Job 19:11

He hath also kindled his wrath against me,.... In this and some following verses the metaphor is taken from a state of warfare, in which enemies are engaged in an hostile way, Job 19:12; in which way

He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. Enemies - (Job 13:24, "Wherefore holdest thou me for thine enemy?" Lamentations 2:5).

He hath stirred up his wrath against me of his own accord, without any provocation of mine, human infirmity excepted. He counteth me unto him as one of his enemies, i.e. he useth me as sharply as if I were an inveterate enemy of God and of all goodness, though he knoweth I am and have ever been a hearty lover and servant of him.

Job 19:11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as [one of] his enemies.Ver. 11. He hath also kindled his wrath against me] Now if his wrath was kindled, yea, but a little, woe be to all those against whom it is bent. He will surely heap mischiefs upon them, he will spend his arrows upon them, Deuteronomy 32:22-23 Psalms 2:12. Job felt them striking in the sides of his soul, even the envenomed arrows of the Almighty; and yet this was only a refiner’ s fire, Malachi 3:2, or, if a consuming fire, as Hebrews 12:29, yet it was to waste his corruptions only, to sever the sin which he hated from the Son whom he loved; to try and exercise his patience, &c., all which notwithstanding, he complaineth heavily about these spunks and sparks of divine displeasure. And counteth me unto him as one of his enemies] Heb. As his enemies; not as a single enemy, but a rabble of rebels, an army of enemies, such as shall one day meet at Armageddon, their rendezvous. See Job 13:24.

(11) He hath also kindled . . .—Comp. Job 16:9; Job 16:12, &c.

Verse 11. And he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.] From the seventh to the thirteenth verse there seems to be an allusion to a hostile invasion, battles, sieges, c. 1. A neighbouring chief, without provocation, invades his neighbour's territories, and none of his friends will come to his help. "I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard," Job 19:7. 2. The foe has seized on all the passes, and he is hemmed up. "He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass," Job 19:8. 3. He has surprised and carried by assault the regal city, seized and possessed the treasures. "He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head," Job 19:9. 4. All his armies are routed in the field, and his strong places carried. "He hath destroyed me on every side," Job 19:10. 5. The enemy proceeds to the greatest length of outrage, wasting every thing with fire and sword. "He hath kindled his wrath against me, and treateth me like one of his adversaries, Job 19:11. 6. He is cooped up in a small camp with the wrecks of his army and in this he is closely besieged by all the power of his foes, who encompass the place, and raise forts against it. "His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle." 7. Not receiving any assistance from friends or neighbours, he abandons all hope of being able to keep the field, escapes with the utmost difficulty, and is despised and neglected by his friends and domestics because he has been unfortunate. "I am escaped with the skin of my teeth," Job 19:20. "My kinsfolk have failed-all my intimate friends abhorred me," Job 19:14-19.

7–12. God’s hostility to him and destructive persecution of him. In Job 19:6 the transition is already made to the account of God’s hostility. The picture is sufficiently graphic. First there was the general feeling of being entangled, as a creature snared.

He hath also kindled his wrath - He is angry. Wrath in the Scriptures is usually represented as burning or inflamed - because like fire it destroys everything before it.

11. One of his enemies — Hebrew, his foes; not one, but several. God treats him as if he were many enemies in one.