ChristadelphianBooksOnline
David Baird
The Education of Job

Chapters 29, 30, 31 - The Third Cycle of Speeches - Job

Job's Second Monologue

Job's Past Glory

	29:1-6	Job's former prosperity when blessed by God
	29:7-11	The honour that was Job's
	29:12-17	Respected because he helped others
	29:18-20	His anticipated security
	29:21-25	Job - An object of universal respect

Job's Present Misery

	30:1-8	But now - Despised by dogs
	30:9-15	But now - Derided and diminished
	30:16-19	But now - Dying and diseased
	30:20-23	But now - Denied by Deity
	30:24-31	But now - Destitute and dissipated

Job's Repudiation of Offences and His Final Appeal

	31:1-12	Job's personal integrity
	31:13-23	Job's fair dealing with his fellow man
	31:24-28	Job's faithfulness to God
	31:29-34	Job's repudiation of dishonourable thoughts
	31:35-40	Job's final appeal as an honest man

This lengthy monologue concludes the speeches of Job. It is a crucial element of the whole debate and provides insights into Job's sufferings that were hitherto unreported. He has finished answering his friends, he has affirmed his understanding of the wisdom of the Almighty and now he summarises his case for vindication. The chapters almost neatly fall into a "past-present-future" scenario as:

He discusses his former pre-calamity estate (chapter 29);
He outlines the abject misery of his current existence (chapter 30); and
After he makes a final assertion of his rectitude, appeals for a better future (chapter 31).

This important speech, in which Job lays claim to the loftiest moral standards, should not be seen as totally self-righteous. His claims are legitimate. No moral indiscretion is ever identified. If anything, chapters 29-31 contain Job's declared application of 28:28 in his life. They explain, to any who cared to listen to this public utterance, how Job feared God and eschewed evil.

Job's Past Glory

The startling contrasts between his former and current life are becoming dramatically apparent. Without chapter 29 we may never have fully appreciated the extremities of Job's existence. A clinical analysis of Job's situation, as presented by his visitors, is easily consumed by the emotional reality that is revealed in this final monologue.

29:1-6 Job's former prosperity when blessed by God

One of the great sorrows that overwhelmed Job was his recollection of his past glory. It was more than a remembrance of wealth and prestige as it incorporated divine care, familial joy, personal integrity and brotherly kindness. But all this is now "as in months of old" (29:2 RV); months that he so desperately longed for. It seemed like ages since Job enjoyed the circumstances that open the record of the Book of Job.

They were wonderful times. God watched over him (29:2). Not in the sinister sense of merciless supervision that fills Job with dread (13:27, 14:16), but as One who cared (10:12). God lighted his path, easing him through the darkness (chosek) that is now Job's lot ("he hath set darkness in my paths" 19:8).

If only he could return to the days of his "prime" (NIV, Roth, NKJV), his "autumn" days (TWOT, BDB). It was then that he enjoyed counsel and friendship with God. This close relationship was not just something he experienced on some regular interval at a religious shrine. "God's intimate friendship blessed my house" (29:4 NIV).

Those former days were highlighted by fellowship with God, a numerous family, abundant wealth (see Zophar's comments in 20:17) and remarkable productivity (e.g. olive oil pouring from normally infertile places). It's all gone.

29:7-11 The honour that was Job's

Gone, along with the honour that was bestowed on him in former times. He was wealthy and highly respected. He was a rarity; a wealthy powerful man who was a source of respect rather than terror. He expertly participated in the affairs of the city and this participation was genuinely appreciated by all who observed it.

He sat as a judge in the gate of the city (Gen 19:1; Deut 22:15; Neh 8:1). In the broad market-place, by the city's gate, the court held its sessions. Job was the pre-eminent judge. The young boys, normally rowdy and brash, "stepped aside" (NIV, JB) whenever they saw him and the aged stood up in his presence (contrast Lev 19:32). The princes and rulers gathered at the gate, who were earlier chatting amiably with their fellows, were silenced by Job's arrival. With rapt attention, they hung off every word expressed by the great man (29:9-10). When they spoke it was deferentially hushed or they were so muted by his presence that their tongues nervously cleaved to the roofs of their mouths.

But when they heard his words they spoke well of Job. His words were taken back to their respective tabernacles. Not only were they utterances of superior quality, they were reinforced by Job's overtly impeccable life (29:11).

29:12-17 Respected because he helped others

How impeccable was his life! It was a life given over to assisting his fellow man. It was a life, due to its selflessness, that gained him universal respect. But in his description of it Job commits the very opposite of it and focuses on himself. "I" is the prominent word and in outlining his selflessness and implied humility Job takes on characteristics that border on being selfish and proud.

However, these personality traits do not detract from the facts. Job's reputation was known to all and firmly founded on his achievements as a benefactor. In contrast to Eliphaz's scurrilous accusations in 22:6-9 and Zophar's unsubtle illustration of the hypocrite in 20:19, Job rescued the poor who cried out for help and the orphan who was without help. Those in utter despair praised Job as he brought them back from the brink. The heart of the widow, normally mournful and morose, sang because of Job's ministrations (29:12-13).

The language Job applies to himself is unwittingly the language of the kingdom age (Psa 72:12) and "pure religion" (Jas 1:27). While his sentiments are self-serving, nobody contradicts Job. His friends cannot provide evidence to the contrary. Job truly was the greatest man of the east but he was not yet perfected. That will occur in the kingdom age when pure religion will be a controlling force. At Job's present point in time, the kingdom was a hope, and, for all his magnificent conduct, Job's humility required development.

29:14 is a key verse, strategically placed in this section, which summarises Job's personal viewpoint. As far as he is concerned, he was clad in righteousness (see Isa 11:5, 59:17 for this concept's messianic allusions). He believed he was righteousness incarnate crowned with a robe and turban of justice.

Job was no ordinary philanthropist. He even cared for the disabled and took up the case of the stranger (29:16 NIV). His justice saw him save those innocents from the teeth of the unrighteous; unrighteous men he likens to fierce beasts of prey who ensnared their victims in their massive jaws (Psa 58:6; Prov 30:4).

29:18-20 His anticipated security

But the dreams of this great man lay shattered. In the middle of all this genuinely compassionate activity he had been convinced that he would die as an old man, in his own house, surrounded by those who loved him. In what could be a poetical allegory of his family, he pictured himself as a majestic tree, with its roots drawing enthusiastically on nourishing waters and its wide branches soaking in the refreshing dew. These expressions almost seem to be cited in Psalm 1:3 with the punchline of the Psalm ("For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous") being confirmed in the life of Job.

Verse 20 is difficult to grasp but the implication is that Job expected to live a long life, with his honour intact and his natural powers retained until his ultimate demise. This no longer seemed possible as God "hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head" (19:9).

29:21-25 Job - An object of universal respect

These verses complete the picture of Job's well-earned position of respect that he had enjoyed. He especially returns to consider the honour he had received. In matters of debate and counsel, men took particular heed to Job's words. His decisions and pronouncements were invariably the final word. So superior were his utterances that men remained silent before them.

Even greater than that, his expressed word was as welcome as the rain on a parched ground. They were received as if they were the latter rain (malqosh). This rain was the eagerly awaited spring rain that was desperately needed for the coming harvest. It was also used, both literally and metaphorically, in reference to divine blessing (Deut 1:14; Joel 2:23; Zech 10:1) and care (Jer 5:24) and, if withdrawn, to divine disfavour (Jer 3:3). The people gaped, not with the reproach of 16:10, but at the refreshment supplied by Job's statements.

The final two verses of chapter 29 are rather difficult to comprehend. Verse 24 attracts a plethora of interpretations while the crucial last verse requires deft interpretation to create some sort of logical flow.

According to Brother Mansfield, 29:24 indicates that if Job "did not favour a proposition, the authors of it lost their confidence in it. His smile or nod of acceptance established a matter." Others feel that Job was so esteemed that they could not believe it when he laughed familiarly with them. Gibson writes that "when they were downcast and despondent [Job] cheered them up with his brightness." The answer lies somewhere in there with the context favouring Job's prestige rather than his alleged jolly disposition. It also seems incongruous that he should be boasting in the powerful impact of his mocking.

His prestige is strongly reinforced in 29:25. He invests himself with the highest of titles. He selected the course that his listeners should follow. Andersen states that Job is taking on the role of governor. Job sat as their chief (rosh) and like a king (melek) among his troops. Besides being powerful, regal and decisive, his balanced character saw him comfort the mourners. This was something in which his friends were tragically inept (2:11, 16:2).

Such was the former greatness of Job.

Job's Present Misery

Job's response to his original affliction (1:21) is ironically detailed in chapter 29 ("the LORD gave") and chapter 30 ("and the LORD hath taken away"). The contrast in Job's existence could hardly have been more extreme and is introduced in chapter 30 by a powerful combination of two little words; "But now."

Yes, such was the greatness of Job in chapter 29, but now (30:1), and now (30:9), and now (30:16). Chapter 30, emerging as it does from chapter 29, outlines the absolute reversal of Job's fortunes. The inexplicable is explained. The unthinkable is reality. The emotions resurface as Job presents as a tragic mix of depression, outrage, scorn and fear.

30:1-8 But now - Despised by dogs

Job has replaced respect from the most respected of citizens with contempt from the most contemptible. The young mocked and laughed at he who was once a figure of veneration (29:8). The humiliation experienced by Job was unrelieved and irretrievable. His human pride emerges as he describes his tormentors as the most despicable of creatures. They were lower than the dogs that looked after his flock.

The dogs alluded to by Job were not the fine, faithful fellows bouncing around at their masters' feet. Thomson writes, "The Oriental shepherd dogs ... are a mean, sinister, ill-conditioned generation, kept at a distance, kicked about and half starved, with nothing noble or attractive about them" (W.M.Thomson, The Land and The Book, T Nelson and Sons, 1890, p202).

Even more disgusting than that, these young men were, in Job's description, the absolute filth of society. They were useless layabouts, enfeebled by their inability and unwillingness to earn enough to survive (30:2). They were a gang of vagrants who scavenged food whichever way they could (30:3-4). Cast out by civilised folk, they lived in caves and the clefts of rocks. They were a most loathsome, appalling lot whose uncouth speech was as the braying of wild asses. As the Jerusalem Bible graphically translates 30:8, "Their children are as worthless a brood as they were, nameless people, outcasts of society." Or as Andersen puts it, "Sons of an idiot, yea sons of an unperson."

30:9-15 But now - Derided and diminished

It is these most abhorrent of humans who sing songs about Job and make him the talk of the town. The gross indignity of it all. While Job may be painting an exaggerated picture, the shame and ignominy are very apparent and hard felt. The irony is obvious and disturbing. This is the very scum he strove to help and now they turn on him like malnourished curs. They considered Job to be loathsome. They stood aloof except when they were close enough to spit in his face (30:10).

The experience of Job was shared, and surpassed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. The language of 30:9 is mirrored in Isaiah 53:3 and, to a lesser extent, in the messianic application of Psalm 35:15, 69:12. 30:10 has certain links with Isaiah 50:6 and the records of Matthew 26:67, 27:30. However, the differences should not be downplayed. While Job did not understand the purpose of his sufferings, our Lord did. While Job was an involuntary recipient of his sufferings, our Lord was willing to do as his Father required (Matt 26:42).

How can Job respond to this onslaught? He is powerless. God has loosed Job's bow (30:11 contrast 29:20). He does not have the wherewithal to return fire. The bridle that muzzled their tongues has been cast off. They spout their insults without restraint. It is a sorry scene as there is nothing preventing the rabble and nothing defending Job.

The intensity of the assaults fielded by Job is alarming. This uncouth brood (AV "youth" - pirha: only here in the Old Testament - Ges. "offspring of beasts") rise at Job's right hand, which is the place of an accuser (Psa 109:6), push away Job's feet, thereby permitting him no strength or stability, and construct siege-ramps against him (30:12 NIV).

This earnest preparation opens the way for Job to be comprehensively crushed. He cannot escape or retaliate. He has nobody to support him. In repeating the language of chapter 19, he essentially sees himself as a lone victim assailed by an invading army. Verse 15 summarises Job's despair:

"Terrors overwhelm me;
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud" (NIV).

30:16-19 But now - Dying and diseased

The shameful ignominy Job experienced at the hands of those abject vermin was compounded by the revolting disease that ravaged him. While there is some confusion about this section, especially verse 18 ("It is best to admit that the text is corrupt and the true meaning of the verse lost beyond recovery," writes Gibson), I believe that Job personifies his disease as a terrifying beast.

The sheer force of the disease sees Job giving it a personality of its own. His life is trickling away. Job is smitten with unrelenting depression and fierce pain as this monster saps his bones and continually gnaws at him. The monster never sleeps. "Sinews" (30:17 - araq) is a poor translation and literally means "gnaw" (TWOT, most versions). He imagines that his disease has grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and thrown him into the mire.

Job feels that he is no better than the dust and ashes in which he sits (30:19 compare 2:8).

30:20-23 But now - Denied by Deity

Having considered the treatment he has received from his tormentors and his disease, Job now pours out his grief at God's denial of him. This really hurt. This section is the climax of this part of the speech. The final section (30:24-31) is more of a counterpoint to the earlier portion. 30:20-23 is also a taut summary of many of Job's previous outbursts against God:

He cries unto God but God does not hear him (30:20 compare 19:7);
He stands before God but God takes no notice or regards Job with indifference (30:20 compare 23:8);
God is cruel in His dealings with Job (30:21 compare 7:13-14);
He is persecuted, maybe even hated (AV "opposeth thyself" - hatam Ges. "to lay snares for any one, to follow hostilely." Hatam is used in Genesis 27:41 to describe Esau's hatred of Jacob), of God as he feels the force of God's hand (30:21 compare 16:9 hatam); and
Job felt like God was tossing him about in a fierce storm thereby breaking him and preventing any success for Job (30:22 compare 9:17, 16:12).

For Job, death is certain (30:23 compare 17:1). He is doomed to sheol, the meeting-place for all mankind. The expression "house appointed" combines two Hebrew words, mo'ed ("appointed place" TWOT) and bayit ("house" TWOT). The finality of Job's destiny is conveyed with the use of bayit. While bayit is the common word for "house" it tends to speak of a dwelling that is solid and durable. This contrasts with the mo'ed ohel, the tabernacle of the Exodus (Exo 27:21 etc), where the people met with God. Ohel refers to a tent, a temporay abode. The grave takes no prisoners. Meeting with God is less certain, has more conditions and is difficult to understand. Job was desperate to make contact with God but the only certitude he had was contact with death.

30:24-31 But now - Destitute and dissipated

Despite the obscurity of verse 24, this section rankles with Job's indignation. The treatment he extended to the poor, the downtrodden and the afflicted is not reciprocated to the poor, downtrodden and afflicted Job. Whereas, in the previous section, he was denied by God, in this section Job is denied by his fellow man and he cannot fathom why. It was all so grossly unfair.

The Authorised Version simply does not come to grips with the early verses of this section and presents Job as continuing his complaints against God. The true sense puts Job railing against mankind and doing so through the use of questions. The Jerusalem Bible translates the Hebraically-mystifying verse 24 as, "Yet have I ever laid a hand on the poor when they cried out for justice in calamity?" The questions continue in verse 25, "Did not I weep ... was not my soul grieved?" (RV).

Yes, Job had displayed all these empathic and compassionate personality traits but what did he receive when he fell on hardship. He hoped for happiness and received sorrow. Some light? He found darkness (30:26).

The effect of this on his overall condition was palpable. The churning inside him never stops. He cannot escape his shame and suffering. His appearance is revolting. His skin is blackened, dried out and peeling, because of his disease (30:28,30). Nobody comforts him, so he resorts to weeping (30:28 JB). His body burns with fever. His only brethren and companions are wild beasts; jackals (AV "dragons") and ostriches (AV "owls"). His other brethren had dealt deceitfully with him (6:15) and deserted him (19:13). His former companions (translated "friends", "neighbours" elsewhere in Job) failed to show him kindness (6:14), mocked him (12:4), scorned him (16:20) and were incapable of pitying him (19:21). At least the jackals and ostriches were neutral in their outlook towards Job. Those wild beasts were better brethren and friends to the beleaguered Job.

It is noteworthy that jackals and ostriches are partnered elsewhere in Scripture in regard to the desolation of Zion (Lam 4:3; Mic 1:8) and the destruction of Babylon (Isa 13:21-22). It almost seems as though the language of Job is used to describe the most dire of circumstances. While the significance of these animals is determined by the context in which they are used, Job's calamity is most closely matched by the reference in Micah:

"Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a
wailing like the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches" (Mic 1:8 NKJV).

These desert animals, with their instinctive dolefulness, best reflected the demeanour of Job (30:31).

Job's Repudiation of Offences and His Final Appeal

According to the Jerusalem Bible's footnotes, chapter 31 is "a conditional imprecation. This was required by law from an accused person pleading 'not guilty'." Andersen in providing considerably more detail calls it "an oath of clearance in the form of a negative confession."

This was a well-known procedure in ancient jurisprudence. A crime would be denied by calling down a curse on oneself if one had actually committed it. The inference was that no evidence had been produced to convict and if it is, very unlikely if the accused is correct in affirming his innocence, he will readily accept the due punishment.

The negative confession was made in the interests of the accused's public honour and it was addressed to God in an appeal against human judgment. In chapter 31 Job lists specific crimes, denying them all. He uses the form, "If I have committed X, then I should receive Y!" X is the crime; Y is the penalty. And the penalty for the crime very much reflects the crime in a retaliatory sort of way. For example, the penalty for Job committing adultery would be to allow others to commit adultery with his wife (31:9-10).

What can be noted in this final utterance of Job is that it appears to be disordered. This has led to a number of authorities (e.g. Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible) rearranging the text to make it more coherent. There is no solid textual support for this nor do the circumstances fit. This consummation of the words of Job was not carefully constructed in the chambers of an inner-city magistrate. It is Job's last emotional outburst, recited by a diseased, impoverished outcast residing in the local rubbish dump.

Such a physical context only makes chapter 31 all the more remarkable.

31:1-12 Job's personal integrity

Job does not indulge in any preliminary statements and immediately launches into his confession by disclaiming the sin of lust. While this is one of the greatest weaknesses of men (highlighted by Jesus in Matthew 5:28) it is not, according to Job, part of his curriculum vitae. He had made a covenant with his eyes that they not linger lasciviously on any young maiden. Job knew that lust is sourced in one's eyes (Prov 23:33) so a deal was struck with them.

Surely Job is overstating his moral integrity? Job, anticipating this reaction, indicates that his over-scrupulous conduct was proportional to his sensitivity of what is at stake. All his actions are influenced by "What does God think about this?" He is aware that God sees his ways and counts, not just one or two or several, all his steps (31:4). The last thing he wanted was to be cut off from God. He is convinced that God will condemn the evil-doer yet surely God can see that Job is not such a person. Why is he suffering like he is?

Job also denies all association with dishonesty (31:5). All he needs is a fair trial, a basic assessment of his integrity, and God would have no option but to declare Job to be innocent (31:6 tumma: AV "integrity" - see notes 2:3). God had already declared the tumma of Job (2:3) but Job, unaware of this, forcefully affirms that if any part of his being - feet, heart, eyes, hands (31:7) - acted falsely then he would gladly allow his prosperity to be destroyed. Ironically, Job's prosperity had been eradicated some months before.

His personal life was also characterised by his fidelity in his marriage. He had never committed adultery (31:9). The enormity of this act was not lost on Job as he recognised it as punishable under human law, and punishable by death in the eyes of God (Deut 22:22). Should Job be guilty of such "an heinous crime" he would allow his wife to become the slave-girl, with all that that occupation involves, to other men (31:10).

31:13-23 Job's fair dealing with his fellow man

The sentiments of this section, replete with the ideals of compassion, fairness and equity, are easily understood in today's world. Even the most tyrannical of nations contain people who espouse such causes in the anticipation of a better society for mankind. But for such to be found in Job's day is nothing short of remarkable. Job professes a humane ethic that was in severe undersupply in the ancient world.

For example, slaves in the ancient world were precisely that; slaves, people owned by men. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible records, "Legally the slave was a chattel. He was a commodity that could be sold, bought, leased, exchanged or inherited. In sharp contrast to the free man, his father's name was never mentioned; he had no genealogy, being a man without a name ... The female slave, like the male slave, was treated as a commodity. She was leased for work, given as a pledge, or handed over as part of a dowry. In addition to her routine duties as a maidservant, she was subject also to burdens peculiar to her sex." But Job regarded his manservants and maidservants differently. He would never deny them their justice. It did not matter whether they were male or female, they would all be treated equally. Job's behaviour was out of context with his social environment.

Why? Because his servants were as much the handiwork of God as Job was (31:15 see also 10:8-11)! What a magnificent sentiment! It is one that is lost on most people today. How, declares Job, could he stand before God if he was guilty of mistreating a slave (31:14; Eph 6:9)?

Furthermore, as far as Job was concerned, he was never guilty of parsimony despite the unsupported claims of Eliphaz in 22:6-9. These claims deeply distressed Job as this is the third time he has addressed them. Job attributes such conduct (e.g. exploiting the poor, neglecting the fatherless and the widow, ignoring the hungry and thirsty) as the sole domain of the wicked (24:2-12) and most definitely absent from his outlook on life (29:12-17).

However, should any doubt still be flickering, Job reiterates his defence. He has:

Never been insensitive to the needs of the poor (31:16);
Never allowed a widow's eyes to become tired as she waited for relief (31:16);
Never been selfish with his food, especially towards orphans (31:17);
Always cared for orphans and widows (31:18);
Always clothed the vagrant and the needy (31:19-20); and
Never raised his hand to exploit the fatherless even though he could do so without fear of reprisal (31:21).

Should anything other than that listed above be the case then, says Job, "Let my shoulder fall from its socket, [and] my arm be shattered at the joint" (31:22 JB). That way Job would be incapable of ever lifting his hand against the defenceless again. Worse than that, divine disfavour and Job's destruction would be entirely justified (31:23). Job would make no excuses.

31:24-28 Job's faithfulness to God

When Eliphaz declared that Job should make God his treasure (22:24) he was probably inferring that Job placed far too much confidence in the immense riches he had previously possessed. Job seems to have interpreted Eliphaz's comment as such and therefore denounces any allegiance to the lures of material wealth (31:24-25) or the attractions of idolatry (31:26-27). While it is true that Job used his wealth to assist the fatherless and the widow it was not, for Job, a source of pride or security. He did not gloat in his riches. Job is adamant that he had not been spoiled by his former prosperity.

Nor had Job allowed himself to be even secretly enticed to worship the sun and the moon; two of the popular deities of the ancient pantheon that corrupted many including the Jewish nation (Deut 4:19, 17:3; Jer 8:2; Ezek 8:16). The strange expression, "My mouth has kissed my hand" does not mean the somewhat picturesque "blew them a secret kiss" (JB) as such a practice was unheard of in Bible times. To touch the mouth with the hand was more than likely an act of homage. By way of an example, the ancient historian Tacitus records that the Syrians saluted the rising sun by kissing their hand (Delitzsch).

While the preceding expression is somewhat obscure, 31:28 is crystal clear. Job rightly assessed idolatry to "be an iniquity worthy of judgment, for I would have denied God who is above" (NKJV).

31:29-34 Job's repudiation of dishonourable thoughts

Job seems to lose direction in this section - not in its content, moreso in its format and flow of thought. He is drawing to the conclusion of the lengthiest uninterrupted speech in the Book of Job and in doing so makes his most forceful of assertions to his personal integrity. He begins each segment with the mandatory "if" statement, as befitting a conditional imprecation, but the anticipated apodosis does not follow. Instead he drops into editorial comment to show that the "if" statements do not, in any way, apply to his circumstances. He also fails to adequately conclude this section, choosing rather to launch into a desperate plea for a hearing with God (31:35).

These aberrations in what was, up until now, one of Job's more ordered and coherent efforts are symptomatic of the feelings firing up Job's final flurry. While some commentators blame a perceived faulty text and the Jerusalem Bible pursues its unfortunate practice of relocating a number of verses, I believe the text accurately reflects the demeanour of Job. He is convinced of his innocence. And while he is sincere in the presentation of his claims, he appears to be tired and emotional, maybe even relieved as he approaches the end of his defence.

Job is so sure of his rectitude that his first "if" statement in this section addresses the prospect that he may have found pleasure in the discomfiture of his enemies. However, instead of attaching the requisite penalties, should the statement be true, Job openly denies any suggestion of personal vindictiveness. He never allowed such a sin to pass his lips (31:30). What an astonishingly confident assertion! Surely even the most spiritual man of the Old Testament would have experienced a fleeting surge of pleasure at the failure of a sworn enemy. Not according to Job; a man whose conscience was either wonderfully clear or totally dead. Of course, the latter suggestion is extremely unlikely to be correct.

The next "if" statement relates to Job's hospitality (31:31). If they could find one who had not been satisfied by Job's hospitality then ... again he interrupts, this time with a solemn affirmation that "no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveller" (31:32 NIV).

Finally, he addresses the sin of hypocrisy. If he had dissembled like Adam, or concealed his sin as men normally do (opinion is divided as to whether 31:33 has links with the conduct of Adam in Genesis 3 or is a general statement of man's customary behaviour), because he feared what others would think then ... again, no penalty is specified. This time he does not even reach a conclusion as he leaps into a new line of thought that is highlighted by an impassioned plea to God.

It is interesting to note that 31:33-34 indicates that Job did not consider himself to be sinless, while declaring that he was not afraid to expose his sins to those around him. He was prepared to live in broad daylight; open to the scrutiny of all. This approach to life would have contributed to the inability of his accusers to reveal Job's hidden sin - the sin, by their reckoning, that was responsible for all Job's woes.

31:35-40 Job's final appeal as an honest man

Job breaks away from his defence and places his final appeal. While Job betrays an emotion-sourced fatigue that sees him lose the continuity of his presentation he still maintains its legal phraseology.

He cries out for one to hear him and affixes his solemn signature on the attestation of his innocence. "Desire" is a poor translation of taw. Taw being the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet was shaped like an "x" in the Hebrew text. Job uses taw ("mark" TWOT) in the sense of a man's signature, signing off his case before God. But unlike any case before or after, Job recognises that the Almighty is the judge to whom he appeals and the prosecutor who is indicting him.

"Adversary" (ish rib - literally "man of my strife" Stg) is a purely legal term which in our terminology would be "prosecutor" (NKJV). "Book" is a bland translation of what is better rendered as "indictment" (RSV). Job is unafraid of such a document as he would bear it as proudly as a king does his crown (31:36). Job is confident, possibly to the level of being belligerent, that God's indictment would contain nothing to incriminate him. He is more than capable of giving a full account of his steps (31:37).

Unfortunately his prosecutor has lodged no indictment and his judge has refused to hear his case. Job has followed the judicial process of his day but God, who does not operate within man's strictures, has not played His part. The prosecutor was meant to state his case and then the defendant his. Job was defending a legal vacuum. But there must be some sort of charge to account for the diabolical reversal of his fortunes, so therefore Job makes his last challenge to God. Job realised that God was supreme and he acknowledged that God, and only God, had the right to bring any charge against him as his friends had failed to produce any evidence to reinforce their theories. As far as Job was concerned, God was the ultimate tribunal to which he could place his appeal.

Even though his final appeal is lodged with Almighty God, Job cannot resist the temptation to provide just that extra little piece of supporting information. He concludes with a sincere denial of him ever exploiting the land. Should he have illegally seized land or obtained its produce by fraudulent means or failed to pay his workers then let his land be full of brambles and smelly weeds ("cockle" AV - only in 31:40 - bosha "stinking or noxious weeds" TWOT). He would willingly accept the curses placed on Adam (Gen 3:17-18) and Cain (Gen 4:12).

"The words of Job are ended."