Job Affirms His Integrity
“job continued his discourse: “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will hold fast my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.
The Wicked Man’s Portion
May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust. For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? I will instruct you in the power of God. I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty. Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves. Why then do you keep up this empty talk?
This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food. His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them. Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay, what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.
The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut set up by a watchman. He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest sweeps him away in the night. The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. It claps its hands at him and hisses him out of his place.”
Very few things are more painful than having one’s integrity assaulted. One of the problems with integrity is that it is a very difficult thing to measure and assessments of integrity are highly subjective. We might feel that our motives are very pure, only to have others misinterpret our actions. Now Job has been pushed to the point of defending himself.
“I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will hold fast my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.” Job has had it! Until now, Job has not forcibly contradicted his friends; however, now he is emphatically disagreeing. Even though Job feels God has deprived him of justice, he still swears by God. Now Job describes the end of the wicked.
“I will instruct you in the power of God. I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty. Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves. Why then do you keep up this empty talk?” According to Job, no matter how well the wicked might do and no matter how rich they might become, in the end, their families will disappear and their riches will go to someone else. Even the forces of nature themselves will reject the wicked. “The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. It claps its hands at him and hisses him out of his place.”
While Job is describing the end of the wicked, his friends might be sitting there thinking, “Hey, Job! What about you? All these things you are describing have already happened to you. How can you defend yourself when you are sitting there penniless, sick, and bereaved?” If you were one of Job’s friends, you might be scratching your head.
APPLICATION: “Can you guarantee to me that this project is not for profit?” We were fledgling missionaries raising support in my home area. The questioner was a close family friend, a man of iron-clad integrity who was already supporting several missionaries. We assured our friend that yes, this new mission hospital would not benefit any private individual.
Fast forward one year. I was in a meeting with the advisory board for the new mission hospital that is to occupy a building erected by a church member in his home village. One of the members had suggested that our mission should pay this individual a large amount of money for his “charitable” donation. What should I do? At that point, I remembered that conversation back in America. Our mission belonged to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and I had armed myself with several copies of the ECFA brochure. When I distributed the ECFA brochure, I directed the attention of the group to the fact that money raised for one purpose could not be diverted to another purpose unless we secured the expressed written permission of all the donors. Lacking such permission, we would find ourselves in breach of contract with our donors. There were three lawyers on that advisory board, and when I said “breach of contract,” they immediately took notice!
As fledgling missionaries, we naturally wanted to fit in as much as possible. Had our friend in America no questioned us so closely, I might have seriously been tempted to compromise. But I had to keep faith with our donors. I had given my word, and that ended it.
How much is your integrity worth? These days, integrity appears to be in short supply, particularly in business and politics. The value of integrity is beyond rubies. Proverbs 11:3 tells us, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 12:22 says, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”
Despite all Job’s suffering, he continues to defend his integrity, believing in himself. How many of us could withstand a similar test? May God help us, so that we will continue to honor Him as we make decisions, so that we never compromise under pressure.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us face assaults on our integrity on a daily basis. Help us to remember that You watch everything that we do and that You will help us if only we will ask. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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