Job 3:17

c. Then and there, for the first time, the inequalities in life’s allotments are brought to an end, Job 3:17-19.

17. There In the grave.

The wicked The man who rages. According to Kimchi, such is the idea of the root of the word רשׁע , to rage, to storm. He is inwardly torn by passions and appetites. The ocean is a befitting emblem of his ever-restless soul. (Isaiah 57:20.) His inward trouble leads him to trouble others. His present life an unceasing source of misery to himself and of pain to friends casts a dark shadow upon his own eternal condition and its relationship to others. To such a heart there is but one Being who can give rest. (Matthew 11:28.)

The weary be at rest Dr. Chalmers says of this verse, that “it is one of the Scripture’s prime memorabilia.” The ancient Egyptian called the abode of the dead “the covering of the weary.” Brugsch. Compare Bryant’s “Thanatopsis.” Those wasted by toil, and those stricken of sorrow, alike long for the grave as a place of rest. There is danger, however, lest the morbid spirit exaggerate the real evils of life, and, sighing for the grave, be guilty of bringing reproach upon the ways of God, his goodness, and his love. We may learn a lesson from the wounded soldier, who, absorbed in the battle, heeds little, and often knows not, the wounds he may have received, but fights on till the battle is over, and then, only then, asks for rest. Life’s soldier, (Job 7:1,) his soul each day filled with duty and laborious love, either heeds not or counts as small the present evil, and looks for repose only when God’s will shall have completed his existence. Those “wearied in strength” (see margin) may be referred to an incident in the life of Arnauld, the intrepid antagonist of the Vatican, and of “the grand monarque.” His friend Nicole, a companion in arms, expressed a wish to retire from the field, and to enjoy repose. “Repose!” replied Arnauld, “will you not have the whole of eternity to repose in?” Encyclop. Britannica, 8th ed., 1:81.