[Here we continue a reprint of a small portion of Joseph Caryl’s study in Job.  Mr. Caryl wrote twelve volumes on the book of Job.  His study is a great example of how deep one can dig into the truths of the Bible.]   A Study by Joseph Caryl (1644) Job 1:13-15 (part 1) - The Time of Affliction   13 And    there    was    a    day    when    his    sons    and    his daughters   were   eating   and   drinking   wine   in   their eldest     brother’s     house: 14 And     there     came     a messenger    unto    Job,    and    said,    The    oxen    were plowing,    and    the    asses    feeding    beside    them. 15 And   the   Sabeans   fell   upon   them,   and   took   them away;   yea,   they   have   slain   the   servants   with   the edge   of   the   sword;   and   I   only   am   escaped   alone   to tell thee. (KJV)   In   the   former   context   we   showed   you   the   affliction   of Job,   moved   by   Satan   and   permitted   by   God,   Touch   all that   he   hath ,   is   Satan’s   motion;   All   that   he   hath   is   in   thine hand,    is   God’s   permission.   From   this   13 th    verse   to   the end   of   the   19 th    the   afflictions   of   Job   are   particularly described;   and   we   may   observe   six   particulars   in   the context concerning his afflictions. 1 . The   time   or   season   of   his   afflictions :   “And   there   was   a day   when   his   sons   and   his   daughters   were   eating and   drinking   wine   in   their   eldest   brother's   house” (vs. 13). 2 . The   instruments   or   the   means   of   his   afflictions .   Satan who    undertook    the    afflicting    of    Job,    stands    as    it were   behind   the   door;   he   does   not   appear   in   it,   but sets   on   others.   His   instruments   were   first   cruel   and bloody-minded   men,   the   Sabeans   (see   vs.   15),   and the   Chaldeans   (see   vs.   17).   Secondly,   those   active creatures,   devouring   fire   (see   vs.   16),   and   stormy winds (see vs. 19). 3 . The    matter    of    his    affliction ,    or    in    what    he    was afflicted, it was in his outward estate. 4 . The   variety   of   his   affliction .   He   was   not   smitten   in some   one   thing,   in   some   one   part   of   his   outward estate,   but   he   was   afflicted   in   all:   his   oxen,   his   asses, and    his    camels    violently    taken    away;    his    sheep burnt   up   by   the   fire;   his   sons   and   his   daughters overwhelmed   and   crushed   by   the   fall   of   a   house;   all his   servants   attending   upon   these   slain,   consumed, destroyed,   excepting   only   one   from   every   stroke,   to be the sad relater or messenger of these calamities. 5 . The   suddenness   of   his   afflictions .   They   came   all   upon him in one day. 6 . The   incessantness   of   the   report   of   these   afflictions .   The sound   of   them   all   was   in   his   ears   at   once,   as   they were   all   brought   upon   him   in   one   day,   so   they   are all   told   him   in   one   hour,   yea   by   the   story   it   appears there   were   but   very   few   moments   between   the   first and   the   last.   For   the   text   says   that   no   sooner   had one   messenger   ended   his   doleful   news,   but   another begins,   nay   they   did   not   stay   so   long   as   to   let   one another   make   an   end;   but   the   text   says,   “While   the former   was   yet   speaking,   there   came   another   and said...”    And   so,   while   the   next   was   yet   speaking, there   came   another.   So   Satan   did   not   give   Job   so much   as   the   least   minute   of   intermission   to   breathe a   while   or   recollect   himself.   His   troubles   both   in   the acting    and    in    the    reporting,    were    close    linked together,   like   a   chain   one   within   another,   and   him within them all fast bound, and yet free . These    are    observable,    through    the    whole    context concerning   this   great   affliction   of   Job.   Now   we   will consider   the   afflictions   themselves,   their   several   parts, and open the words in which they are presented to us. “And    there    was    a    day    when    his    sons    and    his daughters   were   eating   and   drinking   wine   in   their eldest brother’s house” (vs. 13) “And   there   was   a   day…”   –   To   everything   there   is   a season,   said   Solomon,   and   a   time   for   every   purpose   under the   sun    (Eccl.   3:1).   God   has   a   time   for   his   purposes;   God has   his   day.   Man   has   a   time   for   his   purposes,   and   so does   Satan:   not   just   any   day   will   serve   his   turn;   he picks    and    chooses.    There    was    a    day :    it    intimates    an extraordinary   day,   and   there   is   an   express   addition   in the    original,    which    puts    an    emphasis     upon    it,    and makes   it   more   than   a   day.   There   was   that   day,    or   that special   day .   So   it   is   used   in   II   Kings   4:8:   “And   it   fell   on   a day   that   Elisha   passed   to   Shunem,”    or   upon   that   day, a    notable    day    wherein    so    many    great    things    were done. But   what   day   was   this?   It   is   explained   in   the   words,   in the   latter   part   of   the   verse.   It   was   a   notable   day,   for   it was    a    day    or    that    day,    “when    his    sons    and    his daughters    were    eating    and    drinking    wine    in    their eldest brother’s house.” There   are   three   things   in   those   words,   which   prove that this was an extraordinary day: 1 . It     was     a     feasting     day,     and     feasting     days     are extraordinary days. 2 . It    was    an    extraordinary,    not    an    ordinary    feasting day,   for   it   is   said:   “…they   were   eating   and   drinking wine.”    In   the   beginning   of   the   chapter   (where   the feasts   of   Job’s   children   are   described)   it   is   said   only, that   “his   sons   went   every   one   their   day,   to   eat   and to   drink”    (Job   1:4).   But   here   it   is   said   that   they   did “eat       and       drink       wine,”       which       notes       an extraordinary   feast.   For   still   in   Scripture,   when   we read   of   a   banquet   of   wine,   or   of   a   feast   of   wine,   an extraordinary   feast   is   meant.   For   instance,   Queen Esther   invited   the   king   and   Haman   to   a   banquet   of wine    (Esth.   5:6),   not   that   there   was   nothing   but   wine at   the   banquet,   but   that   addition   implies   that   it   was a   plentiful   banquet,   a   solemn   banquet.   It   is   more   to make    a    banquet    of    wine ,    than    to    make    a    banquet , though   scarce   any   banquet   is   made   without   wine. So    when    there    wanted    wine,    the    solemnity    and glory    of    the    feast    was    thought    to    be    blemished. “They   have   no   wine”    (John   2:4),   said   the   mother   of Christ   to   him   at   the   marriage   feast   in   Cana.   And when    the    spouse    would    set    forth    the    wonderful fulness    of    spiritual    delights,    which    she    had    from Christ,   she   expresses   it   thus,   “He   brought   me   into the    banqueting    house”     (Song.    2:4);    the    Hebrew word    is,    he    brought    me    into    the    house    of    wine ;    the house      of      wine      notes      extraordinary      spiritual refreshing.   What   sort   of   banquet   had   the   spouse   for her   soul   there?   Christ   called   her   to   eat   and   drink abundantly,   to   be   filled   with   his   love.   See   the   like   in Isa.   25:6.   So   Job’s   children   were   eating   and   drinking wine,   so   they   were   at   a   plentiful   and   solemn   feast that day. 3 . It   was   a   day   of   feasting   in   their   “eldest   brother’s house” ;    that    is    another    which    proves    it    was    an extraordinary   feast   day.   It   was   a   feast,   and   a   feast   of wine,   and   a   feast   of   wine   in   their   eldest   brother’s house,   who   had   a   larger   estate,   a   fuller   portion,   and to   answer   the   dignity   of   his   primogenitor,   ought   to make   a   more   solemn   feast   than   the   rest   did.   This was   the   day   that   Satan   picks   out   and   chooses   to bring   all   these   sad   afflictions   upon   Job;   an   ordinary day   would   not   serve   his   turn.   Without   doubt   this was   not   the   immediate   day   or   time,   after   which   he got   that   commission   from   God,   “All   that   he   hath   is in    thine    hand…”     (vs.    12).    Satan    went    away;    he would   have   been   at   it   as   soon   as   he   could   but   yet   he waited   for   a   special   time,   wherein   he   might   do   it with   greatest   advantage;   and   that   is   the   point   I   shall observe from this: That   Satan   observes   and   watches   his   time   to   fasten   his temptations   most   strongly   upon   the   soul .   He   watches   a day,   “There   was   a   day…” ,   and   there   was   not   a   day   in the   whole   year,   upon   which   he   could   have   done   it   with greater   advantage   than   upon   that   day.   This   is   just   as the   mercies   of   God   are   exceedingly   endeared   to   us   by the   season   in   which   they   come   to   us.   When   they   come to   us   in   our   special   need,   how   sweet   is   a   mercy   then! And   as   our   obedience   is   exceedingly   commended   to the   acceptation   of   God,   when   it   is   upon   a   fit   day,   when it   is   on   the   day   wherein   he   calls   for   and   expects   it,   so are   our   sins   exceedingly   aggravated   by   the   season   and time   wherein   they   are   committed.   What!   Sin   upon   this day?   A   day   of   trouble,   a   day   of   humiliation?   Just   as Elisha    rebuked    Gehazi,    “Is    this    a    time    to    receive money   and   to   receive   garments”    etc.   (II   Kings   5:26).   Is this   a   time   for   your   heart   to   run   out   sinfully   after   the world?   So   likewise,   the   temptations   of   Satan   and   the afflictions   which   he   brings   upon   the   servants   of   God, are    exceedingly    embittered    by    the    season,    and    he knows   well   enough   what   seasons   will   make   them   most bitter.   What   can   more   embitter   a   cup   of   sorrow   than   to have   it   brought   us   upon   a   day   of   rejoicing?   Solomon tells   us,   that   “as   he   that   taketh   away   a   garment   in   cold weather,   and   as   vinegar   upon   nitre,   so   is   he   that   sings a    song    to    a    heavy    heart”     (Prov.    25:20).    If    joy    be troublesome    in    our    sorrows,    how    troublesome    is sorrow in the midst of our joys. So   then,   Satan   could   never   have   found   out   such   a time    as    this.    Must    he    needs    be    afflicting    the    father, when   the   children   were   feasting?   Could   he   find   out   no other   time   but   this?   Must   his   tears   be   mingled   with their   wine?   Must   the   children’s   rejoicing   day   be   the father’s     mourning     day?     Must     Satan     show     malice against   the   father,   when   the   children   were   showing their love to one another? It was a love-feast. Thus    he    did    with    Christ;    it    is    observed    that    when Christ     had     fasted     40     days     and     40     nights,     and afterwards   was   hungry,   then   the   tempter   came.   He   lays hold   of   this   advantage;   he   would   not   come   till   Christ was   hungry,   to   persuade   him   to   turn   stones   into   bread. What   a   strength   had   this   temptation   from   the   season? Who   would   not   make   bread   for   himself   if   he   can,   when he   is   hungry?   Had   Christ   been   full,   there   had   not   been such   an   edge   upon,   such   a   weight   in   the   temptation. How    many    does    Satan    provoke    to    turn    stones    into bread,   when   he   comes   to   them   in   their   hunger?   You who   are   in   a   strait,   likely   to   starve   and   perish,   turn stones   into   bread;   that   is,   procure   for   yourself   meat and   provision   by   unlawful   and   sinful   ways.   This   is indeed   to   turn   stones   into   bread.   So   here,   at   this   time, when   Job   was   rejoicing   (as   doubtless   he   did)   to   see   the love   and   unity   of   his   children,   now   at   this   time   Satan attempts   to   turn   their   bread   into   a   stone,   to   bruise   and break   the   heart   of   their   tender   father.   Afflictions   press most when they are least expected. Let    us    observe    then    this    mixture    of    malice    and cunning   in   Satan,   in   choosing   his   time.   To   carry   a   man from    one    extremity    to    another    puts    him    upon    the greatest   extremity.   To   make   the   day   of   a   man’s   greatest rejoicing   to   be   the   day   of   his   deepest   sorrows,   this   is cutting,    if    not    killing    sorrow.    To    be    brought    from extreme   sorrow   to   extreme   joy   suddenly,   does   amaze rather   than   comfort   the   spirit   of   man.   It   is   said   that, “When   the   Lord   turned   again   the   captivity   of   Zion, the   people   were   like   them   that   dream”    (Ps.   126:1).   The change   was   so   great,   so   sudden,   that   they   were   rather astonished   and   amazed,   rather   than   comforted   with   it, for   a   while.      So,   much   more   to   be   hurried   from   extreme joy   to   extreme   sorrow,   from   the   borders   of   comfort   to the   brink   of   death   all   of   the   sudden,   is   not   so   much   to afflict   a   man   as   to   confound   and   distract   him.   This course Satan takes with Job. It   would   be   well   if   we   could   be   wise   in   this   respect   to imitate   Satan,   to   choose   out   our   day   to   do   good   when there   is   greatest   probability   of   success,   as   he   chose   out his   day   to   do   mischief.   It   is   the   Apostle’s   rule,   “as   you have   opportunity   do   good”    (Gal,   6:10);   if   we   could   be wise    to    lay    hold    upon    opportunities,    it    would    be    a wonderful   advantage   to   us;   as   a    “word   fitly   spoken” is   a   word   upon   the   wheel,   so   a   work   fitly   done   is   a work   upon   the   wheel:   it   goes   on,   takes   upon   the   heart both   of   God   and   man.   Let   us   consider   whether   now   we have   not   a   season,   whether   this   be   not   a   day   that   holds forth    to    us    a    glorious    opportunity.    Surely,    we    may present   this   day   to   you,   as   a   day   to   be   doing   in.   Let   us therefore   be   as   quick   in   this   our   day   to   do   good,   as Satan   was   in   that   day   to   do   hurt.   This   is   a   day   wherein great   things   are   a-doing,   and   grievous   things   are   a- suffering    by    many    of    our    brethren.    Therefore    you should   be   working   this   day,   make   a   day   of   it.   This   is   a day   in   which   sons   of   Belial,   men   that   will   not   bear Christ’s   yoke,   are   combining   to   break   it,   and   to   cast   his cords   from   them.   Then   join,   this   day,   to   help   Christ; else,   as   Mordecai   said   to   Esther,   “If   thou   altogether holdest   thy   peace   at   this   time”    (this   was   a   day   for Esther   to   work   in)    “then   shall   there   enlargement   and deliverance   arise   to   the   Jews   from   another   place,   but thou   and   thy   father’s   house   shall   be   destroyed”    (Esth. 4:14).   So   I   may   say   to   you   in   reference   to   the   present opportunity,   if   you   altogether   hold   your   peace,   hold your   purses,   and   hold   your   hands   at   this   time,   at   such a    day    as    this,    enlargement    will    come    to    the    church some   other   way,   but   you   may   be   destroyed,   who   think to   hold   and   keep   your   peace   either   by   saying   or   doing nothing.   If   ever   you   will   appear,   this   is   a   day   to   appear in   to   do   good.   Let   us   be   wise   to   manage   and   improve our   day,   that   it   may   never   be   said   of   us   as   our   Lord Christ   did   of   Jerusalem:   “If   ye   had   known,   even   ye,   in this    your    day,    the    things    which    belong    unto    your peace”    (Luke   19:42).   It   is   a   sadder   thing   to   have   had   a season   and   not   to   know   it   (or   not   to   use   it)   than   not   to have   had   it.   Solomon   tells   us   that   “Because   to   every purpose   there   is   a   time   and   judgement,   therefore   the misery   of   man   is   great   upon   him”    (Eccl.   8:6).   Misery cannot   be   great   to   a   man,   because   there   is   a   time   for every   purpose,   but   because   men   are   either   so   blind that   they   cannot   see,   or   so   sluggish   that   they   will   not make   use   of   the   proper   time   for   every   purpose.   Thus the   preacher   himself   expounds   it,   “For   man   knoweth not   his   time,   as   the   fishes   that   are   taken   in   an   evil net,   and   as   the   birds   are   taken   in   a   snare,   so   are   the sons   of   men   snared   in   an   evil   time,   when   it   falleth suddenly    upon    them”     (Eccl.    9:12).    Consider    what Solomon’s     experience     taught     him.     Let     not     your inadvertency     of     these     times     make     you     a     new experiment   of   that   ancient   truth.   And   leave   men   that should   be   wise,   especially   that   pretend   to   wisdom,   to be   numbered   among,   and   compared   with   a   silly   bird,   a silent fish. Then   again,   forasmuch   as   it   was   the   day   of   their   great feast,   of   their   feast   with   wine,   upon   which   this   great affliction assaulted Job, observe, That   the   fairest   and   clearest   day   of   our   outward   comfort may   be   clouded   and   overcast   before   the   evening.    It   was   as fair   a   day   as   ever   began   in   Job’s   family,   a   feast,   and   a feast   with   wine,   and   that   in   the   eldest   brother’s   house, and yet all was darkness before night. This   is   true   in   reference   to   ungodly   men,   great   and terrible    judgements    fall    suddenly    upon    them;    their light   is   turned   into   darkness   in   a   moment,   as   Christ compares   it   to   the   days   of   Noah   and   the   days   of   Lot: “As   I   was”   (said   he)   “in   the   days   of   Noah,   they   did eat,   they   drank,   they   married   wives,   they   were   given in   marriage   until   the   day   that   Noah   entered   into   the Ark,   and   the   flood   came   and   destroyed   them   all;   and as   it   was   in   the   days   of   Lot”    etc.   (Luke   17:26ff).   And the   Apostle    said,    “When    they    shall    say,    peace    and safety,   then   sudden   destruction   commeth”    (I   Thess. 5:3).   Thus   it   is   with   ungodly   men,   their   sun   often   sets at   noon,   when   they   say,   yea   when   they   conclude,   all’s well,   then   judgement   mixed   with   wrath   is   at   the   door. This   is   a   truth   also   in   reference   unto   godly   men   and the   churches   of   God,   all   their   outward   comforts   may be    clouded    in    a    day,    while    they    are    eating    and drinking,   nor   sinfully   but   in   a   holy   manner,   even   as   the Apostle   advises,   “to   the   glory   of   God”    (I   Cor.   10:31), yet   even   at   that   time   all   may   presently   be   taken   away. And   therefore   as   the   Apostle   said,   “Rejoice   as   if   you rejoiced   not”   in   the   creature   (I   Cor.   7:30),   and   eat   as   if you   did   not   eat,   and   buy   as   if   you   possessed   not.   Why? For   the   fashion   of   this   world,   the   scheme   of   this   world passes away. You   see   it   did   with   Job.   In   what   a   goodly   fashion   was his   worldly   estate   in   the   morning;   how   was   it   dressed and   adorned   in   perfect   beauty,   in   all   its   excellencies   (as we   heard   it   before   described),   yet   before   night   all   the fashion   of   it   passed   away,   and   the   beauty   of   it   was quite   blasted.   Therefore,   you   that   have   great   estates, and     good     estates,     estates     well     gotten,     and     well governed,   be   not   high-minded,   trust   not   in   uncertain riches.   If   riches   increase,   and   if   they   increase   in   a   right way,   “yet   set   not   your   hearts   upon   them”    (I   Tim.   6:17), for   the   fashion   of   worldly   things   quickly   passes   away. Riches   make   themselves   wings   to   fly   away,   when   you are   making   doors   and   locks,   bolts   and   bars   to   keep them in. But   what   did   Satan   do   upon   this   day?   That   is   set   forth in the 14 th  verse, and so on. “And   there   came   a   messenger   unto   Job,   and   said, The    oxen    were    plowing,    and    the    asses    feeding beside them” (vs. 14). “There   came   a   messenger…”    –   The   Jewish   Rabbins and   some   of   the   fathers   tell   us   that   those   messengers were    devils,    evil    spirits    in    the    likeness    of    men.    But surely   the   opinion   has   little   likeness   with   the   truth, therefore   with   Beza,   I   lay   it   by   and   reject   it   amongst the   tales   of   the   Rabbins.   These   messengers   were   really the escaped servants of Job, as we shall see afterward. Now    the    messenger    bespeaks    Job    thus,    “The    oxen were   plowing” ,   they   were   hard   at   their   work,   “and   the asses   were   feeding   besides   them.”    The   word   in   the Hebrew   is   this,   the   asses   were   feeding   at   their   hand,    or   at hand.   To   be   at   hand   denotes   nearness.   In   our   language, we   say   that   such   a   thing   is   at   hand,   or   such   a   man   is   at hand,   the   day   of   our   fear   is   at   hand,   when   we   mean they   are   near.   “The   Lord   is   at   hand”    (Phil.   4:5),   i.e., nigh   unto   us   for   our   help.   So   also   in   II   Thess.   2:2.   It   is applied   also   to   nearness   of   place,   as   well   as   of   time,   as in   Neh.   3:2,   where   the   building   of   the   wall   of   Jerusalem is   described,   it   is   said,   “Next   unto   him   built   the   men of   Jericho” ,   the   Hebrew   is,   at   the   hand   of   him   build   the men of Jericho, that is, next to him in place. Now   the   messenger   describes   all   in   such   a   posture, “The   oxen   were   plowing,   and   the   asses   feeding.”    By this,    to    assure    Job    of    the    care    and    diligence    of    his servants    about    his    business    for    the    securing    of    his cattle,   and   improving   of   his   ground;   as   if   he   should have   said,   This   sad   affliction   which   is   come   upon   thee,   did not   come   through   our   negligence   or   improvidence,   we   were about   our   business   according   to   our   several   places,    “The oxen   were   plowing,   and   the   asses   were   feeding   by them” ;   they   were   not   carelessly   left   to   danger,   but   our eye   was   upon   them,   yet   notwithstanding   they   were   all surprised and taken away. From   this   relation   of   the   posture   of   Job’s   servants   and cattle   at   the   time   when   this   affliction   fell   upon   them, we may observe thus much: That    all    our    care    and    diligence    cannot    secure    outward things   unto   us.    Afflictions   may   take   us   in   the   midst   of our   best   and   most   honest   endeavors.   A   man   may   be looking   to   and   ordering   his   estate,   and   yet   at   the   very time   while   his   eye   is   upon   it,   he   may   see   it   take   its flight    like    an    eagle    towards    heaven;    while    he    is ordering    of    it,    he    may    see    disorder    and    confusion coming   upon   it;   while   he   is   settling   of   it   by   honest   care, he    may    quickly    see    it    unsettled,    removed    and    all broken   to   pieces,   as   it   was   here   with   Job;   he   was   in   a very   good   way;   his   servants   were   honestly   employed, but   suddenly   all   is   gone.   The   oxen   were   taken   away, and the asses that fed by them.  —— This article is taken from:  Caryl, Joseph.  An Exposition with Practical Observations upon the Book of Job. London: G. Miller, 1644.  A PDF file of this book can be downloaded, free of charge, at http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com