good order and obedience, not only those endued with reason, such as the blessed angels, but others also that are void of reason, as the sun, moon, stars, etc., from which Bildad concludes that it was folly for Job to enter into any debate with such an almighty God; considering He knew well enough how to keep him as well in awe and order as He does any of those great and excellent creatures.
4 That is, in the heavens, among His angels. Compare Job 16 on verse 19.
3Is there any number of his 5armies? and upon whom doth not his 6light arise?
5 Understand His angels, together with all other creatures, that, like so many great hosts, must stand ready at God’s command, and execute the same whenever He is pleased to punish the wicked, so that none is able to withstand Him. See 1 Kings 18 on verse 15.
6 That is, the sun, whereby God does good not to mankind only, but likewise to the entire universe. Also Job 31:26; 37:21. Or understand God’s omnipotent and omnipresent government, whereby He maintains, guides and governs all things in general and in particular, even as the light of the sun is spread abroad over all the creatures to act and operate in everyone according to its nature and condition, Mat. 5:45; John 1:4; Acts 17:28; Heb. 1:3.
4How then can man be justifieda with God? or howb can he be clean that is born of a woman?
a Job 4:17, 18, 19; 15:14, 15, 16.
b Job 15:14.
5Behold even 7to the moon, andc it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
7 That is, let man make his observation from the highest heaven downwards to the circuit of the moon, and he shall find nowhere any splendor, brightness, purity, excellence or glory to be compared with God’s majesty. He makes mention of the moon, and not of the sun, because he has wanted to have it, as being the nearest to our vision, propounded as an example to include thereby all the other celestial lights.
c Job 15:15.
6Howd much less 8man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worme?
d Job 4:19.
8 This name, and the next also, son of man, does regard and concern all mankind in general, and so must that also which here is pronounced of them. See Job 5 on verse 17; 1 Kings 8 on verse 39.
e Psalm 22:7.