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Job's Comforters Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job Page 7 |
This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:
"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we
not receive evil? (Job 2:10)
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him
not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every
one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards
heaven (Job 2:12)
Ye have heard of the Patience of Job and have seen the end of
the Lord." (James 5:11)
Job 2
[10] But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
[11] Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
[12] And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
[13] So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
[10] But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
[11] Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
[12] And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
[13] So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
James 5
[7] Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
[8] Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
[9] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
[11] Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Andrew Wright in Blake's Job: A Commentary, provides this insight into the plight of Job:
"...at the beginning of the story the hero was too self-sufficient to be capable of learning from experience. Before the jolts of disaster overthrew him he was like his three friends, secure, as he thought, in the knowledge of what life signified, and of his place in the universe, such as he might offer outward propitiation for the presumed sins of his sons. Now he had been dislocated into a realization of the pride, the precariousness, the opacity of his position. Though much suffering lies ahead for him he is embarked on the journey that will bring him to to a chastened and literally transfigured sense of self." (Page 23)
[7] Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
[8] Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
[9] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
[11] Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Andrew Wright in Blake's Job: A Commentary, provides this insight into the plight of Job:
"...at the beginning of the story the hero was too self-sufficient to be capable of learning from experience. Before the jolts of disaster overthrew him he was like his three friends, secure, as he thought, in the knowledge of what life signified, and of his place in the universe, such as he might offer outward propitiation for the presumed sins of his sons. Now he had been dislocated into a realization of the pride, the precariousness, the opacity of his position. Though much suffering lies ahead for him he is embarked on the journey that will bring him to to a chastened and literally transfigured sense of self." (Page 23)
The consequence of living in time, as we do who have entered
the gate of life on Earth, is experiencing events arriving in
a sequence. Job had been satisfied with his circumstances and
he had assumed that they would continue, but he could not be
aware of what the future would hold for him. He may have
thought that he could secure the future that he desired, but
it is not so. Until the future becomes the present, it is
unknown. Patience is the attitude that waits expectantly until
the unknown if revealed.
Job was among the fortunate because he was willing to move forward instead of trying to turn back. His patience was his ability to be receptive to change even though it involved suffering. He was among those who could be counted happy because he endured. He embarked on the journey not knowing where it would lead but trusting that he would be led to the knowledge which he lacked in his present condition.
Auguries of Innocence, (E 491)
"It is right it should be so
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A Clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine
The Babe is more than swadling Bands
Throughout all these Human Lands
Tools were made & Born were hands
Every Farmer Understands
Every Tear from Every Eye
Becomes a Babe in Eternity
This is caught by Females bright
And returnd to its own delight"
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