Job  

Chapter  31  

"Solemn claim of his innocence."  

Job  31:1   "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?"

Job is continuing with his talk to his three friends, and this is the last talk that he will have with them.  The maid is an unmarried virgin, and Job as telling them that he would not allow himself to be placed in a position of being tempted with a maid.    

Job  31:2   "For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high."

The reward that the God gives His faithful servants is their rewards, it's payday for the work and devotion given by His servants while here on earth in these flesh bodies.  When we are one of God's elect and part of His kingdom we should expect God's promises to be kept, and the inheritance God has promised to each of His own.

Job  31:3   "Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?"

Punishment will be given to the wicked for all the iniquity that is done by them. 

Job  31:4   "Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?"

Doesn't God see what I am doing here, and know the intentions of my heart?

Job  31:5   "If I have walked with vanity or my foot hath hasted to deceit;"

If I have been tricked into believing lies;...

Job  31:6   "Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity."

...then let God know that I am innocent.  Job isn't worried about being innocent, for He knows that he has not sinned.  There are very few in the world today that could live as perfect of life as Job lived.  We have Christ today for those times when we fall short of God's ways.  However, Christ had not yet been born at this time of Job. 

Job  31:7   "If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hand;"

If I have done any thing within my heart, or eye sight, or if I have gotten my hands dirty;..

Job  31:8   "Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out."

...If I have done anything to harm another, let my crop be rooted or plowed up, and yield no crop for myself.  Job is saying if he had any intentions of harming another person, let me not be blessed.  Keep the parable of the tares in mind from Matthew 13.

Job  31:9   "If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door;"

Job  31:10   "Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her."

What this is saying is that if I have taken advantage of another man's wife, than let my wife become a slave of another man.  This shows just how positive that Job felt that he was right in all matters.    

Job  31:11    "For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.;"

This is a very poor translation from the Massorah text. Job is saying is that this is a wicked act before the law, and he has not committed it. 

Job  31:12   "For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase."

Here we have that old Hebrew word, "Abaddon", "destruction".  This is one of Satan's names.  He is starting to point the finger of his problems as being from Satan. 

Job  31:13   "If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;"

Job is saying that if I rejected a plea of one of my servants when they brought a complaint to me;

Job  31:14   "What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him?

If somebody came to me, I listened and dealt fairly with them.  However what can I do if God comes with a complaint? 

Job  31:15   "Did not He That made me in the womb make him?  and did not One fashion us in the womb?"

Job is saying; were not all of us created in the womb to be born equal?

Job  31:16   "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;"

You can see the help I have given the poor by the shine in their eyes.  Even the widows eyes were not caused to grow dim.  The eyes that are happy shines and glows bright. 

Job  31:17   "Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;"

Did I let the orphans starve while I ate my morsels alone;

Job  31:18   "(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;"

Since I was a young man, if I saw an orphan pass by, I treated him as if I was his father.  All my life I have tried to take care of the widows and orphans. 

Job  31:19   If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;"

Job  31:20   "If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;"

Job's own body blessed him for having prepared clothing for it, from his own sheep. 

Job  31:21   "If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate;"

When I was a judge I could have taken advantage of the fatherless and widows, but I did not.  If I would have done such a thing the judges at the gate would have even looked the other way.  Job could have gotten away with it, but he just didn't do it.

Job  31:22   "Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone."

If I am not telling the truth, let them pull my arm out of the socket at my shoulder blade.

Job  31:23   "For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of His highness I could not endure."

Job is saying that he could not do any of these things for fear of the living God.  Job knew that God would hold him accountable for everything that he did, when he knew to do right and revere God. 

Job  31:24   "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, `Thou are my confidence;"

Job never put his faith in anything beside God, not in his wealth nor his gold.  Remember that this verse is in response to Job's answer to these three friends that accused him of his misplaced confidence.  Job was a good man and he is declaring it.   

Job  31:25   "If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much."

Job acknowledges that he held much wealth.

Job  31:26   "If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;"

Job never worshipped any of the heavenly bodies in idolatry.  Job never worshipped any moon god, angels, or the stars as most of the nations were doing at this time. 

Job  31:27   "And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:"

This is an idiom in a sense, and it means that I never allowed myself to be led astray.  Friend you have to be very careful in these latter days for there will be many new ideas and things that come along to draw you away from God's Word.  These things in many cases have to do with the sun, moon, stars and the angels.  Even though there is a written prophecy in the stars and heavenly bodies of the constellations, but they must be proven by the Word of God.  If there is not a witness in God's Word to the fact, than it is not truth. 

Job  31:28   "This also were an iniquity to the punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God That is above."

Job is saying, if I had done these things, I would have been saying, "God doesn't exist."

Job  31:29   "If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:"

This is beautiful and it shows us exactly what kind of man Job was.  Job is saying that I don't even rejoice over my enemies destruction.  It doesn't make me feel good to put the other man down. 

Job  31:30   "(Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by washing a curse to his soul.)"

Even my enemy has a soul, an eternal being within his flesh body.  Though Job was not at all happy with his enemies, he would not curse the eternal soul within the man.  Job knew that it was the flesh that was making the man do what he was doing. 

Job  31:31   "If the men of my tabernacle said not, `Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied!"

There is a great deal of confusion in this verse, and lets see what the Massorah text has to say about it.  The men that worked for me did not talk against me.  However the way that the translators made this, you are drawn to a conclusion that they did. 

We are to partake of "His flesh", for it is talking of Jesus Christ's f;esh.  His flesh is the bread, and his blood is the wine that we partake of in the Communion service.  We take the Communion in remembrance of all that Christ did for us at the cross. 

Job  31:32   "The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveller."

Job was a good man that took care of the stranger that ended up at his house gate. 

Job  31:33   "If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:"

In the Hebrew this is a question.  Job is asking, did I ever covered my sins as did "Adam", which is "man", common man?

Job  31:34   "Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?"

This is a good lesson for us.  It is saying that if the whole town was buzzing with gossip about me, do you think I stayed inside and hid myself behind my family?  Job went out side the door and met the gossip straight on.

Job  31:35   "Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book."

Job's adversary had caused many books to be written, and this was Job's trouble.  The problem here is that Job doesn't know who his adversary is, for Job thinks it is God that is doing all this to him.  In fact it is Satan that has caused all of Job's problems, and to us today Job is part of this book that is written to warn us of the adversary.  That book is our Bible.  Job wants the book to be written so that others can know what they are guilty of.  Job still thinks God is doing the punishing, and that he has done something wrong. 

Friend, don't ever forget Satan and the trouble that he will try to bring upon you, if you allow him to.  You have the power and the authority in Jesus Christ to put Satan and his Kenite children in their place.  Jesus Christ gave you that power and authority.  Use it!     

Job  31:36   "Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me."

Job is saying that if I could have that little book that is accusing me, I would bind it up and make a turbin out of it for my head.  I would wear it with pride for I am surely not guilty, and the book would say so. 

Job  31:37   "I would declare unto Him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto Him."

I would plead the record of my life before Him.  Were it not for repentance, there are very few persons, if any today that could make this statement. 

Job  31:38   "If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;"

If the very seed bed of my lands complain;

Job  31:39   "If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:"

If I have caused anyone to lose anything in their life:

Job  31:40   "Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley."  The words of Job are ended."

Job is saying that if he has caused harm to anyone let his land cease to bear its fruit and crops.  Over the past twenty eight chapters were have read many words, yet there are no0 answers, for these men have completely missed the point.  Though there has not been an answer yet, there will be all the answers in just a very few chapters.  The Living God will step in and give him the answers to all his problems.  Yet Job is hid from the whole problem, for what was it that Job requested would grow up in his wheat?  Thistles, and cockles instead of the barley. 

Remember the parable by Jesus Christ, from Matthew 13, or the tares that were planted amongst the wheat?  We have something growing around us beside the wheat of God's people, and that is our enemy.  The Kenite is the tares [the zoan in the Greek] that have been planted amongst us.  We don't have pure wheat today, nor did Job have pure wheat in his day.  If you are one of God's elect, you will never forget Satan's children, the Kenites.  See that you stand them in their place when they come against you.  We are to protect ourselves from the and use the authority that God has given us against them.  That power come from the only living and true God.