Job 31:1  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.
9  If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;
10  Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

This chapter gives us Job’s final response to the false accusations made against him. He has been given opportunity to refute the lies being told about him. He knows better than what is being said of him. He does not have the ability to stop the lies.
We are facing a new censorship in Canada. Bill C11 was rammed through Parliament and has been sent back to the Senate. We will see what happens to it there. The goal of the governments is to stop the truth from being told. They want to be the standard of truth. They want their lies to be seen as truth. In order to do this, they have to try to shut down the truth. They have to take away the opportunity for any other voice to be heard.
We know that even during the Tribulation time, when the antichrist will work feverishly to make his message the only message, he will not succeed. God will raise up several avenues of people who will stand in defiance to the wicked schemes of the antichrist and they will proclaim the Gospel in spite of all the efforts to shut the truth down.
We do not need to fear that the truth will be shut down in our time. We can expect that the governments will try hard to make that happen. Those who are truly saved need to understand that God is much bigger than all of humanity. We also need to be reminded of the fact:

II Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

That is a fact. That is not a lie. Since God wants all people to be saved, He will make sure that His message can go out to all people. It may get much harder to do so in the future but it will happen. What God’s people need to remember is that we belong to God, not to man. We do not need to bow to the wicked dictates of our governments, as so many have done over the past 3 years. In fact we have been bowing down to wicked governments for most of my life. Those who are saved need to pray for boldness and speak up.
Job did not have all the avenues of outreach that we have, but he was not going to be silent. He had one avenue that was much greater than all the avenues we have today. Job had the greatest publisher in the world, Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith and who will not be silenced. God published His Words as spoken by Job. Hundreds of thousands of people have read these words. Many false doctrines have been developed from these words. However, the truth is also being proclaimed.
Job began this chapter with an important promise that he made. He made a covenant with his eyes. He was different than many men. The media is seeking to encourage men to lust after women. Pornography is a major problem in our country. It is sin. It is running rampant. A godly man needs to be very disciplined to turn away from the constant onslaught of the evil that is all around.
We are seeing an increasing break down of marriages in our time. We are also seeing an increase in couples just moving in together and others involved in adultery.
Jesus reminded us that to look upon a woman with lust is sin. Job understood this long before Jesus stated it. God showed Job this was important. He made sure that he would keep himself pure. His wife had rejected his faith, but that did not mean Job was going to go and seek for another woman. He was going to be faithful to God.
In verse 2 Job wondered what reward he had received from God for making this important covenant with Him. Job did not see himself being rewarded at all. He saw himself being punished.
In verse 3 he knew that destruction belonged to the wicked. God was going to destroy the wicked. Job was not wicked. God had declared Job to be a perfect and upright man. Why then was Job suffering so? Job could not understand what was happening. He would soon learn the facts.
In verse 4 Job wondered if God did not see all that he did. He knew He did. However, again, why was God treating him so?
In the next few verses Job was willing to accept punishment if he had committed the sins mentioned. He was not that hypocrite that he was being accused of. He was willing to accept punishment if he had it coming. He was not going to spin some tale to get away with sin. However, he knew he was not guilty before God. He was not claiming to be equal with God. He was not acting in a self-righteous manner. He knew what he had been doing. God described how careful Job had been for his own testimony and that of his adult children. Job was a very conscientious man. This is why he continued to search for the answer for his current condition.
He would soon understand what was going on. He would be vindicated. He would also be humbled and he would gain a much greater appreciation for the true God whom he served. This is important for all of us. We need to look at this book and understand the greatness of God. Our goal needs to be to first of all know the true God. Then it must be to serve Him faithfully. When we ignore His pure Word, we cannot claim to serve Him faithfully. When we let liars deceive us into thinking that His pure Word is corrupt, we cannot claim to serve Him faithfully. God is merciful. He gives us many opportunities to learn the truth and to repent when we are wrong and do right. We see that in the book of Job.
Job’s three friends were given many opportunities to repent, but they chose not to. They would be sharply rebuked by God in the end. Job would be humbled, but also greatly blessed. He never expected what he received. He did not demand what he received. He just needed to learn to trust God and wait for His timing in all things. We need to do the same.
In the flesh we will never accomplish what God wants from us. In the Spirit we can glorify Him in the midst of every situation we face. Don’t turn your back on God because you do not understand Him. Humble yourself and seek out true instruction and trust God to be glorified as you submit to Him.
I do not say this in a flippant manner. I have no idea what I might face yet before I die. By God’s grace I want to be faithful to Him and take each day as a new day to learn to draw closer to Him and serve Him more faithfully. That is the key. Will you join me?
Pastor Bartel