Job 31 GOD'S PERFECT KNOWLEDGE
In this last discourse, Job had looked back with a reflective attitude to the days in which he lived as one who had "feared God and eschewed evil." The false accusations of his friends couldn't take those memories from him because he lived in good conscience before God and men. Then in bitterness of soul, self-pity caused by extreme pain and loss, and frustrated by no answer from God as to why so many calamities fell on him, he cried out in painful anger for help.
In chapter 31 a whole new tone is set as it seems like he speaks like a calm lawyer setting his case carefully before not only the judge, but the reporters who will carefully record his words, the people among whom he lived and did business, and most importantly - to God who knows him in and out and can vouch for his integrity.
His first comments have to do with his testimony of integrity in his personal life. He takes his oath that he has never committed adultery, and more than that, he set his heart against looking at a woman with lust and fantasy. He states openly that he is innocent of outward and inward sins in this regard. More than just saying it, he is sure that God knows he is innocent in this area of his personal life.
In his personal defense he specified four different times what should happen to him if he has sinned in these ways. As a man of integrity, if he turned to open sin, he should lose everything for which he had worked. If he had turned to women other than his wife, or tried to tempt them into sexual immorality, he deserved to watch his own wife be brought down to the lowest place as a slave. If he had withheld from helping widows and those in need, then his own arm should fall off. If he had not tended to the land he used as a trustworthy steward of its benefits, then it all should be weeds and thistles instead of a source of grain and useful produce.
We can learn from this open testimony that righteousness and integrity go together, and should be expected in those of us who claim to know God and are His children by faith in Christ. He knows our innocence and guilt. He knows what I look at and what my response is to temptation. He knows the way I take and what i do when no one else is around.
Job also openly states that he has avoided saying things that are false. By not using the name of God in a wrong way, nor bearing false witness in court or in private, we avoid the sin of falsehood. Lies, misleading statements made to color an opinion or the outcome of a matter, are all part of falsehood and bearing "false witness." Using the name of God in inappropriate ways, or false statements from false prophets are as wrong as worshipping idols.
Fidelity in personal life and spiritual life helps us to maintain fidelity and integrity in public and social life. Justice, fairness and compassion to those who are less advantaged than ourselves, is to be expected in one who is a child of God and a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Job paid attention to the welfare of those who worked for him. When they complained he listened to their complaints and met their needs on the same level as he would meet his own needs.
It is not enough for us to say to people in hard straits, "Be ye warmed and filled," if we are not willing to be the answer to their legitimate needs. It is incumbent on us to be ready to be a father to orphans and a supplier of help and comfort to those who "are widows indeed." We do need to feed the hungry, and supply help to the needy when it is in our power to do so.
In Job's personal life he was a man of fidelity to his wife, a man of moral character to which others could testify. To his neighbors and those in need he was a compassionate and just man. He could honestly testify to helping those who were powerless and poor. His own servants could testify to his fairness and care for them. As one who "sat in the gate," his public persona was consistent with the testimony of the defense he was making. The legal system of the community in which he lived supported his claim of "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God."
For Christian believers today, we are expected to be moral and upright even though society around us is immoral and unfair. The expectations of those who are not saved is that there be a distinct difference between those who have a real Christian testimony and those who are agnostic. All through this chapter in which Job swears to his innocence, there are the "if... then," statements that add weight to what he said. He was not in any way making rash, lighthearted statements. He was dead serious. It was before the Lord that he made these declarations that covered every area of his life. He was a man who had been wholly committed to pleasing God in his life.
In our day people seem to be obsessed with getting money, accumulating wealth and possession and trying every kind of pleasure they can find. This is a modern form of idolatry that has easily been accepted as okay behavior by almost all of society. Job knew that depending on wealth for happiness was idolatry. He had not worshipped the sun or moonlike others in the Middle East. He didn't consult astrologers or the alignment of the stars in his decision making. He knew, as do believers today, that life is in the hands of our Almighty Creator God.
Power and prestige that comes from accumulated wealth is never satisfying to one who has gained all they could. There is an insatiable desire for more no matter how much one has, unless they know God and fear Him. The warning to the successful is "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them."
As Job continued in his own defense, he states that he is a man of generosity meeting needs of others. He does not gloat over the misfortune and downfall of those who were his enemies and had fallen into hard times. He did not, nor should we ever say, "Finally they are getting what they deserved. He had it coming to him." All of those "if" statements indicate he was not self confident, but was calmly assured that all he was saying was true.
He was a man of integrity in personal life, a man of fidelity in his relationships, a man of generosity towards those in need, a man of honesty in business and public, and a man of known spiritual commitment to God. All of those characteristics should be seen in us who are God's people today in spite of all that is socially, morally, legally and religiously accepted by humanity as a whole. Job did not try to hide anything from God like Adam did. He actually took his oath, His "mark," again as a man innocent of deliberate wrong doing and hidden sin.
It is not uncommon for people to hide their sins by using deception. Cover-ups with lies that appear good for awhile to casual observers are not hidden from God as to what a person really is and does. We often can see inconsistencies in others and cover-ups in individuals and in governments, and wonder why they get away with what they are doing. People may not be able to see us in reality, but God does. Yet, He is willing and able to forgive our sins and give us a new life in Christ by making us a new creation in Christ Jesus.
As Job comes to the end of his defense and declaration of innocence before men and God, he urgently appeals to God to respond to him and the sincerity of his oath made before Him. 'oh, that one would hear me! That the Almighty would answer me!"
To him the adversary should have written out the charges against him in a book and listed them all so there would be no mistaking what had happened to bring all of this on him. If the prosecutor had dome that, he would pick it up and carry it to present before the Lord. As far as Job was concerned, that would have confirmed his innocence. At the end of his speech, he thinks of another area of his experience that would support his claim. The very earth that he cultivated would declare that he had not misused it or claimed its fullness to be what he deserved or had exclusive right to.
The environment that God has provided for us to live from its fruitfulness, can be, and often is, misused. Job respected that which had been entrusted to him as a stewardship and didn't abuse that trust. Even in that setting Job used the "if... then" phrase to testify to his faithfulness. It is true that his whole discourse was self- centered because he was likely so overcome with what was happening to him. Pain and loss absorb our thoughts, and makes us consider all else that is happening around us as insignificant.
There are many lessons we can learn about ourselves when we follow through the experiences of others like Job. May we never forget our own limitations and God's fullness. By nature, we are sinners. That we cannot do anything about and we have to accept the fact that sin has serious consequences. But God is just and perfectly righteous in what he does and allows. He knows our limitations, and even though we have some limited insight about things and the intelligence to know how to do some tings, we still have a tendency to sin. God is sovereign and will do what is right in spite of our failures.