my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.
Three rounds of speeches have accused Job of hiding secret sin behind a religious front. Now Zophar, the third of his accusers, has fallen silent, and Job takes the floor. He swears an oath that his mouth will not betray the truth. Two questions follow. What does such a promise about clean lips mean? And can a man be right about his own honesty and still be wrong before God?
The Moment in the Debate
Job speaks last because no one is left to answer him:
William KellyJob has answered Bildad as well as Eliphaz; and now Zophar, the third and last of his critics, is silent. Not so Job; he has more to say, to which he gives a weighty form. He swears by the living God that he would never, while he lived, admit that the suspicions against him were right. He would not give up the assertion of his integrity. God had not vindicated him yet; on the contrary, He had called him to a most bitter trial. And they indeed were the guilty people who falsely accused him.
An Oath, and a Counter-Charge
The pledge about his lips is not a casual remark. It is sworn speech:
William KellyHe still stands by it that all their imagination was false. He said now more solemnly than ever — it was a kind of swearing to it — as God lives, this is true.
The oath cuts both ways. Job claims truthfulness for himself and hands the charge straight back:
F. B. HoleSo Job resumed his discourse, striking a very solemn note, as taking an oath before God. He affirmed his own integrity and truth. In doing so he charged his friends with being the ones who spoke falsehood and deceit, while he held fast his righteousness with the utmost resolution. This "righteousness," as Job 29 will show us, had to do with his outward conduct, for the searching light of God had not yet entered his soul. They had charged him with being a deceiver and a hypocrite. He knew he was not, and he was not going to plead guilty to it for a moment. We too know he was not. But outward correctness does not in itself count for righteousness in the presence of God.
As Long as There Is Breath
Commentators read the line just before, verse 3, in two ways:
Samuel RidoutThe next verse, 3, has been rendered in various ways. The Authorised Version makes Job say that so long as his breath is in him, he will keep maintaining his righteousness. But many regard the verse as a parenthesis that explains: "for still all my breath is in me," and so on. He is fully conscious, and speaks the truth deliberately, as he believes.
Refusing to Buy Peace with a Lie
No pressure from his friends will move him:
W. H. WestcottBut as long as he lives (v. 3) he is determined that he will not yield to sin. Whatever the three friends allege, he will not admit a false charge (v. 5). Despite their harsh judgment, he is determined to hold to the integrity of all his former life until the day he dies.
Where the Resolve Stops Short
Job is telling the truth, and that is still not the whole story. He measures himself against his accusers, not against God:
Samuel RidoutHe will not allow himself to bear false witness; till he dies he will hold fast his integrity. His heart does not condemn him… But there is a sound of self-righteousness here. It does not match the self-knowledge a man has in the presence of God. Job is not there yet. It is the cry of an honest soul that does not fully see the light… We see, then, that Job was speaking as between man and man.
The uprightness itself was real. What went wrong was the use Job made of it:
J. N. DarbyJob was upright, but he began to make this his righteousness. That plainly proves he had never really been in the presence of God.
The Question for Our Own Lips
The same lips raise a daily question for us:
Truth & TestimonyPerhaps it is good to ask ourselves: "What do I use my lips for?" Surely not for tale-bearing? How we need to pray daily: "…keep the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3; Job 27:4).
Summary
- Sworn, not said. Job's pledge about his lips is an oath by the living God. It is his most solemn speech yet, aimed at friends who called him a deceiver.
- Breath-long. The vow runs as long as he can breathe. Commentators differ over verse 3: does it set that span, or does it note that Job knows exactly what he is saying?
- Costly honesty. He could have ended the argument by confessing a sin he never committed. He refuses. He will not admit a false charge, even to buy relief.
- Right toward men. His conscience clears him. But he is arguing between man and man, and outward correctness is not righteousness before God.
- The hidden turn. Real uprightness becomes a trap the moment a man makes it his righteousness. The honest answer to Job's vow is to pray that God would keep the door of our lips.