Job 31:9 - Meaning and Application

Here Job gives two more signs of his honesty. First, he had a deep hatred for adultery. As he did not spoil his own marriage bed by keeping a concubine, and did not even look with lust at a young woman, so he was careful not to harm his neighbor’s marriage bed. He was clear of this sin in both heart and action.

He did not covet another man’s wife. His heart was not deceived by a woman’s beauty, and he was not drawn into impure desire by the kind of temptations described in Proverbs 7:6 and following. This shows where such sins begin. They come from a heart that has been fooled. Every sin is deceptive, but uncleanness is especially so.

Job also never planned any secret act of lust. He never waited at his neighbor’s door, looking for a chance to seduce his wife while her husband was away, as in Proverbs 7:19. He had a strong sense that adultery is a serious crime. He saw it as one of the worst sins a person can commit, greatly offending God and ruining the soul’s well-being.

Job knew the guilt of adultery could bring severe consequences. If he were guilty, his own family might justly be shamed in the worst way. He says, “Let my wife grind to another” (Job 31:10), meaning she might be reduced to hard service or to shame, depending on how the phrase is understood. God often punishes one person’s sin through another person’s sin, as in David’s case (2 Samuel 12:11). That does not excuse the unfaithful wife, but it does show that God remains righteous. See also (Hosea 4:13). Those who are not faithful to their own relations should not be surprised if their relations prove unfaithful to them.

Job also knew he could justly be made a public example. Adultery, he says, is an offense “to be judged” and punished by the judges (Job 31:11). Even if the guilty person is himself a judge, as Job was, the civil authority should still punish this evil. Even in the time of the patriarchs, before Moses, adultery was treated as a punishable crime. It is a wicked work, and the sword of justice should warn against it.

He also knew adultery could ruin his wealth. He says it is a fire (Job 31:12). Lust is like a fire in the soul, and those who give in to it are said to burn with it. It destroys what is good in a person, like conviction and peace, and leaves the conscience empty. It also kindles God’s wrath, which, if not washed away by Christ’s blood, leads to eternal ruin. It can consume the body too (Proverbs 5:11), and it can waste a person’s possessions. Burning desires bring burning judgments. Job may also be thinking of Sodom’s destruction, meant as a warning to later generations who would live in the same kind of sin.

Second, Job showed great kindness toward his servants and ruled them gently. He had a large household, and he managed it well. This showed his sincerity. He had grace enough to govern his passions and his appetite, and Scripture says the person who rules his own spirit is better than one who conquers a city (Proverbs 16:32).

Job was careful not to despise the cause of either his male or female servant, even when they argued with him (Job 31:13). If they disagreed with him, he was willing to hear their reasons. If they had offended him, or if someone accused them, he gave them a fair chance to speak for themselves. If they complained of hardship, he did not silence them or answer harshly. He let them tell their side, and he corrected wrongs where they had a just complaint. He was kind not only when they served him well, but even when they contended with him. This is a strong example for masters, who should give their servants what is right and fair, and treat them as they want to be treated themselves (Colossians 4:1, Ephesians 6:9). They should not rule with severity or act with pride.

Many of Job’s servants were killed while serving him (Job 1:15-17). The rest became unkind and disloyal to him, and looked down on his case, though he had never looked down on theirs (Job 19:15, Job 19:16). Still, he could take comfort in knowing that, in his prosperous days, he had treated them well. When family or servants are taken away from us, or turn bitter toward us, it is a great support to know in our own conscience that we did our duty by them.

Job had two thoughts that led him to treat his servants kindly. He thought first about God as his Judge. He asked himself, “If I am harsh with my servants, what will I do when God rises up?” He knew he had a Master in heaven to whom he must answer, one who will rise up and visit us. So we should think about what we will do on the day of his visitation (Isaiah 10:3). If we know we would be ruined if God dealt strictly with us, then we should be gentle with everyone we deal with.

He also thought about God as the Maker of both himself and his servants. When he was tempted to be hard, to refuse them justice, or to ignore their reasonable complaints, this thought came to him in time: “Did not he who made me in the womb make him too?” (Job 31:15). He and his servant were both creatures, both dependent on God, and both formed by the same hand. They shared the same nature, and both came from one Father. Whatever differences exist among people in outward rank, mental ability, body strength, or place in life, the same God made them all. That is a strong reason not to mock natural weakness or trample on those beneath us, but to do to others what we would want done to us.

It is a rule of justice that equals should be valued and treated equally. Since there is such a clear likeness among people, all made from the same pattern, by the same power, and for the same purpose, we ought to place ourselves on level ground with those we deal with. Even though outward conditions differ, we are still bound to do to others, in every respect, as we would want them to do to us.