“When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and humbles…Christians…you may expect a revival.” —Charles Finney
Since Job has taken such pains to document as many misdeeds as he can, we can’t rush past. First, he talks about the surprising co-conspirators a sinner may call on to help with his crimes: “my eyes” (Job 31:1), “my foot” (v 5), “my heart…my hands” (v 7), “my arm” (v 22), and “my mouth” (v 27). Of course, sin is a fact before it’s an act, and the body isn’t the source of evil, but Job knew that the sinful nature uses the body to commit sin. Paul would later describe this. Where the KJV and NKJV use the more obscure “members,” others are more specific. “Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness” (Rom 6:13, BSB). In other words, the remarkable capabilities God has given to our bodies can advance the long war against the enemy, or be actually turned as weapons against the Lord Himself! Here’s another thing to notice: the hard road Job has traveled hasn’t made him hard. He still evidences real sensitivity regarding his own personal integrity, the needs of others, and the pleasure of the Lord. He knows what the people in Jesus’ day seemed shocked to learn—looking on a woman with lust has already broken the marriage vow (Mt 5:28 with Job 31:1, 9). He understood that he and the servants who worked for him were of equal value in God’s eyes, since all were His creations (vv 13-15). He didn’t think charity was helping one here or there, but “anyone” in need (v 19). And he knew that delighting in gold was denying God, a form of idolatry (vv 24-28). There’s more to come (vv 29-40), but what an x-ray of the human heart!