Job 31:23 (NASBStr)
“For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
In this chapter we have the reasonings of a painful man. His accusers are telling him that the reason for his calamity and pain is because of the great sin in his life (see the last 30 chapters). However, Job simply knows that is not true. He goes on and on claiming he hasn't withheld from those who need help, he hasn't trusted in his wealth, he hasn't promoted himself in pride, and on and on. When reading this chapter we have to remember what God said about Job, Himself, in Job 1:8 ... Job is more righteous than anyone. It was God who put Job on the stage as an example to Satan and boasted of his pure life. So, we can understand Job's "venting" that his friends were wrong. As he unfolds his "pure" life, however, he does give us some understanding as to his mindset for living a life for God. In the above verse we read that Job had a healthy "fear of The Lord" in his life which motivated him to live a pure life. Proverbs, of course, is full of the phrase "Fear of The Lord." That book tells us that when we have a reverent fear of God we can be assured of a good life. Job says that he lived in fear of God because he knew that God can bring calamity into our lives. It was a terror to him. That is the first line of the above verse. Yet, truthfully, he was in a calamity despite living in a state of fearing God!! But, Job also knew that God was a great God and His majesty was always paramount in what God does and allows. Job knew that God is sovereign and whatever He does is majestic. Job knew that he "can do nothing" unless God allows it. So, here he sits justifying himself to his friends but honoring God in his beliefs. He did think he was "pure" in man's eyes, but he also knew that in God's eyes he was whatever God wanted him to be. He lived his life in fear of The Lord, but also with a deep understanding that God was pure and holy in all His actions.
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