Poetry – Job 31-32

Reading today’s passage reminds me of Saturday’s sermon by Preacher Simon Chin in that we must “Watch and Pray”. In Job, we see a perfect man in many ways.  Let’s see what they are:

Bible Passage:  Job 31-32

Job 31 marks the final words of Job before a new character on the scene speaks from Chapter 31.

Job, as he had in the past few chapters, had been busy giving his view point in response to the ‘encouragement’ of his 3 friends.  And in Chapter 31, he maintains his purity.

Just consider this:  His sufferings cause Job to make an inspection of his inner life and give an account of himself before God.  One of the areas he checked was how he behaved towards women, especially towards the younger women and how he handled his sexual desires (Job 31:1).

This is what reminded me of the sermon as we were reminded to watch and pray lest we get tempted – and the sin of sexual immorality starts with an inner thought or spark, that if not checked – will lead one down the road of destruction.

We seldom like to openly discuss the problem of sexual immorality and the power it has to destroy many Christian lives.  But Job did not shun from it and instead, leaves us a very clear warning as to what are the steps of lust.  I believe this is true for both sexes but Job speaks of it from the point of a man.

It starts with “looking upon a young woman” (31:1), to allowing one’s heart to follow one’s eyes (31:7), to finally allowing oneself to be enticed by a woman and then scheming to have her (31:9).

In the world today, many see this progression as normal, natural and unavoidable.  And this definitely has to do with the moral standards of the world shaped by the media and internet.  But Job saw this lust as a serious moral failure (31:11) and he spok of this in the same context with other sins like:

• falsehood and deceit (31:5)
• oppression of the slaves (31:13-15)
• mistreatment of the poor (31:16, 19-20)
• abuse and neglect of the widows (31:16, 18)
• keeping food from the mouths of starving orphans (31:17-18, 21)
• rejoicing over the misfortunes of others, even if they are one’s enemies (31:29-30)
• trusting in wealth rather than in God (31:24)
• hypocrisy (31:33-34)

Lust is a serious sin and it all starts with sneaking a look.  So are you guarding your thoughts, eye and steps so as to remain pure and blameless before the Lord.

We are always told to run away from the devil.  One of my nephews, whenever there is a kissing scene or intimate scene on TV, will cover his eyes or sometimes run away to another room in embarrassment to avoid seeing such a scene.

Maybe that is what we should do today as well so that we can be like Job to make a covenant with our eyes and not sin against God.

You Can Stop Now…

I am sorry but today’s chapter has given me more food for thought and it is not a problem if you stop reading now.  Because I do think the lesson above is something most needful for us today in this immoral society.

And I would not want to talk about Chapter 32 today because it marks the start of the discourse of Elihu – the 4th friend of Job. His words were quite different from the other 3 friends and I thought I would talk more about it next time.

But Chapter 31 has given me more food for thought…

Pain and suffering is a great leveler.  Whether you are rich or poor, high and mighty or low and powerless – physical pain and emotional suffering attack without any discrimination.  And Job learned this lesson and I hope you can understand what I am trying to say here.

Job was a champion of the poor (29:12-17).  You can see that because of his tremendous wealth and position of importance, he could do a lot of good for his community – especially for the weaker people.

But like many high ranking government officials, or well off people, even if they are aware of the plight of the people they are trying to help, they have never actually experienced it for themselves.

But when disaster struck Job and he was reduced to poverty – suddenly, the poor were no longer just a group of people that needed his help – now he was a fellow sufferer and in the same boat as them.

And now he was looking at the poor with a different set of eyes.

He could identify with the slaves who feared unjust treatment from their masters (31:13).

He now understood what it was like to be without food, clothings and shelter (like the widows and orphans) while watching others live in the position of wealth and power (31:16-21 and compare to 24:2-12).

Then Job came to a conclusion that we will do well to remember…

Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? (Job 31:15)

All people are basically the same.  Having possessions and position has nothing to do with a person’s basic humanity.  But the sad part is that many a times we do forget that.

Just think about it…

Recently I had a discussion with a brother about the situation of the members in Africa.  Many of our members in war-torn parts of Africa (like in Congo) are in suffering and really lack the basic necessities of life.  Although we understand the situation, it is very difficult for us to empathize with them.

But for the IA preachers who spend months every year over there… they do.  They talked with them, ate with them, laughed with them, cried with them… basically lived with them.  They see their lives through their eyes.  They know.

And this, coupled with the love that comes from God, propels them to return year after year, despite the hardships and sufferings they have to go through.

Job had the same appreciation.  Because now he was one of them.  And his condition enabled him to embrace others who were slighted and slandered by society.  His experiences challenges us today to consider what it would take for us to befriend the friendless and seek justice for the powerless.

And like Job in 31:40… “The words of this writer are ended.”