Job 31:24-28

d. He did not trust in wealth nor in heavenly bodies. (Job 31:24-28)

TEXT 31:24-28

24 If I have made gold my hope,

And have said to the fine gold,

Thou art my confidence;

25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had gotten much;

26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined,

Or the moon walking in brightness,

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed,

And my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;

For I should have denied the God that is above.

COMMENT 31:24-28

Job 31:24He denies that he has ever made material wealth his GodJob 22:24 ff and Job 28:16. Deeper and deeper into his own thoughts he penetrates. He exposes two kinds of idolatry: (1) Job 31:24-25money, rather than God; and (2) Job 31:26-28the secret sin of invoking strange godsPsalms 49:6 ff; Psalms 52:7 ff; Psalms 62:10; Proverbs 11:28; Jeremiah 17:7; Eccl. 31:5-10; Matthew 6:24. His confidence is in God, not gold.

Job 31:25His former good fortune has not made him proud. His great possessions and power have not made him a bigot. He has not abused his wealth.

Job 31:26Here Job denies that he has been an idolator, worshipping the sun and the moonGenesis 1:16 ff. The imagery suggests that the sun was a precious thing. It is the same word used of gems. Job denies even any secret longing to worship these two beautiful living lords of the eastern skies. The prophets severely condemned the worship of astro-deities by a vast number of covenant personsHabakkuk 3:4; Jeremiah 8:2; Ezekiel 8:16.

Job 31:27Job denies that his hand ever touched his mouth in homage to the sun and moon. Ezekiel attacks sun worship in Job 8:16; and Jeremiah castigates worshippers of the queen of heaven in Jeremiah 44:17. Kissing as an act of pagan worship is inveighed against in 1 Kings 19:18 and Hosea 13:12. A. Parrot suggests that the gesture is used throughout the Middle East when one tries to convince another in an argument.[322] The occult practices of the Canaanites are now known from the Ras Shamra literature.[323] Job is here contending for uncompromising monotheism in contrast to the crass, widely disseminated polytheism.

[322] See esp. A Goetze, JIVES, 1945, p. 248, and literature cited, esp. B. Meissner Der Kuss in alten orient.

[323] For the occult content of this literature, see C. H. Gordon, Ugaritic Literature (Rome, 1949); R. DeLanghe, Le Textes des Ras ShamraUgarit (Paris, 1943); R. Dussaud, Les decouvertes de Ras Shamra et l-'Ancien Testament; E. Jacob, Ras Shamra et L-'Ancien Testament, Delachaux et Niestle, 1960.