26:1 Then Job replied:
Job gave his third reply to Bildad (the traditionalist).
26:2 “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the person who has no strength!
Job used sarcasm to point out that Bildad was powerless to help Job out of his situation. Bildad said that Job was weak, but Bildad was too weak to even help Job.
26:3 How you have advised the one without wisdom, and abundantly revealed your insight!
Bildad had given Job bad advice without wisdom and insight. This is the type of advice that a person, who possesses little or no Bible doctrine, gives out to others.
26:4 To whom did you utter these words? And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth?
Bildad was giving Job advice from the satanic world system.
26:5 “The dead tremble— those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
God is the King over death. Those beneath the waters were those who died during the Great Flood.
26:6 The underworld is naked before God; the place of destruction lies uncovered.
Man cannot see the underworld (hell), but it is naked to God. The place of destruction may be a separate compartment of Sheol which will later unleash terrible demons upon mankind during the Great Tribulation.
26:7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth on nothing.
The Hebrew word for “empty space” is תֹּ֑הוּ (tohu), meaning waste. The earth was wasted sometime after the fall of Satan and somewhere between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The northern skies were defined when the earth began rotating about its axis.
The Hebrew word for “spreads out” is נֹטֶ֣ה (nakah), a qal perfect third masculine singular verb, meaning “he stretched out.” The northern sky was “stretched out” by God without limit, far into the infinite heavens.
The earth was suspended from the sun by “nothing” except for the mysterious and invisible force of gravity. This verse was written at least 3,500 years before Isaac Newton identified and described this mysterious and invisible force.
It is important to note that the Bible is not a science book, but it does not make any errors regarding science. It often recorded great scientific principles thousands of years before their discovery by modern scientists.
26:8 He locks the waters in his clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.
This is another scientific truth which has only been discovered in recent centuries. According to hydraulics expert Dr. Henry Morris, “it refers to strong updrafts of air providing the force necessary to keep the water droplets in the clouds from falling to earth.” (Defender’s Study Bible, Job 26:8).
26:9 He conceals the face of the full moon, shrouding it with his clouds.
God controls the air currents of the clouds and the rotation of the moon.
26:10 He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters as a boundary between light and darkness.
The Hebrew word for “horizon” is חָ֭ג (chug), meaning circle or sphere. Nowhere does the Bible teach a flat earth. It was the Greeks during their “Golden Age” who came around and flattened the earth with their secular humanism.
The boundary between day and night is a great circle through the center of the earth, with light on one side and darkness on the other. The spherical shape of the earth causes this separation of light and darkness.
26:11 The pillars of the heavens tremble and are amazed at his rebuke.
The pillars of the heavens are metaphors in which Job used to describe God’s control over the mountains of the earth.
26:12 By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.
God has the power to bring on a hurricane or to calm the sea. Job pictured the raging sea metaphorically as a sea god named Rahab whom God defeated.
26:13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
The Hebrew for “fleeing serpent” is נָחָ֥שׁ בָּרִֽיחַ (nachash barich), meaning serpent of fleeing. The נָחָ֥שׁ (nachash) was the same serpent which deceived Eve (but not Adam) in the Garden of Eden.
There were astrological constellations in many ancient cultures which pictured the Messiah killing the נָחָ֥שׁ בָּרִֽיחַ (nachash barich), or the fleeing serpent. These stars were probably pointing to the Protoevangelical promise of Genesis 3:15.
26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Men are so distant from God that they only hear a slight whisper. No one can understand the depth of His thunderous power. Job knew and verbalized the attributes of God’s omnipotence much better than his three friends.
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27:1 And Job took up his discourse again:
Job continued his discourse from chapter 26.
27:2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter—
Job blamed God on denying him justice and causing him bitterness.
27:3 for while my spirit is still in me, and the breath from God is in my nostrils,
The spirit and breath of God inside of Job meant that he was still living his physical life on earth.
27:4 my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will whisper no deceit.
As long as Job is alive, he will not speak wickedness or deceit.
27:5 I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!
Job would never declare to his three friends that he was unrighteous.
27:6 I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go; my conscience will not reproach me for as long as I live.
Job was confident that he would retain his righteousness and that his conscience would not accuse him.
27:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unrighteous.
Job was placing everyone who disagreed with him over on the other side. He made them his enemies. He identified them as wicked and unrighteous men. This is a very dangerous position for any man to place himself!
27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
The godless have no chance of fellowship with God at death.
27:9 Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him?
God will not listen to the call of a godless dead man.
27:10 Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times?
The godless dead man will not find delight in the Almighty. He will not call out to God. He will bend his knee to God and acknowledge that he is Lord, but then he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
27:11 I will teach you about the power of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.
These three men did not know God. Job was one of the three most righteous men of all of history. He will teach them a lesson about God.
27:12 If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?
These three men knew Job’s character and had seen Job’s condition, yet they answered his suffering with the philosophy of the satanic world system.
27:13 This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.
Evil men will receive an inheritance from God.
27:14 If his children increase—it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat.
The wicked man will give birth to children who will die by the sword. His offspring will go hungry.
27:15 Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them.
The children of the wicked will die of disease. Their widows will not mourn for them. When Mussolini took power, he was saluted. When he died, people walked over his corpse.
27:16 If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay, 17 what he stores up a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver.
When the wicked man dies, all of his possessions will go to other people.
27:18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.
The homes of the wicked will be fragile.
27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.
A wicked man will go to bed as a wealthy man, but one day he will wake up and all will be gone.
27:20 Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off.
The wicked man will have many nightmares.
27:21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
The east wind will take the wicked man away.
27:22 It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power.
The east wind will have no compassion on the wicked.
27:23 It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.
The east wind will hiss at the wicked man and make fun of him.
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28:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined.
Job continued his discourse from chapters 26-27. He is now addressing all three of his friends. His first point is that man digs underground to find precious metals, such as silver and gold.
28:2 Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper.
Man also digs deep into the ground to find rock and copper.
28:3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness.
Man searches the deepest darkness to find these precious metals.
28:4 Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways.
Miners dig deep shafts into the darkness of the underground and lowers himself from ropes to reach remote areas where no man has ever been.
28:5 The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; 28:6 a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold;
The miners overturn the dirt of the earth in order to find these precious metals.
28:7 a hidden path no bird of prey knows— no falcon’s eye has spotted it.
No bird of prey has even laid his keen eyesight upon these dark underground shafts which lead men to precious metals. Modern ornithologists have just recently found out that scavenger birds spot their prey by keen vision rather than sense of smell.
28:8 Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it.
Proud beasts of prey have never traveled down these shafts of precious metals.
28:9 On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases.
Man hammers away at the rocks.
28:10 He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing.
Man digs tunnels through the rocks.
28:11 He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light.
Man finds where rivers begin and he dams them up. By this mining process, man is able to bring hidden treasures to light.
28:12 “But wisdom—where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?
In spite of all of man’s technological endeavors, he cannot find wisdom on his own. Wisdom is available to all who truly desire it (Proverbs 2).
28:13 Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
Man does not understand the value of wisdom.
28:14 The deep says, ‘It is not with me.’ And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
Wisdom cannot be found deep in the earth or deep in the sea.
28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
Wisdom cannot be bought with gold or silver.
28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires.
Wisdom cannot be bought with the gold from Arabia. Neither can it be bought with onyx or sapphires.
28:17 Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth.
Wisdom is more valuable than gold or crystal.
28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls.
Wisdom is more valuable than coral, jasper, and pearls.
28:19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold.
Wisdom is more valuable than the topaz of Cush. Wisdom cannot be purchased with pure gold.
28:20 “But wisdom—where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding?
Job asked his three friends for the origin of wisdom and understanding.
28:21 For it has been hidden from the eyes of every living creature, and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.
Just as no creature can see precious metals hidden inside of the earth, then no creature can see wisdom.
28:22 Destruction and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’
Destruction and death do not know where to find wisdom.
28:23 God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place.
God is omnipresent, so He is the only one who knows wisdom.
28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.
God is omniscient. He sees everything in the past, present, and future all at one time. Therefore, He knows wisdom.
28:25 When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge.
About 300 years ago, scientists discovered that wind possessed weight. The Holy Spirit mentioned this scientific fact through Job 3500 years earlier. When God created the universe, he determined the force of the wind and the gauge of the waters to work perfectly in unison upon the earth. Without this precise functioning of the hydrologic cycle, no life could be sustained on earth.
28:26 When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
God determined the amount of water for the rains and thunderstorms. Notice that the Holy Spirit through Job mentioned the “path” of the thunderstorm. It is now known scientifically that lightning is a manifestation of electrical energy. When it suddenly arcs across the sky, then it heats up the air along its “path.” This path must be filled by air rushing in to fill the vacuum which was created. This causes a loud thunderclap to be heard upon the earth.
28:27 then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely.
God created wisdom and assessed its value. Man cannot assess the value of wisdom.
28:28 And he said to mankind, ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”
The essence of wisdom is to fear God. The Hebrew word for “fear” is יִרְאָה (yiaih), meaning to fear or respect. If any man does not fear or respect God, then he is a fool.
All evolutionists, atheists, agnostics, feminists, liberals, cults, and isms are fools, because they do not respect God. They elevate their own human opinions above the wisdom of God. They think that they are wise, but wisdom only comes from God. What they really have is programmed brainwashing from the satanic world system, but they do not have wisdom. Wisdom only comes from the Holy Spirit illuminating, by grace, the written Word of God to those in whom He chooses to do so. This is why it is important to study the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. Those who do not study the complete Scriptures will fall into the traps of Satan through his charismatic prophets, cults, isms, atheism, agnosticism, feminism, and evolutionism.
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29:1 Then Job continued his speech:
Job continued his speech from chapters 26-28. He was still addressing all three of his friends.
29:2 “O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,
Job had been struck by these satanic diseases for a few months. Job wished that he could have returned to his prior life.
29:3 when he caused his lamp to shine upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;
Before these calamities of the last few months, Job had been blessed greatly by God.
29:4 just as I was in my most productive time, when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,
Before these calamities, Job was very productive. He possessed an intimate friendship with God.
29:5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me;
Job remembered the time when God and His children were with him. Notice that he did not say anything about missing his nagging wife.
29:6 when my steps were bathed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!
Cream and olive oil were symbols of prosperity.
29:7 When I went out to the city gate and secured my seat in the public square, 29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, and the old men would get up and remain standing;
Job was so respected, that he was made a judge of the city of Uz. The judges held court at the city gates. Not only did the young step aside and show him respect, but those older than him followed suit. The elders standing for one younger than themselves was rare in ancient Middle Eastern culture.
29:9 the chief men refrained from talking and covered their mouths with their hands;
The elders of the city did not speak when Job was present. They were unlike these three friends. They were silent, because they wanted to hear what Job had to say.
29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Nobles (unlike these three friends) were silent in the presence of Job, because they wanted to hear what Job had to say.
29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
Job was blessed by the respect which others showed to him.
29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him;
Job was respected, because of the legal decisions which he made from the judge’s bench. He used his judicial authority to rescue the poor and assist the orphans.
29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;
Job protected the property of the widows from evil, scheming men who wanted to take advantage of them.
29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;
Job clothed himself with righteousness and used his legal authority to help those in need.
29:15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame;
Job protected the legal rights of the blind and lame.
29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
In his judicial position, Job was like a loving and guiding father to the people of Uz.
29:17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
In his judicial position, Job defanged the wicked so that they were forced to drop their prey from their teeth. It is interesting to note that Job used his godly influence to help many, but none of them returned to help him. This is the result of the total depravity of man. Man thinks about self, but not about others. He appreciates help, but most people do not have enough Bible doctrine to return the favor.
29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
Job thought that he would die in his own home, but he no longer had a house to live.
29:19 My roots reach the water, and the dew lies on my branches all night long.
Job’s roots were planted deep in God’s water source, but he had now been plucked out of the ground. At one time, the dew from the sky rested on his branches. Now, the dew no longer falls on his branches.
29:20 My glory will always be fresh in me, and my bow ever new in my hand.’
Job’s glory was that he was once known for his honorable reputation. At one time, he carried a fresh new bow in his hand. It took great strength, prosperity, and skill to handle a new bow.
29:21 “People listened to me and waited silently; they kept silent for my advice.
At one time. Job’s counsel was welcomed. People listened when he spoke. His three friends refused to listen to him.
29:22 After I had spoken, they did not respond; my words fell on them drop by drop.
Unlike Job’s three friends, his words to others were taken in drop by drop.
29:23 They waited for me as people wait for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rains.
Unlike Job’s three friends, people waited to hear the words of Job just as they waited for the spring rains to bring them abundant crops.
29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it; and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.
Unlike Job’s three friends, Job encouraged others that he counseled with his smile. He gave advice and encouragement which turned their darkness into light.
29:25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I lived like a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.
When Job counseled someone else, they took his advice. They respected Job as though he were their king. Job was loved, because he comforted those in whom he grieved. These three friends did none of these things when counseling Job.
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30:1 “But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs.
Job continued his speech from chapters 26-29. Before his calamities, Job was respected by young and old. Afterwards, he was mocked even by the youth. In Middle Eastern culture, the youth always showed great respect to their elders.
30:2 Moreover, the strength of their hands— what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished;
Job was losing his strength and stamina.
30:3 gaunt with want and hunger, they would gnaw the parched land, in former time desolate and waste.
Job was losing his appetite and growing thin.
30:4 By the brush they would gather herbs from the salt marshes, and the root of the broom tree was their food.
Job was like a person in the desert who was trying to stave off hunger by finding herbs in the desert brush. He was forced to eat the roots of the broom tree. The roots of the broom tree were extremely bitter.
30:5 They were banished from the community— people shouted at them like they would shout at thieves—
Job was chased out of his home and banished from normal society like a thief.
30:6 so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.
Since Job was chased from his original home, then he had to live in the dry stream beds, the holes in the ground, and among the rocks.
30:7 They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles.
Those who are chased from society will huddle together in the bushes and bray like donkeys.
30:8 Sons of senseless and nameless people, they were driven out of the land with whips.
The scum of society were driven out of cities with whips. No one even knows their names. Even these scums of society looked down upon Job.
30:9 “And now I have become their taunt song; I have become a byword among them.
The scum mocked Job with insulting songs.
30:10 They detest me and maintain their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
The scum detested and abhorred Job. They kept their distance from him. They spit in his face.
30:11 Because God has untied my tent cord and afflicted me, people throw off all restraint in my presence.
God kicked Job out of his tent and afflicted him. Others followed suit.
30:12 On my right the young rabble rise up; they drive me from place to place, and build up siege ramps against me.
Job was attacked from all sides. On the right, the rabble raised up siege warfare against him.
30:13 They destroy my path; they succeed in destroying me without anyone assisting them.
The rabble attacked Job like an organized army.
30:14 They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash they come rolling in.
The rabble come in through a wide breach as an army and furiously attacked Job.
30:15 Terrors are turned loose on me; they drive away my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.
The rabble turned terrors loose on Job. Once he was kicked out of the city, then he did not feel safe. He did not see deliverance coming from anyone.
30:16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me; days of suffering take hold of me.
Job next spoke of his physical agony. He felt his life ebbing out of him.
30:17 Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never cease.
Job could not sleep at night because of the constant pain from his suffering.
30:18 With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic.
Job felt that God had grabbed him in great power by his clothes.
30:19 He has flung me into the mud, and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.
After God grabbed Job by his clothes, then God threw him in the mud.
30:20 I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you only look at me.
Not only was Job receiving social rejection and physical pain, but he felt that God was neglecting him. He cried to God, but there was no answer (even though God looked at him).
30:21 You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you attack me.
God turned against Job and struck him with His hand.
30:22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; you toss me about in the storm.
God tossed Job around like a violent windstorm.
30:23 I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living.
Job knew that God was bringing him to meet death.
30:24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.
Job’s three friends had turned against him when he was in a desperate situation.
30:25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job had always sympathized with those who were in trouble. His three friends did not return the favor.
30:26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came; when I expected light, then darkness came.
Job was hoping to get goodness and light from his friends, but he received darkness.
30:27 My heart is in turmoil unceasingly; the days of my affliction confront me.
Job’s heart was broken. Physical pain was confronting him every day.
30:28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.
Job’s skin was blackened from the disease. He cried for relief, but it did not come.
30:29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
Job cried like jackals and ostriches.
30:30 My skin has turned dark on me; my body is hot with fever.
His skin was beginning to peel. His body was hot with fever.
30:31 My harp is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.
Harps and flutes usually played joyful tunes, unless they were at a funeral. Job was hearing only funeral music.
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31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?
Job denied being guilty of lust.
31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above, one’s heritage from the Almighty on high?
Job knew that if a person lusts, then he will inherit the end results of that lust.
31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust, and disaster for those who work iniquity?
The end result of lust is disaster and works of evil.
31:4 Does he not see my ways and count all my steps?
Since God can see everything that Job can see, then lust is a sin against God. When the patriarch Joseph denied the advances of Potiphar’s seductive wife, he did so because the sin would be against God as well as against her husband.
31:5 If I have walked in falsehood, and if my foot has hastened to deceit— 31:6 let him weigh me with honest scales; then God will discover my integrity.
Job used the “if” word 19 different times. If Job had dealt with other business partners in a deceitful manner by cheating them on the scales, then God needs to weigh him on the balance scales of judgment. If God does so, then he will find that Job is a man of integrity.
31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands, 31:8 then let me sow and let another eat, and let my crops be uprooted.
If Job had walked down the wrong path, if Job’s heart was wicked, or if his hands were defiled, then Job pronounced a curse upon himself. The curse was that others would eat the fields in which he had sown. All of his crops would become uprooted.
31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, 31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men have sexual relations with her.
If Job had committed adultery, then he placed a curse upon himself. The first curse was that his wife would be forced to perform menial labor for another man. His second curse was that his wife would be violated by another man.
31:11 For I would have committed a shameful act, an iniquity to be judged. 31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest.
Job agreed with God (and against liberals) that sex outside of marriage is a shameful sin and deserves punishment. Sexual sin is like a fire that devours and destroys and entire crop. Hollywood and the pornography industry is playing with fire which will eventually burn and then destroy them. Anyone who plays with this kind of deadly fire will be burned as well.
31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, 31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him?
Job listened to the complaints of his servants and dealt fairly with their disputes. If he had not done so, then he would have no right to file this complaint against God.
31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb?
God created both masters and servants from the wombs of sinful mothers.
31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans— 31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow!
Job denied Eliphaz’s claim that he was oppressing the poor. Neither did he oppress widows. He shared his food with orphans. He even raised many orphans in his own home just as if he were their own father. He has always guided, helped, and protected widows from godless creditors.
If God has given anyone the gift of wealth, then they have a responsibility to share their wealth with widows and orphans.
31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without a coat, 31:20 whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,
Job always gave clothing to the poor, even if they did not appreciate it.
31:21 if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court, 31:22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let my arm be broken off at the socket.
Job pronounced another curse upon himself. As a judge at the gates of the city court, Job always voted to help the orphan. If this was not true, then he cursed himself with a decapitated arm.
31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his majesty I was powerless.
Job feared God, so he judged from the bench righteously. Job was subtly boasting that he was a better judge than God Himself.
31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold,‘You are my security!’
Job did not worship idols like many others of ancient cultures.
31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
Job was not materialistic and trusting in his wealth (as Eliphaz had falsely claimed without evidence).
31:26 if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing, 31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,
Job did not worship the sun or moon like many others of ancient cultures.
31:28 then this also would be iniquity to be judged, for I would have been false to God above.
If Job worshiped the sun and moon, then he would be judged for this evil by the Creator God Himself.
31:29 If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy or exulted because calamity found him—
Job did not rejoice at the misfortunes of his enemies.
31:30 I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse—
In contrast to the pagans, Job never called God to curse his enemies.
31:31 if the members of my household have never said, ‘If only there were someone who has not been satisfied from Job’s meat!’—
Job always provided well for his family.
31:32 But no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler—
Travelers enjoyed Job’s hospitality.
31:33 if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart,
Job did not hide his sins from God as Adam did.
31:34 because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors—
If Job had been hypocritical, then the public would have found out and scorned him.
31:35 “If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature—let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.
Since Job’s three friends accused Job without listening to him, then Job desired that someone else more righteous than them would listen to his case. Like a defendant in court, Job signed his signature of innocence. He asked God Himself to step down from heaven so that He could listen and judge his case. He wanted a written indictment from God Himself.
31:36 Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown; 31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would approach him.
Job was so confident of his innocence that he would proudly wear God’s written indictments on his sleeves. This was a very bold and daring move. People accused of a crime usually do not wear the plaintiff’s indictment on the sleeves of their shirts for the public to see. Job was confident that God would not be able to accuse him of any wrong doing.
31:38 “If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together, 31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, or caused the death of its owners, 31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!” The words of Job are ended.
Job was a very wealthy land owner. If he had ever mistreated his employees, then he asked the land to cry out against him. If he had even eaten its produce with paying for it, or if he had ever caused the death of one of the landowners, then he asked that his crops would cease to grow and thorns would grow in their place.
Job ended his words with a challenge to God. The point of his arguments was to force God to break his silence. If Job was innocent, then God would be required by the current human legal law of that day to speak up and declares his innocence. If Job was guilty, then God would be required by this same legal law to bring down the imprecations against Job. However, God is above all human law. He will not allow His creation to pressure Him and back Him into a corner. He will answer only if and when He desires to answer. As a result of Job’s challenge, he received more silence from God.