Job 31

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil? Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?” (Job 31:1–4, NLT)

In Job’s final words, he lists various sins that could have caused him to be judged by God. He begins with lust, which has been called every man’s battle. I wonder what Job would think if he could see what is on television, movies and the internet today. Never before have the opportunities to look lustfully at women (and men) been so prevalent. For most people with a “smart” phone, it is literally a click away. Yet simply looking at a young woman with lust in his heart topped the list of potential sins that could have alienated Job from God and been just cause for the afflictions he suffered.

But Job had made a covenant or solemn agreement with his eyes. He would not look lustfully at a young woman. Or as David said, he would set no worthless thing before his eyes (Psalm 101:3). The problem with lust is that it is a denial of what God has chosen for us. If you are married, then God has chosen your spouse. Now you may say, well what if I’m married to the wrong one? If you were married in the eyes of God and people, then your spouse is God’s choice for you. If you are a man, then she is God’s choice for you. If you are a woman, then he is God’s choice for you.

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22, NKJV)

To lust for someone else is to reject the one God has given to you and steal what God has given to another. Adultery is calamity for the wicked. Think how many marriages, families and churches have been destroyed because of this sin.

Job then asks the penetrating question, “Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?” Of course, the answer is “Yes”. Nothing is hidden from the One to whom we will give an account. He knows everything we think, say and do. And still He loves us.

Job understood that holding fast to his integrity meant that every part of his life was open to the scrutiny of God. Job feared God and shunned evil, which was God’s own testimony about him (Job 1:8). Job was unaware of any sin that he had committed that could have warranted the afflictions that he had suffered.

What about us? Do we come into the light and ask God to search our heart and know our ways? Are we prompt to confess our sins? Or do we try to cover them up?