The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all mankind follows after him, and those who go before him are innumerable.
Job has been following a rich wicked man all the way to his funeral: the grave, the soft earth heaped over it, and the crowd of mourners. His friends taught that trouble marks out the guilty, so Job asks what that rule does with a death like this.
Clods That Flatter
Nothing interrupts this man's comfort while he lives. Death alone ends it, and even then his money buys one more show.
Samuel RidoutIt is in death alone that the end of the prosperity of many of the ungodly is reached. Even in his burial, outward display goes with him as far as possible. He is buried with all the honour that wealth can buy, and a watchman guards the tomb that holds his body. In this sense the very clods of his grave seem to flatter his pride; his magnificent tomb still announcing what a great man he was.
The Crowd Behind the Coffin
The second half of the verse fills the road behind his coffin. A large funeral, though, is not the same as a good ending.
Leslie M. GrantHis burial may have a vigil and an outward display of great honour. Large numbers may follow his coffin to the grave with great pomp and ceremony. All of it is only a mockery, since in fact he has "died without mercy."
Spared, Not Overlooked
Why does such a man reach the grave untouched? Job answered that a few verses earlier, and one word carries the answer. The commentator below prefers "spared" to the older English "reserved": the wicked man is passed over in today's trouble, and the day of destruction is still ahead of him.
Samuel RidoutHe throws their insinuations back with a bold question. Have they not learned from observers everywhere what happens to the wicked? He is "spared" in the day of calamity — not "reserved," as in our version — "to the day of destruction". And he is so powerful that no one dares charge his sin to him, or inflict the punishment he deserves. All this, sadly, is only too common in our own day.
What the Friends Got Wrong
Job's friends measured a man's standing with God by his present circumstances. One commentator names their rule and points to where the real verdict falls.
William Kelly"They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath." Not a question of now! These friends all looked at the present time as full proof of what God thought about men. If He counts our walk good, we flourish. If we come into trouble, it is because we are bad people. That was their theory, an utterly wrong and corrupt theory... "The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him" — looking at the outward appearance.
Judging Before the Time
Their second mistake was timing. They wanted God's verdict now; Job was willing to wait for it.
William KellyThe friends settled the matter too early. They fixed their eyes — blinded, sadly — on the present, instead of waiting, as Job did, for the resurrection and the kingdom... He is buried with no less care than others, people following in his wake, as countless souls have gone before. So their consolation was plainly worthless, and their answers false.
The Clod Over Every Glory
The same soil that flatters one man covers every man. Nothing built without God survives it.
C. H. MackintoshAt best, everything undertaken independently of God can last only for the present time. It cannot possibly stretch itself into eternity. All that is merely human must fall into the cold grip of death, however solid, brilliant or attractive it is. It crumbles in the dark, silent tomb. The clod of the valley must cover man's highest excellencies and brightest glories.
Summary
- Appearance. "Sweet" describes the view from outside. Job reports what the eye sees at a funeral, not what God has settled.
- Pomp. Money buys a vigil, a guarded tomb and a grand monument, and the flattery goes on after the man is dead. The crowd behind his coffin only makes the display a mockery.
- Spared. The wicked man is not overlooked. He escapes today's calamity and is kept for the day of destruction, and no one on earth dares call him to account.
- Timing. The friends read the present moment as God's full verdict: comfort means approval, trouble means guilt. A wicked man's peaceful grave breaks their rule.
- Waiting. Job looks past the clods to the resurrection and the kingdom. Every human glory ends under the same clod, and anything built without God ends with the present.