Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
The verse belongs to the long debate between Job and his three friends over the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31, a debate made up of three circles of speeches by each. It stands within Job's closing argument before Elihu speaks. There Job searches himself and denies that he ate his portion alone instead of letting the fatherless eat from it. He did not keep his food to himself while the fatherless went without, but shared his meal and his morsel with them.
Sharing food with the fatherless is presented as evidence and a mark of care for those in need. Keeping one's food for oneself while leaving the fatherless without a share is condemned as a failure of just and generous conduct. The verse is part of Job's appeal that he maintained his integrity and could not be convicted of sin. That appeal stands set against his friends' mistaken application of general truths, which gives no further explanation of this particular verse.
Job's integrity is shown through refusal to eat alone while the fatherless went without, making sharing with the needy part of honest character. Such protestation is stronger evidence of honesty than merely being free of debts to other people. He looked upon all his wealth only as a means of blessing the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow. He did not trust in his riches, rejoice because his wealth was great, or become proud and highminded because of it, but trusted in the living God and remembered that God gave him power to get wealth. This proves it is not a sin to be rich, for Job was one of the richest men of his day. The sin is not in having riches but in trusting in them, putting confidence in them, rejoicing in them, and being proud and highminded because of them, which denies the God that is above.
The verse belongs to the long debate between Job and his three friends over the subject of his afflictions in chapters 4 to 31, a debate made up of three circles of speeches by each. It stands within Job's closing argument before Elihu speaks. There Job searches himself and denies that he ate his portion alone instead of letting the fatherless eat from it. He did not keep his food to himself while the fatherless went without, but shared his meal and his morsel with them.
Sharing food with the fatherless is presented as evidence and a mark of care for those in need. Keeping one's food for oneself while leaving the fatherless without a share is condemned as a failure of just and generous conduct. The verse is part of Job's appeal that he maintained his integrity and could not be convicted of sin. That appeal stands set against his friends' mistaken application of general truths, which gives no further explanation of this particular verse.
Job's integrity is shown through refusal to eat alone while the fatherless went without, making sharing with the needy part of honest character. Such protestation is stronger evidence of honesty than merely being free of debts to other people. He looked upon all his wealth only as a means of blessing the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow. He did not trust in his riches, rejoice because his wealth was great, or become proud and highminded because of it, but trusted in the living God and remembered that God gave him power to get wealth. This proves it is not a sin to be rich, for Job was one of the richest men of his day. The sin is not in having riches but in trusting in them, putting confidence in them, rejoicing in them, and being proud and highminded because of them, which denies the God that is above.