Job 31:33 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Job 31:33

Comments

The word translated ‘Adam’ is the general word for mankind and so some translate it, ‘if I have covered my sin as men do’, or as some render it, ‘from men’. But it would be a much weaker expression for Job to illustrate this sin abstractly in terms of what all men do; he is surely thinking of a concrete example which is famously wicked and the case of Adam is perfect suitable since, as Moses records, he did attempt to hide his sin, and then blamed Eve for it. He attempted to hide it above all from the Lord, though the attempt was futile. This is what Job has in mind, and this is what the comforters have accused him of time and time again. Now he particularly denies it: he was not a hypocrite living a double life and carrying on with secret sins, sins which he knew perfectly well that God would frown upon, while play acting piety in front of men. It is, as Matthew Henry says, natural for fallen man to hide his sin and men do it constantly. What Adam did with fig leaves, all men do metaphorically with excuses, with lies, with subtle adjustments, and with euphemisms which clothe foul things in fine attire. Man has a skill in this which goes beyond his natural ability and shows that another comes to his assistance to enhance his imagination. But to make use of such a weapon is to have put into our spiritual passports a stamp that shows we belong to the kingdom of darkness. It is to make use of a device which we cannot use without pledging ourselves to serve the devil. Job had not lived such a double life. Although he was not claiming to be without sin, he confessed his sins to God and the people at large had a view of the real man and not some fiction invented to impress.

Application

Self-justification is a deadly error which we must resist at all costs. It makes true repentance impossible, for it refuses to take the blame fairly and squarely. It blames God or man for the evils we have done – either directly, or because of circumstances – and refuses to recognise the true cause which lies in ourselves. Repentance mixed with self-justification is at best half repentance, and lacks the honesty that is essential if we are to approach the Lord.

Questions

Verse 34 is rendered variously as Barnes discusses. The KJV makes it extend the thought of verse 33, and to state what fears and terrors Job did not give way to, which otherwise might have caused him to wickedly cover his sin like Adam. He gave way to none of these. Most other versions follow the same meaning, but make it clearer by adding the word ‘because’ at the state of verse 34. Barnes however notes that this fails to follow the pattern found in the rest of the chapter. In other cases Job closes each distinct argument with an imprecation against himself if he had done the thing he protests he did not do. Verse 5: ‘If I have walked in vanity … then let me sow and another eat’; verse 7: ‘If my step hath turned out of the way … then let me sow and another eat’; verse 9: ‘If my heart hath been deceived by a woman … then let my wife grind to another.’ He wants a similar self-imprecation here in verse 34: ‘then let me be confounded before the great multitude!’ This however is not so clear, because Job has altered his form of words throughout the chapter, and in verses 30 and 32 the ‘if’ statement is left unclosed.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Job 31:33 Commentary and Bible Study