1 ¶
I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
2 For what portion of God is there from
above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a
strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my
steps? 5 If I have walked with vanity,
or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; 6
Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
7 If my step hath turned out of the way,
and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine
hands; 8 Then let me sow, and let
another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
Job says in his
continuing self-justification that he has purposed not to look at a young woman
to dwell upon her with his thoughts. He insists that he has banished lustful
looks and thoughts from his mind, making an agreement with his eyes.
It has been
said that the step-by-step process whereby men sin goes from presentation,
where a temptation is set before them, to illumination, where the realization
that one’s thoughts are leading one astray, to debate, where in spite of
knowing what you are thinking is wrong you continue in it. The debate, not the
presentation, which you had no control over, or the illumination, where you
realize your thoughts are going in the wrong direction, is where sin begins.
Christians are
told that they are to bring every thought into subjection to Christ.
2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…
Jesus told his
disciples that the look that encourages plans and pursuit is adultery as much
as the despised action itself.
Matthew 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
For we know how
King David was brought low by his gazing where his eyes should not have gone
and the thinking that resulted from that.
2Samuel 11:2
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his
bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a
woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
Job has
declared a very powerful doctrine for himself, a personal conviction that
requires intense discipline on his part as he does not have the Holy Ghost dwelling
in him by the Spirit. In order for a Christian man to adopt this code for
himself he needs the Spirit of God working in him through the Bible to keep
him, to guard him, from sin. Anything he does by himself will still be a matter
of working in the flesh and will probably fail. God has promised through Paul;
1Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
If you don’t
refuse to be alone with a woman, to turn your head when temptation passes by,
to keep your thoughts focused on fidelity to your own wife, to constantly seek
to please the Lord, and submit to Him, and to recognize your own human frailty
and sin nature without arrogance or self-righteous blindness then you will
fall. I don’t care how much you say you love your wife. In a world of mixed
workplaces where men and women spend hours together, of gyms where they work
out together, of stores where they shop together, of entertainment venues where
they enjoy exciting things together, guard your eyes, your mind, and your heart
through Christ.
A man must take
precautions to guard his heart and keep his eyes straight. He cannot take
praise from women other than his wife seriously as flattery can lower his
guard. He cannot have dinner with a woman alone as breaking bread together is a
strong bonding influence. He cannot be a woman’s confidant and sounding board
for the complaints of her life as that creates a bond, as well, with her. It is
not that he should be fearful of women but that he should be aware of his own
weaknesses and tendencies to sin. Disaster needs only one small hole in the dam
for water to force its way through and all to be lost. A pastor or teacher who
counsels a woman alone is throwing down a gauntlet to Satan and the man will
lose most of the time.
Job is
commending himself and following the standard set forth by God in Genesis in
the first example of cloning.
Genesis 2:21 ¶ And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall
upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh
instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which
the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken
out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall
be one flesh.
Job has no
concubines, no mistresses, no additional wives of any kind or label but is
faithful to his wife. This is in a world where such things as concubines were
common, particularly for powerful men.
If you want to
keep your heart pure you must guard your eyes. As Job says in verse 2, what can
you expect from God if you don’t?
2Peter 2:14a
Having eyes full of adultery…
Every
billboard, every television show, every movie, magazine, beach, or city street
carries with it the potential for lustful, wandering eyes to awaken. Your sin
is on you and no one else, though. You, man, are not a victim. You are simply
living in a world where God is not honored. Don’t justify yourself by blaming
women for your wickedness. Job said, “I have made a covenant with mine eyes…,”
not, “I passed a law forbidding dresses that exposed the ankle.” Rape,
adultery, and sexual abuse occur routinely even in lands where women are not
permitted to walk the street unless covered from head to foot. The fault is
within you, o man.
Job says that
God sees everything and that Job welcomes God’s judgment of his righteous ways.
He is not afraid to be weighed in the balance. Here, again, Job’s
self-righteousness takes away from the example he sets. Were any Christian man
to make this announcement his doom would be around the corner. Be careful what
you say you will never do as that is a direct challenge to Satan and your
wicked flesh.
Job believes
that if he was weighed in a fair balance, and the implication here is that God
has treated him unfairly, then he would be justified. If not, then he deserved
having his wealth stolen and his children killed. Job, like his friends,
believes in cosmic justice in the simplistic fashion of many conservative
Christians and that if he is good then only good should come to him.
Understand, God does not owe you anything. He is not lucky to have you on His
team. For all of your outstanding, moral standards, your Godliness, your
self-righteous nose in the air certainty you are still a sinner saved by grace,
God’s mercy and favor which you did not deserve.
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away.
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