Sermon Tone Analysis

Prayer

The last three chapters, we have essentially seen Job move from remembering the “old days” and long for his life to be restored.

To mourning his present suffering and misery.

But this chapter, Job turns to his final defense.

These last three chapters incapsulate a final plea from Job.

If you had last words..

What would they be?

What would you say?

“Go on, get out – last words are for fools who have not yet said enough!”

– Karl Marx

“A dying man can do nothing easy.”

– Benjamin Franklin

“I’m bored with it all.”

-Winston Churchill

What if your last words were before the biggest court of the land?

We’re invited to see Job’s last words of defense of his plea before God.

He is essentially saying…

“If I have done anything wrong, then I deserve to be punished.”

“If I have done anything wrong, I would deserve what I have received, but I haven’t!”

“But If I have NOT done anything wrong, God, You should defend me!”

The difficulty of the book of Job strikes us at a fundamental level.

We have a deep commitment that good works should merit good reward.

Which makes it difficult to read the book of Job and see a righteous man suffering.

These are the last words of a blameless man…

The Covenant

“Integrity of Heart” (Job 31:1–3)

At first glance, it doesn’t make sense what Job is saying here.

He is talking about his commitment to be faithful.

We need to remember that Job was written prior to the covenant with Abraham and Israel.

This means that kind of covenant that Job would’ve kept with God are different than what we may think.

It is clear that there is a special promise Job has made with God to keep a clear conscience before him.

We have no idea what kind of standards Job is aware of.

But what we can say is he knows something.

And the promise is for a clear conscience.

Job alludes to a covenant or a special promise that Job made concerning an area that all men tend to struggle with.

it is likely that he begins with this not because it is worse than the sins he will list later or because it is the supreme temptation in his life, but because in its heart-searching demands it can symbolize and sum up a life of inner purity.

As any man can attest, the calling to inward sexual faithfulness is a searching demand.

Job is not saying he is perfect here.

But you need to remember this is Job’s final defense in the “courtroom”

Illustration - Courtroom Scene

Imagine with me a crime taking place, say a robbery, that you know you didn’t commit.

And when it came time to testify about the crime, the people who should have supported you instead blamed you.

This is what Joe has been experiencing for 30+ chapters.

He’s been experiencing false accusation from those closest to him.

And his final words to God are pleading that God would make that clear.

This is his final plea for God to give a reason for all of the evil that has come upon him.

Job knows that those who are unrighteous will be destroyed.

He know that those who practice evil will reap destruction.

As we have seen before...

Job will be exemplary as well as prophetic.

He will be exemplary in his action, and yet prophetic pointing beyond himself.

Notice what Job goes on to ask for...

Weighed in the Balance

“Integrity Proved”

Job is calling for God to weigh him with “scales of righteousness.”

Scales which are often used in agrarian societies.

[Picture of Scales]

Job is asking him to weigh his steps.

Weigh the direction of his life and see if it is righteous.

Numbering My Steps

“Seeing My Ways”

Job is asking for God to look at his ways.

To consider his way of life.

As the Psalmist would say...

Application - Search Us & Know Us

If you call yourself a Christian here today, it is not wrong to ask God to search you and know your heart.

For those who are saved by grace through faith in Christ, we should welcome God to see our ways and know us.

We should invite him to convict, reveal, and make known shortcomings in our lives.

We can simultaneously affirm that we are saved by grace and that we are working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

What Job is asking for here is not legalism or hyper spirituality.

It’s the call of someone who knows their God is holy, and they are prone to sin.

Job now turns to examine his life.

Sin – “If _________”

Judgement – “Then…”

Reason – “Because of _________”

Innocence – “Except for….”

Job focuses a lot on his own innocence.

This does not mean he is sinless.

It means he was blameless prior to his suffering.

Listing Faithfulness

“Integrity Shown” (Job 31:7–34)

Now Job goes on like this for about 30 verses.

If this… then that…

“If I turned aside”

“If I committed adultery...”

“If I committed injustice...”

“If I was ungenerous...”

I want us to focus in on about three of these and I think we will get the thrust.

In these three examples we will see three exemplary realities I want us to consider.

Notice what Job focuses on first…

Adulterous

“Allured By Another”

Job acknowledges that if he committed adultery, then Gods punishment of him would make sense.

If he committed this horrible crime, then it would make sense that others would do the same to him.

It would make sense that all his stuff burned up.

According to Matthew 5:28

Application - Purity

The same warning needs said to both men and women but said differently.

Men -

Women -