Job 31:26

_IF I BEHELD THE SUN WHEN IT SHINED, OR THE MOON WALKING IN BRIGHTNESS;_ If I looked unto the Sun (as an object of worship), because he shined; or to the Moon, because she walked (moved majestically), etc. Sabaism (from _ TSAABAA'_ (H6635), the heavenly hosts) was the earliest form of false worship. God is hence called, in contradistinction, "Lord of Sabaoth." The sun, moon, and stars, the brightest objects in nature, and seen everywhere, were supposed to be visible representatives of the invisible God. They had no temples, but were worshipped on high places and roofs of houses (Ezekiel 8:16; Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 23:5;...

24-32 Job protests, 1. That he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world. How few prosperous professors can appeal to the Lord, that they have not rejoiced because their gains were great! Through the determination to be rich, numbers ruin their souls, or pierce themselves with many sorrows. 2. He never was guilty of idolatry. The source of idolatry is in the heart, and it corrupts men, and provokes God to send judgments upon a nation. 3. He neither desired nor delighted in the hurt of the worst enemy he had. If others bear malice to us, that will not justify us in bearing malice to them. 4. He had never been unkind to strangers. Hospitality is a Christian duty, 1 Peter 4:9....

Verse Job 31:26. _IF I BEHELD THE SUN WHEN IT SHINED_] In this verse Job clears himself of that idolatrous worship which was the most ancient and most consistent with reason of any species of idolatry; viz., _Sabaeism_, the worship of the heavenly bodies; particularly the _sun_ and _moon, Jupiter_ and _Venus_, the two latter being the _morning_ and _evening stars_, and the most resplendent of all the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon excepted. "Job," says _Calmet_, "points out three things here: "1. The worship of the sun and moon; much used in his time, and very anciently used in every part of the East; and in all probability that from which idolatry took its rise. "2. The custom of adoring the sun at its rising, and the moon at her change; a superstition which is mentioned in...

IF I BEHELD THE SUN WHEN IT SHINED - Margin, light. The Hebrew word (אור _'ôr_) properly means light, but that it here means the sun is manifest from the connection, since the moon occurs in the parallel member of the sentence. Why the word light is used here rather than sun, can be only a matter of conjecture. It may be because the worship to which Job refers was not primarily and originally that of the sun, the moon, or the stars, but of light as such, and that he mentions this as the essential feature of the idolatry which he had avoided. The worship of light in general soon became in fact the worship of the sun - as that is the principal source of light. There is no doubt that Job here refers to idolatrous worship, and the passage is particularly valuable, as it describes one of the forms of idolatry then existing, and refers to some of the customs then prevalent in such worship....

EXPOSITION The conclusion of Job's long speech (ch. 26-31.) is now reached. He winds it up by a solemn vindication of himself from all the charges of wicked conduct which have been alleged or insinuated against him. perhaps it may be said that he goes further, maintaining generally his moral rectitude in respect of all the principal duties which a man owes either to God (verses 4-6, 24-28, 35-37) or to his fellows (verses 1-3, 7-23, 29-34, 38-40). He protests that he is innocent of impure thoughts (verses 1-4); of false seeming (verses 5-8); of adultery (verses 9-12); of injustice towards dependants (verses 13-15); of hardness towards the poor and needy (verses 16-23); of covetousness (verses 24, 25); of idolatry (verses 26-28); of malevolence (verses 29, 30); of want of hospitality (verses 31, 32); of hiding his transgressions (verses 33, 34); and of injustice as a landlord (verses 38-4...

IF I BEHELD THE SUN WHEN IT SHINED,.... Some take this to be a reason why Job did not make gold his hope and confidence, because all sublunary and earthly enjoyments must be uncertain, fading, and perish, since the sun and moon are not without their deficiencies and changes, to which sense the Septuagint version inclines; others, as Nachmanides, that they are a denial that Job ascribed his wealth and substance to the influence of the heavenly bodies; and many interpreters are of opinion that they are a continuation of the same subject as before; Job hereby declaring that neither his eye nor his heart were set upon his outward prosperity, comparable to the light of the sun, and the brightness of the moon; that he did not secretly please himself with it, nor congratulate himself upon it nor applaud his own wisdom and industry; and of late Schultens and others interpret it of flattering gre...

CHAPTER 31 _ 1. My chastity and righteousness (Job 31:1)_ 2. My philanthropy (Job 31:13) 3. My integrity and hospitality (Job 31:24) 4. Let God and man disprove me (Job 31:35) Job 31:1. His final word is the final word in his self-righteous vindication. He gives Eliphaz the lie. He gives a review of his life to prove that he is clean in the sight of God and of man. Even if after this outburst his friends would have an inclination to answer him they could not have done so. He silenced them for good. But what are his declarations after all

JOB 31. THE OATH OF CLEARING. Job's final protestation of his innocence, and appeal to God to judge him. This chapter, says Duhm, is the high-water mark of the OT ethic, higher than the Decalogue or even than the prophets, since they deal with social not private morality. Duhm notes especially the humanity towards the slave based on the fact of a common creation, also that we are not to hate our enemies. (Job does not go so far as to say, Love your enemies; that is Christ's.) JOB 31:1. Job clears himself of secret sensual desires. He remembered that the all-seeing God punishes the evildoer. Job speaks from the standpoint he had occupied before his trials made him doubt the Divine justice. JOB 31:5. He clears himself of falsehood and covetousness....

THE SUN. the light....

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...