March 2, 2011

ob 31
Job understands the depth of iniquity in a man. He travels a lot of territory in this chapter concerning the nature of sin. He realizes that it is in the heart, in the inner part of man, that sin really lurks. He protests his innocence. He speaks first to that issue that controls most men, their sex drive. I am constantly coming across the statistic that states that 40% of men in America regularly view some form of pornography and that the statistic is not any less among men who claim to attend church regularly. Job says, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” He knew that iniquity began in the inner thought life. How do I control my thought life? One way is to control what I gaze upon. The old saying applies here, “You cannot stop a bird from landing on your head, but you can keep him from building a nest.”
He explores the possibility of his own falsehood. For him the question was when he was a business man, did he give fair amounts for grain when he bought and sold. He claims that he dealt with integrity in his business dealings. Do you know where the word integrity comes from? It is the same word from which we get the word for integer. An integer is a whole number. Integrity is wholeness. In other words if you deal with integrity, you deal using the same principles in the totality or whole of your life. You don’t deal differently when you have opportunity to secretly gain advantage over another. There is a consistency that is there all of the time especially when no one but God sees.
He forges into the area of sexual purity in remaining faithful to both his wife and his neighbor. We live in a culture that seems to have forgotten about the meaning of sexual purity and faithfulness.
Then he addresses how he has fairly treated his servants. I think the principle could transfer over into our culture by thinking of proper employer/employee treatment, wages and compensation. What would happen in a company where the owner of the company truly wanted the best for his employees as much as he wanted the success of the company? What would happen if employees truly wanted the best for their company rather than just wanting to get the most wages for the least amount of work? Would we have CEO’s who get paid millions while they bankrupt the company? Would we have employees who want to see what little work they can produce for the greatest compensation? Would labor unions still exist? Would a CEO still live in million dollar estates while common employees barely make ends meet? Would employees be required to continually work long hours to the detriment of their families? Job seems to think that he treated his servants fairly.
What about that most defenseless part of society, widows and orphans? The greatest contributor to poverty in Oklahoma is single family households. Now in very few cases is that because a woman has been widowed. Usually it is because of divorce or abandonment. Single women typically get paid far less than single men. Then take into consideration that if her child gets sick, then she must take off of work to meet the child’s needs. So, there comes the double whammy of less income and higher medical expense. In Job’s culture the widow and orphan were really dependent upon the support of the culture. Job claims that he never shrank back from aid. Do we shrink back?
How about these last two, making gold your hope and rejoicing at your enemy’s destruction? On the one hand the proverbs instruct us that there is wisdom in planning financially, but on the other hand in that planning we run a great risk at making gold our hope rather than trusting in the Lord. Job claims that to do this would be, “An iniquity deserving of judgment, for I would have denied God who is above.” It is indeed a tight rope to walk upon. Then he mentions rejoicing at an enemy’s destruction. How many of us have done that? I would guess that we all have done that at one time or another.
But what does this tell us about the glory of God? It tells me that His standard of righteousness is far higher than mine. It is too high. I cannot attain to it. But thanks be to God for His all surpassing gift of righteousness that is found in Christ Jesus! When I look at my sin and realize that only he can deliver me from it, I change my mind about what I can do to what only He can do! I choose to cling to Him, to let Him live His life in and through me! He enables me to live above sin, just as He did for Job! Isn’t He something? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john