How had God hedged in Job? (Job 3:23)
Job Speaks
Job 3:23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
Compare or contrast Job 1:10 (1:8-10 but especially Job 1:10)
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
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Asked December 04 2018
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
Any object -- such as a wall, or (in the cited verses) a hedge -- that can act as a protective barrier against external hazards can also, under different circumstances, become an obstructive barrier that prevents escape or relief. The same metaphor or figure of speech is used in both verses, but in Job 1:10, it is used positively in the sense of protection (with respect to God having safeguarded Job and his possessions), while in Job 3:23, it is used negatively in the sense of confinement or restriction (with respect to Job not being able to escape the adversities that had come upon him).
Jeffrey Johnson
Supporter
How had God hedged in Job? (Job 3:23) To a man whose way is concealed, and God hath straitly enclosed him? --Rotherham Bible. The Scriptures employ the expression "put up a hedge" figuratively to denote the provision of protection. (Job 1:10) On the other hand, 'hedging in' is used to represent the rearing up of obstacles, or barriers, placing an individual or even a nation in a helpless and forsaken situation with no way out. (Job 3:23; Ho 2:6; compare Job 19:8; La 3:7-9.) Satan's Accusation: Earlier in the narrative, Satan used the term to describe the protective barrier God had placed around Job, his household, and his possessions, which prevented any harm from reaching him. Job 1:10 Rotherham Bible: "Hast not thou thyself made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? The work of his hands thou hast blessed, and his substance hath broken forth in the land." This scripture refers to the blessings of wealth, family, health, and prosperity that God provided for Job, which shielded him from external harm, especially from Satan. This "hedge" is depicted as a wall or barrier that kept Satan and wicked men from afflicting Job and allowed him to prosper abundantly. In the context of Job 3:23, however, Job uses the same metaphor in reverse, lamenting that this "hedge" now feels like a confinement, trapping him in his suffering and obscuring his way forward.
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