◄ Job 31:5 ►
If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,
Study Bible
If I have walked in falsehood
This phrase suggests a lifestyle or pattern of living characterized by dishonesty or deceit. In the context of Job, it reflects his self-examination and integrity. Walking in falsehood contrasts with the biblical call to walk in truth, as seen in passages like Psalm 86:11, which emphasizes living according to God's truth. The imagery of "walking" is often used in Scripture to denote one's conduct or way of life, as seen in Ephesians 5:8, where believers are urged to walk as children of light. Job's assertion here is a claim to moral integrity, aligning with the wisdom literature's emphasis on righteousness and truthfulness.

or my foot has rushed to deceit
The imagery of the foot rushing suggests a deliberate and eager movement towards deception. This phrase highlights the intentionality behind deceitful actions, contrasting with the biblical ideal of pursuing righteousness and truth. Proverbs 6:18 lists a heart that devises wicked schemes and feet that are quick to rush into evil as things the Lord detests. Job's denial of such behavior underscores his commitment to integrity and righteousness. In the broader biblical narrative, this reflects the call to avoid the path of the wicked, as seen in Psalm 1:1, which advises against walking in the counsel of the wicked. Job's statement serves as a defense of his character, emphasizing his adherence to God's standards despite his suffering.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A 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. God
The sovereign Creator who allows Job's faith to be tested by Satan, yet ultimately restores Job's fortunes.

3. Satan
The adversary who challenges Job's integrity, suggesting that Job is faithful only because of his prosperity.

4. Job's Friends
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who visit Job to comfort him but end up accusing him of sin as the cause of his suffering.

5. The Land of Uz
The setting of the Book of Job, a region in the ancient Near East, possibly located in modern-day Jordan or Arabia.
Teaching Points
Integrity in Action
Job's statement is a self-examination of his life, emphasizing the importance of living with integrity. Believers are called to reflect on their own lives and ensure their actions align with God's truth.

The Danger of Deceit
Job's mention of deceit warns against the subtlety of sin. Christians must be vigilant in avoiding even the smallest steps toward dishonesty.

Self-Examination
Job's introspection serves as a model for believers to regularly assess their spiritual walk, ensuring they are not straying from God's path.

Trust in God's Justice
Despite accusations, Job maintains his innocence, trusting in God's ultimate justice. Believers can find comfort in knowing that God sees and knows the truth of their hearts.

The Role of Accountability
Job's friends challenge him, albeit incorrectly. This highlights the importance of having godly accountability in our lives to help us stay true to our commitments.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's declaration in Job 31:5 challenge you to examine your own life for areas of falsehood or deceit?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a lifestyle of integrity, as Job exemplifies, in your daily interactions?

3. How do the additional scriptures (Psalm 26:4-5, Proverbs 12:22, Ephesians 4:25) reinforce the message of Job 31:5?

4. What steps can you take to ensure that you are not "hurrying after deceit" in your personal or professional life?

5. How can you incorporate regular self-examination and accountability into your spiritual practices to maintain integrity before God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 26:4-5
This passage echoes Job's commitment to integrity, as the psalmist declares a refusal to associate with deceitful or hypocritical people.

Proverbs 12:22
Highlights the Lord's detestation of lying lips, reinforcing the importance of truthfulness, which Job claims to uphold.

Ephesians 4:25
Encourages believers to put away falsehood and speak truthfully, aligning with Job's declaration of integrity.
Sermons
Guard the SensesGurnall, WilliamJob 31:1-32
Methods of Moral LifeJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of InnocenceE. Johnson Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of IntegrityR. Green Job 31:1-40
People
Abaddon, Adam, Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Deceit, Falsehood, Foot, Hasted, Hasten, Hastened, Hurried, Quick, Vanity, Walked, Working
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 31:5

     5151   feet

Job 31:5-8

     4430   crops

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 Works

Question 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

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