Job 31:1-23 (ESV)

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?

“If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out.

“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her. For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.

“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow), if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, if his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate, then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.”

This has a “cross my heart and hope to die” feel to it. Job’s defense is reaching a climax and he’s saying that if he did wrong he should be held to account.

But the interesting part is his explanation of how he avoided sexual sin. He is distinctly not overconfident. He says, “I have made a covenant with my eyes” to not even look upon temptation.

We’d all avoid a lot of pain and grief if we’d be as honest with ourselves about our weaknesses.

We know Job is innocent from the prologue in Chapter 1. But even without that, this passage shows his truthfulness. His friends can tell that he’s being honest with them from the way he’s being honest with himself.

One of the keys to sin is denial, particularly denial about sin. When people see their own sin for what it really is, they recoil – and change. People with major sin problems always have major denial mechanisms that keep them in the dark.

If Job was lying about his sin, the idea of avoiding temptation would never have occurred to him.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies