74. When God Riseth Up (3)

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Hymns: RHC 352 All the Way My Savior Leads Me, 353 God Will Take Care of You, 354 God Leads Us Along

Job 31:1-15

9If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; 10Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 11For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. 12For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase. 13If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; 14What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 15Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? (Job 31:9-15 KJV)

When God Riseth Up (2) 

OUTLINE

  • Sought Preventive by Covenant (v1-2)
  • Sought Purity Understanding God’s Judgment for Sin (v3-4)
  • Sought Truthfulness and Fleeing Deceit (v5-6)
  • Sought Indictment rather than living in Hypocrisy (v7-8)
  • Sought Indictment for Adultery (v9-12)
  • Sought Indictment for Oppressing Servants (v13-15)

Continued…

(5) Sought Indictment for Adultery (v9-12)

9If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; 10Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 11For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. 12For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

Matthew Henry said well “That he had a very great abhorrence of the sin of adultery. As he did not wrong his own marriage bed by keeping a concubine (he did not so much as think upon a maid, v1), so he was careful not to offer any injury to his neighbour’s marriage bed.

How clear he was from this sin(v9)? He did not so much as covet his neighbour’s wife; for even his heart was not deceived by a woman.The beauty of another man’s wife did not kindle in him any unchaste desires, nor was he ever moved by the allurements of an adulterous woman, such as is described in” by Solomon:

Proverbs 7:5-21 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger whichflattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a womanwiththe attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She isloud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is shewithout, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, andwith an impudent face said unto him, I havepeace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman isnot at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, andwill come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The victim (v6-9), the huntress (v10-12), her tactics (v13-21), the kill (v22-23).

Here is described for us the scene of action how evil can befall a young man.

James 1:12-16 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Imagine a scene of a man watching a man falling prey to the evil one!

24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. 26For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Prov. 7:24-27 KJV)

The warning here speaks of the consequence of the fall. The way of the adultress is spoken of as the way of death! It is the way of destruction. Look at the example of the suffering of this young man and learn from it so that you will not have to suffer his calamities.

Job was forearmed to keep himself pure, he testified of his innocence. 

Jesus pronounces the case of the sin of adultery when He said in Matthew 5:28-30 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast itfrom thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thatthy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast itfrom thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thatthy whole body should be cast into hell.

JC Ryle said well, “He expounds the seventh commandment. Many supposed that they kept this part of God’s law if they did not actually commit adultery. The Lord Jesus teaches that we may break it in our thoughts, hearts, and imaginations, even when our outward conduct is moral and correct. The God with whom we have to do looks far beyond actions. With Him even a glance of the eye may be a sin!”

Job kept himself pure when he testified of his commitment to the Lord to this regard in Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

Matthew Henry again observed well, “See the original of all the defilements of the life; they come from a deceived heart. Every sin is deceitful, and none more so than the sin of uncleanness. He never compassed or imagined any unchaste design. He never laid wait at his neighbour’s door,to get an opportunity to debauch his wife in his absence, when the good man was not at homeProverbs 7:19. What a dread he had of this sin, and what frightful apprehensions he had concerning the malignity of it – that it was a heinous crime(v11), one of the greatest vilest sins a man can be guilty of, highly provoking to God, and destructive to the prosperity of the soul.

With respect to the mischievousness of it, and the punishment it deserved, he owns that, if he were guilty of that heinous crime, his family might justly be made infamous in the highest degree (v11): Let my wife grind to another.Let her be a slave(so some), a harlot,so others. 

God often punishes the sins of one with the sin of another, the adultery of the husband with the adultery of the wife, as in David’s case (2 Samuel 12:11), which does not in the least excuse the treachery of the adulterous wife; but, how unrighteous soever she is, God is righteous. 

Those who are not just and faithful to their relations must not think it strange if their relations be unjust and unfaithful to them. He himself might justly be made a public example: For it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges;yea, though those who are guilty of it are themselves judges, as Job was. 

Adultery is a crime which the civil magistrate ought to take cognizance of and punish: so,it was adjudged even in the patriarchal age, before the law of Moses made it capital. It is an evil work, to which the sword of justice ought to be a terror.

It might justly become the ruin of his estate; nay, he knew it would be so(v12).

It is a fire.Lust is a fire in the soul: those that indulge it are said to burn. It consumes all that is good there (the convictions, the comforts), and lays the conscience waste. It kindles the fire of God’s wrath, which, if not extinguished by the blood of Christ, will burn to the lowest hell. It will consumeeven tothat eternal destruction.It consumes the body(Proverbs 5:11). It consumes the substance; it roots out all the increase.Burning lusts bring burning judgments. Perhaps it alludes to the burning of Sodom, which was intended for an example to those who should afterwards, in like manner, live ungodly.”

(6)Sought Indictment for Oppressing Servants (v13-15)

13If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; 14What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 15Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

Matthew Henry said well, “That he had a very great tenderness for his servants and ruled them with a gentle hand. He had a great household and he managed it well. By this he evidenced his sincerity that he had grace to govern his passion as well as his appetite; and he that in these two things has the rule of his own spirit is better than the mighty Proverbs 16:32.” 

Proverbs 16:32 He that isslow to anger isbetter than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. 

“He who has no self control is like a dilapidated city” is a good paraphrase of this proverb (Timothy Tow, Pearls of Great Wisdom – A Study of the Book of Proverbs). Self control is the spiritual quality or virtue that enables a Christian to have the power to keep himself/herself in check against the sin of the flesh and the spirit. 

A Christian writer apt says, “In the supremacy of self-control consists one of the perfections of the ideal man. Not to be impulsive – not to be spurred hither and thither by each desire that in turn comes uppermost – but to be self-restrained, self-balanced, governed by the joint decision of the feelings in the council assembled, before whom every action shall have been debated and calmly determined – that it is which education, moral education at least, strive to produce.”

Self-control is only courage under another form. It may be almost regarded as the primary essence of character. Self-control is the root of all virtues. The man who gives up to his impulses and passions yields his moral freedom. The passage in Romans 6:1-2, 6-18 describes the battle of the human heart between the law of the flesh and the law of the Spirit. The Christian by self-control distinguish himself/herself from being a servant to righteousness than a servant to sin.

The literal translation may be “A city being broken down with no wall is likea man who hasno control over his spirit.”

Charles Bridges rightly observes, “And certainly the noblest conquests are gained or lost over ourselves. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is an easy prey to the invader. Any one may irritate and torment him.”

What were Job’s condescensions to his servants v13? 

Matthew Henry observed well, “He did not despise the cause of his man-servant,no, nor of his maid-servant, when they contended with him.If they contradicted him in any thing, he was willing to hear their reasons. If they had offended him, or were accused to him, he would patiently hear what they had to say for themselves, in their own vindication or excuse. Nay, if they complained of any hardship he put upon them, he did not browbeat them, and bid them hold their tongues, but gave them leave to tell their story, and redressed their grievances as far as it appeared they had right on their side. He was tender of them, not only when they served and pleased him, but even when they contended with him. Herein he was a great example to masters, to give to their servants that which is just and equal;nay, to do the same things to them that they expect from them (Colossians 4:1; Ephesians 6:9), and not to rule them with rigour, and carry it with a high hand.”

Colossians 4:1 Masters, give unto yourservants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. 

Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.  

Job understood God’s equitable judgment towards all who sin. Understanding the laws of God, He was willing to submit to it in the fear of God. It is in his humble submission to God’s commandments that brought God’s commendation of his integrity. 

He was fully aware that God is a consuming fire and that He deals with men after their sins. As such, he sought to keep himself lest God riseth up against Him. We see this in the Scriptures well spelt out for our learning. One example is Isaiah’s indictment of guilty God’s people during the time of the divided kingdom.

Isaiah 1:1-9 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, andHezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: butIsrael doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there isno soundness in it; butwounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country isdesolate, your cities areburned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it isdesolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, andwe should have been like unto Gomorrah.

CONCLUSION

Praise God for the testimony of one who sets for us the example for piety. By the grace of God, His people shall keep themselves holy before Him. To God be the glory! Amen.