By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
COMPELLED TO ACT
Job 31:13–23
When we hear the phrase “the fear of God,” our thoughts are likely to turn to ideas about God’s majesty. But rather than focusing on God’s power, writers of Scripture usually tease out the implications of fearing God in how we treat vulnerable people.
Leviticus commands the people not to “curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you are to fear your God” (19:14).
Later, it urges, “Rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God” (v. 32). The same book insists that when a relative falls into difficulty, we are not to “profit or take interest from him but fear your God” (25:36).
God punishes the Amalekites because they attacked the “tired and weary” among the Israelites and “did not fear God” (Deut. 25:18). By contrast, He rewards the Hebrew midwives who defied Pharaoh’s order to kill the Hebrew boys. They did so because they feared God (Ex. 1:17).
If we truly believe about God what we say we believe, that belief must translate into action, especially as it concerns the “least of these” among us.
We are all God’s handiwork from the womb. (13–15)
As Job’s complaints against his mistreatment reach their crescendo, he insists that the sufferings that have been heaped upon him outweigh any crimes he might have committed.
He goes so far as to invite punishment for any misdeeds he may have done. He acknowledges: “If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me, what could I do when God stands up to judge?” Though Job is the master and the servants are his slaves, Job recognizes that his servants are every bit as valuable in God’s sight as he. He insists, “Did not the One who made me in the womb also make him?” Both have value because both are formed by God.
We are accountable for how we help those who can’t help themselves. (16–20)
As Job continues his defense, he turns to his treatment of vulnerable individuals. He rehearses a list of people whose needs would render him guilty if he failed to satisfy them. He mentions the poor, the widow, the fatherless, those who lack clothing and the needy.
Job insists that he would be guilty before God if he had not supplied those desperate individuals with food and clothing and shelter and care.
The principle Job outlines is as easy to identify as it is uncomfortable to apply to our own lives: The weakest among us have a claim on us before God. If we ignore the needs of the vulnerable, we are liable before God for our neglect.
We are accountable for how we seek justice for those who are unjustly treated. (21–23)
Job goes on to consider a specific case that would render him guilty before God — that of failing to defend those whose rights were in jeopardy.
As an elder, Job once sat at the gate and listened to the causes of the people who came there for justice. Job insists that if an orphan had come before him and Job had gone along with the crowd in denying justice to him, he would deserve whatever punishment God cared to send against him.
As he notes in the very next verse, one who fears God must stand up — even against the crowd — for those whose rights are in peril.
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