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CHALLENGE: Hold Onto Your Moral Compass
A. ETHIC OF MARITAL FAITHFULNESS (vv9-12)
V9 – “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10 then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. 11 For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged. 12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it would have uprooted my harvest.
He says that his heart was never enticed by a woman. So, what’s the source of adultery? Isn’t it your secret inner world of thoughts? Jesus says the same thing when he reminds us that many sins originate your heart, so that’s where battles are won and lost. Most problems start from inside us not outside of us. We can’t change what’s out there but we can change what’s in here! Finger pointed to self.
May we never look at religion as a mechanical action such as coming to church, or memorizing a prayer, or dropping money in the offering box, or going to a Bible study. God’s work will never leave the inside untouched. God shows us the importance of love, on which all laws hinge and He pours His love into our hearts as well. He also writes his laws in our heart so we can distinguish between right and wrong. May our morality run deep.
- Guard Against Building Emotional Ties the Opposite Sex
The heart was considered a center of thinking and the place where decisions were made. When I think of the heart, I think of our emotions. It’s like a veritable warehouse for love, hatred, compassion, mercy, anger, jealousy, joy, and every other emotion there is. So, he says that the emotional part of his being was never enticed by a woman. That’s important.
The word “entice” means to “draw or attract someone” into something. A salesman might entice you to buy something by creating a thirst. However, sometimes we’re enticing ourselves so that salesman took us nowhere we didn’t already want to go. That’s like sin too. It’s not always the devil selling us on something ‘cause sometimes we already sold ourselves on it.
How might a person by enticed? Someone might entice by how they appear, by flattering words, by coaxing, or by some action or invitation. Hey, come on over. How close to that fire are you willing to walk? Building emotional bridges with the opposite sex can draw you in. You start feeling super attached! I was working at clearing sumac tree stumps. I thought they would pop out like a weed but the roots were so spread out and entangled! It was like a woven carpet of roots and that made them difficult to dig out!
These emotional tentacles that we develop for others are strong. I’d avoid it. He’s not allowing himself to get enticed into an emotional relationship that can easily turn into a sexual relationship. That’s how that tends to go. Don’t build that bridge by constant talking, flirting, joking, texting, messaging, calling.
Proverbs 6:25 – Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
I love what Gary Chapman said. If you’re getting the tinglies for someone – don’t hang out and talk to them all the time. It will pass. I read an article in Men’s Health and it said that 75% of the time when you leave your spouse for some work place romance, it’s not going to last. And NOW, you already left your spouse for someone else but then it didn’t work out. Yeah, that’s because laughing at work is different than paying bills and chores and doing life.
Another danger to building an emotional attachment is that it’s no longer rational. Once good thinking is overrun by emotion, you’re not thinking straight anymore. When our brain is involved in decisions, we’re more well-reasoned, cautious, and careful. Emotions can just carry you away into some lala land that makes no sense at all.
2. Be Where You’re Supposed to BE
He also says that he wasn’t “lurking”. What a word…just lurking about! It means to lie in wait. He was never hiding in the bushes waiting for his neighbor to go to work so that he could spend time with his neighbor’s wife without him knowing about it.
He’s not where he doesn’t belong and that’s something. How about this, don’t be where you’re not supposed to be. If you’re where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there will be far fewer problems.
I don’t belong in a house with someone else’s wife. I don’t belong in the car with them or out to lunch with them. I’m not supposed to be playing pickleball with them. We need to make sure that we are where we ought to be when we ought to be.
He said, I deserve to be judged if I committed adultery. Hebrews 13:4 – Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
God will judge immorality so don’t lose track of that. He says that it’s a fire that burns to destruction. This is a serious word – in the Hebrew language it becomes a name for the devil. It’s Apollyon which means destroyer! The book of Proverbs tells us we’re heading for death, destruction, getting burned, bitterness, and regret.
Let’s just remember the seriousness of this sin. Some argue that all sins are the same and I’d like to suggest that they’re not. My wife will view me being sarcastic far differently than me having an affair. In the former she won’t talk to me for a few hours. In the latter, she’s not talking to me for the rest of my life. So, it’s that destruction I want to avoid. That’s not just a “law”, that’s called “reality”. In reality, Job would expect judgment if he chose to be immoral.
So don’t build emotional bridges whereby you can be enticed. Don’t be where you shouldn’t be!
B. ETHIC OF FAIRNESS
Vv13-15 – “If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me, 14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? 15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
He didn’t deny justice when servants had a grievance. Perhaps something was going on that shouldn’t have been. Perhaps there was an oversight. Perhaps someone got cheated out of wages. Perhaps someone was getting overworked. If there was something unfair, Job heard it out and fixed it. He made sure there was justice for his workers. Think about the book of Ruth. If she worked in Boaz’s fields she was safe. If elsewhere she was not safe. That was because of the character of Boaz.
I like how he even listened when the grievance was against him. He was more interested in doing the right thing. Your character isn’t shown by how you treat those above you, it’s seen in how you treat those below you! Those who are less well off, less educated, less good looking, less strong, how do you treat them? How do we treat the more fragile among us? Job never ignored them because they had a lesser position than he did.
Why did he acknowledge the pain of others and not lose it in disputes? Why did he treat people with respect? Why did he have empathy? Good theology.
Did not the same God who made me, make them? He made us both! Our legal notions are based on this type of biblical concept. We believe that all were created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What deep thinking. Truth is reality and this is reality; all of us are made by God! And since that is true, I have to treat all people as if I believe they are all equally important because they are. Jesus put it this way, do unto others as you would have them do it to you.
Good theology leads to good behavior and clearly this is good theology. God is no respecter of persons, so don’t show favoritism. Job treated everyone with fairness and we should as well. Everyone’s voice is heard equally.
“True leadership is measured by how well we serve those who are of lesser status. A leader must always remember that serving others is the greatest act of love.” John Maxwell.
There was a young man in California and he blew up a fertility clinic or tried to. He was a pro mortalist which means he thought it was wrong for someone to bring him into the world without asking him first. Which is absolutely absurd. “I’m angry I exist,” he said in the recording, before claiming he did not give his parents permission for him to be born. Bad theology leads to bad decisions.
When you’re made by God your life has value and purpose. Let’s never forget that. You’re not just here, you’re created. And valuable. And important.
In the context of partiality and not favoring the rich over the poor, it says that those who show no mercy will receive no mercy. How about that? Didn’t he say the same thing here? He said God would destroy him if he behaved that way.
Where did Job get his theology from? He treated people fairly and so should we. Loving others is one of the top commandments and Job was already living it. The righteous reality!
C. ETHIC OF TAKING CARE OF THE LESS FORTUNATE (VV16-23)
Vv16-23 – “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, 17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless— 18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, 20 and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, 21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. 23 For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
If he kept his bread to himself. If he hoarded or hogged his stuff, not sharing it when others needed it more. This is an ethic. John said that if you have two coats, give to one who has no coats. That verse really speaks to my heart. If I have extra – give something away!!
The rich man would not even share a crumb with the beggar, Lazarus. Not one single crumb and he burned for that. Matthew 25 spells out the importance of helping others. The question will be asked, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, or naked? When did we see you sick or in prison? He said, as much as you’ve done it to the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me. You’ll be evaluated on the ethic of how you treated the less fortunate. It’s not going to be about how much you “believed” it’s going to be on how much did what you believe show up in how you lived.
Job lived the ethic that Jesus espoused far before anyone wrote it down or said to. Again, the truth has been here the entire time. We just need to live out the righteous reality.
In some ways, true religion is true ministry. If we do nothing to alleviate suffering or help the hurting, what religion was that? Religion is ministry. It’s not just about being right, it’s about being truly righteous. And being truly righteous is doing right by others.
How we treat the widows, fatherless and poor is throughout Scripture. God is concerned and we should be as well.
D. ETHIC OF HAVING NO OTHER GODS
Vv24-28 – “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ 25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, 26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, 27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, 28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
If his true faith was in his riches, that’s idolatry. We’re replacing God with a credit card or money.
- He didn’t make money his security
Our currency says, “In God We Trust”. And every time we see money and catch that phrase, it can be a reminder that our hope is in God, not cash. David said that he didn’t trust in horses or chariots but in God. In similar fashion, we don’t want to feel secure because we have money. It’s not where our confidence should rest.
When the chips are down are we looking at our bank accounts or God? And perhaps too much focus is on what we have. Where is your confidence?
- He didn’t rejoice over his great wealth
Clearly Job recognizes that he worked for what he had. He didn’t get rich by stealing or oppression. He had money because his hands got dirty. He had wealth because he hustled and built something. And he used his wealth to alleviate suffering!
You’ve got to be willing to work! He recognizes the importance of work and effort and accumulating wealth. He put in effort and that’s appropriate. He worked for it. I say it often, no one is giving you anything, you’ve got to earn it. You have to work for respect and money and whatever it is you’re after.
I’ve been working toward growing fruit out behind our barn. The deer think I’m doing it for them! But someday will I rejoice in my garden? Will I rejoice in blueberries or fruit trees? I’ll be happy about it for sure! But I’ll thank God for it.
It’s that line between pride and humility. The humility is dependence on God. The pride is independence from God. Nebuchadnezzar suffered because he took credit for what he did. Listen to this prideful statement. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
The danger in this passage was that they might forget God. Why? Because you feel like you’re your own Savior. You worked hard, you hustled, you made things happen, you made good decisions and accumulated wealth. So why do you need God?
We might tend to put God on a back burner or don’t think that we need to cry out to him regularly. Remember the Lord’s Prayer – give us this day our daily bread. We think, but I have plenty of food. Yes, but there still has to be a God reliance for things. We need to depend on the Lord.
So part of the issue that can occur is that we’re not leaning on God or remembering that He’s the source of our ability. If he made us in the womb, then he gave us the talents that we have. We might tend to praise our efforts and talk about what we’ve done without giving credit to God. That’s what Job’s not doing.
What is it that we rejoice in? I’m very thankful for many things, aren’t you?
I’m glad that we’re free. It’s Memorial Day weekend and we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. We’re not here without them. I’m thankful for my family and for where I live and for the house and all kinds of things. I’m ultra grateful. But where is the praise directed? It should be to those in our lives who help but mostly to God! We’re grateful for his involvement. Let’s not celebrate money which is temporal. Let’s celebrate God who is eternal.
Nebuchadnezzar was a great king in history and he got into trouble for one particular statement that he made. Daniel 4:29-30 – Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
He built it by his might and for his glory. This is textbook pride. I did it and I want credit. I want glory coming to me for what I did. That’s SUCH an easy trap to fall into and especially in our own hearts. We want credit and we like some glory for the things we have built and done! But doesn’t God deserve that? We certainly don’t want to make an idol of ourselves.
• He Didn’t Worship Nature
He didn’t worship the sun or moon and apparently that was a thing in his day. He was faithful to God. Nature is beautiful but he didn’t look at nature as if that were something that was somehow overseeing his life. He didn’t owe his properity to things that God created.
Romans 1:25 – They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Nature is beautiful but it doesn’t exist outside of God. The beauty of the world should point us to a beautiful God. We don’t worship it.
He wasn’t looking to the cosmos to be leading his life. He would not be looking to tarot cards, horroscopes, or anything silly like that. He was truly trusting in God. I’ve seen people talking about spiritual meaning because seeing a red bird and blue bird together. They look at “Mother Nature” as some intelligent force that is bringing blessing. Seriously? Job wasn’t blowing kisses to Mother Nature!
There is beauty but it was put here. I can’t worship creation and celebrate sunsets without elevating my gaze to God who built it. I believe that all of it speaks daily as a testimony to God!
Job was obviously not a brute with no knowledge of God. Somehow this information had been gathered and taught to him. And he knew that he should pay a price if he were seen sending a kiss of homage to the sun or moon.
So Job had great ethics. Ethics that has always been part of biblical thinking. We would want to align ourselves with this. So as to make sure we’re on the right path.
Our relationships are vital. We are evaluated on what we are at home, and how we help our community, and in our relationship with God.