Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
Job asks God to examine his life by a perfectly fair standard so his uprightness and integrity may be known and made known. He makes this plea in defense of his integrity against friends who condemned him and treated his suffering as proof of wrongdoing. God does weigh every character in an even balance with exact justice, revealing the truth without favor to any who are found wanting. That weighing takes place in the sanctuary judgment, where His decisions vindicate the justice of His dealings with both the righteous and the wicked. Job could appeal to such a test because though one of the richest men of his day he did not trust in riches or pride himself in wealth, but trusted in the living God who gives power to get wealth and used what he had only to bless the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow.
Context and Plea
The appeal stands at the close of the discussion between Job and his three friends, within their debate about his afflictions in which the relation between suffering and character is examined. It belongs to Job's defense of his integrity against friends who condemned him for seeming self-righteousness, which he rejected because he felt they were condemning him unjustly, while he held to his own integrity. In that defense he challenged them to identify moral stains in his character.
The words are a plea for God to examine and test him by a just and fair standard, an even balance, so that God may know and make known whether he is honest, upright, and of integrity. Job knew he was upright even though he could not understand God's dealings with him, his suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him, and he did not accuse God of wrongdoing.
His willingness to be weighed rested on his own estimation that he had succeeded in making his life right, with a clean heart and right intentions and earnest endeavor to live right. Yet his confidence in his own righteousness went too far into self-righteousness and self-sufficiency, as pointed out by Elihu and confirmed by the Lord. He later recognized that God understood his character and his case better than he did and that he needed to feel his dependence on God who alone can save, though God had called him perfect and upright.
Divine Weighing in Judgment
God weighs a person's character in a fair and even balance to determine integrity. He weighs with exact justice, so that the judgment reveals the truth about who a person is, and the balances give no favorable weight to anyone who is found wanting. In the sanctuary characters are weighed in the balances of justice as part of the judgment, where His decisions vindicate His justice in His dealings with both the righteous and the wicked. He fairly weighs a person and knows whether that person is upright, even when other people undervalue or criticize them.
Integrity in Daily Life
Job 31 presents Job as one of the richest men of his day who yet remained holy. He did not trust in his riches nor rejoice because his wealth was great, but he trusted in the living God and remembered that God gave him power to get wealth. Confident that his integrity could be fairly examined by God, he regarded his wealth always only as a means of blessing the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow, rather than as a reason for pride or trust in riches.
To appeal to God to test one's integrity is stronger evidence of honesty than merely being free of debts to other people. God's balance as the measure of integrity also applies to the nation, whose choices are weighed between justice, truth, and freedom on one side and evil and oppression on the other. The people bear responsibility for choosing righteousness, and their choice will bring blessing or cursing.
Job asks God to examine his life by a perfectly fair standard so his uprightness and integrity may be known and made known. He makes this plea in defense of his integrity against friends who condemned him and treated his suffering as proof of wrongdoing. God does weigh every character in an even balance with exact justice, revealing the truth without favor to any who are found wanting. That weighing takes place in the sanctuary judgment, where His decisions vindicate the justice of His dealings with both the righteous and the wicked. Job could appeal to such a test because though one of the richest men of his day he did not trust in riches or pride himself in wealth, but trusted in the living God who gives power to get wealth and used what he had only to bless the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow.
Context and Plea
The appeal stands at the close of the discussion between Job and his three friends, within their debate about his afflictions in which the relation between suffering and character is examined. It belongs to Job's defense of his integrity against friends who condemned him for seeming self-righteousness, which he rejected because he felt they were condemning him unjustly, while he held to his own integrity. In that defense he challenged them to identify moral stains in his character.
The words are a plea for God to examine and test him by a just and fair standard, an even balance, so that God may know and make known whether he is honest, upright, and of integrity. Job knew he was upright even though he could not understand God's dealings with him, his suffering did not prove that God was displeased with him, and he did not accuse God of wrongdoing.
His willingness to be weighed rested on his own estimation that he had succeeded in making his life right, with a clean heart and right intentions and earnest endeavor to live right. Yet his confidence in his own righteousness went too far into self-righteousness and self-sufficiency, as pointed out by Elihu and confirmed by the Lord. He later recognized that God understood his character and his case better than he did and that he needed to feel his dependence on God who alone can save, though God had called him perfect and upright.
Divine Weighing in Judgment
God weighs a person's character in a fair and even balance to determine integrity. He weighs with exact justice, so that the judgment reveals the truth about who a person is, and the balances give no favorable weight to anyone who is found wanting. In the sanctuary characters are weighed in the balances of justice as part of the judgment, where His decisions vindicate His justice in His dealings with both the righteous and the wicked. He fairly weighs a person and knows whether that person is upright, even when other people undervalue or criticize them.
Integrity in Daily Life
Job 31 presents Job as one of the richest men of his day who yet remained holy. He did not trust in his riches nor rejoice because his wealth was great, but he trusted in the living God and remembered that God gave him power to get wealth. Confident that his integrity could be fairly examined by God, he regarded his wealth always only as a means of blessing the poor, the needy, the fatherless, and the widow, rather than as a reason for pride or trust in riches.
To appeal to God to test one's integrity is stronger evidence of honesty than merely being free of debts to other people. God's balance as the measure of integrity also applies to the nation, whose choices are weighed between justice, truth, and freedom on one side and evil and oppression on the other. The people bear responsibility for choosing righteousness, and their choice will bring blessing or cursing.