Job 11:18

And thou shall be secure,.... From coming into like darkness, difficulties, and distress again, and from every evil and enemy; nothing shall come nigh to disturb and hurt, nothing to be feared from

And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope.

i.e. Thy mind shall be quiet and free from terrors, because thou shalt have a firm and well-grounded hope and confidence in God’ s merciful and providential care of thee. Or, thou shalt be confident that thou shalt have what thou hopest for, the act, hope, being put for the object, as is very usual, i.e. thou shalt have assurance in and from God, that thy hopes shall not be disappointed, but fulfilled. This is opposed to that fear, . Thou shalt dig about thee; either to fix thy tents, which after the manner of the Arabians were removed from place to place for conveniency of pasturage for their cattle; or to find out water for thy cattle, as they did, Genesis 26; or to plough the ground, as he had done, ; or to make a fence about thy dwelling; for both the foregoing and following passages express his secure and safe condition. In safety; free from dangers and the fear of them, because of God’ s fatherly providence watching over thee when thou canst not watch over thyself.

Job 11:18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig [about thee, and] thou shalt take thy rest in safety.Ver. 18. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope] It is a spiritual security that is here promised, which is a fruit of faith, quelling and killing distracting and distrustful fears; faith, I say, unfeigned, 1 Timothy 1:5, which produceth hope unfailable, Romans 5:5. Hope is the daughter of faith, but such as is a staff to her aged mother. Yea, thou shalt dig about thee] That is (saith one interpreter) by searching to find out how to do all things for the best, thou shalt prosper in all. Others sense it thus, Thou shalt be secure as they that lie in trenches (Eugub. Tigur.). Rabbi David, Thou shalt dig only about thy city, and not need to make any walls about it for thy security. Others, Thou shalt labour hard, and sleep soundly thereupon (Lavater). Or thus, God shall so encompass thee with his safe protection, as if thou dost but dig a place to pitch thy tent in, thou shalt enjoy thyself more safely therein than otherwise thou wouldest do in a walled city. And thou shalt take thy rest] God will keep off those gnats of cares and fears, that might disquiet thee. We read of some great princes that could not sleep, as Ahasuerus, Esther 6:1, Richard III of England, and Charles IX of France, after that barbarous massacre at Paris (Daniel Thulin.); but David could, Psalms 3:1-8 Psalms 4:1-8, because God was his keeper. No marvel that Philip sleepeth soundly when Antipater, his fast friend, watched by him the while. Job and all God’ s beloved ones shall sleep on both ears, Psalms 127:2, rest securely and comfortably ( In utramvis aurem). What should hinder, when the keeper of Israel, who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, shall watch over them for good?

(18) Thou shalt dig about thee.—Rather, thou shalt look around or search about thee, and see that thou canst lie down in safety. (Comp. Joshua 2:2, and Job 39:29.) The same word means, indeed, to dig and to blush; but both meanings are incongruous and inadmissible here.

Verse 18. And thou shalt be secure] Thou shalt not fear any farther evils to disturb thy prosperity, for thou shalt have a well-grounded hope and confidence that thou shalt no more be visited by adversity. Yea, thou shalt dig] I believe this neither refers to digging his grave, nor to curiously investigating surrounding circumstances; but to the custom of digging for water in the places where they pitched their tents. It was a matter of high importance in Asiatic countries to find good wells of wholesome water; and they were frequently causes of contention among neighbouring chiefs, who sometimes stopped them up, and at other times seized them as their own. Through envy of Isaac's prosperity the Philistines stopped up all the wells which Abraham had digged, Genesis 26:12-16. And we find the herdsmen of Gerar contending with Isaac's servants about the wells which the latter had digged; so that they were obliged to abandon two of the chief of them, and remove to a distance in order to dig and find quiet possession. See Genesis 31:17-22. Zophar, in reference to all these sorts of contentions and petty wars about wells and springs, tells Job that in the state of prosperity to which he shall be brought by the good providence of God, he shall dig-find wells of living water; none shall contend with him; and he shall rest in safety, all the neighbouring chieftains cultivating friendship with him; see on Job 5:23; Job 5:24; and that this is the meaning of the passage the following verse shows: Thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. Thou shalt be in perfect security; no enemy shall molest thee, and many shall seek thy friendship.

18. because there is hope] In opposition to Job’s desponding pictures of his life, ch. Job 7:6 seq., Job 9:25 seq., Job 10:20 seq. thou shalt dig about thee] Rather, thou shalt look, or search, about thee, cf. ch. Job 39:29; Deuteronomy 1:22. Job, as one naturally does before retiring to rest, will look around to see if there be any danger near or cause of disquietude, and seeing none will take his rest in safety.

And thou shalt be secure - You will feel confident that your prosperity will be permanent, and you will be free from the distressing anxieties and fears which you now have.

e. Beneath this noontide glory Job shall dwell with ever-increasing honour, secure against any dark forebodings of ill, Job 11:18-20.18.