Job 31:4 | KingComments | STEP | We have seen how Job’s closing plea for his innocence in Job 29 began with a vivid description of the time when he lived in prosperity. He speaks about his place in the community, his high position, his personal sincerity and his concern for the weak and poor in the city. In Job 30 he described the misery in which he found himself, for which he cannot see any justification. In the chapter we now have before us, he concludes his plea. In Job 29 he has spoken at length about his good things. Here, in Job 31, he declares that he has done no evil things, nothing that could be a cause of the disasters that have afflicted him. He utters severe curses upon himself, which should strike him if he were guilty of anything criminal. He does so out of the conviction that he has done nothing to deserve the disasters that have come upon him. He is a broken man, an outcast, abandoned by God and despised by men. But his spirit is unbroken. He straightens his back and makes a powerful plea. While the Prosecutor does not let Himself be heard or seen (yet), Job pleads himself free. What it amounts to is that God must now justify Himself for what He has done to him, from which He derives the ground for His dealings with him. His speech here is not addressed to his friends, but to his God. Job lists all kinds of possible crimes. In some of them he swears that he did not commit them. Many verses start with “if”. These are what we can call “conditional” statements. In a number of cases they are followed by a curse. The idea is: if what is written in the conditional sentence would be or will be reality then what is written in the curse can and will happen. So the “if”-phrases deny something in the most solemn way, we can say, under oath. Although not every “if”-phrase is followed by a curse, we understand that the intention is to solemnly deny something. The chapter is full of solemn statements, in which Job swears that he is not guilty of the sins mentioned in those statements. These statements of innocence are the last words we have of him that he speaks to his defense. His innocence is of the utmost importance to him. He pronounces the final conclusion in , where he confirms all his statements with his signature. That’s the climax. Job’s friends never attacked his personal purity. Yet his first declaration of an evil that God must judge and that he did not commit has to do with his personal purity. It has to do with sexual desires ( ). It is remarkable and significant that he begins the list of sins he enumerates with this. At some point, somewhere in the past, he has, he says, “made a covenant” with his eyes. It supposes that he had a hard time with this desire, as today (almost) all young people – especially boys – who want to live for the Lord Jesus, have a hard time with it in a certain period of their life. Job then made a solemn promise before God that he would keep himself pure in his thoughts and actions, and that starts with the eyes. What a lesson for young people today! He did not seek the satisfaction of his own desires. Instead, he has sought to serve others, as we have seen and also see in this chapter. He has made a covenant with his eyes to escape the danger of adultery mentioned by the Lord Jesus ( ). In this way Job has answered the call: “Flee immorality” ( ). Joseph fled when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him into fornication and remained pure ( ); David did not flee and fell into fornication ( ). Job’s statement indicates that he held and practiced the monogamous view: he was the husband of one wife. Job emphasizes his choice of a covenant to remain pure by referring to “the portion of God from above”. He knows himself to be responsible to Him ( ). God is above evil. He has a portion for believers, but also for unbelievers. The believers’ portion is blessing, but the unbelievers’ portion is judgment. When we think of “the heritage of the Almighty from on high” we can think of the right He has to exercise judgment. That right is the heritage of the Lord Jesus Who will come from on high to judge the wicked and their wickedness. The Father has given all judgment to Him, the Son of Man ( ). In Job explains what ‘the portion’ and ‘the heritage’ is that comes from God over wrong sexual desires. It is “calamity to the unjust and disaster to those who work iniquity”. ‘Unjust’ and ‘iniquity’ is general and refers to all sins, but in this context refers primarily to fornicators and adulterers ( ). Job is well aware that God sees all his ways and numbers all his steps ( ; ; ). God knows all the way he goes, all his life’s path. He also knows the individual steps he takes, i.e. all his individual considerations to go a certain way and how he behaves on that way. That thought was and is enough to deter him from committing what Joseph calls “this great evil” ( ). We see several times that for Job the thought of God seeing him is a motive not to do something that is evil. Accountability to God pervaded his life and determined his mind, his words, and his actions. He did not see being accountable as a threat, something to be afraid of, but as the sound awareness of his personal responsibility to everyone he was dealing with. Something similar we see in Paul. The thought of being accountable before the judgment seat of Christ did not frighten him, but rather motivated him to be pleasing to Christ in everything ( ). This is how it may be with us.

‏ Job 31:4

Introduction

We have seen how Job’s closing plea for his innocence in Job 29 began with a vivid description of the time when he lived in prosperity. He speaks about his place in the community, his high position, his personal sincerity and his concern for the weak and poor in the city. In Job 30 he described the misery in which he found himself, for which he cannot see any justification.

In the chapter we now have before us, he concludes his plea. In Job 29 he has spoken at length about his good things. Here, in Job 31, he declares that he has done no evil things, nothing that could be a cause of the disasters that have afflicted him. He utters severe curses upon himself, which should strike him if he were guilty of anything criminal. He does so out of the conviction that he has done nothing to deserve the disasters that have come upon him.

He is a broken man, an outcast, abandoned by God and despised by men. But his spirit is unbroken. He straightens his back and makes a powerful plea. While the Prosecutor does not let Himself be heard or seen (yet), Job pleads himself free. What it amounts to is that God must now justify Himself for what He has done to him, from which He derives the ground for His dealings with him. His speech here is not addressed to his friends, but to his God.

Job lists all kinds of possible crimes. In some of them he swears that he did not commit them. Many verses start with “if”. These are what we can call “conditional” statements. In a number of cases they are followed by a curse. The idea is: if what is written in the conditional sentence would be or will be reality then what is written in the curse can and will happen.

So the “if”-phrases deny something in the most solemn way, we can say, under oath. Although not every “if”-phrase is followed by a curse, we understand that the intention is to solemnly deny something. The chapter is full of solemn statements, in which Job swears that he is not guilty of the sins mentioned in those statements.

These statements of innocence are the last words we have of him that he speaks to his defense. His innocence is of the utmost importance to him. He pronounces the final conclusion in Job 31:35, where he confirms all his statements with his signature. That’s the climax.

A Covenant With the Eyes

Job’s friends never attacked his personal purity. Yet his first declaration of an evil that God must judge and that he did not commit has to do with his personal purity. It has to do with sexual desires (Job 31:1). It is remarkable and significant that he begins the list of sins he enumerates with this.

At some point, somewhere in the past, he has, he says, “made a covenant” with his eyes. It supposes that he had a hard time with this desire, as today (almost) all young people – especially boys – who want to live for the Lord Jesus, have a hard time with it in a certain period of their life. Job then made a solemn promise before God that he would keep himself pure in his thoughts and actions, and that starts with the eyes. What a lesson for young people today! He did not seek the satisfaction of his own desires. Instead, he has sought to serve others, as we have seen and also see in this chapter.

He has made a covenant with his eyes to escape the danger of adultery mentioned by the Lord Jesus (Mt 5:27-28). In this way Job has answered the call: “Flee immorality” (1Cor 6:18). Joseph fled when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him into fornication and remained pure (Gen 39:7-12); David did not flee and fell into fornication (2Sam 11:1-5). Job’s statement indicates that he held and practiced the monogamous view: he was the husband of one wife.

Job emphasizes his choice of a covenant to remain pure by referring to “the portion of God from above”. He knows himself to be responsible to Him (Job 31:2). God is above evil. He has a portion for believers, but also for unbelievers. The believers’ portion is blessing, but the unbelievers’ portion is judgment. When we think of “the heritage of the Almighty from on high” we can think of the right He has to exercise judgment. That right is the heritage of the Lord Jesus Who will come from on high to judge the wicked and their wickedness. The Father has given all judgment to Him, the Son of Man (Jn 5:22 ; 27).

In Job 31:3 Job explains what ‘the portion’ and ‘the heritage’ is that comes from God over wrong sexual desires. It is “calamity to the unjust and disaster to those who work iniquity”. ‘Unjust’ and ‘iniquity’ is general and refers to all sins, but in this context refers primarily to fornicators and adulterers (Heb 13:4).

Job is well aware that God sees all his ways and numbers all his steps (Job 31:4; Jer 29:23; Pro 5:21). God knows all the way he goes, all his life’s path. He also knows the individual steps he takes, i.e. all his individual considerations to go a certain way and how he behaves on that way. That thought was and is enough to deter him from committing what Joseph calls “this great evil” (Gen 39:9).

We see several times that for Job the thought of God seeing him is a motive not to do something that is evil. Accountability to God pervaded his life and determined his mind, his words, and his actions. He did not see being accountable as a threat, something to be afraid of, but as the sound awareness of his personal responsibility to everyone he was dealing with. Something similar we see in Paul. The thought of being accountable before the judgment seat of Christ did not frighten him, but rather motivated him to be pleasing to Christ in everything (2Cor 5:9-10). This is how it may be with us.