because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside-- because I greatly feared the crowdsJob denies concealing sin out of fear of public opinion. In a society where honor, reputation, and belonging shaped a person’s security, the judgment of the community could exert enormous pressure. Yet Job maintains that he did not allow fear of people to govern his conscience. The fear of man is a snare, but reverence for God enables truthful confession and upright conduct (Proverbs 29:25). Mat 21:26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people,…
Pro 29:25 The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD…
Isa 51:12-13 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid…
and the contempt of the clans terrified me, Extended family groups provided protection, livelihood, and social identity. Their rejection could bring shame, isolation, and material loss. Job’s words recognize the real cost of standing openly before others, while insisting that he had not hidden wrongdoing to preserve his standing among relatives or neighbors. God’s approval must outweigh even the harshest human contempt (Galatians 1:10). Job 19:13-19 He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have…
Psa 123:3-4 Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, …
Lam 3:14 I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song…
so that I kept silent Job rejects the accusation that he covered guilt through silence. His earlier appeals and public defense show that he was willing to bring his conduct before God and man. Silence can sometimes preserve peace, but silence used to conceal sin leaves the heart under bondage. God desires truth in the inward being and grants mercy to those who confess rather than hide their sin (Psalm 32:5). Psa 39:2 I was speechless and still; I remained silent…
Psa 38:13-14 But like a deaf man, I do not hear; and like a mute man…
Lam 3:28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD…
and would not go outside— Job (meaning “persecuted”) portrays the shameful withdrawal of someone afraid to face public scrutiny. He declares that he did not live as a guilty man hiding within his house, unwilling to appear at the city gate where legal matters and public life were conducted. Though his suffering had brought humiliation and isolation, he continued to appeal to the righteous Judge who knows the truth of every life. Psa 31:11 Among all my enemies I am a disgrace…
Exo 12:22-23 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin…
Isa 26:20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors…
Persons / Places / Events 1. JobA man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith. 2. The CrowdsRepresents the general populace or society that Job feared might judge or scorn him. 3. The ClansRefers to smaller, familial or tribal groups within the society that could exert social pressure or contempt. 4. Job's SufferingThe broader context of Job's trials, where he loses his wealth, health, and family, yet maintains his integrity and faith in God. 5. Job's DefenseIn Job 31, Job is making a final defense of his righteousness, listing ways he has lived a life of integrity. Teaching Points Fear of Man vs. Fear of GodJob's fear of societal judgment highlights the tension between fearing man and fearing God. Believers are encouraged to prioritize God's approval over human opinion. Integrity in the Face of PressureJob's commitment to righteousness despite external pressures serves as a model for maintaining integrity when faced with societal or peer pressure. The Power of SilenceJob's silence due to fear of contempt can remind us of the importance of speaking truth and standing firm in our convictions, even when it is difficult. Community InfluenceThe influence of community and societal norms can be powerful. Believers should be aware of these influences and ensure they align with biblical principles. Courage to Stand AloneJob's experience teaches the value of having the courage to stand alone in faith, even when it means facing misunderstanding or rejection from others. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Job's fear of the crowds and clans reflect common struggles we face today in seeking approval from others? 2. In what ways can we ensure that our fear of God surpasses our fear of man, according to biblical teachings? 3. How can Job's example of maintaining integrity under pressure inspire us in our personal and professional lives? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to speak up for our beliefs, even when it might lead to social rejection or contempt? 5. How can we support one another in a community of faith to stand firm in our convictions, as Job did, despite external pressures? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 29:25This verse speaks about the fear of man being a snare, which connects to Job's fear of the crowds and clans. Matthew 10:28Jesus teaches about fearing God rather than man, which aligns with Job's struggle between fearing societal judgment and maintaining his integrity before God. Galatians 1:10Paul discusses seeking the approval of God rather than man, which parallels Job's internal conflict. People Abaddon, Adam, JobPlaces UzTopics Affright, Body, Clans, Contempt, Contemptible, Crowd, Didn't, Door, Door-, Doors, Dreaded, Families, Fear, Feared, Kept, Multitude, Opening, Outside, Quiet, Silence, Silent, Sport, Stood, Terrified, TerrifyDictionary of Bible Themes Job 31:34 4030 world, behaviour in
5950 silence Job 31:33-34 5016 heart, fallen and redeemed Library Thou Shalt not Steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who could tell all the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good WorksQuestion of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Whether virtue is in us by Nature?
Objection 1: It would seem that virtue is in us by nature. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 14): "Virtues are natural to us and are equally in all of us." And Antony says in his sermon to the monks: "If the will contradicts nature it is perverse, if it follow nature it is virtuous." Moreover, a gloss on Mat. 4:23, "Jesus went about," etc., says: "He taught them natural virtues, i.e. chastity, justice, humility, which man possesses naturally." Objection 2: Further, the virtuous good consists …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether after Christ, it was Proper to the Blessed virgin to be Sanctified in the Womb?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was proper for the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, to be sanctified in the womb. For it has been said [4131](A[4]) that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, in order that she might be worthy to be the mother of God. But this is proper to her. Therefore she alone was sanctified in the womb. Objection 2: Further, some men seem to have been more closely connected with Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist, who are said to have been sanctified in the womb. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Corporal Alms are of More Account than Spiritual Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem that corporal alms are of more account than spiritual alms. For it is more praiseworthy to give an alms to one who is in greater want, since an almsdeed is to be praised because it relieves one who is in need. Now the body which is relieved by corporal alms, is by nature more needy than the spirit which is relieved by spiritual alms. Therefore corporal alms are of more account. Objection 2: Further, an alms is less praiseworthy and meritorious if the kindness is compensated, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Confession is According to the Natural Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that confession is according to the natural law. For Adam and Cain were bound to none but the precepts of the natural law, and yet they are reproached for not confessing their sin. Therefore confession of sin is according to the natural law. Objection 2: Further, those precepts which are common to the Old and New Law are according to the natural law. But confession was prescribed in the Old Law, as may be gathered from Is. 43:26: "Tell, if thou hast anything to justify …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Advanced Christian Reminded of the Mercies of God, and Exhorted to the Exercise of Habitual Love to Him, and Joy in Him.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God. 1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.' Exod 20: 14. God is a pure, holy spirit, and has an infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. In this commandment he has entered his caution against it; non moechaberis, Thou shalt not commit adultery.' The sum of this commandment is, The preservations of corporal purity. We must take heed of running on the rock of uncleanness, and so making shipwreck of our chastity. In this commandment there is something tacitly implied, and something expressly forbidden. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Job 31:34 NIVJob 31:34 NLTJob 31:34 ESVJob 31:34 NASBJob 31:34 KJV
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